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

Insurgents Died Last Night...Plain And Simple -- [warriorsvoice - in Iraq]
Some of you might have read or heard about the recent airstrike on insurgents in the Ramadi area of Iraq. Of course the MSM is reporting that "civilians" died in the attack. They are not reporting that the

Assumptions: Constitution seems like passing -- [An Average Iraqi - an Iraqi in Iraq]
On Saturday the voting ended at 5 PM, with almost no or very little accidents. No terror actions were reported. The voting went well in Baghdad, the night before it was generally calm, except for the terror attack on the power lines. So we didn't wake up on the sound of shots, or on electricity either. Al-Anbar wasn't that lucky, the people woke on sounds of heavy fire fights and bombing too. The number of voters at Al-Anbar wasn't more than 33% of the total eighteen plus population.

Can you guess who threw it here ? -- [A Free Writer - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Well , it is useless for me to talk about the poll on constitution and if it will pass over or not .!
But the important thing to say is that no one from the people I know have the chance to read the Draft before saying yes or no .. !
I don?t know if any one of the voters gave their positive or negative voices on satisfaction about it?s contents .

Assault on Camp Gannon Repelled; and River Gate Continues -- [The Fourth Rail - Bill Roggio]
Last spring, al Qaeda unwisely assaulted Camp Gannon, the U.S. Marine outpost located in Husaybah on the Syrian border. While the attack was championed in the press as proof of the strength and staying power of al Qaeda, the terrorists suffered an awful defeat when attempting to attack the Marines en masse. Estimates put the enemy casualties anywhere from 35 to 85%, depending on the size of the assault force, stunning losses no matter which figure is used.

Final Countdown Part II -- [JD's Blog - Faces from the Front - in Iraq]
A FRUSTRATING HUNT

?We?re gonna hit that house, that house, that ruble, those weeds?? Sgt. Nawrocki said to the hasty assembled fire-team of Lance Corporal Jarrod Birney, Lance Corporal Steven Schlau, Sgt. Joshua Haney and McClung.

Tribes Hired to Guard the Border -- [Strategy Page]
October 18, 2005: In Anbar Province, the large desert region in the western part of the country that borders Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, the government has apparently reached an agreement with several of the Sunni tribes to form a ?Desert Protection Force.? The DPF will be recruited from tribal militias, who have an intimate knowledge of the desert, and the traditional ? as in thousands of years ? smuggling routes into the adjacent regions. Although it can be viewed as a bribe to the tribal leaders to keep their people in line, the initiative may yield important benefits in the future, since it links local tribal fortunes to the success of the new government.

To know me is to not fear me ? [MREeater - in Iraq]
We drove the empty streets of Kirkuk the night before and the night after the referendum. Kirkuk is probably the most ethnically mixed city in Iraq. It has Sunni and Shia Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen, and some Christians. In this city, US soldiers are well received. People all over the city wave at us

Update on the Constitution #2 -- [The Makaha Surf Report]
Salahdin province voted down the Constitution 78% said no 20% said yes. So that means the 2 provinces of Iraq that had the most to lose with Hussein being overthrown have now decided they want to remain poor and downtrodden in the new Iraq. Both Salahdin and Al Anbar are where most of Saddam's terror soldiers came from, Fallujah was known as the place where Republican Guard officers came from, Tikrit was Saddam Hometown and the primary recruiting place where Special Republican guards came from.

Election Day - Part II of III -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
As luck would have it our tidy little breakfast was the high point in the day. As the morning wore on the temperature started to creep ever higher. Although the temperature didn?t reach the crushing heights of summer it was hot enough to turn our armor into miniature saunas, complete with helmets that seemed to drip sweat like leaky faucets.

In country -- [Phillip Carter - in Iraq]
I arrived in Iraq about a week ago, after several days of baking in the Kuwaiti desert at the Army's staging area there. We flew up into Iraq in the back of a C-130 transport plane, and we're settled down now at one of the FOBs (forward operating bases) in the vicinity of Tikrit.

GIVE WAR A CHANCE: THE MOTION PICTURE -- [AMERICAN CITIZEN SOLDIER - in Iraq]
The surest way to end a war...
Is to lose it.

A BUCK SARGENT FILM

COMING 9/11/2006

The Brits -- [Updates from Your CWFour]
Yesterday I had a chance to spend some time with the British in Basrah. My passenger was a Brigadier (one star General) who I picked up in Kuwait. He showed up looking like a contractor in jeans and a t-shirt. He didn't have an entourage, carried his own bag and changed in the back of the airplane on the way to Basrah. Very nice guy.

Mosul is policing its own -- [Stryker Brigade News]
Link To Article By Polli Keller MOSUL,Iraq (Army News Service, Oct 17, 2005)?The Mosul city government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or USACE, are working together to renovate eight Mosul police stations. This $1.9 million dollar project began...

Sometimes It Snows - Even in Iraq -- [Casper's Calamity - in Iraq]
As unlikely as it may seem for a place that spends its days at 120F+ for the majority of the year, sometimes it snows. For the first time I will spend an Iraqi winter in central Iraq. I don't think it snows here but it does in the North. Either way, just as it cools down, the weather turns from desert heat to wet, slushy, mud up to your knees. Most places in Iraq don't have sand as you would expect.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

'Artificial' Iraq? (Washinton Post)
Abu Khaleel is probably the only farmer/blogger in Iraq. But his hybrid background gives him some authority to talk about "the land between the two rivers."

In the most recent post in his thoughtful blog, A Glimpse of Iraq, Khaleel gives the boot to a faddish favorite sound bite of Western pundits: that Iraq is nothing more than an "artificial" creation of 20th century European colonial powers.

Iraq plays down suggestions of fraud in referendum -- (Reuters)
BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials checking results from some regions in Saturday's constitutional referendum said on Tuesday the audit did not imply fraud in the voting.

Iraqis Probe 'Unusually High' Yes Tally -- (AP)
Iraq's election commission announced Monday that officials were investigating "unusually high" numbers of "yes" votes in about a dozen provinces during Iraq's landmark referendum on a new constitution, raising questions about irregularities in the balloting.

Loyalties Lie With Clerics, Not With Politicians, in Najaf -- (Washington Post)
NAJAF, Iraq, Oct. 16 -- No one in Najaf wore a bigger smile to the polls Saturday than Falah Hassan Sarraf.

The electrical engineer and his wife were so keen to vote in Iraq's constitutional referendum that they hardly slept the night before, he said. And they brought along their three young daughters to share in the moment.

Iraq Election Commission Checking Ballots -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A sandstorm that had closed Baghdad's airport cleared Tuesday, allowing officials to resume flying ballot boxes to the capital Tuesday so "unusually high" vote totals in 12 Shiite and Kurdish provinces can be checked by election officials. The investigation by Iraq's election commission has raised the possibility that the results of the referendum could be called into question. As many as 99 percent of the voters reportedly approved Iraq's draft constitution in some of the provinces being investigated.

Adviser to Top Iraqi Politician Killed -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents shot and killed an adviser to one of Iraq's top Sunni Arab officials on Tuesday as he drove to work in Baghdad, police said....

Iraqis Say Civilians Killed in U.S. Raids -- (Washington Post)
Military Asserts Fatalities in West Were Insurgents
BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- A U.S. fighter jet bombed a crowd gathered around a burned Humvee on the edge of a provincial capital in western Iraq, killing 25 people, including 18 children, hospital officials and family members said Monday. The military said the Sunday raid targeted insurgents planting a bomb for new attacks.

Scores Are Killed by American Airstrikes in Sunni Insurgent Stronghold West of Baghdad -- (New York Times)
RAMADI, Iraq, Oct. 17 - American aircraft launched airstrikes against insurgents in this embattled city on Sunday, killing as many as 70 people, the military said Monday. Also on Monday, gunmen attacked cars carrying the provincial governor, wounding two of his guards.

Anbar deputy governor shot dead in Iraq -- (Reuters)
A senior member of the provincial government in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, the focus of the Sunni Arab insurgency, was shot dead by gunmen in Ramadi on Tuesday, a local doctor said.

President Bush Takes Heart With Iraq Vote -- (AP)
WASHINGTON -- Needing a lift, President Bush is finding reason to cheer over Iraq's apparent approval of a proposed Constitution, calling election day both hopeful and exciting....

Iraqi Court to Open Saddam Trial Wed. -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein and seven senior members of his 23-year regime will go on trial Wednesday to face charges they ordered the 1982 killings of nearly 150 people from the mainly Shiite town of Dujail following a failed attempt on Saddam's life....

AFGHANISTAN

The Nature of Today's Soldier -- [Fire Power Forward - in Afghanistan]
They were wearing the woodland camouflage pattern BDU's instead of the desert DCUs, but otherwise, there didn?t seem to be anything overtly different about the troops that arrived at Bagram on Sunday than any other soldieryou might find in Afghanistan. Like every other soldier before them, they stepped off the C-17, shook off the stiffness of the long flight from Rota, Spain, and tried to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings. Like all their predecessors, they would face tedious welcoming briefings from the Personnel, Finance, and Base Operations, before being shown to their temporary housing.

Gratuitous Afghan Photos Return VI -- [Miserable Donuts]
A little chat with the people of the village of Daucoka, Kapisa Province. This was an instance of "jaw-jaw better than war-war". Certainly better reception than that other time. After dispelling some fears and clearing up some misinformation, we had nothing but good relations with these folks.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN A ?CATALYST? FOR MUSLIM-ISRAEL TIES -- (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Israel)
After a concerted campaign by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to begin establishing ties with Arab and Islamic countries, Afghanistan has responded by being the first Muslim country to formally explore diplomatic relations with Israel, as reported by the Pakistani newspaper the Daily Times on Saturday.

Coalition Forces Kill 4 Afghan Policemen -- (AP)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- U.S.-led coalition forces killed four police officers after mistaking them for militants during an operation in southern Afghanistan, a provincial spokesman said Tuesday. The coalition said it could not confirm the incident and was investigating.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Items About Areas That Could Break Out Into War -- [Strategy Page]
October 18, 2005: On the morning October 7th a gang of 70-75 young men attacked a Shia mosque in Kuwait, shortly after morning services. Rocks were thrown, anti-Shia slogans daubed on the walls, cars were torched, and at least one man was badly beaten. Although the Kuwaiti police made several arrests, a high ranking government official attributed the whole business to ?a youthful prank.? But it was

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Wilma set to become intense hurricane -- (Reuters)
LONDON - Tropical Storm Wilma is likely to become a full-blown hurricane soon as it gathers strength in the Caribbean and aims at Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba and south Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday

Rumsfeld: China Sowing Suspicion Over Army -- (AP)
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused China of understating the scope of its defense spending, and he said this is sowing suspicion about how China intends to use its growing military might.

Global Violence Has Decreased, U.N. Says -- (AP)
UNITED NATIONS -- Armed conflicts have declined by 40 percent since the end of the Cold War primarily because the United Nations was finally able to launch peacekeeping and conflict-prevention operations around the world, according to a new study....

S ASIA EARTH QUAKE

Off to Pakistan -- [Fire Pwer Forward - in Afghanistan]
No sooner than I praise the efforts of those providing relief to Pakistan, than I get selected to be one of those heroes. I should be headed over the border within a

Earthquakes, Terrorists and Politics -- [Strategy Page]
October 17, 2005: The devastating earthquake that struck northern Pakistan, and nearby regions of Afghanistan and India recently, may have an important effect on the Islamic underground in that country, and its tentacles into Afghanistan and the Indian area of Kashmir. Reportedly, some Islamic base camps in remote areas were heavily damaged, which might led to a lessening of radical support for the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir, particularly as large numbers of Pakistani troops ? two full divisions from Peshawar -- have flooded into the affected region. While these troops will

MSM REPORTS ON S ASIA EARTH QUAKE

Pakistan quake relief accelerates, problems remain -- (Reuters)
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Streams of people clambered into the hills of northern Pakistan carrying aid back to quake-shattered villages on Tuesday as clear weather helped a huge relief operation accelerate

Military Copters Deliver Aid to Kashmir -- (AP)
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani and U.S. military helicopters delivered aid at a brisk pace to the earthquake-stricken region of Kashmir on Tuesday amid warnings from the World Food Program that a half-million survivors have yet to receive desperately needed help....

TERRORISM

Sea law amended to help stop ships being used in terror attacks -- [EagleSpeak]
Reported here, some changes to international law to get better control of possible maritime terrorist ships: A new treaty makes it illegal for ships to carry weapons of mass destruction and allows states to

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS OR NOT....

Visit To Walter Reed -- [BlackFive]
Right now, I don't have enough time to do justice about what I witnessed and experienced with a few of the guys at WRAMC.

But what I can tell you, what I should confer, to all of you who sent me emails about being concerned that it would be difficult - emotionally - to visit the wounded, let me tell you that it was both difficult and easy (easy because the Soldiers are so great to talk to). By far, the easiest thing in the world.

MILITARY

Injured Soldiers and Pay Problems -- [Jack Army]
When the Army gets it wrong
Wounded soldiers often--too often--find themselves having to battle the Pentagon over pay mistakes.
Having nearly lost his life in Iraq, the 1st Infantry Division soldier became lost to the Army payroll system because of a paperwork snafu as he lay comatose in a veterans hospital near Chicago. As a result, an Army bureaucrat classified him as absent without leave and cut off his pay, as is sometimes done when the system loses track of a soldier.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

POLITICS

Jefferson's Thoughts on Property -- [Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave]
This is important to the debate going on over whether the Kelo v. New London decision was correct from an originalist Constitutional perspective. Scott Scheule recently wrote on this, and I responded to him. A major crux of the debate on this point is this...

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Miers says no one knows if she would ban abortion -- (Reuters)
WASHINGTON - White House lawyer Harriet Miers told a Democratic senator on Monday no one knows how she would vote on abortion if confirmed to the Supreme Court after a published report suggested she favored outlawing it. Full Article

Key CIA leak detail disputed as announcement nears -- (Reuters)
Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff may have given New York Times reporter Judith Miller inaccurate information about where the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson worked at the CIA, a former intelligence official said on Monday.

Pro-War Votes May Haunt Democrats -- (AP)
WASHINGTON -- Potential Democratic presidential candidates who voted to give President Bush the authority to use force in Iraq could face a political problem - they supported a war that their party's rank-and-file now strongly view as a mistake....

THE MEDIA

THE OU BOMBER & BIAS AGAINST BLOGS -- [Michelle Malkin]
File this under "How the MSM ignores facts, smears blogs, and publishes snit fits disguised as responsible journalism."

Last week, I received a media inquiry from Wall Street Journal media reporter Joe Hagan. He wanted to talk about blogs and the University of Oklahoma bomber story.

The Hinrichs Case: The WSJ's "Debunking" Debunks Nothing -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
Michelle Malkin notes a Wall Street Journal article by Ryan Chittum and Joe Hagan about the Hinrichs "suicide bombing" -- or, more precisely, about the blog coverage of Hinrichs's death. Malkin accurately describes the Wall Street Journal as advancing a "bloggers-are-reckless crackpots narrative." The most significant aspect of the Journal's article is its alleged "debunking" of some of the rumors that have surrounded Hinrichs's death:

Iraq Votes - Yawn...Next? -- [TigerHawk]
I am struck by the emphasis in the MSM these days away from Iraq reporting and towards other political matters - Tom Delay, Tom Frist, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby. It seems that perhaps, like Afghanistan, there is a realization that Iraq is on the path to successful completion - at least as complete as any democratic experiment can be in dicey parts of the world. The MSM, like today's NYT (no link) lead editorial, will carp about errors and failures while at some grudging level acknowledge that Iraq's constitutional process and vote is a good thing (though it's not a very good constitution and there were a multitude of errors in getting there and there are no WMD and on and on).

Media "Scrapes Bottom" - A Flood of Bias, Not Water -- [GM's Corner]
I would say that the media has sunk to a new low, but it's hard to sink when the reporter sits in a canoe in only inches of water--trying to hype a "deep" flood, caused by Bush and global warming no doubt. However, the illusion

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

Blogger's Posts Make it into the DOD Early Bird! -- [ROFA Six]
The Early Bird is a Department of Defense (DoD) news clipping service that has been going on for as long as I can remember. Each day it captures news stories that have a DoD linkage of some sort. It is how the senior leadership keeps tabs on what is going on in the press. For years it was a unwieldy multipage document that was faxed to commands around the world. The "little people" in DoD rarely got a look at it, until it was days old and passed down to their level. Now if you are DoD linked anyone can access it on-line each day. Some now criticize the Early Bird (see Intel Dump - Cooking the Early Bird) for "promoting group think," and narrowing the selection of articles to a select few.

MSM REPORTS ON BLOGGING

Blogs flesh out hit CBS shows -- (Reuters)
Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, said the blogs are a bonus for the network's viewers that reward their loyalty and interest. "Blogs are a great way to bring the millions of viewers who enjoy our programming into the creative process," she said.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Citing Privacy Right, Miers Rejects Roe Questions -- [ScrappleFace]
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, making the rounds among influential Senators yesterday, refused to answer questions about her views on the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade (1973), citing her right to privacy as found in the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that served as the key precedent for the Roe decision.

WELCOME HOME

Home Again ? [Hurl's Blog - home from Iraq]
I'm finally back home and settled in. The journey was long, but it didn't seem to matter how miserable and painful because I knew where I was headed.

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