Dawn Patrol

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. 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.

IRAQ

Iraqi troop levels pass key test -- [UPI]
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi troops have passed a key test by showing up at 70 percent strength or better for President Bush's "surge" in Baghdad, a senior U.S. general said.
"This movement of these three brigades and two separate battalions into Baghdad to our way of looking at it has gone very well," Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, said in an interview.

Iraqi Army Captures Weapons Supplier -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Special Iraqi Army Forces captured a suspected weapons supplier and financier of sectarian violence conducted by rogue Jaysh Al Mahdi cells. The capture occurred during operations with Coalition advisers Feb. 13 in Raminiya, in northern Baghdad.

Iraqi Army Captures Members of Kidnapping, Murder Cell -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Special Iraqi Army Forces captured an alleged member of a rogue Jaysh Al-Mahdi militia during operations with Coalition advisers Feb. 13 in northern Baghdad. The suspects are believed responsible for kidnapping, torture and murder of Iraqi citizens and security forces in the area.

Iraqi Army detains 10 after receiving small arms fire -- [MNF-I]
KALSU, Iraq – Iraqi Army troops working with Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers detained 10 insurgents northeast of Al Haswah, Iraq, Sunday.
Soldiers or 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division working with Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment detained the suspects after coming under small arms fire near the village of Ubaydah. There were no casualties in the incident.
The suspects are being held for further questioning by Iraqi security forces.

Al Qaeda network targeted; 27 suspected terrorists detained -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained 27 suspected terrorists during a series of coordinated raids targeting the al-Qaeda in Iraq network Wednesday morning.

CCCI convicts 13 insurgents -- [MNF-I]
One sentenced to death, one sentenced to 15 years imprisonment
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 13 terrorists from Feb. 2 - 10, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, possessing fake identification, violating terrorism laws and illegal border crossing.

Iraqi Army, 2-7 Cavalry take down insurgent operation; solve murder, uncover large weapons cache -- [MNF-I]
MOSUL – Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division and A Co., 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, raided several buildings in northeast Mosul on Feb. 9 in response to intelligence received about a possible weapons cache.
2-7 Cavalry Soldiers arrived on site and began receiving small-arms fire from the upper floor of an adjacent mosque.
They managed to suppress the fire while the IA soldiers investigated. No additional fire was reported and the 2-7 troops continued their mission.

MUST SEE!... Amazing Iraqi "No Terror" Campaign Ad -- [Gateway Pundit]
You don't need to speak Arabic to understand this video...
This is an amazing anti-terrorism ad running on Iraqi television!

The Battle for Baghdad Begins -- [Strategy Page]
February 15, 2007: How are the bad guys doing in Iraq? The Iraqi media is full of information on what the various Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions are up to. Lots of the reporting is speculation, but a lot of it is not. If you've been following the action long enough, you can pick out the accurate stories. And the talk on the street and in the shops is also pretty dependable.

Duke In Iraq - Soul Scrape -- [Broken Masterpieces]
Side by side, there is a soldier who was blown up by an IED and next to him is a terrorist who was found setting the IED and was blown up by a rocket or missile fired by those trying to protect and give freedom to the fledgling Iraqi nation. How do these doctors deal with this, well part is summed up by a quote from Abraham Lincoln that is written on the plywood wall of the tent where the surgeons rest between cases. “With Malice toward none, with charity for all…..let us strive….to care for him who shall have bore the battle.”

Ramadi Video from 1/506th: "God's Gonna Cut You Down" -- [Michael Fumento]
Spc. Andy Johnson from A. Co., 1/506th, 101st Airborne sent me this video montage he put together from his vacation at Camp Corregidor this past year. It includes a couple of video clips of mine and some other good action shots - though I think he should have included this great clip of an F-18 ground attack. Among the most interesting is footage of a Humvee he and two others from his platoon were in when the back end was hit by an RPG-7. It knocked the whole back off and nobody inside suffered more than a bad case of nerves. Best of all, it's not set to heavy metal music - which I cannot stand - but rather a nice tune from The Man in Black

Missiles, Snipers Add to Insurgency's Arsenal, reports the Jamestown Foundation -- [On Point]
IEDs, land mines, and suicide bombs are not the only threats to U.S. forces in Iraq. Americans are also facing a growing arsenal of advanced weaponry and highly trained snipers. In their weekly newsletter "Terrorism Focus", the Jamestown Foundation reports that jihadist websites claim to have acquired a new generation of anti-aircraft missiles. Possession of this missle, the article says, has enabled insurgents to target helicopters with greater precision and...

Baghdad Tide -- [Sgt Hook]
While the debate continues in D.C., your Soldiers and Marines are tightening up their bootstraps while cinching down their chinstraps and taking to the streets of Baghdad. The “surge” is underway, but don’t be fooled by the terminology, this is a tactical maneuver aimed at turning the tide in Baghdad, permanently, and not a tidal wave flooding the streets initially, and then washing away. Our forces along with the Iraqi military intend to not only take back the streets, but keep them. Though some have seen the rising waters and taken to high ground, others appreciate what the changing tide brings.

CASH, A LATTE, AND A HAIRCUT -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
...I cross a small footbridge and find my self in a field of connex containers. This is also were we stage the logistic patrols before they leave. It is a field of mud, or more accurately drying mud. Some parts are still soft and pliable, other parts have dried and begun to harden. The large wheels and tracked vehicles have created peaks and valleys in an ostensibly flat piece of ground. It will be fascinating to watch as the moisture departs. The mud changes to hardened clods of dirt, which will evolve into a concrete like substance, only to have the last bit of binder finally leave through the process of evaporation and return the individual particles to moon dust and a flat surface.

Time on the road.... -- [SPC, 1st Platoon, 1016th - in Iraq]
Freedom, that is what I think of when I’m told that I’m on the next convoy. Not the freedom of Iraq, but of the road. Most every summer when I was growing up, my Mom, sisters and I would take a road trip to Meaker, Colorado from wherever we were living at the time. It was time to spend with my mom, uninterrupted by a phone call asking her to take on anther shift. Now the sounds of the road just seem to clear my mind. I love the hum of tires on the asphalt, the growl of the engine, and the whistle of the wind passing by. Even here, where you are looking at the side of the road for things that might blow-up, it is more relaxing than doing the little jobs that need to be done in the motor pool.

B-1 Bomber Seen Over Baghdad -- [Pajamas Media]
PJM Baghdad editor Omar Fadhil reports via IM seeing a USAF B-1 bomber patrolling the skies over Baghdad in daylight. The bomber circled the city for about 75 minutes between 4 and 6 PM Baghdad time. The altitude was estimated to be between 3 and 4 kilometers above the city. As far as is known B-1 bombers have not been flown over Baghdad since the shooting phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

AFGHANISTAN

NATO Under Attack From Within -- [Afghanistan Watch]
NATO's top commander warned yesterday that alliance members were endangering the lives of British, Dutch, Canadian and American soldiers by failing to provide reinforcements for Afghanistan before an expected Taliban offensive.

Parents Take Up Arms Against the Taliban -- [Strategy Page]
Terrorists have to be careful that they don't do something that will enrage, rather than terrify. A recent example of this can be found in Afghanistan, where the Taliban attempt, to terrorize Afghans into shutting down secular schools, backfired. Last year in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban burned down 200 schools, and terrorized parents into shutting down another 400.

The NATO Winter Offensive in Afghanistan -- [The Fourth Rail]
NATO doesn't wait for the Taliban's spring offensive as the Taliban attempts to seize Heland province, launches Operation Kryptonite
NATO forces and the Taliban aren't waiting for the snows to melt in the mountain passes, and are battling it out in the southern province of Helmand. The Taliban openly assaulted the town of Musa Qala in late January, a region the British ceded over to the Taliban in November, and is said to be reinforcing battle positions by "digging trenches and laying mines".

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

ROK Drop Recognized by Oh My News -- [GI Korea]
This was unexpected, via the Marmot, I found out that Oh My News wrote an article about the English language Korea blogs. Most of the article was about the Marmot’s Hole and the former Korea Life Blog, but some of the other Korea based bloggers were mentioned in the article.

Another Day in "Paradise" -- [Soldier of Africa - in Africa]
"I have been in Darfur long enough now. Time to go home." That is the attitude of most guys who have been here for more than eight months. For most of us it is a matter of getting the days over. I also hope that the UN takes over this mission sooner rather than later. The presence of the AU has probably prevented genocide from continuing,

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

How Microsoft Vista Helps Terrorists -- [Strategy Page]
Laptop computers are a major asset in the war on terror. Not because our troops use them, which they do in large quantities, but because the enemy uses them as well. Terrorist organizations have records, use email and are constantly on the go. Thus a laptop is an excellent terrorist tool. At the same time, your average terrorist has not had a lot of formal training in what he is doing. That sort of specialized training is particularly useful when it comes to keeping data on a laptop secret.

American al Qaeda Traitor & Blogger Arrested in Texas -- [Jawa Report]
Daniel Maldonado (aka, "ABU MOHAMMED"; aka "Daniel Aljughaifi"), a native born American who converted to Islam, went to Somalia following the call to jihad to fight for the African Taliban. Maldanado was born in Massachusetts, but presently lives in Houston Texas (specifically at 9888 United Drive, Apartment #2207---so, he may be your neighbor). Why was he fighting in Somalia? Because he wanted to practice "true Islam".

Speech by Al-Zawahiri Titled "Tremendous Lessons and Events in the Year 1427 AH" -- [The MEMRI Blog]
Islamist websites posted the transcript of Ayman Al-Zawihiri's audio speech summarizing the events of the Muslim year 1427 under the title "Tremendous Lessons and Events in the Year 1427 AH." In addition to the Arabic transcript, an English transcript produced by Al-Qaeda's "Al-Sahab" media group was provided.

The Pakistan Taliban -- [Jonathan Winer - Counterterrorism Blog]
The recent spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan are just one troubling aspect of what some are now terming "the Pakistan Taliban," a force that is exercising increasing influence throughout the country, and which by some accounts now controls North and South Waziristan.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Denver Volunteers Form Giant Valentine For Troops -- [cbs4denver.com]
An estimated 1,000 volunteers formed a human Valentine heart at Invesco Field at Mile High on Wednesday as part of a local radio station's plan to show support for American troops serving overseas.

MILITARY

Society's Standards, Not Military's, in Decline -- [SPY THE NEWS!]
It wasn’t enough for John Kerry to insult the intellectual capacity of the soldiers in Iraq. Congressman Marty Meehan, D-MA, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has now added “criminals” to the list of derogatory terms used by Democrats to describe our troops. That is what passes as support for the armed services in the new Congress. Rather than praise the military for giving some who have made mistakes the chance to improve their skills and future employment prospects, Congressman Meehan puts a negative spin to recently published Pentagon recruiting statistics and warns that the military is filled with criminals.

POLITICS

Disgusting. -- [Hot Air]
Top House Democrats, working in concert with anti-war groups, have decided against using congressional power to force a quick end to U.S. involvement in Iraq, and instead will pursue a slow-bleed strategy designed to gradually limit the administration’s options.
If they do what they’re apparently planning to do, “slow bleed” will be a very apt description. Those doing the bleeding, slowly, will be US troops.

Troops on the Resolution -- [YouTube]
“Fortunately for us, they don’t watch C-Span and what silly politicians do.” – Jack Kingston
“I was born and raised a Democrat, but when I see that, it just … makes me sad.” – First Sgt Louis Barnum

THE MEDIA

Bush Calls Claims of Manufactured Evidence "Preposterous" -- [Media Blog]
UPDATE: VIDEO ADDED He also mocked NBC's David Gregory, who (probably under orders from Chris Matthews) had just asked him if he was trying to gin up a pretext for war with Iran:

War on the Press? -- [Media Blog]
Jack Shafer watched the first installment of Frontline's "News War" and has this to say about the notion that the Bush administration is "at war" with the press:

MILBLOGGING

Blogs are CentCom's new target -- [SP Times]
TAMPA - It begins almost imperceptibly, one lonely posting on a blog. It says that U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan use candy to lure children so they can be used as human shields.