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

UPDATED: TV report: Artillery shells with chemical munitions found in Iraq -- [Austin Bay]
I heard a report on Fox News about twenty minutes ago (5 PM Central) that Senator Rick Santorum claims coalition investigators in Iraq found chemical weapons — artillery shells filled with a chemical agent (perhaps sarin nerve agent). The Fox report said Santorum had fought with the Pentagon and White House to get the information declassified.

Why Iraq WMD Finds Were Kept Secret -- [Strategy Page]
The revelation that Coalition forces have discovered about 500 shells containing chemical weapons (mostly sarin nerve gas and mustard gas) since 2003, most of which are pre-1991 Gulf War vintage, leads to the question as to why the U.S. waited so long to reveal this. The U.S. government has taken a beating for supposed failures to find weapons of mass destruction in the press, and from political opponents. There have been some discoveries that have made the news, most notably an incident in May, 2004, when terrorists used a 155-millimeter shell loaded with sarin in an IED.

A deliberate deception?.... -- [Media Lies]
....A local man, who was involved in WMD searches in Iraq, in 2003, claims that four sites in southern Iraq that he identified with the help of local Iraqis have never been inspected, despite his repeated requests that they be inspected.
He has attempted to get the media's attention to this issue, and he has worked with two Congressmen to get the sites inspected, all for naught. Now he has started his own website to, in his words, "protect America, our Troops and most importantly, our Children".

BREAKING NEWS: ABC: Killers Have Been Captured -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany - MaryAnn in Germany]
Sources with ABC News tell KATU News that some of the people responsible for the deaths of Pfc. Thomas Tucker and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca have been captured by the U.S. military.
Video here.

My Truth -- [Fire and Ice - combat artist]
Two fellow American servicemembers have been kidnapped, horribly tortured and murdered by Islamofascists in Iraq. The outrage in the liberal press, media and blogosphere is at best silent and at worst bathing in an orgy of moral equivalency and transparent political opportunism glommed on to this intolerable act. These same folks revelled in words such as barbaric, horrific and torture to describe and politically charge events at Abu Ghraib Prison, and practices at the military detention facility at Gitmo. Now something truly in the full spirit of these words has happened to fellow Americans and the Libs, having spent these powerful adjectives like so much spare change on lesser evils supposedly perputrated on greater villians, reveal their moral bankruptcy.

Debated on the Al Franken Show today and . . . -- [Michael Fumento - ind. reporter just returned from Iraq]
. . . it was a bit like going to Ramadi. You had to be there to believe it. I liked the odds, three of them against me. Along with Franken, there was Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director and founder of the leftie Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Jane Arraf, a press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the former Baghdad bureau chief for CNN. Asked if I thought Americans were getting the real story from Iraq, I said no and much of the blame lay with reporters who refuse to leave their Baghdad hotels. Instead they rely on wholly unreliable stringers. I said if they didn't have the guts to go out to get the stories, they had no place taking the slot of somebody else who might. Naturally Arraf leapt to the media's defense, talking about the dangers of being shot down by a missile while landing in Baghdad, the dangers of the airport road to the Green Zone . . . I cut her off. Nobody has ever been shot down landing at that airport and virtually nobody has been killed on that road this year. Reporters come in by armored bus or helicopter. She was spewing reporter bravado, I said, and I didn't want to hear it because their are brave reporters who truly do risk their lives. Here's where it gets unbelievable. She told me I had no idea how bad a Baghdad hotel could be! Holy cow! I just came back...

Ramadi, Iraq -- [Michael Fumento - ind. reporter just returned from Iraq]
Terrorist-infested Ramadi in the wild west of Iraq is for U.S. troops the meanest place in the country, "the graveyard of the Americans" as graffiti around town boast. There is no better place to observe American troops and the fledgling Iraqi army in combat. That's why I came. When military public affairs asked where I wanted to be embedded, I told them, "the redder, the better" (red means hostile). So they packed me off to Camp Corregidor in eastern Ramadi with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The 506th's official motto is "Currahee," Cherokee for "stands alone." But they're better known as the "Band of Brothers" – so dubbed by author Stephen Ambrose and HBO (although the term originally applied to just one company in the regiment).

Iraqi Testimonies -- [24 Steps to Liberty - an Iraqi in Iraq]
...“I suddenly heard my children shouting,” Qadir, the 41-year-old mother said, “I thought I was dreaming.” Five hours later, the children came back and told the story. Soldiers took them to the backyard and forced them to sit under no roof when it was raining while the torturers enjoyed beating their young bodies. They were tortured like if they were matures, Qadir said. “What have the children done to deserve the torture,” she wondered 18 years later while telling the story.

Qayyarah -- [Michael Yon's Frontline forum -T.F.Boggs - in Iraq]
As I sit here seven months into my tour I have only begun to realize the magnitude with which the town I am based in has changed. I am stationed in northern Iraq in a town called Qayyarah. Qayyarah is an all-Sunni town and for the most part is controlled by the local Iraqi army and police. The U.S. army helps conduct patrols but for the most part the Iraqi soldiers are responsible for protecting their own town. As I have spoken with Iraqi soldiers and interpreters over the past month, I have come to learn more about Qayyarah and how it has changed in the three years since our initial invasion.

Monday, June 19, 2006 -- [Chairborne Stranger - in Iraq]
...I went on a local civil affairs patrol to meet the local Iraqi populace and see how things are going in some of the towns around here. The Iraqis are always happy to see us so that is positive progress.

Good News from Troops -- [Soldier'a Angel Forum]
KoalityKoala writes "Hi All!
Just got a wonderful email from one of my troops and I wanted to share part of it with you! In case you ever wonder what is happening in Iraq, this will give you a sense of what is happening as seen thru one soldier's eyes.
Overall, things are going very well here. Terrible isn't as terrible today, if you know what mean.
But the tide has turned. The people of Iraq are beginning to rise up over the insurgents and the insurgents know it.
We expect desperate acts from the anti-Iraqi forces as their power-base fades.

Forward Together update; Maliki sends a powerful message to the militias. -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
It is day eight of operation forward together now, the operation so far has met some relative success according to an official statement from the ministry of defense:
Baghdad has witnessed a decrease in number of attacks; terror attacks in the past week-first week of operation forward together-were 19% less than attacks in the week before the operation was launched.

Hammurabi’s Denials Raise More Questions -- [Sweetness & Light]
Iraq rights group on Haditha denies rebel links
...Well, then. I guess that settles it. Except for all of the questions they didn’t address and the new discrepancies that have now been introduced.
Mashhadani said Hadithi was taking courses in journalism and was not one of the group’s two founders. If this is so it sure makes Thaer Thabit al-Hadithi out to be a liar, as he has clearly told reporters he was the original founder of Hammurabi, as was reported in many articles.

Another day in the Neighborhood. -- [American Soldier - injured in Iraq]
..In the heat of battle you have to make decisions and have to do things that don’t always make sense. You all expect us to come home safe and all that happy horse shit right? We have a set of rules that we must obey but the very 1st fucking rule is: “If you suspect that you or any member of you unit is in danger you have the right to defend yourself!” That equates to killing people that you deem a threat! It’s not pretty is it? No sugar coating at all, just the result of someone most likely getting their head blown off.
You can take that rule and use it in many different aspects and scenarios. The bottom line is war is hell and any combat soldier who has stepped foot outside the wire even one time knows what I am talking about.

Tadji Run -- [Murphy Around The World - in Iraq]
We had a mission that left on Saturday and came back this morning (Tuesday) pulling into our gate safely around 6 am. They were driving all night to get here because of the distance and the necessity to stay off the roads during the day. We spent this morning unloading cargo which will then be further transported by our team to other units in our area. I’m working those follow-on missions now while this crew gets some needed shut eye.

Harsh Reality -- [Pass the Brass - in Iraq]
...People who know me know that I have a “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde” kinda personality. But it’s not so much the same Dr. as you may remember him from the stories. The Dr. is a bit different now. But I can honsetly say I have never had such a sheer dive into depression as I did the first mission back here in Irak. All the cautions I had about returning with this “fresh” slate and being able to handle the “horrors” of Irak with a stronger psyche…sadly…were all for naught.

Electrons, Hand Sanitizer, and Sunflower Seeds -- [Midnight in Iraq - in Iraq]
...Another effect of the heat that I have already mentioned is that it is breaking things left and right. Generators are the biggest enemies of the heat. Generators power our A/C units. A/C units keep us cool in the heat that is so hot it kills mechanical equipment. It’s a self-deprecating cycle. We lost power in our trailers today just as I was about to go to sleep at 2 PM. I’m not new to the game anymore, so I executed my SOP of hastily throwing down my reading material, turning out the light, and falling asleep with the 20 minutes of sub 90 degree air I had left. I woke up a little more than an hour later, unable to sleep in the heat and humidity, but I slept at least one hour before it got me. Previous iterations had not turned out so well.

More Abu Ghraib photos -- [Basic Training - in Iraq]
Some photos of murals from the non-prison areas
"At your service, oh Jerusalem!" The "BOMB" was most likely one of us trying to make a not-so-subtle point. (pic)
The message here is about as subtle as the last. Dome of the rock and combination Iraqi/Palestinian flag being carried by the guy in a kaffiyah. That is Saddam's face smashed off in the upper left. He used to provide the equivalent of $25,000 US to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. (pic)

SUMMER TIME - [Dan in the Desert - contractor in Iraq]
...I am now roughly 50 miles north of Baghdad, at Balad Airbase (aka LSA Anaconda). This will be my home for the next week while I do some work. I lost count how many times I've been up here.
In the meantime, here's a few pictures from the flight... (pics)

Bureaucracy and double standards -- [The Will to Exist - in Iraq]
The military can be a very dehumanizing place, from my perspective. One of the reasons I left the Marine Corps in 1996 centered on the level of weariness I had built up over anyone who outranked me being able to screw with me anytime they wanted. I don’t have a problem working as part of a team, but I do have a problem with petty bureaucrats. The military is infested with this particular type of vermin.
Anyhow to make a long story short - I get very irritated by people who make up rules that don’t make sense to me.
One of the petty bureaucratic rules here at MNF-I (Multi-National Force Iraq) is that our section must

AFGHANISTAN

News of Afghanistan XII -- [Miserable Donuts]
Everybody is after the independent press in Afghanistan [follow the link for extra bonus cattiness between Musharraf and Kazai - meow!] Here is some more reaction.

Restricting the Media Activities in Afghanistan -- [Afghan Warrior - Afghani in Afghanistan]
According to the news reports, Afghanistan's intelligence department has issued a two page document to the local media which restricts their activities. This decision sparked the anger of the Afghan journalists around the country because this two page document stops the local newspapers from doing their important and main activities. The free press has made magnificent progress since the fall of the Taliban.

Canadian Troops: Slideshow to Make You Proud -- [Celestial Junk Blog - Canadian Troops]
Graeme Smith of the Globe and Mail put together an audio/slide show that is a must-see for Canadians. When we talk of Canadian and Coalition troops being our heroes; and the best that our countries have to offer… this is the reason why: CLICK

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Iraq Pictures - 22 June 2006 -- [Iraq Pictures - in Iraq]
Army National Guard SGT Edward E. Mefford, a home builder and remodeler for A & B Construction in Santa Rosa, N.M., is currently deployed to Qatar in support of the Global War on Terror.
...Purdue college student, Anngela Strathmann takes time off from her studies to serve in Kuwait ...
...Air Force Reserve Capt. Rick Valdes, an emergency room family nurse practitioner for Tuba City Indian Medical Center in Tuba City, Ariz., is currently deployed to Southwest Asia ...

North Korean Missile Launch Reaching A Point of Ridiculousness -- [GI Korea]
I can't believe the Washington Post is advocating starting a war over the North Korean missile test?:
...It appears the same people that were against a pre-emptive strike in Iraq, now want the US to start a pre-emptive war with North Korea which would be a thousand times more bloodier than anything we have seen in Iraq over a missile test?

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

International Finance and the Global War on Terror -- [Intel Dump - Adam White]
Today's reports (in the New York Times, LA Times, and Wall Street Journal) about the federal government's program for tracking financial transactions of those suspected of ties to al Qaeda are quite interesting. Here's the NYT's intro:

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Summer Solstice -- [Just Another Thunderhorse Roughneck! - in Iraq]
...I got some letters today. I don’t remember signing up for Soldiers Angels. I think someone else signed me up. I don’t mind. I am starting to get flooded with e-mails though. I try to answer all the e-mails but sometimes it takes time. I never get any letters though. I do from time to time get care packages from grateful people out there. I hardly ever get any letters though.
Well, today I got two letters and I think it was because of Soldiers Angels. I bet the other guys in the platoon were jealous. If they do I’ll send them right over to Soldiers Angels.

MILITARY

POW/MIA FLAG OUTDATED? -- [One Marine's View]
Robert Dorr’s recent Colum in the Marine Corps Times suggests that the POW/MIA flag is out of date and reflects out of date imagery that should be retired. His opinion of the imagery is that it is counter productive and has out lived its usefulness. Service members who become separated from their units or evading the enemy can’t survive without ht mere hope of being found. Their hope finds strength in that their country will come looking for them. That they are not forgotten and that won’t stop looking for them.

POLITICS

An Open letter to Congressmen John Murtha -- [SandGram]
Dear Sir,
I know you have been taking a lot of heat lately about your stance on the Marine Corps and the war on Iraq. Know a secret? I just compare you to Lord Darth Vader from “Star Wars.” He, too, was once part of a band of elite fighters, the Jedi Knights, who protected the universe from the dark powers of the “The Force.”
Much like Vader, you succumbed to the dark side of the Force, which blinds you as to the damage you truly cause. It’s no fault of your own; the swell of power that radiates from Washington D.C., can cause any normal person to morph into a dark, sinister person.

New York Times Secretly Sifting CIA Data -- [ScrappleFace]
Under a secret program launched in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, which killed 3,000 people on American soil, The New York Times gained access to private information from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and disseminated it periodically on paper and electronically to al Qaeda and other terror organizations.

THE MEDIA

'Classified' Makes It of Public Interest -- [Media Blog]
I arrived at work to find this. As if publishing classified information about the NSA terrorist-surveillance program weren't enough, the New York Times now blows the cover on yet another effective counterterrorism program — likely shutting it down.

And what's the difference? -- [Peace like a River]
Benedict Arnold's infamy was devising a plot to turn West Point, which he commanded, over to the British. In addition, he gave the British other information on troop locations, etc... Why? Because Arnold disagreed with the colonies' relationship with the French. So, Arnold took it upon himself to decide foreign policy, and in so doing he betrayed his country.
Today, there is news of more perfidy from the New York Times.

Snow to Thomas: Stop Heckling -- [Media Blog]
Allah has the video of today's Tony Snow v. Helen Thomas showdown. Includes the classic line: "Helen, will you stop heckling and let me conduct the press conference." Someone should have said that a long time ago.
Regarding the substance of Thomas's heckles (she was repeatedly shouting that the program is illegal), Andy McCarthy provides the facts, which do not support Helen's accusation:

BLOGGING/MILBLOGGING

Trolls in My Pocket -- [Celestial Junk Blog - Canadian Troops]
Troll: An individual who interjects into blog conversations simply to cause a stir or insult the regular patrons of the blog. Trolls can be motivated by evangelical zeal for a cause opposite to that of the blog owner(s). Trolls will generally dominate a thread and park themselves on a blog, even though they don’t share most of the expressed opinions of the blog.
...How to Talk to a Troll:
1. If you do not appreciate their presence, then ignore them. Responding to a troll is like feeding a bear… and they always tell you… don’t feed the bears. Ignoring trolls is always the best way to starve them.
2. If you want to debate a troll, be warned.

WELCOME HOME

Milk and honey -- [Fun with hand Grenades - home from Iraq]
It’s here... it’s finally here! By the time you read this I’ll have dropped a large amount of combat pay on a down payment for my new car… I’ll be lazily floating around in my parents’ pool… drinking margaritas with my mom and beer with my old man… I’ll have blisters from rollerblading and running at the dam while staring at all the women… my man boob and back will be in pain from hours of tattoo work… my guitar will be screaming on a new amplifier... my belly will grow by leaps and bounds from a constant intake of Chinese…. and most likely I’ll be so smashed I won’t remember my own name. Hell, I’m even going to make it to my five year high school reunion. Ha! More important than anything, after a nine month absence I get to spend time with the people I love.

Home at last -- [Across the Pond - home from Iraq]
Finally..after a long, long time.....I am finally home. I officially got home on Sunday. I have some stories to tell about my last month or so in Iraq and the demobilization process but I will save those for another day. I can tell you though that it still doesnt seem real yet. It's like I am living in a dream. Being gone for so long and coming home, it hasn't sunk in yet that my tour is over. I know it will take some time, and some adjusting so I'm not going to rush anything.
Going back to Sunday, we all felt like celebrities, and for that moment, in the city of Scranton, we were celebrities. When the plane arrived at the airport with all of us, we had the State Police there to escort us back to the Armory. We unloaded the plane and got on the buses and away we went. Any vehicles that tried to cut in between the buses got pulled over. As we entered the city streets, citizens were lined up waving their hands and some had little flags they were waving.

IN MEMORY OF...

Two More Farewells -- [The Marching Camp - in Iraq]
I mentioned recently that two of our own had been killed in action by an IED. Today was their memorial service.
SGT Reyes “Rey” Ramirez was born in Mexico and raised in Texas. He was on his second Iraq tour, and was a team leader in 3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon, C Company, 40th Engineer Battalion. He was married to another Soldier, SGT Sy Bulaong-Ramirez, who is in Germany because she is pregnant with his daughter. She will be born this summer. He was described as a true Non-Commissioned Officer, concerned for his Soldiers and who led by example.