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

Operation Baghdad Update. -- [Iraq the Model -- Iraqis in Iraq]
After being technically in progress for about over a week, Operation Imposing the Law officially started yesterday.

Al-Maliki who's been on a tour in the mid-southern region announced the beginning of the operation from Kerbala. This choice I think delivers two messages; first it looks that Maliki was trying to show that the plan is solid enough and could go on without his immediate supervision and presence in Baghdad and that the military commanders are operating without interference from politicians.

Best Feeling Ever! -- [24 Steps to Liberty - an Iraqi in Iraq]
...Today, the United States announced that it will accept 7,000 Iraqi refugees this year!
It was the best news I’ve heard about Iraq and Iraqis for months now. It is very important that we give hope to Iraqis. And maybe this step will encourage other countries to do the same and welcome Iraqis. Not Arab countries of course because we lost hope in our brothers years ago! We depend on friends now.

Immigration follies -- [Jihad Watch]
Gov. Ted Strickland on Wednesday had a message for President Bush: any plan to relocate thousands of refugees uprooted by the Iraq war to the U.S. shouldn't include Ohio.
The Bush administration plans to allow about 7,000 Iraqi refugees to settle in the United States over the next year, a huge expansion at a time of mounting international pressure to help millions who have fled their homes in the nearly four-year-old war.
...Strickland, a Democrat who opposed the war as a U.S. House member, said Ohioans cannot be expected to have open arms for Iraqis displaced by the war. More than 100 Ohioans have been killed since the war began.

Iraqis, Wolfhounds build relationship to achieve success -- [MNF-I]
HAWIJA — When they arrived six months ago, they knew success in their area of operation would hinge on integrating Iraq’s tribal culture. For centuries, tribal sheiks have influenced the social, economic and political landscape of the predominantly Arab southern portion of the Kirkuk Province.

"But again, it's a cultural thing, and it's going to take some time:"
Analysis of the Fallujah MiTT Mission and an Interview with a MiTT Commander -- [INDC Journal - in Iraq]
The story of the Military Transition Team (MiTT) mission in Fallujah is a fairly positive one tempered by significant negatives. Many of the Iraqi Army units that the MiTTs work with are considered reasonably competent and brave, and - in contrast to most of the Iraqi police - the IA's are currently on the offensive against the insurgency.

Soldier survives sniper scare, still serving -- [MNF-I]
CAMP LIBERTY — The life of one paratrooper was forever changed Sept. 2, 2006. A 7.62mm round from a sniper’s rifle found its mark and struck the 20 year-old.
Unlike other stories of fallen heroes, the story of Pfc. Andrew Woods continues to unfold. Today the saw gunner carries on despite the life-threatening wound he received just over six months ago – he has made a full recovery.
Now on his second tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Woods is assigned to 1st Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, attached to 2nd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., which is securing the city streets of Baghdad.

E-Mail from Tazz, Airman in Iraq -- [Rush Limbaugh]
I am scratching my head here. None of this makes any sense...but I wonder what you think about all of this...

The national news media shows lots of our American servicemen and women dying over there in Iraq and getting killed, helicopters being shot down, roadside bombs going off...etc...etc. Yet, when you are there, when you work with Americans and Iraqis who are actively engaged in re-building the country, who are out going after the enemy...there’s this ever-present sense of optimism, this prevailing upbeat mood of doing good. Just go talk to the wounded servicemen at Brooks or Bethesda.

...Rush, there’s an upbeat mood out there in Iraq. The country and its new democracy are moving forward. And the enemy hates it.

Abu Ayuuab al-Masri Still At Large. "No DNA Match" -- [Intel Officer - Pajamas Media]
Media reports that the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was captured today are false, our sources in the intelligence community tell us. Don’t believe al Arabiya, Associated Press or Reuters, at least not yet.
The new head of Iraq’s Interior Ministry, which controls the nation’s intelligence and police forces, apparently “jumped the gun.”

Good News Bad News -- [Jules Crittenden]
Good news from Iraq: al-Zarqawi’s replacement wounded and a top aide killed, Iraqi officials say. No confirmation, no word on how they know, though, and PJM with more detail on the raid says there was no capture and questions whether he was wounded. Well, if he was, I hope it hurts!

Good News from Iraq and Afghanistan 5: Rebuilding Basra. -- [Crumbling Spires - from UK]
Continuing the occasional series of stories unlikely to be found the mainstream media.
In Iraq, the Yorkshire Regiment is in Shit Street, literally. Az Aubayr is the second largest town in Basra province and it has a sewage problem. On one particular road patrolled by the regiment, the tarmac is hidden under a layer of the brown stuff. What else would the army call it?

Iraqi Police train to lead, protect -- [Centcom]
Iraqi Policemen from the Babil and Karbala provinces took a big step on the journey towards Provincial Iraqi Control on Feb. 10.
The Iraqi Police stations across the Babil and Karbala provinces sent 20 dedicated, experienced officers to the forward operating base to attend the Iraqi police sustainment training program. After 10 days, the officers graduated the course having gained valuable knowledge to provide advanced instruction to fellow officers at their home stations.

AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANISTAN: MILITANT VIDEO SHOWS 'OCCUPATION' OF US MILITARY BASE -- (AKI) Video Here
Kabul, 16 Feb. - A video purportedly produced by al-Qaeda has appeared on the internet with the claim that it shows the conquest by Taliban and al-Qaeda militants of a US military base in southern Afghanistan. The images show what an Arabic-speaking narrator says is the preparation and execution of the attack on the base situated in Arghandab in the southern Zabul province. Footage allegedly shot before the attack from a clifftop overlooking the base are followed by post-battle images of victorious Islamist militants entering the base and destroying vehicles that, according to the narrator, were abandoned by the fleeing Americans.
UPDATE:
Al Qaeda Attack Video Appears to Be Staged -- [The Blotter]
An al Qaeda-produced video claiming to show how U.S. and Afghan forces were driven out of a heavily defended base in the last few weeks appears to be a phony.

President Bush Outlines Strategy for Afghanistan -- [GX Online]
Success against terrorism in Afghanistan is important to U.S. security, and the administration has key areas it will be working on to improve the situation there, President Bush said here today.
In an address to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Bush said action in Afghanistan will include strengthening NATO forces and bolstering local governments.

Preparing for the Spring Offensive -- [Strategy Page]
An American paratroop brigade, that was headed for Iraq, has been ordered to Afghanistan instead. That would put two U.S. combat brigades in Afghanistan, rather than the usual one. Various special troops, including Special Forces, give the U.S. the equivalent of another combat brigade. There are 27,000 American troops in Afghanistan, and the additional brigade will increase that to 30,000.

News of Afghanistan ۴۷ -- [Miserable Donuts]
Ah, the past weekend reminds me of what one of my favorite interpreter's father would say... "Snow in the mountains is better than gold in the bank." As, I do not have any farmland along the Panjshir River, he may have my allotment of snow.

Don't Mess With the Bride Price -- [Strategy Page]
In Afghanistan, the Taliban's "war on schooling for girls" has been running into resistance from many tribes. There are a number of reasons why these otherwise religiously conservative, tradition-bound tribesmen have decided to resist the Taliban's efforts to curb education for girls.

Letter from the Afghan Front -- [Strategy Page]
...We employ several thousand Afghans on our various bases. Not to mention the economy that is fed by the money these locals are making.
Some are laborers and builders, but some are skilled workers. We even have one Afghan that just became OSHA qualified, the first ever. Some are skilled HVAC workers.
Anyway, there is this one Afghan that we call Rambo. We have actually given him a couple of sets of the new ACU uniforms (the new Army digital camouflage) with the name tag RAMBO on it. His entire family was killed by the Taliban and his home was where our base currently resides.

BUSTING AT THE SEAMS -- [CAPT Matt Smenos - The SandBox - in Afghanistan]
It used to be the remoteness of it all. The lean, Spartan efficiency of a "Forward Operating Base" made us uncomfortable. In July of 2006, when we first arrived in Sharana, my team of Airmen and I couldn't believe how little there was here. Our huts were simple, four-walled boxes. The occasional dividing wall or curtain within was seen as a decadent extravagance and spurred jealousy and vandalism.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

New York Army National Guard Responds to Excessive Snowfall -- [GX Online]
Approximately 100 Citizen Soldiers and 40 vehicles responded from hometown armories and assembled in Central New York to begin support operations for the Oswego County Emergency Operations Center in advance of a snowstorm expected to add more than two feet of snow to a region already recovering from nearly 10 feet of lake-effect snowfall over the past week.

Tribal Rebellion in the East Gets Nasty -- [Strategy Page]
Iran has instigated an arms race in the Persian Gulf. The Arab nations across the water have placed orders for more than $100 billion in weapons, mainly from the U.S., Europe and Russia. This is several times what Iran can afford to buy. While Iran has a greater population, and military tradition, the clerics running the country for the last two decades have trashed the economy with corruption and mismanagement.

Geopolitical Diary: Putin's Strategic Reshuffle -- [Stratfor]
Russian President Vladimir Putin reshuffled his Cabinet on Thursday. Though some of his personnel selections might seem unorthodox, Putin is aptly maneuvering people extremely loyal to him into positions of power.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

New "Martyr" Stories From Al-Qaida's Network in Iraq -- [Globalterroralert.com]
Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" and its supporters have distributed a new series of biographies detailing the lives of prominent fighters who have been killed while fighting U.S. and Iraqi government forces over the past three years. The stories include the history of two young mujahideen recruits from Sudan, one of whom was a member of Al-Qaida's feared Al-Baraa bin Malik suicide brigade and likewise a former online subscriber to the notorious Muntada al-Ansar Internet forum. ...

How Austria Supports Terrorists -- [Strategy Page]
The United States has captured nearly a hundred Austrian (Steyr-Mannlicher) HS50 12.7mm (.50 caliber) sniper rifles in Iraq. These rifles were part of a shipment of 800 sold to the Iran national police in 2005, at a cost of some $20,000 each. The Austrians believed that the Iranians wanted the rifles for use against Afghan and Pakistani drug smugglers. The United States saw the weapons as eventually being used against

Saudi Petition Calling for Reforms Issued by Islamists who Support Terrorism -- [MEMRI]
A petition addressed to King Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz was published on February 2, 2007 demanding economic, social, and political reforms in the country. [1] The 19 signatories stated that the success of reforms in Saudi Arabia depends on involving the public in decision-making by establishing a parliament through free elections, on ensuring just distribution of resources and on fighting poverty.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Supporting the Troops -- [Andrew Olmsted]
I know I'll never convince anyone about this, but I'll point it out anyhow: today's example of what I expect to see more and more of over the coming months, people who never did like the troops and are no longer afraid to say so.

Professor(?) June Scorza Terpstra asks can we really support these troops? The answer, to her, is a clear no.

H&I Fires -- [Castle Argghhh!]
Two views on something you should get out your stress relief referee doll for.
One from Murdoc.
The other from Jason at COUNTERCOLUMN.

How do we define "Support"? -- [A Proud Infidel - in Iraq]
Reminiscent of Bill Clinton's "What is is" Word Game, it appears that Congress has decided to take a page from the Clinton playbook and now, in a much more defiant and detrimental move, are playing with the word "support".

MILITARY

Making Life Tough for Snipers -- [Strategy Page]
...Ambush has long been the favorite form of combat, but these gunshot detectors make it more difficult for the most deadly type of ambush, the sniper, to succeed. Not every combat unit going on patrol is going to take a gunshot detector with them. But if troops are going somewhere that is a known hangout for snipers, than the detector is good to have along.

When Ambushing Recruiters Backfires -- [Army Lawyer]
Radar Online (don’t worry, you’ve never read it) has an article documenting a “prank” on military recruiters ostensibly to find out how desperate they are for recruits. The article includes purported transcripts of phone calls between the prospective “recruit” and the recruiter. The “recruit” pretends to be a variety of people, from the fashion-conscious-maybe-gay guy to the to a guy with lots of odd health-issues.

POLITICS

Dems Find Way to Block Surge -- [Military.com]
Murtha is preparing legislation that would set strict conditions on combat deployments, including a year rest between combat tours; ultimately, the measure would make it impossible for Bush to maintain his planned deployment of a total of about 160,000 troops for months on end.

The Cat's Out of the Bag -- [Dean Barnett - Hugh Hewitt]
This story deserves more attention than it’s gotten, so I’m going to give it some.
The eagle-eyed NZ Bear while running the show at the Victory Caucus noticed a strange little blurb on the website of MoveCongress.org. MoveCongress.org, for those of you fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with the group, boasts on its masthead that it wants to “Move Congress to End the War in Iraq.” This morning, the group was scheduled to be blessed with an exclusive briefing from Jack ...

THE MEDIA

De-legitimizing the Troops -- [The American Thinker]
It is no coincidence that NBC reporter Richard Engle, who has long offered slanted reporting from Iraq to portray American actions in the worst possible way, and Bill Arkin of NBC and the Washington Post have made recent ‘gaffs' in their reporting.

The House of Murtha by Anne Flaherty (redacted version) -- [Roger Simon]
Anne Flaherty of the AP fervently kisses the feet of John Murtha in her idolatrous news reporting today"Murtha Moves to Forefront of Iraq Debate." I doubt who John Murtha really is slipped her mind (even though it isn't in the article), but I will remind her. John Murtha is a creepy, corrupt politician who escaped an Abscam indictment by testifying against his peers:

Less Than 10% Is A 'Broad Swath'? -- [Captain's Quarters]
The Washington Post needs better headline writers. Today's story on Republican defections to the anti-surge resolution in the House implies that a massive revolt has taken place in the GOP over the war. Instead, we find out that around 6.5% of the caucus will vote with the Democrats:
Broad Swath of GOP Defecting on Iraq Vote
...Thirteen seats among 200+ does not a "broad swath" make. It's newsworthy, but the group still comprises a small minority in the Republican caucus.

NBC Military Analyst Quits Network, Citing Left-wing Bias -- [NewsBusters]
NBC military analyst Ken Allard, a former army colonel, has resigned from the network, citing a general drift to the left at MSM outlet, especially following NBC's inaction over scurrilous remarks made by one of its other analysts, a leftist named Bill Arkin, that implied the military was full of "mercenaries" raking in "obscene amenities."

WaPo's Priest on the Press and Military Secrecy -- [Media Blog]
During a livechat today, the Washington Post's Dana Priest took a question about whether the media would alert us to impending hostilities against Iran:

The Jamil Hussein Name Game -- Iraqi General Weighs In -- [Pajamas Media]
What’s in a name? When it comes to one that starts “Jamil Hussein,” and involves the credibility of the Associated Press, quite a bit. From “Is AP Iraq source Jamil Hussein for real?” the story has morphed into “Who, exactly, is the source and what is his real name.?” Blogger Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee has been bulldogging this story from his sources in Iraq. Here’s his latest update in this game of “Now we name him. Now we don’t.”

HUMOR

Al Franken Announces He Was Once a Comedian -- [ScrappleFace]
Former liberal radio host Al Franken, in announcing his candidacy for the U.S. senate in Minnesota, yesterday shocked his potential constituents by revealing that he was once a comedian.

Al Franken announces a run for the Senate: a Transcript -- [Doug Ross @ Journal]
Hi, I’m Al Franken. I'm running for the United States Senate here in Minnesota. I'd like to talk to you about why I'm running.

A jab -- [chic[k]pilot]
At some of my favorite grunts...
You know I love you guys. Someday you'll love me too when you're calling me in for that air strike...

Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, Dawn_Patrol