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

Attacks in Baghdad down by 80% -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
Since the multiple bombings in Shroja market district on the 12th, Baghdad hasn’t seen any major attacks and there’s a tangible decrease in all kinds of attacks.
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I agree with what some experts say about this lull in violence being the result of militants keeping their heads down for a while.

Iraqi troops make 25th ID Soldier proud -- [MNF-I]
KIRKUK — Staff Sgt. James Lee looked like a proud father. A group of Iraqi Strategic Infrastructure Brigade soldiers, who Lee has been helping to train for six months, huddled around him after showing off their warrior skills during a demonstration for Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander, Multi-National Division - North and 25th Infantry Division.

Badgers Down: Prelude -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
Falluja, Al Anbar, Iraq. I walked into the supported unit’s Combat Operations Center (COC) a little before 1400 on February 7, 2006.
“Hey Badger 6. You showed at just the perfect time, we need to call your 3 element off of their current mission. A CH-46 went down and we need to get out there.”

"I genuinely believe the United States Army is a force of good in this world" -- [Michelle Malkin]
The immortal words of 2LT Mark Daily live on. The Los Angeles Times has picked up the story: "Mark Daily wrote on MySpace that he joined the Army to help the suffering people of Iraq. In death, his words have become a call to service."

Why the Stinger Unit Was Sent to Iraq -- [Strategy Page]
February 19, 2007: As part of the effort to give all marines an opportunity to serve in Iraq, the U.S. Marine Corps is sending the 1st Stinger Battery, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The 130 marines and sailors in this unit normally provide dozens of Stinger teams, each using shoulder fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to take down low-flying enemy aircraft.

How the West was won: ‘Sons of Fallujah’ set stage for victory in Anbar -- [Marine Links]
Caption: Members of the Fallujah Iraqi Police Special Missions Group stand in formation while awaiting orders from IP leadership. The Fallujah IPs are composed almost entirely of dedicated local ...

TET FOR TAT? -- [Jules Crittenden]
Frontal assault on a base in Iraq kills two, wounds 17.
This raises a question I’ve been wondering about. We’ve seen surge results, and we’ve seen the brief peace broken. No surprise here. Obviously it is to the benefit of the enemy to paint the surge as a failure, and well with the enemy’s capability to keep launching attacks. They can continue launching sporadic attacks as they are able, and the Surrender Camp will seize on them as signs of failure.

How Human Are We? -- [Acute Politcs - in Iraq]
...I left the billets early tonight for the mission. I racked my machine gun in the cradle, and sat on top of the truck. I plugged in my iPod, took a sip of coffee, and sat back to watch the sunset. Somehow, the setting sun always seems to look better here than at home; the sunsets are the one beautiful thing about this place. I watch as the dying sun slowly sinks, its rays falling across sand, mud, guard towers, satellite dishes, and all the other things that have come to mean home for a time.

Kurdistan: The Other Iraq -- (CBS News)
Try to imagine a peaceful and stable Iraq where business is booming and Americans are beloved. Now open your eyes because 60 Minutes is going to take you to a part of Iraq which fits that description: it's called Kurdistan.

Australia considering more trainers for Iraq -- [GX Online]
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is considering sending more military trainers to Iraq but does not plan to increase its combat forces there, Prime Minister John Howard said Monday.

AFGHANISTAN

Friends -- [Afghanistan Without a Clue - in Afghanistan]
Hamid has been very excited about all the new guys coming in. For a while it looked like many of us weren’t going to be replaced, and Hamid was understandably concerned about his job. It looks like it is secure for another year, fingers crossed. He is especially interested in the captain that is replacing me, as Hamid will most likely be working with him a lot. He wants to know if he is funny (since I am endlessly entertaining), have I met him before, what is he like, did he volunteer to come, and so on. Unfortunately, I don’t know him, and can’t provide much insight.

BE AFRAID -- [CAPT Doug Traversa - The Sandbox]
Just when I think nothing will surprise me, Afghanistan throws me a curve ball. Let me set the stage. Maj Apple, Wali, Hamid (our interpreters) and I were sitting in our office having a Deep Discussion about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Somehow the topic of gays serving in the military came up, and Maj Apple and I both think they will be able to openly serve in the military very soon. (I mention this to set the stage, not to start a debate. Personally, it wouldn't bother me. If they want to come over and fight for their country, it's fine with me. Welcome.)

The Reality of War -- [gwot dot us - in Afghanistan]
Many of my fellow Americans feel that this war is distant, that it concerns them none. Heck, they don’t even know anyone in the service or haven’t even had a family member in the service in all of the generations. This poem shows them that they have known someone in the service, whether they realize it or not.

Too Few Good Men -- [Celestial Junk]
The following video serves as a good lesson to Canadians who try to score cheap political points by constantly poking holes in the Afghan mission.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Iranian Nuclear Plant Falls Prey To Collection Agency -- [Captain's Quaters]
The Russians have decided to delay their assistance to the Iranians on the construction and operation of the Bushehr reactor that has the West infuriated with both nations. Moscow has not come to its senses about giving radical Islamists the nuclear cycle, however. They're just refusing to work until the Iranians catch up on their bills:

The Covert War with Iran -- [Captain's Journal]
...Iranians have been caught destroying oil pipelines in Iraq under orders from Iranian intelligence. IED technology has been developed in Iran, tested by Hezballah in the recent war with Israel, and shipped to Iraq, this IED technology having an unmistakable Iranian signature. In response to “the surge,” dozens of Iranian Intelligence officers were taking positions around Baghdad, in Salman Pak, Hilla and Kut, in preparation for an attack to drive out the remaining Sunni population from districts on the Rusafa side, east of Baghdad, in order to assume full control by Shi’ite political parties loyal to Iran.

Holocaust Now: Looking Down Into Hell at Camp 22 -- [OneFreeKorea]
Those who have lived to tell us about Camp 22, located in the bleak northeastern tip of North Korea, can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and all of them are former guards or staff. Of all of North Korea’s numerous labor camps and detention facilities, large and small, Camp 22 is one of the largest, and almost certainly the most terrible, if only for the inhuman experiments witnesses say were done to the men, women, children, and even infants sent there.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

N.Y. Times: Al-Qaeda Gaining Strength in Pakistan, Waziristan Accord Has Failed -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
A report in today's New York Times discusses American intelligence and counterterrorism officials' view that al-Qaeda's senior leadership has "re-established significant control" over the worldwide terror network. Their operations hub is located in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area:

Do You Want The Terrorists To Win? -- [Jules Crittenden]
Take the quiz here. h/t Tim Blair
This is a test you want to fail. I got 15 percent, and was informed I’m a proud flag waving American who wants to kill terrorists, something like that. I think I effed up on “Did you start calling French Fries ‘Freedom Fries’” by checking “No, That’s Retarded.”

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Operation Take A Vet Fishing -- -- [Soldiers' Angels New York]
Veterans or active-duty service members who like fishing or who would like to learn are invited to check out Operation Take a Vet Fishing. Though the founder of this operation is based in the New York City/Tri-State area and fishes mainly in Long Island Sound and off the New Jersey coast, there are fishermen in other states also getting on board and offering their boats and equipment as well. This offer is open to any active or retired combat veteran who would like to join for a day fishing.

MILITARY

SF schools to teach "witty and devastating portrait of US military history" -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
First JROTC programs are banned from San Francisco schools, and now Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism is to be included in the public school curriculum.
Although the book has had significant distribution within the Los Angeles public school system for some time, San Francisco Unified is the first entire district to approve use of the book after a unanimous vote by the Board of Education's Curriculum and Program Committee last fall.

Scary SEAL Stories Hurt Recruiting -- [Strategy Page]
February 19, 2007: The U.S. Navy has found a way to lower the attrition rate (75 percent) of candidates for SEAL training. Having decided to expand the SEAL force, and not getting enough new candidates, the navy established a "prep school" for recruits wanting to become SEALs.

POLITICS

Leadership Traits for Congress -- [The Realist]
What makes an ideal member of Congress? I intend to explore what mix is needed to get the perfect Senator or Representative. For my discussion I will be referring in this post to the official list of Leadership Traits from the Marines. They worked well for me for 22 years. Right up front I admit that I am skeptical of whether a politician really can live up to the lot of these. But in all fairness we expect our Marines to live up to them on a daily basis.

THE MEDIA

The Wounded are "Combat-Addled" Druggies -- [Fuzzilicious Thinking]
That title offend you much? Well, that's how the Washington Post paints wounded American warfighters. Yesterday they published a story about a run-down facility off the Walter Reed grounds that houses some of the outpatients. I have some thoughts about what can be done to help, but that's a separate post.

Breaking News from MSNBC: Accusations of Poor Conditions at WRAMC -- [Iraq War News]
Breaking on the internet tonight, and hitting the papers tomorrow, is the story of a Washington Post investigation of conditions faced by outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The picture it paints is not a pretty one, to say the least:

Departing NBC Analyst Cites "Retreat From Journalistic Standards" -- [Media Blog]
Retired colonel and NBC News military analyst Ken Allard announced in his San Antonio Express-News column today that he is formally severing his ties to the network, partly because network execs did not fire William Arkin for calling U.S. troops "mercenaries":

Correction: PBS 'Frontline' Producers Contacted MRC For 'News War' -- [NewsBusters]
Last Tuesday, in a blog suggesting the PBS Frontline documentary on 'News War' would be biased, I added: "Suffice it to say PBS has not contacted the news watchers at the MRC." Frontline executive editor Louis Wiley protested that they had. I asked our publicists, and they located an e-mail from April, requesting a 90-minute interview with MRC president Brent Bozell, which was refused. I was not aware of the request, and I was incorrect. Here is the e-mail I received from Wiley of PBS:

Krugman's Infallibility Complex -- [Real Clear Politics]
In the New York Times today, Paul Krugman explains why it's so vitally important to the left - and to him - that Hillary say she was wrong about her vote on the Iraq war...

The Internet Mob Versus the Mass Media -- [Strategy Page]
February 18, 2007: One thing about the Internet is that the increase in speed by which information is spread across the globe. This can cut both ways. Not only can the American debates be spread across the globe, where certain statements can give al Qaeda and its allies encouragement. News of events, as well as al Qaeda's statements, can make its way around the world as well.

HUMOR

Random Tidbits -- [Acute Politics - in Iraq]
Good Humor:
I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to give thirty bored soldiers super-strength mouse catching glue (the humorous translation from Arabic on the tube is "Magic Power Adhesive") and a box of mousetraps, but it happened. NEWS FLASH: FUNNY, BUT BAD IDEA!

Democrats Mull Alternatives to Iraq War Funding Cut -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-02-19) — After failing to pass a non-binding resolution condemning a U.S. troop surge in Iraq, Democrats, reluctant to cut funding for the war, are reportedly studying a host of alternatives designed to show that they support the troops yet oppose the commander-in-chief, President George Bush

(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)