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

Wax and Wane -- [Fire and Ice - in Iraq]
I'm back at Camp Fallujah after 10 days in Ar Ramadi, the provincial capitol of Al Anbar Province. I departed Fallujah in the wee hours of the 10th and arrived at Camp Ramadi after a chilly 2 hour hop under a waxing moon. We deplaned that evening with long moonshadows following us across a mud flat to awaiting HUMVEEs, our boots making "shtick,shtick" sounds in the cold thick goo. Over the hum of idling vehicles could be heard the thud of boot heels banging against bumpers, doors and tires in vain efforts to shake the best of Mesopotamia off of Alley Oop'ed feet. We were wisked to the transient tent only to be awakened around 0700 to the blare of sirens and a disembodied voice entoning "INCOMING,INCOMING".

THE MARINE -- [One Marine's View - in Iraq]
He’s Billy from down the street, you friends kid, you old student. He might have cut your grass you might have watched him as a kid. He left home to the unknown, was taught and tested until he earned the title. He has learned the meaning of Semper Fi. He doesn’t see black, white or brown, just green and we never leave green behind. He became comfortable being miserable and welcomes fear and knows how to deal with it. Sent around the world to do a man’s job and became a man in the process. He puts up with a shit ton of crap, bitches and moans but gets it done and better than most adults.

Fort Drum Soldiers Found French Hostage -- [Soldiers' Angels New York]
A French engineer, who had been held hostage for 35 days in Iraq, can thank members of Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division for his freedom.

Members of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team found Planche on January 7th as they patrolled a neighborhood in Eastern Abu Ghraib.

Their bows cannot be broken soon enough -- [Peace Like a River]
...It is folly to believe that those who murder civilians, those who murder children, and those who drag people from their cars and shoot them by the road, can ever be dissuaded from their violence through talk, and tender words.

And so, on these days our spirits often flag, for it seems like holding back this violence is like holding back the sea.
But let's remind ourselves of the good, of the progress that is undeniably there.

Talabani insists on giving the Sunni their share...Fadheela Party may leave the UIA. -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
In what looks like a reaction to the conditions put by al-Hakeem for the Sunni Arabs to fulfill before joining the government, president Talabani said that “the Sunni must be part of the government under any circumstances but on one condition; that the program is agreed upon by everyone…nothing justifies a government of two parties except the need to form an emergency government” Dar al-Hayat wrote. And when asked ...

Hey, Sunni Areas Are Under Destruction! -- [24 Steps to Liberty - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Yarmouk neighborhood, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood. Yarmouk is where the most famous streets in Baghdad are. They are called The Four Streets. they are know because they are extraordinarily beautiful and there are no streets like them in a resident neighborhood anywhere else in Iraq.

She needs all of us… She needs our prayers… -- [Treasure of Baghdad - an Iraqi in Iraq]
The abductors of Jill have threatened to kill her if the United States does not free Iraqi women prisoners within 72 hours, Aljazeera reported last night.

Micromanagement In Action -- [Intel Dump - J.D. Henderson]
Gen. Wesley Clark recently sent out a newsletter advocating that the Senate Armed Services Committee launch an investigation into the "body armor controversy."

The letter reads in part:

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 -- [Iraqi Bounty Hunter]
upper portion of an add-on armor kit as it is lowered onto the cab section of an M931 truck tractor at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on Jan. 13, 2006. The add-on armor kit provides the driver and gunner added protection against weapons fire and improvised explosive devices. Hild is deployed to the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Squadron at Balad Air Base.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Breaking Ranks -- (Washington POst)
In an overheated old schoolroom in Washington, Larry Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, is doing his best to impose military discipline on 25 pupils as they prepare to attack a mountain of pizza, cupcakes and cookies. It is the year-end party for Macfarland Middle School's Colin L. Powell Leadership Club, a tutoring and mentoring program that Wilkerson oversees as a volunteer. Striding before his charges in smart burgundy suspenders, the colonel -- everybody here calls him the colonel -- makes a point about duty:

Bush Meets Victims of 'Butcherer' Saddam -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iraqis who said they were beaten, imprisoned and lost loved ones at the hands of Saddam Hussein's government shared their stories Wednesday with President Bush, who said the former Iraqi president "will get his due justice."...

In Iraqi Oil City, a Formidable Foe -- (Washington Post)
BAIJI, Iraq -- Pfc. Robyn Houston fires bursts of bullets into the air as his Humvee swerves around a pothole and lurches over a highway median. His convoy bears down on oncoming traffic, forcing Iraqi cars to swerve onto a dirt shoulder. Lying 120 miles north of Baghdad on the Tigris River,... At...

Kidnapped Journalist's Family Asks for Release -- (Washington Post)
Captors Threaten to Kill Jill Carroll Unless Female Prisoners in Military Custody Released by Friday

Iraq Ask U.S. to Free Six Iraqi Women -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq has asked U.S. authorities to release six of the eight Iraqi females in military custody but not as part of a bid to free a kidnapped American female journalist, a government official said Thursday. Militants holding 28-year-old Jill Carroll have demanded U.S. authorities release all Iraqi female detainees or else they would kill the freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, who was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad.

IRAQ: WOMEN AND CHILDREN SUFFER ABUSE, SAYS UN REPORT -- (AKI)
The rights of women, children, detainees and religious leaders are being seriously violated in Iraq, according to a new UN report. The bi-monthly assessment of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq - covering the period from 1 November to 31 December 2005 - says terrorism, lawlessness, kidnapping and targeted killings continue to wreak havoc on civilians in Iraq.

AFGHANISTAN

Apologies, Iran, bomber, definition, Canada, and images. -- [Going Down Range - in Afghanistan]
...This was ugly. Most of the dead were women and children shopping before Eid-Islamic version of Christmas- a happy festive time. The Afghans I talked to want to kill all the Taliban for targeting women and children, but the Taliban just shrug their shoulders saying “inshallah” or God wills it.

Oh yes, Mr Journalist here is a tip, I know it might be picky, but it was not a suicide bomber. A suicide bomber is one who loads up with explosives, walk out in the field, cries out “ bye, bye cruel world!” and kills himself, hence “suicide” bomber. The asshole who at this attack killed children, women, men where innocent and was at the wrong place and time was a murder. Right? He wanted to collect his 72 virgins, but forgot that he will be standing in line behind a few thousand dead terrorist before he can have his way with his burka boy.

Another Good Question -- [Miserable Donuts]
Muslihoon asked me a pretty good question: "What do the Afghans think of the Iranian Bomb/nuclear ambitions?"
The answer is a bit more complex than my first reaction. (which was, "oh no, there goes the neighborhood").

The Afghans who made up the Northern Alliance were primarily ethnic Tajik, Dari speakers. These people have some strong ties to Iran - in fact

Stockholm Syndrome -- [Firepower Forward - in Afghanistan]
... With the end of our rotation here just beyond our fingertips, I seem to be looking at this country through a different prism seeing and appreciating its beauty in ways I never thought possible before. It is a stark, harsh beauty where the richness lies in it's simplicity rather than its complexity or texture, but I have found that I can now appreciate it for what it is rather than despise it for what it's not.

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN: PROTESTS AGAINST RISING VIOLENCE -- (AKI)
Kabul, 18 Jan. (AKI) - Several hundred Afghans have protested in the southern town of Spin Boldak, near the Pakistan border, to protest against terrorist violence. The Kandahar region has been the scene of increasing attacks by militants, using Iraqi-insurgent tactics such as car and suicide bombs. The demonstrators called on the Afghan authorities to hunt down those responsible for the attacks in the area on Monday, arrest them and give them exemplary sentences.
"The demonstration began at 11 am local time and the number of people is growing," said the governor of Kandahar province, Assadullah Khalid.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Possibility of WW3....pt.1 -- [Across the Pond - in Iraq]
While I have had the luxury of being here in Iraq, I have really followed all news that pertained to the Middle East like an obsessed fan. Their has been alot of things that have happened in the last 6 months and when you tie them all in, it is frigging scary. I will say this now that everything that has gone on so far does not tie into the USA being in Afghanistan or Iraq, that's just a lame excuse a liberal will use. No, the events and exchange of words are true feelings of fascist people who have radical ideas and the Middle East is getting to the boiling point. What I am talking about is Iran and Syria. Both these countries and their radical leaders scare the living piss out of me. Why you ask? I was hoping someone would ask that question. I will tell you why.

Iran is Now Open -- [Michaehl Totton - in Egypt]
Getting a visa to enter Iraq is more of a bureaucratic hassle than I thought it would be. It’s the kind of pain in the ass paperwork nightmare that makes me want to break things. Just figuring out the procedure has become my new full time job. (If I lived in Washington DC it would be easier.)

If you think bureaucracy is bad in the US and the EU, come hang out here for a couple of months. Gack!

Meanwhile, Iran has decided to issue tourist visas on arrival for people from every country in the world except Israel.

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Brown Accepts More Blame on Katrina -- (AP)
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. (AP) - Former FEMA Director Michael Brown has placed blame on everyone from New Orleans' mayor to Louisiana's governor for the chaos following Hurricane Katrina. Now, he's including himself. Brown said Wednesday he fell short of conveying the magnitude of the disaster wrought by the nation's deadliest hurricane, and calling for help.

Iran scorns EU trio's draft nuclear resolution -- (MY Way News)
BERLIN (Reuters) - EU powers began circulating a draft resolution on Wednesday for a February 2 meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog asking it to report Iran to the Security Council, but Russia was seeking moves that stopped short of a formal referral.

Conservatives Lead Polls in Canada -- (AP)
MONTREAL (AP) -- The leader of Canada's Conservative Party set his sights Wednesday on the traditional Liberal Party strongholds of Ontario and Quebec as he maintained a lead in the polls five days before Canadians pick a new government....

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Top Al-Qaeda Bombmaker & Other Senior Al Qaeda Reported Killed in Pakistan Strikes (updated with photos) -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
ABC News broke the story this afternoon that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert, Midhat Mursi, a.k.a. Midhat Mursi al-Sayyid Umar, a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri, a.k.a. Abu Khabab, was killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in Pakistan. A friend in the media with excellent official sources, as well as CNN's David Ensor, report that US government officials can't confirm the killing but won't dissuade the reports either.

The Pakistan strike and the defeatist joy of left wing blogs -- [Tigerhawk]
Notwithstanding the headline bleatings of the left ("Bush kills 24 innocent family members in Pakistan," and don't miss the comments), it is increasingly apparent that Friday's attack on a suspected al Qaeda gathering in western Pakistan took out several of the real bastards in that organization.

Abu Khabab al-Masri: A Master of Terror -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
According to a growing number of media reports, a recent U.S. airstrike on a Pakistani border village has likely killed a senior Egyptian Al-Qaida commander named Midhat Mursi (a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri). Since the late 1980s, Abu Khabab has served as a top military aide and deputy to Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan. Mursi was responsible for co-managing Al-Qaida's notorious Derunta military training complex near Jalalabad, where he maintained his own elite terrorist graduate school aptly named the "Abu Khabab Camp."

MSM REPORTS ON WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Pakistan names 3 al Qaeda believed killed in strike -- (Reuters)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani intelligence sources on Thursday identified three of four al Qaeda members believed to have been killed by a U.S. airstrike last week, though they have yet to recover the bodies.

INDONESIA: AIDES TO JEMAAH-ISLAMIYAH CHIEF ARRESTED -- (AKI)
Jakarta, 19 Jan. (AKI) - Indonesian police have arrested two suspected aides of the country's most wanted terrorist, Noordin Mohammed Top, considered responsible for the bloodiest attacks in the country including the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 202 people. Subur Sugiarto, also known as Abu Mujahid, who is accused...

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Help Our Soldiers Help Iraqi Children -- [Soldier's Angels Germany]
Soldiers' Angels received this request today. If you can help by sending shoes to SGT Best in Iraq, please email me for his APO address.

Doing Business with Terrorists
From another Soldiers Angel....

"WE WOULD RATHER DO BUSINESS WITH 1000 AL QAEDA TERRORISTS THAN WITH ONE SINGLE AMERICAN" -- [Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho]
This sign was prominently displayed in the window of a business in Philadelphia. You are probably outraged at the thought of such an inflammatory statement. One would think that anti-hate groups from all across the country would be marching on this business . . and that the National Guard might have to be called to keep the angry crowds back.

Valentine Messages - (Stars and Stripes)
Click the heart to enter your free message.
Stars and Stripes will publish Valentine's Day Messages in its Tuesday, Feb. 14th editions worldwide. Messages will be published in the edition indicated by the message sender in the box above (Europe, MidEast or Pacific). Messages submitted for recipients located in the United States will be published ONLY online, not in print.

America Supports You: Fox News Spotlights Teen's Letter-writing Campaign -- [American Forces Press Service]...Paul X. Rutz
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2006 – The 16-year-old founder of "A Million Thanks," a nationwide program encouraging students to write thank-you letters to servicemembers, appeared on "Fox and Friends" this morning to speak about her new campaign to send 2.6 million cards and letters to the troops in 2006.

Talking With Heroes Talk Show Schedule -- January 22, 2006
Host : Bob Calvert, Founder of YoungHeroes.US, Editor of Walking with Heroes Book One
Guests: Gregory Wawrytko - VFW District Commander, Colorado Springs, CO

...The VFW assists veterans by supporting active deployed and non-deployed units in the Colorado Springs area. We assisted the wounded soldiers returning from Iraq from the 2nd Infantry Division who were redeployed to
Fort Carson. The VFW worked with the community to provide TV sets, radios and whatever the troops needed to make their home more comfortable. The VFW supports the families of the troops and provides food or other needed items. At Christmas VFW Post 101 sponsored a Christmas party for the children at Fort Carson and Santa Clause gave personalized gifts to every child.

MILITARY

OH-58D Kiowa Warrior - The Little Helicopter That Could -- [ROFA Six]
The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aircraft is special for a lot of reasons. It was always a "black sheep" in the Army. The Aviation Branch treated the aircraft as an ugly step child for years fearing that it might somehow threaten their "darling" the RAH-66 Comanche.

People in the Kiowa Warrior community started calling the aircraft "The Bridge to Comanche," trying to remind the Army leadership that this aircraft was an important part of the fleet until Comanche fielded sometime in the ethereal future.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

GI Schmo -- (Slate)...Fred Kaplan
How low can Army recruiters go?
Three months ago, I wrote that the war in Iraq was wrecking the U.S. Army, and since then the evidence has only mounted, steeply. Faced with repeated failures to meet its recruitment targets, the Army has had to lower its standards dramatically. First it relaxed restrictions against high-school drop-outs. Then it started letting in more applicants who score in the lowest third on the armed forces aptitude test—a group, known as Category IV recruits, who have been kept to exceedingly small numbers, as a matter of firm policy, for the past 20 years.

Army to Slow Growth and Cut 6 National Guard Combat Brigades -- (Washington Post)
The Army announced yesterday that it will cut six National Guard combat brigades -- or up to 24,000 infantry and other combat troops -- as part of an effort to ease budgetary pressures and shift manpower into homeland defense missions.

WVHTC Foundation Captures Robotics Contract from U.S. Navy -- (Yahoo News / WVHTC Foundation)
Contract Calls for Manufacture of Remotely Controlled BomBot(TM)
FAIRMONT, W.Va., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation has captured a $9.6 million contract from the United States Navy to manufacture the BomBot(TM), a robot designed to disable and dispose of improvised explosive devices.

POLITICS

Breaking Pink Hawk's Purple Heart -- [Gateway Pundit]
More on the "swiftboating" of John Murtha...

In the "Grape Vine" segment on Special Report tonight Brit Hume noted that the actual attack on Murtha garnered very little attention but the defending of Jack Murtha (who was recently honored with a "Pink Badge of Courage" from liberal anti-war group Code Pink) is drawing quite a bit of press,
VIDEO HERE.

WHAT IS AN "ABRAMOFF DEMOCRAT"?: A Democrat Who Is Hypocritical Enough To Think Jack Abramoff Isn't A Democrat Problem -- [GOP Blog]
...MEET SOME OF THE HYPOCRITICAL "ABRAMOFF DEMOCRATS"
Dems And The "Revolving Door":
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): "Law-Enforcement Authorities And Others Said The [Abramoff] Investigation's Opening Phase Is Scrutinizing ... Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat ..." (Jerry Seper and Audrey Hudson, "Abramoff-Linked Probe Focuses On 5 Lawmakers," The Washington Times, 1/11/06)

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Obama Backs Clinton's Criticism of GOP -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Barack Obama and other black Democrats are defending Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's description of the House of Representatives as a "plantation." First lady Laura Bush says Clinton's remark was "ridiculous."...

Inquiry on Clinton Official Ends With Accusations of Cover-Up -- (New York Times)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 - After the longest independent counsel investigation in history, the prosecutor in the case of former Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros is finally closing his operation with a scathing report accusing Clinton administration officials of thwarting an inquiry into whether Mr. Cisneros evaded paying income taxes.

Democrats Unveil Lobbying Curbs -- (Washington Post)
As Party Escalates Reform Push, GOP Calls Scandal Bipartisan

Diplomats Will Be Shifted to Hot Spots -- (Washington Post)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she will shift hundreds of Foreign Service positions from Europe and Washington to difficult assignments in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere as part of a broad restructuring of the diplomatic corps that she has dubbed "transformational...

THE MEDIA

CNN grabs Beck -- [Right Side Redux]
MSNBC tried and failed to do anything with their conservative lineup. Scarborough Country is just too wishy washy, Dennis Miller was in the wrong timeslot, Savage was too Savage... but I think CNN might come away a winner here.

BLOGGING / MILBLOGGING

Pundit Review Radio Featured In Boston Herald -- [Pundit Review Radio]
A double dose of good news this morning…Pundit Review Radio has been extended by one hour each Sunday evening. Our new time slot is now from 8-10pm est. Also, today’s Boston Herald features a solid article by reporter Jesse Noyes on the show and the expanded time slot.

WELCOME HOME

Hello -- [Major K - home from Iraq]
For those of you that have inquired, I have arrived home. I have several make-up posts to do over the next few days or even weeks, but for right now, I am just savoring EVERYTHING,

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