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

Hey, Everybody -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
This story relates to this war on terror. We may not realize many tangible results from this war, especially not if we have a timeline based on a news cycle or an election. But it’s worth every can full of water every day we fight over here. I am resolved to fight these bastards for however long it takes, every day until my retirement.
I am stationed in Mosul, Iraq and things are busy. We have about 15 - 20 incidents a day.

HOW HUMAN ARE WE? -- [Acute Politics - in Iraq via the Sandbox]
It's time for another one of those posts. The kind that gets nutjobs at places like Vanity Fair all up in a tizzy. Maybe I'm pushing too far with this one. I'm writing about something that I feel many of you can never understand.
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. ...

Faces of the Surge -- [BlackFive]
Do you see defeat?
Sgt. Kenneth Labutis, scans the area providing an out cordon near the Zanjaliah village, Iraq, Feb. 1, during Operation Lightning. Operation Lighting is an Iraqi army planned operation looking for weapon caches, personnel of high interest and gathering of intelligence with the help of the U.S. Army Soldiers from Forward Operating Base McHenry, Labutis is from the Delta Company, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

ON Point Exclusive: Ramadi's Mayor Praises Marines, Blasts Iraqi Government -- [ON Point]
A chance encounter last weekend at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq became an opportunity to talk more about the future of Ramadi. ON Point’s Andrew Lubin bumped into Ramadi’s Mayor Latif Obaid Ayadeh at the Al-Asad airstrip. Lubin was on his way

Going’s On.. -- [Far From Perfect - in Iraq]
What have I been up to? I was interviewed for some newspapers a few weeks ago (I can let you know where to look privately), I have been involved in teaching CLS classes to US troops and Iraqi Troops, and treated a few patients in the BAS. Still no heavy fighting here, although the IED count is going up. I am learning a bit of Arabic which helps a lot in just getting around here, especially when the Iraqis find out your the “Doctor” and start molesting you with all their ailments. Unfortunately, I don’t carry the things they need and end up directing them to the local hospitals and doctors.

Badger 6 in Local St. Louis Media -- [Badgers Forward - home on R&R from Iraq]
Channel 5, KSDK in St. Louis came to interview me and Mrs. Badger 6 yesterday. We led the 10Pm news. Check out the story here.
I also appeared on Allman and Smash in the Morning today.

The Real News Behind "The Surge" -- [Austin Bay - Strategy Page]
"More troops" isn't the most significant aspect of the military "surge" in Iraq.
Since at least fall 2003, an increase of 5,000 to 10,000 troops over a three-month window has been an option for coalition forces. For example, deploying a "ready brigade" from the 82nd Airborne Division would quickly bump troop strength in the region by around 4,000 soldiers. On several occasions

CCCI convicts 23 insurgents -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 23 security detainees from Feb. 11 - 17, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, possessing fake identification, passport violations and illegal border crossing.
The trial court found a Moroccan man guilty of Article 24 of the Iraqi Penal Code for illegal boarder crossing.

Troops capture 61 terror suspects -- [MNF-I]
Spc. Martin Garza, an artilleryman with Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, gets behind cover during a patrol down a street in Adhamiyah known as an IED "hot spot," Feb. 16. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mike Pryor.BAGHDAD — Iraqi and Coalition Forces captured 61 suspected terrorists, destroyed five improvised explosive devices and seized several weapons caches during operations across Iraq in the past four days.

What's Not News -- [Strategy Page]
At least a hundred, of the six million people in Baghdad, were killed by Sunni Arab terrorist attacks in the last four days. The two week old "Battle of Baghdad" has forced Sunni and Shia gangs to stay in hiding. That has helped the terror bombing operations, as these depend on stealth and surprise. The army and police catch many of the bomber vehicles at check points, but there are so many attempts that the terrorists can still carry out a few successful attacks a week. However, recent attacks appear to be of the "use it or lose it" variety. The more intense security operations inside Baghdad have uncovered bomb workshops and safe houses, meaning

Whither Sadr City? -- [Captain's Quaters]
The US has a decision ahead of then with the new surge strategy that could either help drive out the Shi'ite insurgents or lose them the entire city of Baghdad. The joint Iraqi-American forces have cleared and held Shi'ite enclaves around Sadr City, but have not yet entered that power base of the Mahdi Army. They must determine whether and when to do so, and the credibility of the US forces and the Iraqi government depends on their next moves:...

Iraq War Attitudes -- [Outside the Beltway]
Public Opinion Strategies* has released a survey [PDF file here] of likely voters’ attitudes toward the Iraq War that finds that most voters think the country is going in the wrong direction (67%) and President Bush is doing a poor job (60%), and that Iraq will never be a stable democracy (60%). No real surprises there, right?

British military is wary of sending Prince Harry to Iraq -- (Herald Tribune)
The Ministry of Defense has dismissed the idea as speculation, but newspapers have already started speculating on a different tack — not so much about whether he will be deployed in Iraq as about his security if he does go. He would, one report said, be a "bullet magnet" in an area where British troops confront what the authorities here call Iranian-backed Shiite insurgents.

AFGHANISTAN

Children -- [Afghanistan without a Clue - in Afghanistan]
...“Well, in America, we can only have one wife. Suppose I had gotten married, and my wife could not have children. What should I do?”

Hamid answered easily and quickly. “You should divorce her and marry someone else. What is a marriage without children?”

The cultural gulf exploded in my face. The utter casualness with which he said this was as shocking as when Wali told me gays and apostates should be executed.

“I married my wife because I love HER. Why in the world would I leave her if she couldn’t have children? I want to be with her.”

Hamid seemed as baffled as I was. “But a marriage is nothing without children.”

“Why?” I demanded.

“Who will take care of you when you are older? Who will pray for you when you die?” he explained.

“That sounds incredibly selfish. You only want kids to take care of you when you are old?” I countered.

Empathy: a mental or affective projection into the feelings or state of mind of another person. -- [Afghanistan JAG - in Afghanistan]
I went on a civil affairs mission today. We visited a local village to see if we could provide some humanitarian assistance. The pictures really speak for themselves. Since I left the village this morning, I've been walking around in a fog. I am overwhelmed by what I saw.

FAMILY BONDS -- [Doug Templeton - The SandBox]
I write this post from the safety of my office back in the States. I am here on 30 days emergency leave. My father died after a four-year battle with cancer. Never in that time did he ever complain about the pain or worry me about his suffering. When the end came it was a shock to me because he seemed to be doing well. I know it was his way of keeping me from being distracted. He believed in what I am doing, and would not have wanted to bother me with things I couldn't control. He was a trooper and I will miss him terribly.

Since this site is for passing along the events and feelings of servicemembers, I thought I would try to explain what has been going through my mind the last few days.

21 February 2007 -- [sgtdub - in Afghanistan]
It's Wednesday, so for everyone the week is almost over. We've had a bit of interesting weather over the last couple of days. We went from Sunday being a high of 68 F/19C to Monday morning seeing it snow again. It has been raining since Monday night and turning back into snow yesterday afternoon and night. Now, as I've said, Afghanistan needs this type of precipitation, but the locals are complaining. You see, they still build most of the houses out of mud to include the roofs

ITALY: GOVERNMENT LOSES SENATE VOTE ON AFGHAN MISSION -- (AKI)
Rome, 21 Feb.- The Italian government lost Wednesday a key Senate vote on its foreign policy centred on the deployment of its troops in Afghanistan. The Senate, where the center-left government has a mere one-seat majority, voted 158 in favour of a motion supporting the government's foreign policy, failing to reach the required 160-ballots quorum; 136 Senators voted against while 24 abstained. In statements to the press published by all main Italian newspapers...

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN CLAIMS IT IS READY FOR SPRING OFFENSIVE -- (AKI)
Kabul. 21 Feb. - The Taliban said they "have completed the preparations for the pre-announced spring military offensive" which has the objective of conquering new provinces in Afghanistan. In an interview with the Arabic language television channel Al Jazeera aired on Wednesday, Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's military commander announced that the offensive will focus particularly on the southern Afghan province of Helmand where at least 6,000 fighters are ready to fight as soon as they get the signal from Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Somalia and Iran -- [Strategy Page]
February 21, 2007: UN and American counter-terror investigators are trying to uncover the foreign supporters of the Islamic Courts movement in Somalia. With the Islamic Courts broken by an Ethiopian invasion last December, investigators are able to question a lot of people, and they are getting some interesting answers.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

The Others -- [Strategy Page]
While most of the terrorism committed these days is carried out by Islamic radicals, they have found allies in existing radical leftist groups. For example, in Okinawa, a group calling itself the "Revolutionary Army" set off three pipe bombs in the last week. The same group claimed responsibility for similar attacks in 2002. Leftist radicals have been around for over a century.

al-Zawraa vs al-Qaeda -- [The Fourth Rail]
Mishan al-Jabouri goes on al-Zawraa and attacks al-Qaeda
While the Sunni insurgency is often seen as a united block, the reality is that under the surface, there are great tensions and disagreements between the 'domestic' insurgents and the 'foreigners.' Nibras Kazimi has reported that Mishan al-Jabouri, the owner of al-Zawraa,

As-Sahab Video of Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan -- [Globalterroralert.com]
Al-Qaida's central media wing, known as the As-Sahab Media Foundation, has released a new video depicting a recent suicide car bombing attack in Afghanistan. The video includes a recorded "martyrdom" will by the bomber, footage of the creation of the bomb, and the execution of the actual attack itself. The video also features an excerpt from an interview with Taliban supreme military commander Mullah Dadullah, in which he endorses suicide bomb operations as a key weapon in confronting heavily-armed "superpowers."

Islamist Websites as an Integral Part of Jihad: A General -- [MEMRI]
...Islamist websites operate out of various countries, both Muslim and non-Muslim, and their target audience includes countries and communities all over the world. Accordingly, the websites address their audiences in various languages, from Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Turkish to Western languages such as English and French.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

New Address -- [Lumberjack in a Desert]
Good news! J.R. and I have moved rooms at Walter Reed and we are now living in the Fisher House. For those who are not familiar with the Fisher House, it is an organization that supports military families in time of need. The house we live in holds eight families. We all have our own room and bathroom and we share a common kitchen, dinig area, and living area. It is the best home away from home that anyone can ask for.
For everyone wishing to cards and well wishes here is our new address:...

I can not begin to tell you all how lucky we were to be able to move into the Fisher House. There are hundreds of soldiers at Walter Reed and many of them live in horrible conditions. The facility is overcrowded, understaffed, and confusing to navigate.

Second Look at the Walter Reed Story -- [ROFA Six]
When Pam sent me this story about conditions at Walter Reed, I was livid after reading it. But then, after years of being lied to by the media my next reaction was one of caution. Could it really be that bad, or was this another politically motivated "Bush/America/Army bash" so typical from the main stream media?
Reading the MilBlogs, I tried to get a better feel of how accurate the story was

Full Circle: Two Years, Two Soldiers, One Blog...Last month, I meant to get to a post to note my 2-year blog-iversary.
Hard to believe it's been two years since I started here.
...A darker element of the beginning of my blogging days is that they started right about the time that we lost a young Hero named Gunnar Becker. I have posted about Gunnar before. He was very special to Soldiers' Angels, as is his Mom, Debey. It was Debey that let me know about an anti-war display that was using Gunnar's name, and then sent the pictures of how fallen Heroes should be honored. If you can today, please spare a moment to honor his memory.

Moral Authority -- [Media Blog]
Today FNC's Neil Cavuto interviewed Deborah Johns, a "Blue Star Mom" who has organized a caravan to "let our military men and women know that we love them, we support them and their mission":

MILITARY

Promoting Failure -- [NRO]
The Army gets the lead out.

Earlier this month, the Senate voted 83–14 to confirm Gen. George Casey as Army chief of staff. Ten of those “no” votes came from Republicans, four of whom — John McCain, John Ensign, Saxby Chambliss and Lindsey Graham — serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). The four grilled General Casey during his confirmation hearing, forcefully taking him to task for lack of progress in Iraq during his tenure as the commander of US ground troops there.

Not Everyone Loves a Parade -- [Strategy Page]
February 21, 2007: American units stationed in Europe, and sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, used to get a big ceremony and party when they returned from the combat zone. The parties have been cancelled. Cost was given as a factor, as each party cost about $250,000 (for food, entertainment, and large tents.) The U.S. Army is cutting back on just about everything in order to pay for combat operations. Turns out that most of the troops don't miss the party.

Welcome to the Danger Room -- [Danger Room - Wired Blogs]
Welcome to the DANGER ROOM, people. Make yourselves at home.
We'll be talking about what's next in law enforcement, homeland security, and the military here. Not just the gear -- although you'll get more than your fair share of killer drones, electronic weapons, and nuclear threats, don't worry. We'll look at new strategies, new thinking, and new tactics in national security, as well. And we'll follow the personalities and politics surrounding these developments. Because within a military-industrial complex that chews up a trillion dollars a year, there are plenty of power struggles, both behind the scenes, and in front of the cameras.

POLITICS

US deficit is shrinking, for now -- (CSM)
Despite the ongoing costs of US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the outlook for the federal budget has grown substantially brighter.
... Already, the federal deficit is shrinking toward about half the size that it has averaged since 1970, when analyzed as a percentage of gross domestic product

Death and Politics -- [Dadmanly]
...We lose no more soldiers in Iraq than we would lose, on average, through training accidents, other accidents, and other causes. In other words, soldiers are no less safe (or no more in danger) in Iraq than they are anywhere else.
Sound incredible? It shouldn’t.

Are American Teachers Failing their Students? -- [GI Korea]
I know I have some school teachers that read this blog so I am particularly interested in what they have to say about this LA Times article about teachers in a Los Angeles high school doing everything possible to ban a JROTC program at the school. Is this acceptable behavior for teachers in America’s high schools today?:

Black President More Likely than Mormon or Atheist -- [Outside the Beltway]
A recent Gallup poll reveals that Americans are much more likely to elect a black man or a woman president than a Mormon or an old man. More interestingly, they’d rather be governed by a homosexual than an atheist:

Poll: Validating My Gut Instinct (Cap on Again) -- [Oustside the Wire]
From the Public Opinion Strategies Poll released today.

As I see it, here are the key data points and they, in their own way, show the cunning of the Murtha slow bleed strategy.

WELCOME HOME

Back in the U.S. -- [Diary of the Deployed Mama - home from Iraq]
Wow... what a feeling! I won't babble much today... I'll journal soon... telling tales of rough landings... delayed flights... canceled flights... rude people... and all the other joys of being back in the wonderful United States of America!!! My visits with loved ones was wonderful and I haven't heard a 'boom' in several days.... nor has any helicopters tried to snuggle up in my bed space with me... so... life is GOOD! I'll write more soon... just wanted all to know I'm safe! Stay tuned!

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