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

School kids pay tribute... -- [Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
to Iraqi soldiers and policemen, a nice gesture organized and sponsored by friends of democracy...

Insurgents use school as explosives factory -- [Live in Iraq]
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, Iraq ? Iraqi Security Forces and 2nd Brigade Combat Team Soldiers, Airmen and Marines completed their cordon and search operation today in and around Ar Ramadi?s southern district of Tammin.

Who's in Charge? -- [Cool Blue Blog]
Back in August, just before he was murdered, free-lance reporter Steven Vincent wrote about how the Iraqi town of Basra was being infiltrated by the extremist forces of Moktada al-Sadr.

Dillemas -- [An Iraqi's Thoughts - an Iraqi in Iraq]
I was asked a question the other day by a person interested in Iraqi politics. He asked me what benefits are there for the Sunni Arabs of Iraq in the new constitution. I couldn?t really answer. It made me think, unlike others I try to look at things from all sides and I am using my mindset as an Arab Sunni writing this article.

Literacy -- [Major K - in Iraq]
Iraq is a third world country. While this is not a surprising fact to most people, it seems as if this little fact is lost on too many people with access to microphones. It was a third world country before the 1991 Gulf War. It was a third world country before Saddam was removed from power. It will likely remain

Ramadan Karim -- [Treasure of Baghdad - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Like every year, Ramadan comes with memories flash back into my mind. The holy month is the most wonderful time I spend with my family, friends and relatives every year.

Today is the first day of Ramadan. -- [Sisyphus Today... - in Iraq]
We began or convoy back to home in the morning as Ramadan began. We had been given the obligatory propaganda briefings about Ramadan the week prior. Repeating to us that Ramadan is a period of peace for the muslim; through fasting and prayer they become closer to Allah. We should respect them because Ramadan is a period of peace for the muslim. Repeated ad nauseum. That is why the Apaches were on patrol as we left the gate.

More hatred From the Mouths of Terrorists -- [Warriorsvoice - in Iraq]
US CentCom has a very interesting article that was translated from some Islamo-Fascist website. It has the usual hate and promises of death that comes from these extremists.

City of Ur -- [Updates from Your CWFour - in Iraq]
I had some ground time on a recent trip to one of our bases in Iraq. On the base are the ruins of the city of Ur and the Ziggurat.(pics)
The Ziggurat is a huge pyramid structure that was built 2000 B.C. to worship the moon. Right behind it are the ruins of the city of Ur.(pics)

Ansar al-Sunnah Beheads 2 Iraqis: Gruesome Evidence Intel is Increasingly Effective -- [The Word Unheard]
In a gruesome yet telling indication that intelligence on the ground in Iraq has improved dramatically, Ansar al-Sunnah has released video of the beheading of two Iraqis accused of spying for the Coalition forces.

This is a move of desperation by the Sunni terrorists. The beheadings stopped after the tactic of inhuman beheadings with dull Gerber knives to instill fear backfired and, instead,

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Bubba: Iraq War's 'A Quagmire' -- (New York Daily News)...Kenneth R. Bazinet
Former President Bill Clinton says Iraq "looks like a quagmire," and estimates "the odds are not great of our prevailing there." But, speaking for an interview that appears in the November issue of Ladies Home Journal, Clinton qualified his quagmire remark by saying, "It's not Vietnam."

Switzerland Freezes Armored Vehicle Deal With Iraq -- (Defense News)...AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BERN
Swiss authorities said Oct. 5 they had halted the delivery of armored personnel carriers (APCs) to Iraq, ending a national spat over whether the deal breached the Alpine country?s neutrality.

Senate Supports Interrogation Limits -- (Washington Post)...Charles Babington and Shailagh Murray
The Senate defied the White House yesterday and voted to set new limits on interrogating detainees in Iraq and elsewhere, underscoring Congress's growing concerns about reports of abuse of suspected terrorists and others in military custody.

Bush Hails Progress Of Iraqi Troops -- (Washington Times)...Bill Sammon and Rowan Scarborough
President Bush yesterday said Iraqi troops are playing a significant role in a U.S.-led offensive against insurgents in western Iraq, and the U.S. general in charge of creating the Iraqi Security Forces said Sunnis have started to join the force after months of boycotts.

Soldiers Retrained For Iraq -- (Detroit Free Press)...Michael A. Lindenberger, Gannett News Service
New tactics. New uniforms. Better body armor, Internet-based phones and more drones for aerial surveillance. As 101st Airborne Division soldiers return to Iraq, they are bringing those new tools and others to fight what they say is a radically changing war.

Talabani Rejects Call For Al-Jaafari To Step Down -- (Washington Times)...Bruce I. Konviser
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani distanced himself yesterday from a call for the resignation of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, saying the last thing his country needs at this time is more political instability.

Bombing At Shiite Mosque Kills 36 -- (Los Angeles Times)...Louise Roug
A suicide bomber attacked a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshipers marking the first day of Ramadan on Wednesday evening, killing at least 36 people and wounding 95, Iraqi hospital officials and police said.

Iraq Alters Rule For Vote On Charter -- (Washington Post)...Jonathan Finer and Saad Sarhan
...Also Wednesday, U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers continued their sweep through western towns along the Euphrates River that are believed to be insurgent havens. Six fighters alleged to be members of the insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq have been killed and 110 suspected insurgents detained in the operation that began Tuesday, according to a military statement.

Iraqis Get Copies of Draft Constitution -- BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis on Thursday began picking up copies of the draft constitution that they will vote on next week, after the country's Shiite-led parliament ended a bitter dispute with Sunni legislators about how the referendum will be conducted. Like other Iraqis, Lamia Dhyab picked up her copy at the small shop where she presents her ration card in south Baghdad each month to get government-subsidized food for her family.

Iraq Health Care So Bad That Doctors Want Out -- (NewsDay)...Aamer Madhani
...Before the war, even most critics of a U.S.-led invasion agreed that if dictator Saddam Hussein were toppled, Iraq's long-struggling health-care system would improve. But 2 1/2 years after the invasion, health care in Iraq is foundering.

Americans Should Be Proud Of U.S. Achievements In Iraq -- (Baltimore Sun)...Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
...America is not losing the war in Iraq. The freedom of an entire nation is not a loss, even when there is a loss of precious life. Our continued military presence in Iraq to shield democracy is essential to both Iraq and the United States as well as to the future of the Middle East.

Saddam Hussein?s defence team is broke: trial begins on October 19 -- (The News International)...Kaleem Omar
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein?s family has no money to pay for his defence in his upcoming trial, and his legal team is demanding that either ...

AFGHANISTAN

Can Afghanistan Sustain Democracy? -- [Alexander the Average]
I have been meaning to post about the recent parliamentary elections in Afghanistan for a while, but I got busy with Hurricanes.

The good news is that the elections went off with a minimum of violence, and the votes are still being counted with the final tally expected in mid-October. The Taliban and its ilk proved unable to disrupt the elections as they had threatened.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

First Winners of Afghan Election Announced -- (AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A 27-year-old women's rights worker who dared to denounce powerful warlords is among the first winners in the election for Afghanistan's National Assembly, according to unofficial results announced Thursday....

Afghanistan: Blast Hits Canadian Convoy; Boy Killed -- (New York Times)...Carlotta Gall
A suicide bomber rammed his car into a Canadian peacekeepers' vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing himself and a bystander, a 13-year-old Afghan boy, local officials said.

Taliban Detainee Says Group's Top Leader Is In Afghanistan -- (Philadelphia Inquirer)...Naseer Kakar, Associated Press
A detained Taliban spokesman has told his interrogators that the militia's fugitive chief, Mullah Mohammed Omar, is hiding in Afghanistan and is in contact with top commanders, an intelligence official said yesterday.

Karzai demands Taliban extradition -- (The Australian)
AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai has asked Pakistan to extradite the captured chief spokesman of his country's ousted Taliban regime, Abdul Latif Hakimi.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Who Hasn't Been Doing Their PMCS? -- [GI Korea - in S Korea]
The majority of U.S. military hardware in South Korea fell into such a state of disrepair that it would have caused serious delays had any hostilities erupted, the Washington Post said Tuesday quoting classified internal audit reports.
The important thing to remember is that this report covers the war stocks here in Korea. If the ...

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Senate Votes to Stop Payment to Uzbekistan -- (AP)
WASHINGTON -- In a move meant to send a message to Uzbekistan, the Senate voted Wednesday to block the payment of $23 million for past use of an air base that the Uzbek government recently said will no longer host U.S. aircraft and troops....

Russia Wont' Join Iran Nuclear Talks -- (AP)
MOSCOW -- Russia's foreign minister on Thursday dismissed speculation that Moscow might join talks between Iran and European negotiators on Tehran's disputed nuclear program....

LEBANON: 12 MILLION DOLLARS OF U.S. AID FOR IMPOVERISHED SOUTH -- (AKI)
Beirut - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has earmarked 12 million dollars in aid for Lebanon's impoverished southern regions of Hasbaya and Marjuyun. Since 2002, USAID has financed agriculture and tourism sectors through the the non-governmental organisation MercyCorps.

KATRINA

Milblogging Katrina
If you, like me, have been wondering where all the Milblogs are in the aftermath of Katrina, look no further. Camp Katrina has been put together by Specialist Phil Van Treuren, of the Ohio National Guard. There is some compelling reading over there, as well as ...

MSM REPORTS ON KATRINA

Feds Seeking Homes for Katrina Victims -- (AP)...LARA JAKES JORDAN
The government is grappling with finding homes for evacuated Hurricane Katrina victims, even as it moves refugees out of shelters and considers ending a program to pay for hotel rooms arranged by the Red Cross. Housing assistance is a top priority for a bevy of Bush administration officials who were to update Congress on Thursday about the government's long- and short-term concerns in Katrina's aftermath.

Katrina Evacuee Wins $1.6 Million -- (AP)
OPELOUSAS, La. - After more than a month of living with dozens of displaced relatives in Opelousas, Jacquelyn Sherman, an evacuee from New Orleans, told her niece she was depressed. That all changed when she won $1.6 million - before taxes - playing a slot machine at Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino.

TERRORISM

A Tale Of Two Razors -- [The Stupid Shall Be Punished]
Longtime readers of this blog (Hi, Mom!) might have picked up that I really don't hold much with conspiracy theories in general. From my vast years of experience being isolated from the world in a 360 foot long steel tube, I've come to believe that two philosophical axioms, or "razors", can be used to explain much of what goes on in the world: Occam's Razor (the simplest explanation is usually the best) and Hanlon's Razor (never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity/incompetence).

That's why I'm uncertain of how to evaluate the various reports coming out about the suicide in Norman during the Oklahoma-Kansas State game (the one about which I made a snarky comment immediately after I heard about it)....

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

TURKEY: AL-QAEDA FEMALE TERROR RECRUITING UNCOVERED -- (AKI)
Ankara - The Turkish authorities are reported to have thwarted a series of terrorist attacks planned for the month of Ramadan, according to Saudi daily al-Watan. The paper quotes a security source in Ankara as saying that they had uncovered training operations by groups linked to al-Qaeda, who were recruiting 50 women for bombing missions.

Selling anti-terrorism laws 'not up to Muslims'
A youth delegate to the Prime Minister's Muslim Reference Group says it is not up to her community to sell the Government's new measures to combat terrorism.

MILITARY

Military recruiting numbers spun -- [Uncle Jimbo - Madison.com]
Uncle Jimbo- Madison's Favorite Hawk - Recently much hay has been made by the media that the military missed it's recruiting goals this year and that, obviously, this is caused by anti-war feelings spreading among the populace. They have spent considerable time and effort attempting to achieve that result and they seized on the apparent shortfall in numbers to claim victory....

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

Military To Fund Prosthetics Research -- (USA Today)...Dave Moniz
The Defense Department is embarking on a multimillion-dollar research program to revolutionize upper-body prosthetics after a surge in troops who have lost hands and arms in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Former Marine May Have Spied From White House -- (Washington Post)......Dan Eggen and Alan Sipress
The Justice Department is investigating whether a naturalized US citizen from the Philippines stole classified documents while he worked in the office of Vice

POLITICS

A legal colleague writes on Harriet Miers -- [Austin Bay]
Ken Rainey is an attorney in Dallas, Texas. My wife has worked with Ken on several legal matters. Ken knows Harriet Miers well and thinks highly of her qualifications. This morning Ken sent an email to two-dozen of his friends (including my wife).

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Giuliani: I Plan to Return to Politics -- (AP)
WASHINGTON -- Rudolph Giuliani said Wednesday that he plans to return to politics but that it is too early to say if that will be for the 2008 presidential campaign....

THE MEDIA

AP and Reuters photographer Bilal Hussein colludes with insurgents -- [Sir Humphrey's] - HT: Instapundit
This is both disgusting and absurd. I was flicking through a Yahoo Photos thread called "US Military" when I came across six photos of the same small group of 'insurgents' posing for the photographer. The photos originate from both Reuters and Associated Press and are dated October 3rd, 2005. Reuters attributes the photos to 'Stringer', while AP attributes them to 'Bilal Hussein'.

CBS - The castro Broadcasting System (video) - Babalu Blog
It's no secret that CBS News and 60 Minutes especially have had their share of controvercies regarding their journalistic responsiblilities and integrity.

...I must warn you though, viewing the following will take COURAGE!(Please be patient, long download.)

Missing in Action: Main Stream Media -- [MREater - in Iraq]
This post is a bit long, and doesn?t talk about soldier life. I offer my view about how reporting of the war could be improved.

Much ado over the recent announcement that only one Iraqi battalion is up to snuff, when Congress thought it was three. I just don?t get this. Why is Congress so uninformed?

WELCOME HOME

How ya' been? -- [It's a living... sorta - home from Iraq]
Okay, so I didn't post last week because my parents were in town to verify that I had safely made it home from the desert and was not just pulling their leg when I called to say "I'm home!" a couple weeks ago. So, what's been going on in my little world? Good question and I'm glad you asked.

Trying to be me again -- [Asuumption of command - home from Iraq]
This is kind of a odd thing to talk about for me. But it is something that is important. I am in my transition to being home.

One thing I am that is new is clean air. The Army Medics warned us that when we get home we could find ourselves coughing for a couple weeks as our lung adjust to having air without dirt and dust in it.

Home Sweet Home -- [Miserable Donuts - back from New Orleans]
Home Sweet Home.(pic) Well, that really isn't my home - but I am glad to be back anyway. We left New Orleans around 1pm, by 9:30pm we tried to leave Memphis, only to have our bus driver experience a cardio-pulmonary "issue" - he had not taken his blood pressure medication. Let us just say we got back a bit later than we expected. I won't mention the overheating tires, loss of air pressure, locked brakes or anything else...

HUMOR/SATIRE

Port-a-Potty Etiquette -- [Lost in Iraq - in Iraq]
Signs like this one have been posted in all the IA compound port-a-potties. Initially there were no signs, but over a short period of time, it was determined something had to be done.(pic)

Osama bin Laden - advice columnist! - [One Hand Clapping - Blue Star Dad]
It was a prior career.

The Difference Between Airplanes And Women -- [I Love Jet Noise]
1. Airplanes usually kill you quickly - a woman takes her time.

2. Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.

3. ...

The Story of Uncle Bob -- [God Bless America]
The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

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