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

After Action Report: Oil Spots and Tal Afar -- [The Fourth Rail - Bill Roggio]
There has been much debate in the past on the lack of an effective strategy to fight the insurgency in Iraq. In the September/October edition of Foreign Affairs, Andrew Krepinevich argues that to win, the U.S. must fight using an "oil spot" strategy, which is one of securing major cities, and working your way to the outlying areas, slowing gaining control of the region and establishing law and order. Two days ago, Pamela Hess reported that the oil spot strategy (or "ink blot" in her article) is working effectively in Fallujah. Yesterday, Col. H. R. McMaster, the commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, reports the oil spot strategy is being executed in Tal Afar.

Not Re-Inventing the Wheel...Just Fixing It -- [MaDeuce Gunner - in Iraq]
Sol was still fairly low in the eastern sky, its scorching rays tempered still, by a thin layer of clouds, yet to be burned off by the heat from the sun, and from the dust that rose into the air, kicked up from the convoy. We bump and bounce along a dirt road, tall reeds run the length of the rutted path, seperating the route from the irrigation canal on our left.

As my rippled soles of my boots hit the crust, I look around and survey my surroundings. The ground, baked hard from eons of desert sun, is sprinkled, seemingly uniformly, with black pellets.

Trust -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
Baghdad is broken into sectors called muhollahs, neat geographic zones demarcated by streets and natural landmarks. Every muhollah has a regional powerbroker, an individual or group of individuals that serve as impromptu coordinators for regional projects. This semi chaotic form of local governance is hardly idea, but it seems to work in the densely populated regions in Baghdad.

But in the scattered settlements in Southern Baghdad there are no muhollahs, just...

Split it into two -- [An Iraqi's Thoughts - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Reason we or most of us stopped writing, is its not even worth it.

Saddam managed to create so many people who have the same mentality and backwardness that he had. Now who knows whose stealing whose not, whether Iran or Syria will keep their agendas the way they are.

Let Iraq be split in 2.

One for the Liberal secular pro-western iraqis of all races and religons. Second for those that support ...

Taxi !! -- [Treasure in Baghdad - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Not in my way, I am sorry," said 15 taxi drivers whom I stopped this morning while I was going to work.

Waiting for an hour just to get a taxi drives me crazy in this country. What made this matter worse is the government's decision of the odd and even numbers which made the taxi drivers the Emperors of their age.

US Soldiers driving style -- [An Average Iraqi - an Iraqi in Iraq]
...In order not to make this post, a whine'n'blame kind of post, I have a few suggestions. It has been decided a long time ago that no military convoy is supposed to be patrolling inside the city, in any case there is nothing in the city that the National Guards won't be able to handle like the US strykers. Such fire power is only needed when fighting large groups of insurgents, or making assaults on their hiding, like the assault made on Tal Aafar, and even there, most of the NGs did most of the fighting, but simply patrolling the streets looking for terrorists is not the job of the US stykers to be doing. It is a war machine after all, not a peace keeping one.

Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye -- [MREater - in Iraq]
Yet another group of Air Force has rotated through our FOB. The group here when we arrived last December was around for a month or so, then rotated out, replaced by a new group. That group was here for four months, then they left and another new group came in. That group just left, and now the fourth group of Air Force service members has arrived. Four Air Force units, and we?re still here. (Oddly, the unit name never changes. I don?t get that)

Brrrrr -- [Who's your Baghdaddy? - in Iraq]
I stepped out my tent this morning and was surprised by a very cool breeze. I looked at a themometer and it was 76 degrees. I can't remember the last time it was that cool. It's currently 9:30 am and the temp is only 90 degrees, and usually it has broken 100 by now. The forecast for today is

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Bombs, gunmen kill over 114 in Baghdad -- (Reuters)...Mohammed Ramahi
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber lured a crowd of Shi'ite day laborers to his minivan before blowing it up, killing 114 and wounding more than 156 in Baghdad's old town on Wednesday, in one of Iraq's deadliest single bomb attacks...

US, Iraqi forces target Tal Afar fighters -- (Aljazeera.Net)
Around 150 fighters have been killed and over 400 others arrested since US and Iraqi troops intensified their operations late last week against anti-government groups in the town of Tal Afar, US...

Insurgents Flee Iraq Town -- (CBS)...AP
Fighting eased Sunday, the second day of a U.S. and Iraqi sweep through the militant stronghold of Tal Afar near the Syrian border, as insurgents melted int...

Guess Who's Coming To Dinar(Subcription only) -- (Wall Street Journal)...Amir Taheri
...Iraq is paying 90% of its own expenditures, including the cost of economic reconstruction. Of the remaining 10%, the U.S. accounts for four-fifths, with the rest coming from other donors. The bulk of the money the U.S. spends in Iraq is allocated to military and security operations, consultancy contracts and administrative costs.

For The Record -- (Los Angeles Times)...Los Angeles Times
An Aug. 28 article in Section A about congressional critics of President Bush's Iraq policy reported that a poll had found that 15% of Republicans favored total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, 33% favored partial withdrawal and 64% favored maintaining or increasing troop strength. The correct poll results were: 15% favored total withdrawal, 18% favored partial withdrawal and 64% favored maintaining or increasing troop strength.

Withdrawal Key To Sovereignty, Iraqi Report Says -- (Miami Herald)...Nancy A. Youssef
In an attempt to lay the legal groundwork for asking the United States to withdraw its troops, an Iraqi National Assembly committee released a report Tuesday that said the presence of the American military prevents Iraq from becoming fully sovereign.

Iraqi Leader Rejects Deadline For U.S. Pullout -- (Daily Times)...Richard Benedetto and Judy Keen
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday that Iraq will not set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, backing away from earlier published remarks that the United States could pull out as many as 50,000 troops by the end of the year

AFGHANISTAN

Media evolution briefly in Afghanistan -- [Afghan Lord - an Afghani in Afghanistan]
The various political movements and regimes in Afghanistan have propagated their respective ideology and socio-political strategy through particular publications. Due to this fact, the World Press Day has often been marked with enthusiasm in the country with the publishing of a series of publicity materials.
The first and the foremost publication was release in the reign of Habibullah Khan called ?Shamsul Nahar? that basically aimed to enlighten the common people in Afghanistan. Later on,

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

U.S. Considering Troop Reduction In Afghanistan -- (Washington Post)...Bradley Graham
KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 13 -- U.S. military commanders have drafted plans to lower the number of American troops in Afghanistan by roughly 20 percent next year if NATO-led troops from Europe continue to widen their role in securing the country, according to senior officers here.

Karzai urges rethink on terrorism fight (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)...Geoff Thompson
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the fight against terrorism by US-led forces in his country needs to be re-evaluated. | Just about anybody you speak to in Afghanistan...

Europeans Balking At New Afghan Role -- (International Herald Tribune)...Judy Dempsey and David S. Cloud
Germany, France, Britain and other European countries said Tuesday that they strongly opposed an American plan for NATO to become involved in counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan.

Pakistan offers to build Afghan security fence -- (The Boston Globe)
United Nations | Chafing under criticism Pakistan is not doing enough to counter terrorism, President Pervez Musharraf offered yesterday to construct a security fence to deter incursion of militants a...

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Hyundai Tours to North Korea to End? -- [GI Korea Blog - in South Korea]
It appears that the Hyundai tours to different North Korean locations may end:

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

U.S. and North Korea to Meet One-On-One -- (AP)...BURT HERMAN
BEIJING -- The top U.S. negotiator on North Korea's nuclear program urged the communist nation Wednesday to focus on concessions already offered in return for a commitment to disarm rather than press new demands....

Chavez Extends Oil Trade Deal to Caribbean (AP)...CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has extended a preferential oil trade deal to 13 Caribbean countries in what he says is part of a plan to challenge U.S. economic domination of the region....

Ophelia strengthens into hurricane off U.S. coast -- (Reuters)...Gene Cherry SALVO
Thousands of people fled their homes in North Carolina's barrier islands on Tuesday as tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane again and wobbled toward the southeast U.S. coast...

Schroeder's Rival, and Opposite, Leads in Polls -- (La Times)...Jeffrey Fleishman
Even though many Germans regard Angela Merkel as aloof, the conservative appears poised to become their first female chancellor.

BERLIN ? Rising in the male-dominated beer-and-BMW politics of Germany, Angela Merkel is known less for eloquent speeches and charisma than for intellectual rigor and an unabashed quest for power that have intrigued this nation for years.

KATRINA

Wraith Hurricane Update -- [Alexander the Average]
(pics) I've been in contact with my soldier SSG B. He and his family are safe. Here are some pics of his house that he sent me. They have lost everything. We're working out the details on how we're going to help him. (pics)

Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions and support.

Another Katrina Myth: Aaron Broussard's "Emotional" Appearance on MTP
In yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper called Jefferson Parish, LA president Aaron Broussard's tearful outburst, shown September 4th on Meet the Press, "One of the defining media moments of all the hurricane [Katrina] coverage":
..."Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday.' And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night."

There's just one problem: Aaron Broussard was lying.

BLOGOS BRINGS ORDER TO NOLA RESCUE OPS -- [Roger Simon]

Update to my post re The Time Picayune Forums Site, NOLA View, used by victims to summon aid.

The LA Times', "Column One" piece today (link below) is about The Times Picayune forum site. The article indicates that "officialdom" is beginning to watch/respond to these pleas for help.

Pictures from MS Beach -- [My Daddy is a Soldier in IRAQ ]
These pictures were taken in Gulfport, MS this past weekend during recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina. This the amphibious ...

Update on New Orleans - From a Louisianan -- [Daves Not Here - in Iraq]
I correspond off and on with the mother and father of a Captain who was stationed at Camp Victory during my time there last year. I had an opportunity to meet Captain Murphy (quite by accident) while in the DFAC, well after Roger and Judy contacted me about my blog.

Roger and Judy live in Louisiana and have been sending me the occasional update in response to Katrina and today's response definitely needed posting here on the blog:

Katrina--some answers. -- [From my postion on the Way - recovering soldier]
Hurricane Katrina conspiracy.
I'll start this post with a couple of questions; it tends to lead me back to my salient points and keep me honest.

Why would anybody want to live in New Orleans?

More American Heros -- [Hurl's Blog - in Iraq]
It's a shame that some politicians IMMEDIATELY jumped at the chance to score political points in the aftermath of Katrina. I'm not surprised at all - for it simply confirmed the type of people that I always knew they were. Hopefully people will see through their lies, stupidity, and insanity and remember in '06 and '08.

In the meantime, REAL American heros have been hard at work doing amazing things to help the victims in Louisiana and Mississippi...
Here are their stories: ...

Update from Belle Chase V -- [Miserable Donuts]
Just brought a little help to New Orleans police, the sherriff's office and others. There are many places like this one throughout the city where the various law enforcement, relief workers and others have a base of operations.

Missing bodies? What missing bodies? -- [Small Town Veteran]
...We need more bodies, fellow travelers. Five or six hundred just won't be enough to make sure the world understands how badly that evil, racist, elitist bastard Chimpy McHitlerburton screwed up. "Hurry! Hurry! Find more! We've been at war with Oceana for two hundred years and that's the best you can do?"

MSM REPORTS ON KATRINA

Bush Takes Responsibility For Failures Of Response -- (Washington Post)...Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman
President Bush yesterday said he takes personal responsibility for the federal government's stumbling response to Hurricane Katrina, as his White House worked on several fronts to move beyond the improvisation of the first days of the crisis and set a long-term course on a problem that aides now...

President Says He's Responsible in Storm Lapses --(NY Times)...ELISABETH BUMILLER and RICHARD W. STEVENSON
The president suggested he was unsure if the country was prepared for another catastrophic storm or terrorist attack.
? Video: Bush's Remarks at White House

Military Lacked Critical Gear In Responding To Katrina -- (Newhouse.com)...David Wood, Newhouse News Service
The military response to Hurricane Katrina lacked two critical types of gear that would have cut through the confusion and perhaps saved lives: effective combat radios and unmanned spyplanes.

Homeland Boss Had Power To Deliver Help But Didn't -- (Miami Herald)...Jonathan S. Landay, Alison Young and Shannon McCaaffrey
The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his relief duties and resigned, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show. Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies to act without requests from state or local officials.

MILITARY

Guide to military... stuff -- [Fun With Hand Grenades - soon to be in Iraq]
This will be a list of commonly used military lingo and other essentials for your own reference. I've noticed that a lot of writing coming from bloggers in Iraq feels rushed; they don't have the benefit of being able to mull over their thoughts like I do here in the States. Things will be changing soon, and lord knows how much time I'll have to update ya'll on life in the desert. I figure this list may make reading easier as I won't have to sit around and define things as I write them. When necessary I'll update the list and it will be linked on the right side of my blog under my profile. If you have any requests add them to the comments section and I'll do my best to define the words you ask for. Enjoy.

The Future of the United States Marine Corps -- [The Adventures of Chester]
I have just finished parsing the 67 page transcript of The Future of the United States Marine Corps, a conference on August 18th, sponsored by The American Enterprise Institute.

What an action-packed day -- with a cast of great Marines, great foreign policy experts, and an audience that seems distinguished as well. There's something here for everyone: war stories from Bing West, reflections on small wars by Max Boot, all kinds of great insights by Mike Vickers (who has an innocuous position at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis, but who is nonetheless famous to anyone who has read Charlie Wilson's War, because he was the CIA operations officer who planned the arming of the mujaheddin in Afghanistan) lots of laughs as we learn that the funniest man in the Marine Corps is Lieutenant General Sattler, Commanding General of I MEF, and in charge of the Second Battle of Fallujah.

POLITICS

New Sheep, Old Clothes -- [Dadmanly - in Iraq]
Many Republicans are expressing concern over a rising star in the Democratic Party, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Charismatic, articulate, Sen. Obama is often described, as George Will points out over at Town Hall, "a new kind of Democrat."

Institutional Racism -- Where I stand]
We have heard plenty about institutional racism over the last couple of weeks and within this article I will show that it does exist and is well ingrained into our society.

For an initial illustration I would like you to tell me your initial gut reaction to the following questions. Should Congress designate a White History month? How about a White Congressional Caucus? Would you watch White Entertainment Television? Would any of these suggestions be considered racist?

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Roberts grilled about Roe -- (CNN)
At his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Judge John Roberts deftly sidestepped the volatile issue of abortion but acknowledged legal precedent is "very important in promoting evenhandedness."

THE MEDIA

The Media and Leadership -- [Froggy Ruminations]
It occurred to me while reading Ben Stein?s piece in the Spectator that the MSM must see itself somehow as the self-appointed leader of the country. Notwithstanding those pesky elections we keep having, the MSM sets itself above all, castigating who it believes is not towing the line and elevating those who faithfully do so.

CONGRATS

STARE DECISIS IN THE NEXT --[Montana Thunder - in Iraq]
This is my last night as a 27 year old man, by far the most challenging year of my life. I have made many decisions this year that will guide my life and future.

WELCOME HOME

The Way Home -- [Ghraib Danger - just left Iraq]
...Noise is not stifled in the least, and the four engines of a C-130 are loud. But we manage. And we're shooting the shit over the roar, others are sleeping, when all of a sudden, and I mean all of sudden, like out of no where, like completely off guard, like no one on the plane had any earthly idea that what I'm about to describe was about to occur. The plane takes a hard dive left. I would guess the dive was at least done at a 60 degree angle. Everyone's stomach was in their throat. It was much worse than any roller coaster I've ever experienced, and I've been to Sand Point in Ohio. Needless to say everyone's scrambling to redon their helmets and grab the netting to hold on for whatever was coming next.

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