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

Farewell Peace!! Treasure of Baghdad’s Diary -- [ [Treasure of Baghdad - an Iraqi in Iraq]
...In a normal country, when someone receives a phone call on his cell phone, he hears phrases like, “good morning, how are you? How is it going?” But in Iraq, it’s getting different specially these days. This morning, while I was heading to the office for work, I received a phone call from a colleague of mine, R. “Be careful when you arrive to the office. We were attacked,” he said. I panicked in the car. “What?!! What happened?!! Anyone is killed?! Oh my God!” I asked him. He was shaking and couldn’t complete. I called my friend O. to tell him the news. I called him. He called back to tell me he is going to the house of N, our other friend and colleague. O1, O2, N, M, and I went together to the office.

Shame !!!! Treasure of Baghdad's Diary -- [Treasure of Baghdad - an Iraqi in Iraq]
On Al-Arabiya, the news bulletin came out at 10 p.m. while I was having dinner last night. “High tension has marked the first day of a meeting of Iraq's political and religious leaders to discuss plans for a future reconciliation conference,” the anchor said. In a speech at the conference, Hareth Aldhari, head of the Muslim Scholars Association showed up and said, "Armed resistance arose as a reaction to occupation. It is legitimate and is not an innovation.”

I chocked. Drinking water, I said to myself what the hell he is talking about? Which resistance is he mentioning, the one that collapsed an apartment building over its residents few days ago? The one he did not even feel sad or condemn. Oh! Of course not, he considers it resistance, I forgot.

Zarqawi probably killed! -- [Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
According to these two sources, Iraqi and US military forces in Mosul think that Zarqawi, al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was possibly killed in a raid on a house where members of al-Qaeda were holding a meeting.
Al-Mada paper said that terrorists hiding in a house fired back at American and Iraqi troops that were surrounding the house in a battle that lasted from dawn to noon on Saturday (Jerusalem Post said it was Sunday)`after receiving intelligence about a meeting for senior al-Qaeda members.

New Zarqawi Translations/Video Available from Globalterroralert.com -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
Despite a few delays due to ongoing projects I've been working on, I finally got a chance to post a round-up of recent significant statements and video clips released by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida faction in central Iraq. As I go through and clear out the growing backlog, I will also endeavor to make available other items of recent interest, including English excerpts from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's audio recording released on Friday.

Last night in Iraq -- [A Redleg's Perspective]
A message from Jim Brown, written on his last night in Iraq.

It is my last night in Iraq. Tomorrow night I will begin the long journey home as we depart BIAP and fly to Kuwait and then fly on to our homes in Germany at 0300 the next day.

Cindy has forwarded me a lot of your discussions of strategy in Iraq, discussions about Nate Sassman, the media and questions about the way ahead. I just wanted to share with you some observations that I have now in my 12th month here and on the eve of our redeployment.

Reflections from the Hot Zone: Iraq, Part II -- [Kevin Sites - in Iraq]
...The Mosque Shooting
The mosque shooting, a week into the battle, was just one of those incidents, but one that I've had to spend an enormous amount of time writing and talking about. I've been called both a traitor and a hero for reporting the story of a Marine killing a wounded, unarmed insurgent in a mosque -- a story I captured on video. I'm neither a hero nor a traitor. I simply witnessed the complex truths of war, which are nothing if not peripatetic.

In my very first report for NBC and all the subsequent reports, I highlighted the mitigating circumstances of the Marine being wounded days earlier, the practice of insurgents booby-trapping bodies, the heated environment of the battle. But what NBC did not do was show the entire video. ...

THE GREEN MACHINE -- [One Marine's View - in Iraq]
Many people know of the “The Marines”. But do they really know the Marines? We are made up of a few basic groups. “Wingers” aka flyboys, Support Marines and Combat Arms Marines, aka Infantry Marines, Grunts, Dirt People and several other colorful names. I thought I would expand from my first post and try to paint you a picture and explain and describe what we are all about.

November 18, 2005 -- [1st Lt Charles Bradley Triplett - in Iraq]
Well we seem to be settling into the Field Artillery Mission. We have been on it for about ten days now and it is definitely different from what we have been doing. On one hand, this job is much safer because I don’t even live the building I live in to go to work. On the other hand, it is boring and the days are long. We are in a small room with five guys waiting for people to shoot at us so we can shoot back. We get a very high number of missions that we prepare to shoot but we don’t shoot that many.

Id al-Fitr -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
One of the last missions CPT Mackinnon talked about was a goodwill mission to help the shantytowns celebrate Id al-Fitr, the closing days of Ramadan. Id al-Fitr is a joyous celebration that roughly approximates Christmas in both festivity and mirth, and CPT Mackinnon wanted to help the poorest of the poor celebrate in grand fashion.

The Plate Steel Ballet (Part Two) -- [My Days at Division - in Iraq]
For Part One, click here
After all the steel was unloaded, we rejoiced. Despite their best efforts, no one had been hurt. However, it was pretty late and none of the drivers wanted to go home. Baghdad is not the best place to be driving around at night, especially in a semi-tractor with an empty flatbed leaving a US FOB. After some discussion, we worked out a location were they could stay until daybreak.

The Fighting Spirit -- [The "Mike Golf's" OIF3 Blog - in Iraq]
(What follows is an edited story version of my narrative for the award of the Army Commendation Medal with Valor for one of the soldiers I work with.)
On a strangely overcast and slightly windy day in July during the mid-afternoon, a patrol I was traveling in entered a town at the edge of our sector on a mission to kill or capture a known criminal. Earlier that day, we had gone out to a few villages to talk to people and also look around in the palm groves for places that the insurgents could hit us with indirect fire. The wind was kicking up a fair amount of sand and it cut our visibility down to about 200 meters. As the LT in charge of the patrol went around looking for the Muqtar (or village leader), the 1SG, myself and a few other guys from the line platoon we were with went out into palm groves. Our 1SG usually tells us that we are “going out looking for the $#!+,” meaning that we are looking to take find but our intent was to find scorch marks on the earth or actual rocket and mortar tubes. Unfortunately,

Iraq Pictures - Monday, November 21, 2005 -- [Iraq Pictures - in Iraq]
A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, carries a can of paint to cover grafitti in Horjaeb. The Soldiers partnered with American troops to paint over grafitti.

With all due respect, Sir, I completely disagree. -- [ Major K - in Iraq]
Congressman and Col John Murtha, USMCR - Ret. is by all accounts a bona fide American Hero. He has bled for this nation in a foreign land and shown great courage. He has now called for the establishent of a rapid timetable for the withdrawal of US Troops from Iraq, stating that we "have done all we can do." Colonel, I could not disagree more. Unlike the mudslingers in Washington D.C. and the Media, I don't believe that Col. Murtha has anything but the best of intentions and the welfare of the troops at heart, so...

My Views on the War (Rant) -- Desert Odyssey - in Qatar]
...I have honestly no idea what happened with the Intel issues or whatever it is that the media and politicians seem so hell-bent on focusing on before we got over here. I don’t know, or care, if Iraq had WMD in theater before we showed up. What I do know is that Saddam Hussein was a very bad man. He did very bad, unimaginable things to people. To women and children. To celebrate he would go out on his porch and fire his rifle in the air in a display of his power. To this day, he is still an arrogant, delusional, psychotic killer. That was enough for me to go to war over here. What a lot of people seem to forget is that after the first Gulf War, we never left. My buddies and I have been deploying over here, flying over here, and getting missiles shot at us over here for 15 years. With really no end in sight. So to hear that we had finally had enough and were going to go finish what we should have 15 years ago was a relief to me. WMD? Added bonus in my eyes.

The Inconvenient Truth: Iraqi Troop Rotation Plans and Troop Withdrawal Demands Conflict With Reality and an Exit Strategy -- [Bobby's World]
I've known this was coming out for some time, but until it was officially announced, I couldn't really blog anything about it. (In journalism, that would be called "scooping a story" and my superiors would likely promote me for it; in the military, it would be called "OPSEC violation" and my superiors would likely reprimand me for it). But last week the Pentagon announced its official Iraq troop rotation plan through 2008, and I would be remiss if I didn't talk about it.

Wish you were here -- [Salemonz News Service - in Iraq]
...Back and forth I tracked shadows and glints of light, looking for signs of movement in the night. Every darting fox, flapping bird or occasional street light reflecting off a window gave me a start. After an hour or so, even the shadows started to move.

Then the fog hit. There was haze in the weather forecast, but not like this. It draped across the road in small bands at first, but eventually washed across the road.

"Take it down to 30," Staff Sgt. L said when we hit the first of it. Then, just a few seconds later.

"Take it down to 20. Now 10. Shit..."

Rumor and Combat --
[The Fourth Rail - Bill Roggio]
Rumors of Zarqawi's death - and fighting continues in western Anbar province is the subject of my latest post at ThreatsWatch.

I'm currently in Kuwait and preparing to move towards Baghdad. My access to the Internet will be limited; my apologies if I am unable to respond to your email while in the field. Again, my thanks to all who have made this trip possible, and for your kind words of support. I regret I was not able to contact each of you personally, the volume of emails and contributions has been overwhelming. Please consider this my personal thanks.

South Korea To Reduce Zaytun Unit Soldiers in Iraq -- [GI Korea - in S Korea]
As expected the South Korean government has decided to withdraw one third of the Zaytun unit soldiers from Iraq:

South Korea will begin phasing out one-third of its 3,260 troops stationed in Iraq on a humanitarian mission in the first half of next year, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Military fears critics will hurt moral -- (THE WASHINGTON TIMES)
Pentagon officials say they are increasingly worried that Washington's political fight over the Iraq war will dampen what has been high morale among troops fighting a tenacious and deadly enemy.

Getting the Lowdown on Iraq -- (TIMES Online)
If the Repulblican Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee wants to get a second opinion on how the war in Iraq is going, where does he turn? To the Pentagon, but not to the top brass this time. In an unusual closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill last week, Virginia's John Warner, joined by Democratic Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Mark Dayton of Minnesota, sat across the table from 10 military officers chosen for their experience on the battlefield rather than in the political arena. Warner rounded up the battalion commanders to get at what the military calls "ground truth"--the unvarnished story of what's going on in Iraq.

Iraq President Says He'd Talk to Baathists -- (AP)
CAIRO, Egypt -- Iraq's president said Sunday he was willing to talk with opposition figures and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party, and he called on the Sunni-led insurgency to lay down its arms and join the political process....

US army accidentally killed civilians -- (Reuters)
BAQUBA, Iraq - U.S. troops opened fire on a crowded minivan north of Baghdad on Monday, fearing a car bomb attack, and killed at least three members of the same family, including a child, the U.S. military and survivors said

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani (Iberpress)

IRAQ: TWO YEARS TO DEFEAT TERRORISM, SAYS TALABANI -- (AKI)
Baghdad, 21 Nov. - Iraq's president says he believes the terrorism in Iraq can be defeated within two years, after which he says the foreign troops will leave. Speaking to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, Jalal Talabani said "Iraq needs only two years to put an end to chaos and terrorism" and establish a new Iraq. He also reiterated that "the US forces have expressed readiness to leave Iraq as soon as the Iraqi security and military forces have completed their training."

Operation ‘Steel Curtain’ ends -- (Bahrain Tribune)
136 suspected insurgents killed in US-Iraqi swoop
Baghdad | United States and Iraqi forces wrapped up their joint operation “Steel Curtain” yesterday, with 136 suspected insurgents claimed dead, while attacks around the country claimed further ... (photo: U.S. Marine Corps )

AFGHANISTAN

Al Qaeda Tries to Return -- [Strategy Page]
November 21, 2005: The Taliban has attracted additional money, and suicide bombers, from Arabia. Two years ago, most of this support shifted to Iraq, where al Qaeda believed it had a better chance of winning some kind of victory. But too many Arab terrorist resources in Iraq produced nothing, and Iraqis have become very hostile to al Qaeda as a result of all the Iraqis killed by terrorist attacks. So now, efforts are shifting to Afghanistan. However, this is also a hostile environment for Arab terrorists. Moreover, Arabs stand out more in Afghanistan, where most Afghans are European or Central Asian in appearance (the majority Afghans belong to ethnic groups related to

More Crazy Ass Flying By Big Windy -- [The Siegrist Blogs - in Afghanistan]
Here is a link to another Big Windy pick up. I look at this and think to myself "Man we aint right in the head Thats ok! There aint no place the bad man can hide were we can't drop the HATE right off on his roof!!" GOT LZ? (Video)

Your Soldier- CW3 Christopher Palumbo -- [Sgt Hook]
America, meet one of your Soldiers, CW3 Christopher Palumbo. Chief Palumbo is an Army Aviator flying UH60 Blackhawk helicopters in the Stan.

Checking out the air support -- [ Roger Roy - journalist in Afghanistan]
PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- A lot of the missions the soldiers here run have air support -- combat planes flying above in case they get into trouble.
On an early morning mission the other day, the captain I was riding with got a radio call telling him there were A-10s overhead. These days, the planes don’t find much to bomb, but for the soldiers it’s still a reassuring feeling to have them up there.

Day 1 (of 545) -- [Pound by LB - on the way to Afghanistan]
It has begun. I am officially a Title 10, Active Duty soldier and the countdown can begin today. Day 1 of a potential 545 days of this duty, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, duty station - Afghanistan.
...You see, this whole process is not easy. It's strange to look at friends and wonder which ones won't be there when I get back. Because seriously people, you can fool yourselves all that you want, but it's more true than the day is long. Some of you won't be there when I return. And that's ok. I didn't think it was until this last week. But now I am sure of it.

You see, in some weird way, maybe as part of this whole deployment process, some of us soldiers feel a great deal of strange stress leading up to our departure for deployment. It's like nothing I can explain.

This little boy is so adorable. -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
From Toby,a Marine 1Sgt in Afghanistan,and here is his email:
I apologize for having to send this out to everyone, but I just gave out two hand quilted blankets that were sent over about a week ago…

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Foreign hostages in Afghanistan -- (Reuters)
Nov 21 - Taliban guerrillas have threatened to kill an Indian engineer they are holding hostage unless his company stops work in Afghanistan by Tuesday.

Following is a short chronology of some reported foreign kidnappings in Afghanistan.

Taliban say they abducted Indian in Afghanistan -- (Reuters)
(Adds Indian foreign ministry statement, background)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov 20 - Taliban insurgents have kidnapped an Indian road engineer in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the militant group said on Sunday.

AFGHANISTAN: U.S. RECONSTRUCTION PLAN FULL OF FLAWS -- (AKI/DAWN)
Washington DC, 21 Nov. - An inquiry by the US daily, the Washington Post, has discovered serious flaws in the US efforts to rebuild Afghanistan, suggesting that corruption and inefficiency caused millions of dollars to be wasted on useless projects. A clandestine videotape obtained by the Post shows that employees of a Maryland-based non-profit relief agency hired to monitor construction quality demanded a 50,000 US dollar payoff from Afghan builders.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Open letter from a Iraqi christain comunity in Jordan! -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
A Iraqi Christian woman asks for help!

Dear All,

I'm Iraqi Christian woman was working in the Baghdad -Green Zone- KBR- RSO management, I get a threat and left my country and I stayed in Jordan one year ago.

I used to distribute the donation I get from - members from the Soldiers Angels - Ms. M. L. and Ms. G. B. to poor Christan people and to the soldiers in the Green Zone.

Transitions -- [Long Time Gone - in S Korea]
...Then the waitress comes over and says “Mr. (whatever the hell his name was) thinks you are a very intelligent American [hey, that’s what she said] and he and his friends want you to join them at their table”. She indicated it would be bad form to not have a drink with them. Damn, I do try hard to be respectful and lord knows us Yanks get blamed for everything wrong in the world already, last thing I wanted was to be tagged as a rude American. So, I sauntered on over.

I will preface what happened next by stating up front that I recognize there are some very real cultural differences in the way males interact here.

The Bosnian Quagmire -- [Winds oc Change - Joe Katzman]
Fully 10 years after war began, Bosnia has not developed as hoped. It is experiencing segregation, and the rising influence of radical Islam. (To readers: note that all these reports come from Agence France Presse.)

Meanwhile, ...

Ariel Sharon Quits Likud, Forms National Responsibility -- [Outside the Beltway]
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is dissolving the Knesset and leaving the Likud Party he helped found in 1973 and putting together a new party, National Responsibility (Ahrayut Leumit), with former rival Shimon Peres.

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Top peacekeeper says economics key to stable Kosovo -- (Reuters)
SOFIA, Nov 20 - Solving Kosovo's desperate economic situation is crucial to making and keeping peace in the breakaway Serbian province, the head of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force there said on Sunday.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since NATO kicked out Serbia's forces in a 1999 air war.

EU Authorizes Negotiations With Bosnia -- (AP)
BRUSSELS, Belgium-- EU foreign ministers on Monday authorized the start of negotiations on an agreement to prepare Bosnia for EU membership a decade after the Balkan nation was ravaged by Europe's worst fighting since World War II....

Bush Is First President to Visit Mongolia -- (AP)
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia -- The United States is more than an ocean away, but to many Mongolians, it's a cherished neighbor and an ally for their struggling democracy.

TERRORISM

A Killer Web Site -- [Strategy Page]
November 21, 2005: Indonesian counter-terrorism officials were recently faced with a very real threat on the Internet. A new terrorist web site (www.anshar.net) appeared, that gave very specific instructions for how Indonesian terrorists can carry out terrorist acts. The instruction is very specific, including maps of specific locations in Indonesia, indicating escape routes, and where to set up your attacks for maximum effects. This is something new. Terrorists have, for years, been distributing “how to” manuals for making attacks, but these provide instructions in general terms (how to build a bomb, basic tactics and techniques.)

Monday's Winds of War: 21 Nov 2005 -- [Winds of Change]
Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Monday's Winds of War briefings are given by Security Watchtower and Peace Like a River.

God Bless You, Mr. Bin Laden -- Don Surber
An Australian newspaper published an interview with Kurt Vonnegut in which he praised suicide bombers: "They are dying for their own self-respect. It's a terrible thing to deprive someone of their self-resp...

MSM REPORTS ON TERRORISM

Osama missed by 30 minutes’ -- (Dawn)
| By Arshad Sharif | LONDON, Nov 20: Pakistani troops missed capturing Osama bin Laden by just 30 minutes, a British newspaper, The News of the World, reported on Sunday. | According to the newspaper,... (photo: WN)

CIA methods not torture: director -- (Reuters)
WASHINGTON - CIA interrogators use "unique" methods to obtain "vital" information from prisoners, but strictly obey laws against torture, CIA Director Porter Goss said in an interview published on Monday.

Romania denies hosting CIA jails -- (Reuters)
PARIS - Romania is prepared to allow investigations at two military bases to show they were not used by the CIA as secret detention centres, President Traian Basescu said in an interview published on Monday.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...

The wounded in LRMC need our support! -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Today a Major from LRMC wrote me he needs more items for wounded FEMALE SOLDIERS AND MARINES!

At the moment we have nothing here for women!

If anyone can help so let me know!

A Letter from an Angel to our Troops -- [Soldiers' Angels New York]
I'd like you all to meet a very special "angel". Ryan Kathleen Porter considers herself to be an ordinary American teenager. She has been supporting our troops through Soldiers' Angels, and she has written some very inspiring letters. Below is her latest message to the troops. I think you will agree with me that she is no ordinary teenager. It is an important message, especially in light of what is going on in Washington right now, and as a follow up to yesterday's post about the letter from a soldier.

Care Packages -- [A mobilized year - in Iraq]
I’ve been asked (at an impressive frequency) what would our troops appreciate over here and recently what would we like for the holidays. My reply has thus far been, “we really don’t need anything.” Of course, since people are so good natured, they ignore me . . . and end up sending something anyway. So, to avoid things being thrown away or wasted, I thought I would put together a list of things soldiers here have requested. Just so that we’re straight though, the soldiers here (myself included) are taken care of fairly well. But, because I know that some people are just “hell-bent” on sending holiday care packages, I thought that a list may be a good starting point in order to avoid receiving some of the items that we’ve already received that aren’t . . .

POLITICS

A War Without Reason -- [Camp Katrina - guest blogger]
Every Monday, guest blogger Jake Moses offers views from the left in a post on the normally conservative Camp Katrina.

In what must come as a pleasant surprise to Camp Katrina readers, I'll be devoting this week’s column to criticizing congressional Democrats--and not just one or two of them.

What’s got me all worked up is this business of the Bush administration misleading them into war. I just don’t buy it.

The President should "manipulate" intelligence -- [TigerHawk]
We have lost our way in the partisan acrimony over whether the Bush administration "lied" about or "manipulated" intelligence to promote the war in Iraq. Opponents of the President's policies in Iraq (or opponents of the President, period) seem to be arguing for a world in which all Americans sit in judgment of every foreign policy decision as if they were the chief executive burdened with the responsibility of decision. This is an absurd conception of leadership that nobody serious actually believes. I'll say it: I want my president to manipulate intelligence in furtherance of his conception of the national interest. That's what we elect him to do.

Eyes Wide Open -- [Neptunus Lex]
I said a couple of days ago that no serious political figure on either side of aisle was agitating for immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I also fretted in comments that the Republican leadership of the Senate sending what could only be read as a presidential rebuke on the conduct of the war in Iraq (albeit non-binding) could only lead to a race to the bottom.
The fact that I’m now hitting .500 as a prognosticator is one that I take no pleasure in. John Murtha is a serious man, a respectable member of Congress and a lion of the Democratic Party. He is a distinguished combat veteran and a reliable friend to the troops. He’s no lightweight, neither is he a rabid partisan, nor ...

D'ya ken, Y'daft Bugger?
I was watching a rare bit of news last night. It was kind of early to go to bed, but I had to go to work this morning and I was trying to keep Ohana awake so that his last visit to the potty fields would extend his first sleep shift. He actually slept through to almost 0500 but then he still didn't need to go out. Anyway, we listened briefly to the disharge of John Murtha's fevered brain. "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion." and he said the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is "uniting the enemy against us."

Let's look at that for a moment. ...

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Biden: Chance of filibuster on Alito stronger -- (Reuters)
WASHINGTON - The chance of a filibuster to halt the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito rose on news he once opposed 1960s Supreme Court rulings on reapportionment based on the principle of equal voting rights, a top Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel said on Sunday.

THE MEDIA

Experts overlook Iraq's civilians -- [IraqPundit - an Iraqi]
Jonathan Finer reports in the Washington Post today that few fighters in Iraq's insurgency are foreign. He might be right. He quotes Anthony Cordesman who says that Iraqis and U.S. administration officials have been misreading the insurgency. That could be true, I have never claimed to be a military expert. But I will tell Cordesman that most Iraqi people hate the insurgents and do not see them as legitimate regardless of what passports they carry. They are viewed as ruthless killers. And, I can say that I am certain this part of Finer's story is rubbish:

"But analysts say the focus on foreign elements is also an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the insurgency in the eyes of Iraqis, by portraying it as terrorism foisted on the country by outsiders."

The E-mail Weapon: Troops Tackle Bad Media -- [Austin Bay]
After my return from Iraq I received phone calls and emails from military friends as they either came back to the US on leave or finished their tours and re-deployed “Stateside.” The typical phone call went like this: “I’m back. It’s great to be home. What’s up? How are you doing?” Then, the conversation quickly moved on to: “What’s with the press and Iraq?” The press usually meant television. On tv Iraq looked like it was going to Hell in a handbasket of flame and brutality; however, the images of carnage didn’t square with the troops’ experience.

There's More Going On in Iraq Than a Media Event -- [Strategy Page]
November 20, 2005: If it weren't for Internet access to troops, expatriates and Iraqis in Iraq, you would think that coalition military operations in Iraq were a major disaster, and that prompt withdrawal was the only reasonable course of action. But the mass media view of the situation is largely fiction, conjured up in editorial offices outside Iraq, with foreign reporters in Iraq (most of them rarely leaving their heavily guarded hotels) providing color commentary, and not much else. So what do the troops and Iraqis say?

MSM REPORTS ON MEDIA

Clooney's New Movie: 'Fahrenheit 411' -- (FOX News)
Syriana: Clooney’s CIA Movie Is ‘Fahrenheit 411’
Basically, in "Syriana," writer/director Stephen Gaghan (the Oscar-winning adapter of "Traffic"), former CIA agent Bob Baer, and producers George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh have made a thriller for people who read The Financial Times. It's also a companion piece in many ways to a great movie Clooney starred in several years ago, "Three Kings." Shot in Morocco and Dubai, "Syriana" may be an eye opener to westerners who don’t give much thought to world events...

Journalist, Cover Thyself -- (New York Times)
Here's something you do not see every day: a newspaper reporter interrogating his own boss - on live television yet.

Howard Kurtz, the media writer for The Washington Post, posed tough questions yesterday for nearly eight minutes to Leonard Downie Jr., The Post's executive editor, on a program where Mr. Kurtz is host, CNN's "Reliable Sources." The subject was the revelation last week that Bob Woodward, The Post's investigative reporter, had not disclosed the fact that a senior official in the Bush administration leaked the name of a C.I.A. operative to him more than two years ago.

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

Book Review: MY WAR by Colby Buzzell -- [Sisyphus Today... - in Iraq]
What follows is a a review of a book submitted to my by Penguin Publishing. I apologize up front that the review contains harsh language. I assure you that it is not my language, it is necessary quotes from the author. Apparently, my review is unique. Enjoy.

Sign of Success? -- [BlackFive]
Somebody is running around the blogosphere claiming to be me, leaving comments about me having a change of heart and disappointment with the Bush Administration.

Gotten more than a few emails about it. Thanks for the head's up, and thanks to some of you with a sense of humor about it.

MilBloggers on NPR's "This American Life" -- [BlackFive]
Military bloggers from Iraq will be featured this weekend on NPR's "This American Life". The lineup's not fully set yet, but TAL has recorded...

Defending the Defenders -- [Gunn Nutt]
I love Milblogs.
...One thing that can't be tolerated is the willfull destruction of a milblog or website by hackers.

Mr. Right and Anna of The Right Place and A Rose by Any Other Name have disturbing news about Grey Eagle's site A Female Soldier 2, and how it has been attacked by trolls who weren't satisfied just to leave venomous remarks. From her site, this is the beginning of the last post.

For Sale -- [ Barbarian Envoy - in S Korea]
It’s clear to me that blogging is not for me. Call me mercurial, I don’t care, but I just had to give the blogging thing one more try and waste my money and time,to judge the usefulness of the activity to me. It’s NOT for me.

I’m offering these custom-made CSS pages, the domain rights, ...

BlogAds Revenue Analysis -- [Outside the Beltway]
Starling Hunter has conducted a detailed study of BlogAds revenue and discovered that...

...The first finding, that traffic matters more than links, strikes me as obvious. Advertisers pay for eyeballs and viewer demographics, not intra-blog prestige. This is likely to become even more true as gamesmanship such as open trackback rings and incestual blogrolling ruins the Ecosystem as a meaningful measure.

WELCOME HOME

Connecticut soldiers back in the U.S -- (Hartford-AP)
Fifty soldiers from Connecticut should be back in the state in time for Thanksgiving.
The soldiers from the 189th Aviation Regiment based in Windsor Locks arrived today in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Good to have him home -- [Proud Infantry Wife]
Well George came in at about 10:10 p.m. last night. I heard a knock at the door and there he was. Another officer in the battalion (I think the one who lives on our street) brought him home. It was a great surprise. He was quite hungry so after pulling his stuff into the garage and taking a shower I heated u some leftovers and he ate while he talked to his dad.

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