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

Iraqi Insurgents Call for Resurrection of Popular Internet Jihad Forum -- [The Counterterrorism Blog]
The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI)--a prominent Sunni insurgent faction based in central Iraq--has released a statement citing the importance of "jihadi media" work. According to the statement, "the Al-Hesbah network forum... strengthens the mujahideen and includes uplifting and delightful news about their operations.

Has it been two years? -- [Those Wacky Iraqis - contractors in Iraq]
It has been two years since I was really scared. I was in fear for my life and that of my people. We were under attack from the Madi Militia. We had small arms fire, mortars, and rockets coming in.
...Some of the truckers had lost everything in the trucks that were destroyed. One guy only had the clothes on his back. They lost wallets, passports, money, bags, etc. We collected clothing from our own people to help these men out and my people gave generously.
I called my crews together and gave what was probably the best speech I have ever given. I told them all that we had to do our jobs so that the kids could go out and do theirs. The only way to knock the bad guys in the teeth was to keep the kids going and take care of the things we were contracted to do.

The Quiet War Against Muqtada Sadr -- [Strategy Page]
by Austin Bay
August 2004: The Battle of Najaf was raging, with Shia radical Muqtada Sadr's rogue Mahdi militia turning Najaf's imposing Imam Ali Mosque into a fortress -- the equivalent of an Irish Republican Army terror faction using the Vatican as a bunker.

Back to Iraq Part III - The Kurdish Disaster -- [Michael Totten]
TURKISH KURDISTAN - Sean and I dragged our sorry, exhausted, and malnourished selves to the car at 6:30 in the morning just a few hours northwest of the Turkish-Iraqi border. For the first time we had a look at our surroundings in daylight.

Wife of American Hostage Jeffrey Ake Speaks Out -- [Jawa Report]
The wife of American hostage Jeffrey Ake has spoken out for the first time since her husband was taken hostage in Iraq a year ago today. Jeffrey Ake is one of two Americans still being held hostage in Iraq. Dean Sadek, also held hostage, was kidnapped in November 2004.

Email from a Journalism Grad Student -- [Midnight in Iraq - in Iraq]
...I am currently researching an article for a journalism class regarding the opinion about the Iraq War of people in Wisconsin who have lost loved ones in the war. I have spoken to several parents of soldiers who were killed in Iraq.
I have noticed that these parents fall roughly into two groups: people who feel that protesting the war dishonors their sons and other soldiers; and people who have the opposite opinion. Among the former group, people have told me that they (and soldiers) feel that opposition to the war is equivalent to not supporting the troops.
I have met several people who have told me “I am against the war, but I support you.” It’s hard for me personally to wrap my mind around not supporting a war yet supporting those who execute that war, ...

Pay It Forward -- [Fire and Ice - recently returned from Iraq]
...A theme I've found myself turning again and again to is the "I support the troops but not the war mentality". I'm fed up hearing it. Here's my feelings and reflections on the subject. The troops are not impressed with what we see as an elitist self-serving feel good attitude. This is a statement of pity and nothing more. It's pathetic and pandering. Marines returning from Vietnam were often greeted with outright animosity. Perhaps some of those now voicing this sentiment were guilty of this 40 years ago and are now trying to placate their own guilt. Inherent in this statement is a subtext that says we, the troops, are victims and they, the anti-war folks, are going to rescue us. It also suggests that they know better than us, that our visceral field experience has little or no value. We're either just a gaggle of country bumpkins hoodwinked into serving ...

FORMER SELF-DESCRIBED “HOLLYWOOD PIMP” PATRICK DOLLARD BLOGS (almost) LIVE FROM IRAQ -- [HOLLYWOOD, INTERRUPTED EXCLUSIVE]
Last year, Pat Dollard took leave from his family and ditched a lucrative career as a Hollywood agent representing the likes of Syriana producer Steven Soderbergh. Then he hit the front lines in Iraq, armed only with a camcorder and the vision to direct and produce his documentary series “Young Americans” from an unpopular pro-military/pro-war viewpoint.
On February 18, Dollard was wounded while on combat patrol with U.S. Marines in the city of Ramadi.

Pat Dollard Blogs (almost) Live from Iraq: Entry Two -- [HOLLYWOOD, INTERRUPTED EXCLUSIVE]
Hollywood, Interrupted’s War Correspondent Patrick Dollard asks: “Why did a Hollywood agent have to go do the job that the media should have been doing?”
It's all very simple. Christiane Amanpour, Cindy Sheehan, CNN, The New York Times, Michael Moore, Newsweek, CBS et. al. are now, in huge measure, directly responsible for the ongoing death toll of Americans in Iraq. Everyone here in Iraq, the Islamic world at large, and most especially the Jihadist Movement's leadership, follow the American media closely, in order to monitor the American people's headspace, primarily with regard to whether or not we will continue the fight on to the establishment of a successful democratic, capitalistic, and modernized society here, or whether we will run in self-imposed defeat. The morale of the International Jihad Movement is almost entirely dependent on the posture of the American media.
...The journalists I've met here, have, to a man, all been Democrats, and all have railed against the Bush administration and have, with much hope in their eyes, predicted failure for America in Iraq.

I Am Back! -- [Grey Eagle - in Iraq]
...I noticed that I am getting more and more email about what it is that I do here. I realize that there are a number of new visitors to the site so let me explain my mission here. I generally do not do patrols. I am a combat medic and nurse and as such am confined more to the clinic. In our clinic we are more of a minor emergency and care unit, but are equipped and capable of handling the more seriously wounded and have taken the overload when a large number of wounded are taken to the other facilities. Balad is the major trauma and critical care hospital. It is incredible what they do.

Saddam's Iraq: Wal-Mart for Terrorists -- [Blonde Sagacity]
In Deroy Murdoch's latest column he makes a suggestion to the Administration that they definitely should follow... Set up and easy-access .gov site for all the translated documents from Saddam's regime. Currently they are on the US Army Foreign Military Studies site in PDF form.
He urges Bush to use these documents to prove the Saddam/al Qaeda relationship once and for all. To tell Americans that coalition forces were deployed to "padlock Saddam's Wal-Mart for terrorists".

MSM REPORTS ON IRAQ

Deaths Of U.S. Soldiers Climb Again In Iraq -- (New York Times)...Edward Wong
The American military on Tuesday announced the deaths of five soldiers, bringing the number of troops killed this month to at least 32. That figure already surpasses the American military deaths for all of March.

Stripes Contractor Killed While Delivering Paper In Balad -- (Mideast Stars and Stripes)...Joseph Giordono
An Iraqi contractor working for Stars and Stripes was killed Sunday by gunmen who ambushed a delivery vehicle after it dropped off newspapers at a U.S. military base near Balad.

Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case For War -- (Washington Post)...Joby Warrick
...A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.

Bush Had Good Reason To Believe There Were WMD In Iraq -- (Christian Science Monitor)...John Hughes
...While Bush may have been badly misled by his own intelligence and other sources, he did not lie. He believed, and had good reason to believe, that the weapons existed.
From thousands of official Iraqi documents captured by American forces, and dozens of interviews with captured senior military and political leaders, a picture is now emerging of the world of delusion in which Hussein lived when he was in power.

Group Seeks Iraq Solution -- (Washington Times)...Sharon Behn
A high-level bipartisan group, asked by policy-makers to come up with new solutions to the challenges in Iraq, said yesterday that it was proceeding with "a sense of urgency."

Powell: U.S. Made 'Serious Mistakes' In Iraq -- (Chicago Sun-Times)...Monifa Thomas
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday said the United States has made "serious mistakes" during the Iraq war that have led to the rising violence the country now faces.

Military Brass Defends War Plan -- (Miami Herald)...Drew Brown
The Pentagon's top military officer on Tuesday defended the prewar planning for Iraq, saying he and other top generals ''had every opportunity'' to voice dissent if they disagreed with Bush administration officials over the invasion plan.

AFGHANISTAN

Curious Circumstance -- [Michael Yon - in Afghanistan]
Before coming to Afghanistan, I emailed to Nick Meo, a British journalist whom I had come to know in Asia a couple of years before. Nick is now in Iraq, but he had spent much recent time in Afghanistan. I asked Nick for suggestions about traveling in Kandahar, Helmand, and Urozgan provinces.
He answered quickly:
Yes. My suggestion is don’t go. They are too dangerous to travel in by yourself if you don’t know your way around....

Another downfall of outsourcing and contracting in times of war -- [Gun Toting Liberal]
Our politicians in Washington wholeheartedly subscribe to the idea of “outsourcing” what were once exclusively military jobs, to companies such as Halliburton, who in turn like to choose what they call “TWA’s” (Third World Nationals) for about $80.00 per week (7 days per week, no days off) to wash the clothes of the troops, feed the troops, pick up the garbage, etc. I’ve seen it for myself first-hand, and it’s truly appalling and alarming to say the least. Obviously, our enemies are the first ones in line for these jobs...
Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups in Afghanistan -- [Strategy Page]
April 12, 2006: The major peacekeeping effort in Afghanistan is the DIAG (Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups) program. It is believed that there are still some 2,000 armed groups in the country, most of the them tribe/clan/family militias. So far, some 60,000 men have been disarmed, with 11,000 heavy weapons (anti-aircraft guns, tanks, mortars) surrendered, along with 35,000 lighter weapons.

While Canada Talks: Troops Act -- [Celestial Junk Blog]
Rosie Dimanno of the Toronto Star, hits one out of the park. In a piece titled While Canada Talks: Troops Act, she lays out the realities of the Afghan conflict and primarily Canada's role. Pivotal to her essay is the fact that Canadian troops have finally shed their blue berets and are involved in a real shooting war, where their skills as warriors are being used to further humanrights and democracy. Their job in Afghanistan is ...

MSM REPORTS ON AFGHANISTAN

U.S. Military Looks Into Data Sales In Afghanistan -- (Los Angeles Times)...Paul Watson
...The U.S. military said Tuesday that it was looking into reports that computer drives containing military data, some marked "secret," were available for as little as $20 in a bazaar outside its biggest base, and soldiers were visible making rounds there. But once they passed, at least two shopkeepers still offered memory drives for sale.

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Sometimes one plus one does equal two -- [Peace like a River]
Troubling news from Tehran today.
Radical Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran had officially joined the group of countries with nuclear capabilities commonly known as the Nuclear Club.
"I officially announce that Iran has joined the world’s nuclear countries", Ahmadinejad said in a speech that was broadcast on state television.

Multilateral Diplomacy Re Iran Must Include Sanctions -- [The Counterterrorism Blog]
Last week’s Security Council condemnation of Iran’s uranium enrichment program seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani both were quick, this week to announce that Iran had already achieved limited first stage uranium enrichment and that it was committed to moving ahead quickly with its enrichment program. The key point here is that Iran now claims to have mastered the technology necessary for enrichment.

MSM REPORTS ON OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Iran Reports Big Advance In Enrichment Of Uranium -- (New York Times)...Nazila Fathi, David E. Sanger and William J. Broad
Iran announced Tuesday that its nuclear engineers had advanced to a new phase in the enrichment of uranium, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a series of the country's ruling clerics declared that the nation would now speed ahead, in defiance of a United Nations Security Council warning, to produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.

At The White House, Engaging Iran With Words Over Action -- (New York Times)...David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt
...On Tuesday, as the Iranians were announcing that they had successfully enriched a test amount of uranium, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld dismissed the growing tempo of reports about plans to attack Iran as a "fantasy land" and insisted that the administration was sticking to the diplomatic track in its dealings with Tehran.

Is Iran next? The calculus of military strike. -- (The Christian Science Monitor)
Tehran has raised the stakes, saying it is enriching uranium.
WASHINGTON - Time and again this week, President Bush and his team reiterated their position on Iran's nuclear program: America wants a diplomatic solution, and any suggestion it is moving toward an inevitable strike on Iran is "wild speculation."

Russia Asked To Block U.N. OK To Hit Iran -- (Washington Times)...Unattributed
Concerned that potential U.S. military action against Iran would bring further havoc to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has asked Russia to block any attempt by the Bush administration to obtain United Nations approval for an attack, a Russian diplomat said yesterday.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Haiti and al Qaeda -- [Strategy Page]
April 12, 2006: American intelligence has picked up indications that the ongoing chaos in Haiti may be providing Islamist terrorist groups with a safe haven, and an opportunity to plan, organize, and train. This sort of thing was also suspected in Somalia, and known to be happening in remote parts of Pakistan and the Philippines.

Terrorists Kill Dozens in Pakistan Bombing (updated) -- [The Counterterrorism Blog]
AFP news quotes Pakistan provincial government official: "Information we have received from hospitals and police suggest that the death toll is 57." "Dawn" in Pakistan reports, "At least 56 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a bomb exploded at Karachi's Nishtar Park Tuesday evening when faithfuls were offering Mughrib (Evening Prayers) after attending a mammoth meeting to celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet...There was stampede and angry crowd pelted stones on police, damaged and torched vehicles and there was complete chaos in a vast area around the park which is near the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam.

U.S. unfair to Zarqawi, says the Washington Post -- [Powerline]
I was too busy yesterday to get to this story in the Washington Post. The headline states, "Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi -- Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat to Iraq's Stability." The first paragraph states:

MSM REPORTS ON WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

'Islamic terrorism' is too emotive a phrase, says EU -- (The Telegraph)
European governments should shun the phrase "Islamic terrorism" in favour of "terrorists who abusively invoke Islam", say guidelines from EU officials.

TERRORIST 'CHIEF' IS US SPIN -- (Mirror.co.uk)... Chris Hughes.
TERROR mastermind Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi is a largely fictitious bogeyman invented to help an American propaganda ...

Terrorism is a tricky business -- (The Australian)...Phillip Adams
Deluded by illusions of fear and loathing
THE magic word used to be abracadabra. Say it while waving his wand and an illusionist could make an elephant vanish or a conjuror could pull a rabbit from his hat.
Now the magic word is terrorism. That black magician Bin Laden used it to make the Twin Towers disappear, dramatically changing the Manhattan and political landscape. And by repeating terrorism almost as often as he says "God" or "America", George W. Bush has changed the rest of the world.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Freedom Team Salute -- [BlackFive]
Rich sends this program that he's been working with - Freedom Team Salute - where you can submit a deserving vet or non-vet who has been going above and beyond to support the troops. From the site:

TALKING WITH HEROES -- [Talking with Heros]
Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 11, 2006, Talking with Heroes announces the guest list for the
April 16, 2006 Talk Show. Talking with Heroes gives our men and women in the military a forum to share their mostly untold experiences while serving and helping the people in Iraq, Afghanistan and in other areas of the world in which they serve. The Talking with Heroes Talk Show which airs Live on Sunday evenings beginning at 5pm (PST) 8pm (EST) also interviews leaders from military support groups, companies, entertainers and others who help and support our troops. Guests for the April 16, 2006 Show are:

A Markerless Grave in Vacaville -- [PeaceJournalism.com - Cindy Sheehan]
... I will tell the world why Casey has no marker yet. In the first place, does anyone who is attacking me know how Casey was brought home from Iraq? We picked him up in the United loading dock in a cardboard box and he was off-loaded into a hearse without one honor guard. We had to wait for about a half hour on a curb near the United freight area for his one escort, who rode from Dover Air Force Base in a seat, while Casey was treated as an over-sized piece of luggage. Has anybody held her other sobbing children who are sitting on a curb in San Francisco, waiting for the remains of their big brother to be carried over to the dock by a forklift?

MSM REPORTS ON SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Sending Batches Of Support To Troops -- (Long Island Newsday)...Rhoda Amon
Girl Scouts ship snacks and words of encouragement to Iraq in the fourth year of Operation Cookie.

UCSC protesters push military -- (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Military recruiters packed up their displays and left a UC Santa Cruz job fair Tuesday after several protesters attempted to force themselves inside the fair while others blocked the entrance over the course of a tense hour-long standoff.

MILITARY

Advice for Soldiers -- [T.F. Boggs - in Iraq]
...If I know anything it is how to do my job while on deployment. I have only spent about a year off of active duty so I know more about deployment then anything else. I am a modern day reservist.
...My advice comes in generalities that should be applied by soldiers in a way so as to fit their own situations. In no way is this advice complete but rather, only a few things that I have come across that help me to survive with a sense of purpose and humanity while on deployment.
1. My first and most important piece of advice for soldiers on deployment is about respect and empathy towards others....

Chicken Little in New Jersey -- [Armchair Generalist]
I have to quickly recount this article in the Philly Inquirer - seems some New Jersey fishermen are convinced that the Army's plan to send hydrolysate to Dupont's treatment plant will result in the end of the fishing industry there... maybe a just a little bit of an overreaction??

The "Career Killer" MOS -- [Politics of a Patriot]
I have heard a lot of talk lately about recruiters and the recruitment process--not just with the Marine Corps, but with all branches. Having dealt with several recruiters in my time, I have seen first hand both bad recruiters and good recruiters.

MSM REPORTS ON MILITARY

Sculpting New War Discipline -- (San Bernardino Sun)...Chuck Mueller
Gearing up for a global war against terrorism, the Army has shifted its combat plan for troops in training from massive tank battles to urban warfare against insurgents armed with car bombs and suicide vests.

Equal Billing For Marines? -- (Washington Post)...Christopher Lee
...This month, a few Marine Corps veterans and advocates began an online petition effort to persuade Congress to rename the Department of the Navy. Since the Corps functions within the department but has its own military command structure (the commandant of the Corps is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), its bureaucratic home would become the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

New Digs For Recovering Guard Dogs -- (San Antonio Express-News)...Scott Huddleston (subscription)
Tails will be wagging when a new facility opens next year at Lackland AFB. The Defense Department last week announced the awarding of a $9.27 million contract with McGoldrick Construction Services Corp. of San Antonio to build a 30,950-square-foot hospital, set to open in September 2007. The facility will be providing medical help to canines guarding against terrorism.

POLITICS

White House Implicated in NH Phone Jamming Case -- [Outside The Beltway]
AP reporter Larry Margasak has written a piece headlined "Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House" by YahooNews. Perhaps a better headline would have been Republican Operatives Call Political Affairs Office.

Dear Republicans: YOU NEED MY VOTE! -- [GM Roper]
Dear Republican National Committee and any Republican running for elective office:
Sirs, you need my vote! My name is Joe American and I've been very worried about and losing sleep over the current state of governance you have displayed. You need to know that I proudly voted for Ronald Reagan 1980 and in '84, I voted for Bush the elder in '88 but he lost my vote in '92 because after saying his "Read my lips..." promise, he broke it. Yeah! That had some very real consequences in '92 didn't it? I voted Republican again in '96, '00 and '04 and in all the in-between elections. But I may very well not vote for you in '06 and you will have no one else to blame except yourselves

MSM REPORTS ON POLITICS

Top General Disputes Criticism Against Rumsfeld -- (Los Angeles Times)...Peter Spiegel
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, facing calls for his resignation by three retired senior officers for his handling of the Iraq war, received a full-throated endorsement Tuesday from the U.S. military's top general, who insisted that "this country is exceptionally well served" by Rumsfeld's leadership.

Fighting For Citizenship -- (Los Angeles Times)...Max Boot
Put foreigners who enlist in the U.S. armed forces on a fast track to naturalization.

THE MEDIA

Well, the Smell is Certainly Biological... -- [Confederate Yankee]
The Washington Post, which within the past week blasted President Bush for declassifying a story to defend false allegations by Joe Wilson, collected classified information of its own through anonymous sources and leaked it on page one Wednesday, declaring:...

Fitz Puts (Mis)Stake Through Shuster's Heart -- [Jawa Report]
Nathan Goulding of National Review Online had already called out Hardball's David Shuster for some quite blatant lies and distortions; and then George at Seixon used these same overt lies to discredit a fawning DailyKos entry about Shuster. George also notes that he has registered to comment at DailyKos; he might want to see how the Kossacks deal with infidels first.

PowerPoint Ranger -- [Bandit.three.six - in Iraq]
The perception that I'm getting from the American media is that things are pretty hairy in the States right now, almost to the point of violence in the streets and that, dare I say it, civil war is on the horizon. As my experiences have shown, most perceptions that are constructed on second and third-hand information are drastically inflated only containing the smallest grain of truth. It's my belief that the media is being irresponsible in their reporting of these events, but unlike many people who don't live in the States, I have the benefit of having lived in the country for many years. For those who only know what they see on TV, the situation seems to border on revolution.

Which side is the national media on? -- [Uncle Jimbo@BlackFive]
Is the US military allowed to have an information warfare strategy? Or is every effort we make to assist the Iraqis secure their country and win some hearts and minds to be exposed, ridiculed and countered by the media? I have stood on the tiny coral outcrop called Ie Shima where Ernie Pyle, the GI's best friend, died near the end of WWII.

MILBLOGGING / BLOGGING

TBone In The News -- [TBone's War Journal]
Well, I told you that I wouldn't mention Jill Carroll again; but while I was looking at who was linking to me, I found that my blog was mentioned in quite a few newspapers. Someone named Ellen Goodman put up a post in the Boston Globe, which was subsequently posted in numerous other papers. This is what Ms. Goodman said.
...Nevertheless, this is not a good moment for the bustling, energetic Wild West of the new Internet media. Remember when a former CBS executive described bloggers as guys in pajamas writing in their living rooms? Well, it seems that many have only one exercise routine: jumping to conclusions.

Blogger Hosting "Boy Love" Site -- [Stop The ACLU]
WND is reporting: A marriage and family therapist is trying to convince Google to drop a website from its popular, free blog host that promotes, boy love, sexual relationships between men and adolescents. Stacy L. Harp of Orange, Calif., told WorldNetDaily one of the readers of her weblog pointed out the site, called Paiderastia: The Boy

Rumsfeld Scoffs at Attack Speculation -- [ScrappleFace]
(2006-04-12) — To demonstrate its peaceful intentions in the wake of its latest breakthrough in uranium enrichment, the Islamic Republic of Iran today announced that by 2010 it would have enough nuclear power plants to provide all of its own energy needs. It will then start donating its oil and natural gas to poor and developing nations in Africa and...

IN MEMORY OF...

A Jarring Reminder -- [Baldilocks]
Even though she was obviously struggling to hold it together emotionally for the camera, Mrs. Dahl was all for the depiction of the events. She said that the heroism of the passengers of that famed flight is being forgotten and that—since they had already known of the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers--we must be reminded of the fact that they gave their lives for our government, such as it is.
...Can you take that as an intention for me to see this movie? Yes, and in the theater, no less. I think that we owe it to any victims of 9/11 to bear witness to any celluloid portrayals of their sacrifice, heroism and most untimely demise. Jim Gerhagty agrees

WELCOME HOME

The Best Part of Deployment . . . -- [ROFA Six]
... is coming home.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ryan Hall, of the 437th Security Forces Squadron, holds his daughter at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., April 4, 2006, after returning from a deployment to Camp Bucca, Iraq