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

Watch the Trends, Not the Headlines -- [Strategy Page]
April 2, 2006: What you see in the Iraq news, is not what you get. The news business demands startling headlines, to attract eyeballs. It's business, as the eyeballs are rented to advertisers to pay for it all. But the reality of the news is less startling, and consists of trends. These are the current trends in Iraq.

Piss poor coverage of the War! -- [American Soldier - in Injured recently in Iraq]
I have been doing some catch up on the news. I will say that the media here in the United States is piss poor. Why is it that the MSM’s report Baghdad as being the war? Shit doesn’t even really go on there. There are far worse places in Iraq that have story’s that would blow one’s mind if they knew. Where I was at, I hardly EVER saw reporters there. Heck we didn’t even get USO people there. Simply put, they were scared to be there. At least in Baghdad you could be behind 2 miles of heavily fortified protection.

New York Slime Gets It Wrong…Again -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
I enjoy reading the funny pages in the New York Times Slime. For me, they start on page 1 and last the whole way through.
Today’s headline, “Sectarian Strife Fuels Gun Sales in Baghdad”, offers many chuckles. The Slime points to the fact that rising gun prices MUST mean that “more Iraqis than ever have been buying, carrying and stockpiling weapons, adding an unnerving level of firepower to Baghdad’s streets.”

The propaganda front -- [Dispatches from the Front - USA journalist embed in Iraq]
HAWIJAH, Iraq – Lt. Col. Marc Hutson, commander of 101st Division’s 1st Battalion, 327 Infantry Regiment, came by for a visit yesterday. He had read my latest installment and was complimentary about my description of the raid, save one sentence. The inclusion of the detail about the grenade inscribed with “Ethnic Cleanser” had disturbed him. He wasn’t angry with me, he said as he pressed his lips together into a tight line. He realized I had only reported what was there.
When he came to see me a second time within the hour, however, I realized that sentence was becoming an issue. Details like that could play into insurgent propaganda, he said.

March 31, RAMADI, Iraq -- [AP Blog From Ramadi, Iraq - journalist embed in Iraq]
...The Marines entered about half a dozen villas, opening the front gates without asking the owners inside, and I was surprised that in most cases, the families didn't seem to mind. Some home owners didn't even bother to look outside, though they must have heard the Marines come in. One woman came into the kitchen to see who was around, glanced over and walked back inside. At another man looked through the window and did the same.
Others were good-natured, actually welcoming the Marines.

Looking Backward to the Beginning of the Film by 'Soldier with Camera' Mike Moriarty -- [The War Tapes]
In filmmaking and storytelling, access is often a key issue. How to gain the trust and participation of those whose story you want to tell. We thought it would be interesting to ask each of the five soldiers who filmed the entire year, why they decided to do it? Why they took the leap of faith with this project? This week we hear from 'Soldier with Camera' Mike Moriarty who filmed the most tapes of anyone -- 220 in total, many of which were 80 minutes long! Mike was a gunner in Iraq and often had multiple cameras -- regular, POV and IR mounted alongside him in the turret every time he went outside the wire.

GOVERNOR'S CONCERNS -- [Tribune Blogs Dispatches - journalist embed in Iraq]
ROD DECKER, KUTV: I'm sorry. In the news conference you held Monday you said, as near as I can remember, the commanders would love 150,000 more troops, but that is not politically feasible. Did a commander tell you he would like more troops? And if so, what we've been hearing at least for a long time, what we have heard from the
administration was the commanders aren't asking for anymore troops. Did they, in fact, tell you that they could use more troops?
GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: There was a general feeling, never a specific request given, but a general feeling that in order to make continued progress, that a 100,000 to a 150,000 additional troops would be helpful.

London Bombings: It's all about Iraq -- [The Cabarfeidh Pages - British Army]
Harry's Place have a good article posted by Marcus
'Iraq war led to July bombings' announces the front page of the Observer website.
Heads will nod sagely in households across the land - it's official: a Home Office inquiry has at last proved the link.
But has it really?
The draft report shown to the Observer claims that Iraq was a key 'contributory factor' in the London Underground bombings in July last year. But how was this confident conclusion reached? Let's take a closer look at the method.

The Village -- [Wordsmith at War - in Iraq]
I left my lane again recently, and I’m glad I did. I went outside the wire on what I’ll call a school mission, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. It had absolutely nothing to do with communications. Our family support group back home has overwhelmed us with school supplies, clothing, soccer balls, and shoes for the children in the area. They are very supportive of us, our mission, and the people of this region. We went to a school in the deserts of Al Anbar and delivered a truckload of supplies.
We drove for about an hour to an isolated village where a few hundred families live. We knew they were having trouble getting school supplies and even shoes. The village was a dusty little thing with about 30 buildings, most of which were crumbling. There were virtually no trees, but there were some electrical wires coming into it. The roads were dirt, the schoolyard was dirt, and their yards were dirt. Ancient dust. The kids were very excited when they saw us, and immediately started gathering all around.

The Roughneck Rover -- [Just Another Thunderhorse Roughneck - in Iraq]
...We got a new toy. It’s a rover. It’s about time. I mean it took how long, like four months? I feel sorry for the guys that we relieved they never had a chance to play with the rover. I’d like to see it in action. Actually, I can’t wait to see it in action. It’ll be really cool when it blows up! I’m glad at least that it’s just a bunch of mechanical parts and not us.

April What? -- [Sappersgt - in Iraq]
Today we had a company change of command. It was pretty reasonable--patrol cap and slung weapons, no helmet, armor, or other battle rattle. Funny how we can do that here, in a WAR ZONE, but we can't do that in garrison in Germany or the US.
...Speeches were kept brief, even the battalion commander's. CPT P, the outgoing, made his a lot shorter than he planned. He almost broke down in the middle of it. You know, a lot of folks don't particularly like him. I've had my disagreements with the way some things are done. But you can say this much about him: He cares about Soldiers. I've seen officers come and go, and you get a feel for these things. Some of them are all about making their Major and the don't care who or what they have to break to get there. But CPT P was never that way, and I saw him at a lot closer range ...

Obsessed with Rocks -- [The Will to Exist - on R&R from Iraq]
...When you depart LZ Washington for BIAP you make a combat takeoff and zoom low over Baghdad. The trip is amazing. There are plenty of signs that there is strife taking place below. I saw at least two Iraqi police caravans winding their way through the giant maze that is Baghdad, sirens blazing and flashers flashing. More interesting to me though, were the signs of building taking place. We passed over slum areas, but we also passed over a myriad of construction projects.

Saturday, April 01, 2006 - Over the Atlantic Ocean -- [Chapter War - leaving Iraq]
...The flight over is quiet. Men and women quietly process the last few months of their lives and what their return home will mean. Within the group are three subgroups, those who have never been to Iraq but instead Kuwait or Qatar, those who have been to Iraq but never outside the wire, and those who have gone into harms way. They are differences that might not be noticeable to the outside observer.

Last night in country -- [Gozar the Traveler - in Iraq]
...Lt. and I decided that we’d better walk across the camp to the trailer pods to visit our interpreters. Kimo and Dash are both Iraqi men in their early twenties. I first met them during the week leading up to the Parliamentary election. Patrolling local routes and villages for up to twelve hours at a time necessitated that we have a terp on hand to help us communicate. Kimo and Dash took turns going outside the wire with us, and after such long hours together we became very close. I developed a deep respect for them both, and we soon became close friends. These men risked their lives everyday working with American forces in a combat zone. Each time they came out on a mission they risked being identified by insurgents or disgruntled Iraqis; putting their lives in jeopardy.

Manifesto -- [Bulletins from Pianosa Air Base - in Iraq]
I cannot tell you who I am, at least not my name… but you will come to know who I am by what I do. I’m a woman in my thirties, and I’m an Arabic linguist in the military. I live on a heavily guarded Coalition Air Base in a small Persian Gulf principality you’ve probably never heard of. I’m the enlisted leader of a small band of twenty or so enlisted folks just like me. Nearly every day, I pull on a flight suit and climb into a plane that’s older than I am, and spend over 9 hours in the skies over Iraq. At the end of every day I come back to my ten-foot-square room inside the concertina-wire enclave that is my home for the next year.

Well, they didn't lie about the sand. . . -- [The Desert Excursion - in Iraq]
The food. If I could say one thing that is absolutely awesome about being here thus far it is the food. The first dinner I had included the following: crab legs, shrimp, t-bone steak, potatoes, cheese cake and Baskin Robbins Ice Cream. If the food is this good where I am going I think I will make it through the year without complaint.
We started to do a few classes and mandatory briefs but nothing signigicant thus far has happened. Our mission has been ...

In the Desert. -- [SGT Dock's Holiday - in Iraq]
Everything that I have read about on other blogs kind of prepared me for this. It was kind of like researching for a big project. The air isn't too bad once you get used to the lack of moisture. The mini-sandstorms that have passed through have been similiar to the strong rainstorms back home. When you are driving and you see that huge wall of rain ahead... replace the rain with sand.

Where has the time Gone? -- [Contact Right...Taking Fire - injured in Iraq]
It seems just like yesterday that I arrived here at Walter Reed, but it has already been close to six months. In six months I have had six operations. Sometimes I wonder if its really even worth it. I know that I will never be able to see from my eye again, but I'm not ready to give up on letting them try. My worst fear right now is going to the medical review board, I know I will have to, but I am just afraid of what they will tell me. I am afraid that they can't use me anymore, that my fight it over. I remember the doctor in Balad telling me that. He was frank and honest and said simply, "Your fight here is over son". It was all that I could do to keep from crying in front of him.

April 9th is Iraqi Liberation Day! -- [Families United]
Families United Mission is sending a letter to the media, reminding them of our fallen heroes and our troops' accomplishments in the War on Terror.
We want the media to give Iraqi Liberation Day the coverage it deserves.

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

All The Propaganda That's Fit To Print --(Miami Herald)...Edward Wasserman
...The program's effectiveness hinges on corrupting a press whose honesty, independence and professionalism should be principal components of democratization, which, you'll recall, is this week's rationale for the war. And now? The most ridiculous consequence of all this is that an Iraqi editor would now have to be insane to offer up a story or a column sympathetic to the U.S. line.

Don't deny that some Muslims are hot for jihad -- (MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST)
If I were an anti-war leftie, I'd be very depressed by the Iraq anniversary protests. A few hundred people show up hither and yon to see Cindy Sheehan get arrested for the 15th time that week, or Charlie Sheen unveil his critically acclaimed the-World-Trade-Center-was-a-controlled-explosion conspiracy theory. The "Hot Shots! Part Deux" star is apparently an expert in that field, and he'd never seen commercial property break up that quickly since Heidi Fleiss' hooker ring. Anyway, Susan Sarandon's going to play Cindy in the movie, or maybe she's playing Charlie, or both -- either way, they might as well give her the Oscar during the opening titles.

The endgame in Iraq -- (International Herald Tribune)
Iraq is becoming a country that America should be ashamed to support, let alone occupy. The nation is sliding closer to open civil war. In its capital, thugs kidnap and t...

Rice and Straw Forcefully Push Iraqis to Form Government -- (New York Times)...EDWARD WONG and JOEL BRINKLEY
Condoleezza Rice and Jack Straw demanded today that the Iraqi leadership form a unified government as quickly as possible.

Can Iraq's Militias Be Tamed? -- (Time)...Michael Ware
As the killings continue, TIME meets fighters on both sides of Iraq's sectarian divide--and finds hope that all-out civil war can be avoided.

Sadr Strikes -- (Newsweek)
Deadly Vision: U.S. forces once had the renegade cleric in their cross hairs. Now he's too strong—and too popular—to confront.
April 10, 2006 issue - At one time—it seems like a bloody eternity ago—there was a murder warrant out for the arrest of Moqtada al-Sadr, on the charge of killing an ayatollah in 2003. U.S. Army Gen. Ricardo Sanchez later publicly vowed that coalition troops in Iraq would "kill or capture" Sadr, and not rest until they had destroyed his militia.

U.S. can help prevent a civil war in Iraq -- (Times Union)
Administration officials have been right in recent weeks to argue that there is no large-scale civil war under way in Iraq. As long as the Iraqi political leadership remains generally united in trying...

U.S. Air Force's Mission With Iraqi Army Undefined -- (Salt Lake Tribune)...Charles J. Hanley, Associated Press
...But as the U.S. Army ''stands down'' and the Iraqi army ''stands up,'' will American combat pilots fly into battle behind Iraqi ground units?

Hunting For Insurgents In Shadows -- (Colorado Springs Gazette)...Tom Roeder
A firefight in Baghdad this week thrust Fort Carson’s most shadowy unit briefly into the spotlight.
The Green Berets of the 10th Special Forces Group advised Iraqi troops who opened fire on suspected insurgents in what some Iraqis are calling a mosque complex ...

Families Seek Remembrance Of Iraq Liberation Day -- (Washington Times)...Stephen Dinan
Families of American troops are asking national newspapers and television news networks not to ignore the three-year anniversary Sunday of the day Saddam Hussein fled Baghdad and his statue was toppled.

U.S. Plan To Build Iraq Clinics Falters -- (Washington Post)...Ellen Knickmeyer
A reconstruction contract for the building of 142 primary health centers across Iraq is running out of money, after two years and roughly $200 million, with no more than 20 clinics now expected to be completed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says.

Plays Give Iraq Kids Break From Violence -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Sahira Karim has been keeping her 5-year-old daughter indoors these days because of fears of bombings, drive-by shootings and kidnapping. But on Sunday, Sahira's daughter joined dozens of other youngsters at a children's theater and dance festival in the upscale neighborhood of Mansour. It was a moment of joy, Sahira said after weeks of tension....

The Journey Through Trauma -- (Los Angeles Times)...David Zucchino
U.S. troops who survive the critical 'golden hour' after being seriously wounded in Iraq owe their lives to a fast-acting team of battlefield medics, pilots, nurses and surgeons.

Three U.S. Marines, Sailor Killed in Iraq -- (AP)
BAGHAD, Iraq (AP) -- Four American troops were killed by hostile fire in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, the U.S. military said Monday. The three Marines and one sailor died Sunday, according to a military statement....

IRAQ: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ADDRESSED AT REGIONAL CONFERENCE -- (AKI)
Sulaymaniya, Iraq 3 April (AKI) - Women activists from Iraq, its neighbours and other Middle Eastern countries have taken part in a regional conference on violence against women, organised by the aid agency Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) in Iraqi Kurdistan. During the two-day meeting at a hotel on Mount Azmar in the governorate of Sulaymaniya, Kurdish, Palestinian, Lebanese, Egyptian and Iraqi women focused on the violation of women's rights and strategies to tackle the problem, for example through more consistent legislation on women's rights and campaigns against domestic violence.

AFGHANISTAN

Agam High School -- [AdghaniDan - in Afghanistan]
From a distance, it doesn't seem like too many have made it to the opening of Agam High School, a project paid for by the Marine battalion's commander's emergency reconstruction project (CERP) funds...

Isn't helping? -- [Misadventures of a Not-So-Intrepid Development Practitioner - contractor in Afghanistan]
The article frustrated me. It's entitled "International occupation isn't helping Afghanistan". And ends with:
This, ultimately, is the problem: Afghanistan is very poor, and the international occupation here is not doing enough to change that. Even if the Europeans go in with a sensitive approach and deploy their best troops, limited money will mean little or no progress.
I say bollocks. I say the international forces are the only thing stopping Afghanistan descending into civil war ...

Meet "Crazy" -- [Miserable Donuts]
Hangin' at the Main Gate of Bagram AF. The one legged fellow is "Crazy". How he became one legged is a matter of dispute, urban legend and tragedy. Some say it was a RPG shot by a Talib, some say an AK blast, some say it was an accident, etc. Regardless, he lost it.
Crazy would hang out at the front gate and basically offer the proposition, "hey, I am missing a leg, what can you do for me?" As units rotated, new shifts came on duty and personnel rotated about, they all would meet Crazy and help him ...

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

U.S. Warns of More Afghan Violence in '06 -- (AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Violence is likely to increase in Afghanistan this year as foreign security forces expand into new areas and the government steps up its campaign against a booming trade in opium and heroin, a senior U.S. official warned Monday....

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN CLAIM DEATH OF TURKISH ENGINEER -- (AKI)
Peshawar, 3 April (AKI) - The Taliban, on Monday, claimed responsibility for the death of a Turkish engineer in Afghanistan. According to a report published in the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), a spokesperson for the Taliban fighters, Muhammad Hanif, called the offices of the AIP in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar...

US AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

The growing civil war in Baluchistan -- [Peace like a River]
The New York Times today has an article that highlights the growing civil war in Baluchistan. In the southwest corner of Pakistan, up against the border with Iran and Afghanistan, this province has seen a steady stream of violence.

Rumor Has It -- [Totum dependeat - in Djibouti, Africa]
Around here in Djibouti, the established camp is rather small by most measure. There is not an over abundance of space - both in the personal and work area realms. The architecture is not modern by any means, the living accommodations are Spartan sporting real ply wood floors and the amenities aboard the base leave little to be desired. My common mantra to those who continually belly ache and provide no real solutions but only add to the growing problems, I say, "It could always be worse."

Government to Crack Down on Anti-US Protesters -- [GI Korea - in S Korea]
I doubt the anti-US hate groups are shaking in their boots right now after the Korean government has vowed to crack down on them:
South Korea warned Sunday that it will strictly deal with illegal protests against joint military exercises it holds annually with the United States.

So Now Mexico's President Wants to Stop "OTMs" From Illegally Entering Mexico... -- [Countertettorism Blog]
This article, "Fox vows crackdown on own illegals," is of particular interest because now President Fox of Mexico is promising to make a concerted effort to keep aliens from other countries from getting into Mexico to help secure our nation against OTM (Other Than Mexican) aliens. My first thought was that I find it interesting that Mr. Fox believes he has the right to secure his nation's borders against illegal aliens, but screams loudly when our nation attempts to do the same thing, and in fact, provides comic books and DVDs to instruct his citizens in the best way for them to circumvent our Border Patrol so that they can succeed in entering our country illegally, get a job,

MSM REPORTS ON US AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Cargo Plane Crashes at Dover Air Base -- (AP)
A C-5 cargo plane carrying 17 people crashed just short of a runway at Dover Air Force Base early Monday after developing problems during takeoff, military officials said.
Everyone aboard the plane survived, though several people were injured, said Tech. Sgt. Melissa Phillips, a spokeswoman for the base.

218 Textbooks of 10 Countries Have False Facts About Korea -- (Korea Times)
School textbooks in 10 countries were found to have contained false or distorted facts about South Korea.
The Academy of Korean Studies reported Monday that most of foreign textbooks have labeled Dokdo, South Korea¡¯s easternmost islets in the East Sea as Takeshima and the East Sea as the Sea of Japan

Putin Says Arms Exports Exceed $6B in 2005 -- (Houston Chronicle, United States)
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia's arms exports exceeded US$6 billion (euro5 billion) last year, setting a new post-Soviet record. ...

Australia To Sell Uranium To China For Energy -- (New York Times)...Jane Perlez
Australia, one of the United States' closest allies, signed an agreement with China on Monday to sell uranium for use in China's nuclear power plants, in its continuing drive to meet its soaring energy needs.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Brief war notes -- [TigerHawk]
Al Qaeda and its ideological allies continue to take their hits. One of the longstanding enemies of our enemy, the king of Saudi Arabia, has given a big speech promising both to "annihilate" al Qaeda and to "combat [its] ideology." As regular readers know, around here we are big believers that al Qaeda's defeat depends on the repudiation and discrediting of its ideology across the Muslim world. Only Muslims can do that, and the king of Saudi Arabia has special clout (which in and of itself reveals the stupidity of Arab and Muslim political culture, but that's another point entirely).

MSM REPORTS ON WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Moussaoui Deliberations Enter Second Week -- (AP)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Jury deliberations in the death-penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui resumed Monday as the panel worked into a second week to decide whether the confessed al-Qaida terror conspirator is eligible for execution....

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

America’s Finest - SPC Ken Liebel -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
On Friday, I got off work a little early and made my way through grueling traffic to get to Walter Reed. My wife and I have an agreement that I can go to the soldier support rallies once a month. This keeps her happy and me out of trouble, in order of importance. I decided that with the extra time, I was going to go and talk to another of America’s Finest. I went to Fisher House to begin my interviews. Unfortunately, no one was home. I decided to go into the hospital and speak to one of the still-recovering soldiers there.

DUST OFF: Iraq medical evacuation -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Here you find a very interested video about medical evacuation from Iraq to Landstuhl! March 27, 2006 by Detroit Free Press!
Do you know the DUSTOFF Association?
Is a nonprofit organization for Army Medical Department enlisted and officer personnel, aviation crewmembers, and others who are

IL: Special Missions: Operation Lucky Charms -- [Soldier's Angel Forum]
countrystyle1972 writes "Illinois angels bring cookies and the luck of the angel to local recruiters.
With cookies in hand the Illinois Task Force Angels brought the luck of the angels to our local recruiters. One angel was quoted in saying, "They need to know that we are here to support them as well.""

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

Real American Heroes - Six Inches Tall -- (Time)...Jeffrey Ressner
Faced by a dwindling number of volunteers, the U.S. military is adding a new recruitment tactic: aiming young. Real Heroes, a line of Army-authorized toy soldiers modeled on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, is expected in stores this June, selling for $12.99 each.

More Calls For Rumsfeld To Leave -- (New York Times)...Michael Janofsky
For the second time in two weeks, a former general has called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over what both generals described as serious mistakes made in the war in Iraq.

POLITICS

On Purple Hearts and POWs -- [T.F. Bogg - in Iraq]
...I thought about writing on this topic after I saw some pictures on the Internet of Tammy Duckworth who is running for congress on the premise that she is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and opposed to the war. Imagine that: a soldier who broke free from the mind control of the government and disagrees with our presence in Iraq, why we should elect her right now! Quick someone send me an absentee ballot. To think that being a veteran is qualification enough to run for office is absurd. I have been deployed twice why am I not the President yet?

Pictures the MSM Will Not Show You -- [A Sailor in the Desert]
Here are some pictures of the LA Immigration protests the MSM did not publish(hat tip to Doc Farmer). You are not going to be happpy. - Sailor

Whose flag is this? -- [Those Wacky Iraqis - in Iraq]
I am reading all this coverage of the ballyhoo regarding immigration and such in the USA. Heartfelt diatribe aside my take is simple. This is our country and our culture. If you want to come, do it legally (We should reform that and make it easier) and then assimilate into our culture. Its OK to keep essence of your original culture but don't try to recreate the screwed up place you fled from. My ancestors came from England and Germany and I don't call myself English-American and live in a little English community. Become one of us. If you want benefits pay taxes and become registered.

TIME’s Liberal Klein Ignores Fact That 70% of Americans Are Against Illegal Immigration (VIDEO) -- [Expose the Left]
On The Chris Matthews Show this morning, guests Joe Klein and Andrew Sullivan, both of TIME, advocated breaking the law and implied that they were in favor of illegal immigration. Laura Ingraham took them both on and made them look like the fools that they are.

Some more equal than others -- [CDR Salamander]
A former computer analyst at the National Security Agency was sentenced to six years in prison for taking home classified documents and storing them in boxes in his kitchen after he left the agency. ... prosecutors never said Mr. Ford was engaged in espionage ...
Mmmm. And what happended to Sandy "stuffy socks" Berger?

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

New White House tactic: Let Bush Be Bush -- (Reuters)
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - George W. Bush is taking time to explain himself, open up to the public in new ways and court the U.S. Congress as he tries to breathe life into a presidency beset by sagging ratings and influence.

Republicans Increasingly Critical of Bush -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- From Iraq to deficits, from immigration to port security, some of the most pointed criticism leveled at President Bush is coming from within his own party. Republicans these days are almost sounding like perennially divided Democrats....

Frist Wants Immigration Vote This Week -- (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday he wants a full Senate vote on an immigration bill this week and believes that urgent action is needed despite sharp divisions over whether proposed legislation would amount to amnesty....

AP Poll: Majority Supports Illegal Aliens Gaining Legal Status -- (FOX News)
WASHINGTON — A slim majority of Americans are open to allowing undocumented workers to obtain some sort of temporary legal status to remain in the United States, with stronger support for the idea among Democrats, younger adults and more educated Americans, a new poll finds.

THE MEDIA

The media: A peek under the hood -- [CounterColumn]
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is agitating to avoid using the term "illegal" in "illegal immigrant."
During my own brief (3-year) tenure as a Time, Inc. reporter (at the now defunct Mutual Funds magazine, to be specific), I was genuinely suprised to learn how many little journalist affiliation groups there were. I'd routinely get emails and letters from BEAT (Black Employees at Time), Asian groups, Gay and Lesbian journalist groups, etc. etc. But this is the first time I've seen one pushing to distort news coverage.

London Telegraph attacks bloggers
From the London Telegraph... -- [Jack Lewis.net]
...Miss Carroll has been under sustained assault from some on the pro-war Right. Bloggers and hosts on the country's influential talk radio stations have attacked her for stating that she had not been threatened during her confinement.
Others attacked her for wearing Muslim dress and the news channel CNN carried an interview suggesting that she was suffering from "Stockholm Syndrome", in which victims begin to sympathise with their captors. One blogger called for Miss Carroll to be arrested for treason.
...Which blogs are the Telegraph reporters referring to? I looked and this is what I found.

The face of war? -- [Uncle Jimbo/Blackfive]
In case anyone wondered where the LA Times stands on the war, they made it brutally obvious with their front page this weekend. They make all the usual excuses and justify their sad action with "the public has a right to know", sure they do. And I assume the public has a need to see pictures of rape victims, and obviously every Sept. 11th they publish photos of the people jumping from the Twin Towers.

WashPost Profiles Keith Olbermann...Who Denies Having an Agenda -- [NewsBusters]
Howard Kurtz profiled Keith Olbermann for his Monday "Media Notes" column in The Washington Post with the headline "A Gadfly With Buzz: MSNBC's Olbermann Exercising The Right." For his part, Keith showed his membership in the liberal media elite by beginning with the utterly fatuous claim of nonpartisanship: "The former sportscaster denies that he's pushing an ideological agenda, noting that he relentlessly covered the uproar over Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in his first incarnation as an MSNBC anchor in 1998."

Nothing Happened -- So It's Big News! -- [Mediacrity]
One of the permanent features of the Mideast conflict is a massive contingent of Israel-based reporters, one of the largest in the world, most hostile to Israel and seeking out every excuse to cooking up a "story" -- sometimes out of nothing.
We saw that today in a non-story that moved today on France's AFP news service.
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MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

Blog Of the Month: American Citizen Soldier -- [The Ugly American]
About 2 weeks ago I was very honored to learn that the one and only Buck Sargent actually read my blog. I of course sent him an email right away and he agreed to be interviewed and become April’s first Blog of the Month.

WELCOME HOME

Finally home -- [Squirrel's Nest - home from Afghanistan]
Well I have made it home and things are back on track. I've been trying to get back into the swing of things and relaxing whenever the opportunity presents itself.