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.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: MSM reports will be temporarily eliminated from the Dawn Patrol until PCSing is complete.

IRAQ

Pawns -- [Murphy Around The World - in Iraq]
Here's a picture of our last convoy heading out the door for a mission. The IA have purchased a lot of U.S. HMWWV's and definately a way for our economy to recoup some of the war costs. When they buy stuff, the mantra is 'Buy American'.

What I do Every Single Day! -- [The Foxhole Philosopher - in Iraq]
...Sometimes, I have to do something. If it is a simple problem I tell them to fix it on their own. Sometimes, I cannot trust them to do it though. For example, when Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was killed, we closed several streets, because we believed there was a heightened threat of attack. That would be a simple task, requiring only some concertina wire and a couple of guards, but guaranteed, the Iraqi's will let people through.
This is not always malicious. Sometimes it is just naivete on their part. For example, if someone is dressed as a woman (you can't tell with Burkha's)

Who should recognize whom? -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
Prime Minister Maliki presented his reconciliation plan to the parliament today and in spite of some objections from some parties the heads of parliamentary blocs declared their support for this plan soon after the session of the parliament ended and requesting some further detailed descriptions and modifications in some cases to match their blocs' understanding of the reconciliation concept.

Al Qaeda in Iraq Died For Our Sins -- [Strategy Page]
Al Qaeda in Iraq has been virtually wiped out by the loss of an address book. The death of al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was not as important as the capture of his address book and other planning documents in the wake of the June 7th bombing. U.S. troops are trained to quickly search for names and addresses when they stage a raid, pass that data on to a special intelligence cell, which then quickly sorts out which of the addresses should be raided immediately, before the enemy there can be warned that their identity has been compromised.

The Coalition’s 3 phase troop withdrawal plan for Iraq -- [QandO - McQ]
Gen. George W. Casey Jr, the US commander in Iraq, has put forward a conditional 3 phase plan for withdrawing the bulk of coalition troops over the next 3 years. In brief, the phases of the plan are as follows:

Tour of Abu Ghraib - preview [Basic Training - in Iraq]
I have a bunch of photos to put together a bit of a visual tour of Saddam Hussein's prison at Abu Ghraib. I was unable to get a tour myself, but my buddy there with me the past month had gotten one - the photos come from his camera so Im in the process of editing them down and getting the stories straight. Check back in a couple days for the full tour.

RETURN FLIGHT -- [Dan in the Desert - in Iraq]
...With the engines warm and safety checks complete, we lifted off. From the air, you get a great view of the rest of Balad. Pictures of the airfield are usually prohibited, but this photo has been "cleared" as releasable. I flew on a CH-53 helicopter when I was in Ramadi several weeks ago, but I never got any photos, so here ya go. CH-53s are the largest rotary aircraft in the world (not counting an old Soviet prototype).

Saddam lawyer: Saddam Hussein ready to call for peace in exchange for his life
...Well, that’s not what he SAID according to his lawyer, and according to the Washington Post:

The Fewer. The Prouder. The Female Marines -- [Soldiers' Angel Germany]
This past Friday marked the one year anniversary of the Iraq war's deadliest day for American military women.
On June 23, 2005 Lance Corporal Holly Charette, 21, of Rhode Island, Ramona Valdez, 20, of the Bronx via the Dominican Republic, and Navy Petty Officer First Class Regina Clark, 43, of Washington were killed by a suicide car bomber near Falluja.
Eleven other female Marines were wounded in the attack.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Army Sergeant Major graduates..USASMA -- [Miserable Donuts]
Congrats to SGM Roshan Safi and the Army National Guard CSM from TF Pheonix who pushed to get him into the academy. There where other foriegn students in the class with me when I went, but none with so much Combat time.

Taliban Terror Tactics Backfire -- [Strategy Page]
Battles with the Taliban have left 80 of the rebels dead in the last few days, and over 150 dead in the last two weeks. Afghan and Coalition dead have been much lower (a few dozen). While the Taliban claim to have over 10,000 armed men in action across southern Afghanistan, it is believed that there are only about 2,000 of them. Actually, there may now be less than that, since morale among the Taliban is getting shaky.

Taliban losses in Afghanistan, gains in Pakistan -- [Counterterrorism Blog - Bill Roggio]
The latest round of fighting in southeastern Afghanistan has claimed over 82 Taliban fighters in two separate engagements in Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces. Security Watchtower provides a breakdown of the estimated casualties of Taliban and Coalition forces in southeastern Afghanistan since the beginning of April. An estimated 600 Taliban have been killed and 22 captured, with 41 Afghan and Coalition security forces killed or wounded combined. The estimated Taliban casualties do not contain the number of wounded, which is often twice the number killed in combat.

Hitchin' the Pech -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanstan]
Once again in eastern Afghanistan, we mourn the loss of four soldiers who gave their lives a few days ago in ongoing operations just north of where these photos were taken. RIP.
...The Pech River Valley is a dicey place to be if you're an outsider, and it had provided sanctuary for the past few years to bands of enemy who regularly launch attacks on any representatives of Afghan government as well as Coalition forces and nongovernmental organizations. That's why the heart of the operation was establishing a presence in the middle of this fierce region.

Parallelin' the Pech -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanstan]
Your thoughts, prayers and comments have been warmly received, and I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to write and let me know what you think. I apologize for my inability to shed any light on the current operation in the south of the country, as I often learn its progress in mostly the same ways that you all can - through internet and TV coverage. Again, these photos pick up where I left off, on a convoy along the Pech River road with some engineers who let me hitch a ride.

New to Gmail.. -- [Army Girl - in Afghanistan]
...It's not about anything more than honoring the past I was born into.. and trying to do the best that I can. I am here ONLY because of THEM... and it is my dream that some day when I'm gone.. someone will carry it on. Someday a young Afghan girl can make choices for herself.. and be a part of rebuilding her country and her homeland. Someday an Afghan young man will not have to scrounge and suffer to feed his family and protect his daughers and wife from extremism. Those are only a couple of the reasons I'm here.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS ANNOUNCE THEY HAVE WMD AND WILL USE THEM ON ISRAEL
BREAKING: JPOST: -- [The Astute Blogger]
Aksa Martyrs Brigades group announced on Sunday that it its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons to be used against Israel.

How will Russia react to the murder of its diplomats in Iraq? -- [Counterterrorism Blog - Olivier Guitta]
If confirmed, the murder of the four Russian diplomats taken hostage on June 3- three by beheading and the last one by shooting- by members of an Al Qaeda affiliate, may have important implications.
In fact, last week Russia had officially asked for the help of Palestinian terror group Hamas in this matter. The President of the Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to Hamas' political leader Khaled Mashal. Obviously this has not worked out.

Iran's Terrorism Ignored In Nuclear Bartering -- [ThreatsWatch]
For Iran, Language of 'Ambiguities' Buys Time Readily Sold As 'Oil Weapon' Displayed Again
Iran’s signals remain consistently mixed regarding the nuclear crisis steered by the regime. The weekend’s developments revealed nothing new, while one spokesman called calmly for more talks and the accompanying allotment of time while another threatened again with Iran’s oil weapon should the West impose sanctions.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Everyday Angel Speaks-Our Blankets Really Make a Difference -- [Soldiers Angels Network - Patti Patton-Bader]
Our Blankets Really Make a Difference......Oh Yes They Do!!!
...My sister told him about Soldiers Angels and a presentation she did at her church trying to get some sewers interested in helping with our project. She told him about her slide presentation showing a transport plane carrying the wounded soldiers out of Iraq.
You are not going to believe it!.........he said "I was on one of those planes" and this is what made the hair stand up on her arms and mine too when she told me about it.......he said ...

Notre Dame Helps Soldiers' Angels -- [Soldiers' Angels New York]
Notre Dame Cross Country teams are warming up for their 1st Annual 24 hour relay which will be this Saturday, June 24th. This year’s relay will benefit both the Cross Country team and Soldier’ Angels, a non-profit dedicated to supporting our troops.

Gratitude -- [Partamian Report]
I have tremendous respect for our servicepeople, and I like to tell people "thank you" when I learn that they have served in the military, because I do honestly and deeply appreciate their hard work and sacrifice. I know that I can sit here and type this, in large part, because of our military and the freedom that they have earned and maintained for this country.
My wife has been in Afghanistan for the past few weeks. She will be home in a few days, and I will post some pictures up on the blog once she gets back. Anyway, my point for writing this was to pass on some thoughts. My wife is a consultant, not a serviceperson, so I never really equated her service with that of the troops.
...She is actively helping the military to plan to meet the future demands of regional security, and given the region, that is certainly not insignificant.

MILITARY

VA to offer free credit monitoring -- [The Will to Exist - in Iraq]
Filed by Trevor under Banality of Bureaucracy, Government, Military (Monday June 26, 2006 at 8:56 am)
Below is a VA press release regarding damage controls measures relating to the theft of veterans’ personal data that resulted from failure to enact and enforce appropriate security standards relating to the handling of electronic records.

Friday, June 16, 2006 -- [BOB on the FOB - in Iraq]
Some VERY big news here from the Litterbox: I got out of the Army! Woohoo! Yes, as of 11 June 2006 I was no longer SGT A.J. Merrifield, I was Mr. A.J. Merrifield, Honorable Discharge in hand. Of course, as of 12 June 2006 I was back in as SGT A.J. Merrifield, Oath of Enlistment in hand. Thanks to my old job and the fact that I was the Division NCO of the Year, I was able to get reenlisted by the CG, Major General Thomas R. Turner, so that was pretty sweet. I discovered something about being reenlisted by the CG, too: you get more swag.

THE MEDIA

50,000 Iraqis have died in Iraq fighting -- [Security Watchtower]
The Los Angeles Times reports on Sunday that an estimated 50,000 Iraqis have been killed in fighting since the U.S. toppled the Saddam Hussein government in March 2003. While alarming, the statistics alone lack the context of how those killings took place, the vast majority of which have come at the hands of terrorists, and the history of the previous regime, which has the blood of a million Iraqis on their hands. That said, it's still a heavy toll that Iraqis have paid and we shouldn't seek to dismiss this human cost.
One aspect to the story that I find interesting is how the death toll stands in stark contrast to the Lancet study, which in November 2004 found that 100,000 Iraqis perished in the fighting.

UPDATED: The Axis of Abuse: The NY Times and Washington, DC leakers -- [Austin Bay]
That’s what the Beltway game has become– irresponsible New York Times reporters and editors collaborating with agendaed “leakers.”
The exposure of the bank monitoring program on the front page of the June 23, 2006 NY Times is the latest abusive and dangerous example of this Beltway hustle. “Leakers” in this particular case is too weak a term– exposing the terrorist finance-monitoring operation information amounts to spying for terrorists. Bank records in Belgium recording international transactions are fair game for intelligence teams attempting to track terrorist finances and terrorist contacts.

All the Anti-Terror Disclosures That Fit: Specter Defends NY Times -- [NewsBusters]
As Brit Hume put it, "Senator Specter, who gets worked up over anything, doesn't seem bothered by the NY Times disclosure of [the anti-terror banking program]. He's going to 'look into it'."

The Plan -- [Fire and Ice - combat artist]
One of the misdirective rhetorical devices trotted out ad nauseum by pundits on the left which strikes me as particularly odd is the "there is no plan" talking point. Of late it either leads, or follows on the heals of some disengenious pity party about the heroic and well intentioned troops who, though entitled to great leadership, are subject to the evil and bumbling ruling triumvirate of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.

Letter to NY Times -- [T.F. Boggs - in Iraq]
I recently wrote a letter to the NY Times in response to their decision to print information concerning a U.S. secret program designed to track financial transactions of suspected terrorists. I'll post the letter in full below. I urge everyone to write to the NY Times and their congressmen and let them know how you feel about the NY Times yet again sharing secret information with America's enemies.
The Times article can be found here.

The John Kerry of Reporters -- [4 Mile Creek - in Iraq]
MSNBC's Kieth Olbermann suggests that he's not afraid of some old mustard or nerve agent.
"We have found Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.
15-year old Weapons of Mass Destruction that could give you the equivalent of a serious rug burn.

BLOGGING/ MILBLOGGING

The Reluctant MilBlogger -- [MilBlogs - Steve Schippert]
Bruce Kesler says that he doesn't want to be a Military Blogger and explains why in a column today at The Examiner.

Cyberterrorists Attack The Jawa Report -- [mypetjawa - back-up site]
Islamic cyberterrorists have attacked The Jawa Report.
A Distributed Denial of Service attack was directed at our site by Turkish Islamists irritated at a series of posts we ran making fun of the violence that erupted on the heels of a false story claiming that guards at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Koran down a toilet. Those posts were later discovered by a Turkish Islamist who then posted links about them at an Islamic chat room.

Irene Pinsonneault, who manages Michael’s photograph files and correspondence, responds to the factual errors and distortions in Mr. Hammer’s form email. -- [Michael Yon]
(Hover over the highlighted elements below to view the response)
Dear XX:
I am the editor of Shock magazine. This e-mail was forwarded to me by the good folks at Woman's Day. I am terribly sorry that you have had this reaction to our recent use of Michael Yon's photo on our cover. Unfortunately, you have not been given all the facts.

Michael's reponse -- [Michael Yon]
...Even though we had purchased the rights to use the photograph through a reputable photo agency, we recognize that misunderstandings do occur. We acted quickly to address Mr. Yon's concerns, attempted to settle the matter, and when he agreed to a settlement, Mr. Yon himself stated on June 5th via his on-line magazine that he was "satisfied" that we were "acting in good faith." (The statement posted on my website was decidedly less rosy than the one they used in their press releases) A few days later, Mr. Yon reversed his position and walked away from our talks. (I did not walk away. I refused to sign an agreement the terms of which they had altered significantly from those proposed terms we had all agreed to.) We were disappointed, but not surprised. (They shouldn’t be surprised. My displeasure with their bad faith actions --in increasingly forceful articulations—was voiced days leading up to the collapse. They continued to commit separate and willful infringements even as they were announcing the tentative settlement. If HFM had kept their word, Kliger would not have to send desperate and transparent missives to distributors and journalists.)
It is my personal belief that Michael Yon has benefited from and continues to exploit the controversy to promote his political agenda.

CONGRATS

The Soldier’s Medal -- [Chris Whong - in Iraq]
Today, Staff Sergeant George Brosenne of 1st Platoon, 243rd Engineer Company, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal. This is a pretty big deal, as the 2-star general who spoke at the ceremony could only recall 2 instances when he saw the award given during his 30 years in the Army.
FOR HEROISM: ...

Big News -- [Those Wacky Iraqis - in Iraq]
I just found out that I have been promoted and will be transferred to Kuwait. This is the equivelant of being promoted from Brigade S-3 to Brigade XO. I am excited and sad all at once. this place has been my life since February of 2004 and it is hard to leave especially since all my 1st Cavalry buddies are coming back next RIP-TOA.

C&F Wins AJPA Award -- [Cox & Forkum]
For various reasons, we've entered very few editorial cartoon awards contests over the years. So we're fortunate that Avi Frier of Florida Jewish News took the initiative to submit our work to the American Jewish Press Association's annual Rockower Awards.
Cox & Forkum has been awarded The Noah Bee Award for Excellence in Editorial Cartooning. Here's the FJN report: Florida Jewish News wins top Jewish media award.