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

Badgers Down: 8 February 2007-- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
At 0818 8 February 2007, Team Badger’s 3rd Platoon departed Camp Falluja to return to the CH-46 crash site. The Marine Aviators had been recovered, now we needed to recover the aircraft. The insurgents were claiming the bird was shot down, but some reports indicated there might have been a mechanical failure. The question of why the helicopter went down needed to be answered. And the forces protecting the crash site need to be brought out.

Terrorists Use WMD in Iraq -- [Jawa Report]
Terrorists have claimed to use "chemical weapons" on at least half a dozen occasions in the past in Iraq with exactly zero media coverage. To the right is an image from a video produced by a terrorist group in Iraq called JAMI in which they used chemical weapons against U.S. forces. But now, mass casualties after chlorine laced bombs targetted civilians. The LA Times, CNN, The Chicago Tribune, and the New York times continues to call the Salafi terrorists who specifically target civilians with WMD "Sunni insurgents". Reuters calls them "militants".

2nd chlorine gas attack in Iraq -- [Jihad Watch]
The second chemical attack in as many days. "Iraq insurgents use 2nd 'dirty' attack," by Brian Murphy for AP:

Two HBIEDs explode on IP patrol, kill innocent Iraqi civilians, children -- [MNF-I]
TAL’AFAR, Iraq – Two house-borne improvised explosive devices were detonated Feb. 19 while Iraqi police officers were conducting a search for illegal weapons and insurgent elements.
The first explosion killed one IP and three local civilians, including a 12-year-old child. The second HBIED exploded, wounding two IPs and two Iraqi civilians.

Mystery Weapon #2: Experts Only -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
The jury is . . . out.
“What in the world is this?” That sentence was translated into “Mystery Weapon Found in Iraq.” The “mystery weapon” characterization packed pizzazz, but the words were not mine. Had the “mystery weapon” been found somewhere other than Mosul, Iraq alongside 27 surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank mines, RPGs, blasting caps and tons of other munitions, the weapon likely would have been dismissed.

Binge and Surge -- [Defense Tech]
According the Associated Press and thinkprogress.org, the Iraq-fueled tension in the Middle East is setting off a defense buying binge. Fears that sectarian violence could spill over into countries like Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia has those countries looking at expanding their weapons programs.

Back to Iraq -- Revisited -- [Michael J Totten]
My old friend Sean LaFreniere went on that spontaneous and rather ill-fated road trip from Istanbul to Iraqi Kurdistan with me last year. Inspired by the short video from the region on 60 Minutes last Sunday, he posted some of his own observations and photos.

Girls’ school in benefits from Iraqi Army, Coalition support -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — The life of an Iraqi girl was forever changed in the chaotic aftermath following an improvised explosive device attack. The Hamid Shaban neighborhood in the district of Abu Ghraib was the target, but an innocent girl was inadvertently the victim. Tragically, a stray round from an Iraqi army soldier, fired in defense, missed its mark and struck the harmless child at play.

Medical operation helps soldiers build trust -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — When Spc. Michael Benusa needs to do his job it’s usually a bad thing. As a medic for Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, the last thing Benusa hopes for is to be needed to treat one of his fellow Soldiers.

Iraq says ready to take over Basra after UK pullout -- (Reuters)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government said on Thursday it was ready to take over security in southern Iraq once Britain withdraws 1,600 troops in the coming months, but insisted that British forces would still be needed for support.

AFGHANISTAN

One of our own... -- [Task Force Pheonix - in Afghanistan]
... I knew Hughie just because both of us had been in the Battalion for so long and when you have been in the 1-180th for awhile you know everyone. Hughie was a great guy and always had a smile on his face or a kind word to say about anyone. I had the pleasure of riding out on a convoy a few months back with Hughie when we dropped him off out east in Nuristan. Hughie had lots of friends and the Battalion is taking it pretty hard. This was our first soldier lost in over 50 years I mean we haven’t lost a soldier in Combat since the Korean War.

22 February 2007, Down to business first -- [Sgt Dub - in Afghanistan]
Today was another busy day and a late day as you can tell. I'm hoping things will slow down in March. It appears to be busy at home too. After watching the news this last week I have discovered there are only 4 events happening in the world right now, It's Anna Nicole Smith, Brittney Spears, American Idol that other thing in the middle east, but it's not getting much coverage after the first three. Once again I am amazed at the media, but I'll save this for a soap box.

Marriage -- [Afghanistan Without a Clue - in Afghaistan]
...Here’s the second part of my conversation with Hamid from yesterday. I continue to learn more and more, not all of it good. Despite this, Hamid is my friend. His world is stunningly different from mine, and sometimes the realization is jarring. If you’ve read the comments on my last post on The Sandbox, you’ll see that some people are wondering why we are over here supporting a government made up of people with such beliefs. The political and security issues aside, simply working with Afghans and sharing ideas is a good thing. No, they aren’t all going to suddenly change overnight, but ...

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Iran Likes Them Big and Dumb -- [Strategy Page]
Iran recently announced more "test firings" of its missiles. This was done largely for PR purposes, and to give domestic morale a boost. Also firing the rockets enables the builders to verify quality control, and gives the troops some practical experience. The two missiles fired in this round of "tests" are the Fajr-5 and the Zalzal.

In Attempt to Create Sunni Alliance Against Shi’ites and Iran, Pakistan Calls Meeting of FMs of Islamic Countries -- [MEMRI]
Pakistan has called a meeting in Islamabad next Sunday of seven Islamic countries, in an attempt to create an alliance of Sunni countries that would confront the Shi’ite flood in the Middle East and Iran’s ambitions and nuclear program.

Cuba Wants to Drill for Oil 60 Miles Off U.S. Coast -- [Redstate]
Later this year, Communist Cuba could be drilling for oil just 60 miles from Key West, Fla. USA Today reports on Cuba's pursuit of oil in the waters off the U.S. coast, including its desire to attract American oil companies to do the work. Meanwhile, we continue to twiddle our thumbs and make no progress on off-shore drilling.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Jihadis Count Their Victories -- [Strategy Page]
February 22, 2007: From an Islamic terrorists point of view, the last decade has been one of many victories. Not only were there 3,000 killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, but the earlier embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania killed 292, mainly African civilians. After 2001, there were no more attacks in the United States, so Islamic terrorists struck where they could (Bali, Indonesia, 202 dead, Beslan, Russia, 333 dead, Madrid, 191 dead, London, 51 dead, Mumbai, India, 200 dead, and so on). All this has attracted tremendous media attention, especially in the Moslem world.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Business Leaders Work to Hire Military Vets -- [GX Online]
More than 300 business leaders will visit a southern CA military base tomorrow to observe Marine Corps training as part of their support of the military.
The business leaders belong to the Entrepreneurs' Organization, a 20-year-old global group that has more than 6,000 members across 120 chapters in 40 countries. They plan to hire U.S. military Veterans through the "Hire A Hero" program, which assists former active-duty, National Guard, and reserve members and their families in finding careers after military service.

Warrior Foundation Aids Wounded Troops -- [GX Online]
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan underway, the San Diego-area community was looking for ways to help wounded Service members returning to the area. So in 2004, community members started the Warrior Foundation, an organization that reaches out to wounded troops and their families.

To the American People -- [Move America Forward]
The following message is from Marine Mom, Deborah Johns. Her son, SGT William Johns of the U.S. Marines, is currently serving his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq.
I am sick and tired. Sick and tired of how some in this country are turning their backs on our troops at a time when they need our support the most!
This is why I am taking action to speak up, and in particular, why I am helping to lead the “THESE COLORS DON’T RUN” national pro-troop/patriotic caravan being organized by Move America Forward.

The Blame Game -- [From My Position... On the way!]
Dr. Harvey issued a statement laying the blame for the outpatient mess at WRAMC squarely on the shoulders of the chain of command.
...A commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do. However, the commander of a hospital is bound by several things: patient needs, civilian workforce contracts, available manpower, and of course, budget.

MILITARY

Science makes fallen soldier a father -- (USA Today)
From USA Today on Sunday, the most fascinating story of the week...
AUSTIN -- Seven-month-old Benton Drew Smith is the spitting image of his father, with the same blue eyes, fair hair and infectious grin.
Bouncing on his mother's lap in olive-green overalls and slippers festooned with lizards, he also holds a special place in history: He is one of the first children to have been conceived from sperm left behind by a soldier who was killed in battle

POLITICS

Ragging Rumsfeld for the Wrong Reasons -- [Strategy Page]
February 22, 2007: U.S. senator John McCain recently claimed that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld mismanaged the war in Iraq, and was one of the worst performances as Secretary of Defense ever. McCain's comments, however do not really reflect the reality of the situation. While Iraq has not been without its bumps in the road, there have been successes in that country. At the same time, Rumsfeld may have made mistakes, but he also had a number of accomplishments to his credit.

Cheney Says Pelosi & Murtha Plan Validates Al Qaeda -- [Gateway Pundit]
In an interview today with ABC News Vice President Dick Cheney said that the Murtha and Pelosi plan for Iraq validates the Al-Qaeda strategy:

The One Man Counter-ProtestERIC ODESSIT takes on 300 defeatist protesters in San Diego. -- [Smash]
Jeeni Criscenzo, former candidate for Congress, has organized a protest called “Bring their buddies home“. The leftists dress in black and stand along a road, with names of US soldiers killed in Iraq pinned to their chests. They call it “An Act of Art."
What Eric does next is so simple and elegant, it drives the "artist" nuts.

Facebook nightmare: College Republican targeted by stalker speaks out -- [Michelle Malkin]
This is Richard Reed Pannell. He's a student at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. On Saturday, he was minding his own business, taking a shower in this house he shares with classmates...
...when an unhinged stranger--a raving leftist who had tracked him down on social networking site Facebook--barged in and attacked him and his roomies after impersonating a military recruiter.

THE MEDIA

A World Without America -- [Real Clear Politics]
Two weeks ago I mentioned that Brit Tim Montgomerie was spearheading an advertising campaign around the theme of "A World Without America" - a concept derived from this excellent Peter Brookes column last year. Well, the first ad just launched:

Mass media owe our troops more -- Ken Allard - MySa.com
What do we owe the American soldier?
And not just the current crop of bravehearts serving in the Afghan and Iraqi hot zones, but also those future warriors now in junior high school or safely cuddled in their mothers' arms?
I ask that question after having found myself in the middle of a media controversy, one that sparked a rare return to TV, dueling blogs and hundreds of e-mails.

Washington Times: Changing Minds -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
I have a column in today's Washington Times about a promising initiative in the American Muslim community designed to promote civic engagement. This initiative picked up steam after the terrorist plot uncovered last month in which nine Pakistani Muslims living in Britain planned to kidnap, torture and behead a fellow British Muslim -- a soldier who had served in Afghanistan.

Foggy on Farrakhan -- [Media Blog]
Journalism school students could learn from Washington Post reporter Zachary Goldfarb today about burying the lede. In a short story about how "controversial" Louis Farrakhan says he may be giving his last major address, Goldfarb waited until paragraph seven to get to the kooky anti-Semitism and kissing up to enemy dictators (oops, "foreign leaders"):

FDR, Hitler … Natural Allies! -- [Jules Crittenden]
Got to hand it to the Iranians. They know their audience. The charm offensive continues with unnamed senior Iranian official kissyface with Christiane Amanpour. It’s got a coy kind of 1940s spy thriller noire thing going on: ...

GQ Publishes Articles of Impeachment for Vice President Cheney -- [NewsBusters]
Here’s the disgraceful introduction “Over the past six years, as the country has spiraled into military misadventure, fiscal madness, and environmental meltdown, the vice president has not merely been wrong about the issues; he has been duplicitous, deceitful, and deliberately destructive to the American democracy.” Nice, huh? The author despicably continued:

These things can no longer be denied by rational minds:
That in the buildup to war in Iraq, the vice president, lacking confidence in the true casus belli, conspired to invent additional ones, misrepresenting the available intelligence, crafting new “intelligence,” and then spreading these falsehoods to the public, perverting the democratic process that he is sworn to uphold.
That as the war devolved into occupation, the vice president again sabotaged the democratic system, developing back channels into the Coalition Provisional Authority, ...

Pelosi phones Bush to complain about Cheney’s painfully accurate criticism -- [Hot Air]
He had the gall to suggest today that the Democrats slow-bleeding us into withdrawal might be something Al Qaeda would approve of. Quote:...

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib -- [Via email]
In his new documentary, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy (HBO’s Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable) looks beyond the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context in which torture occurred at Abu Ghraib. A major contributor to this documentary is Al McCoy, author of A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror, who is interviewed and featured extensively.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib airs on HBO tonight, February 22nd at 9:30 eastern time. For a synopsis, along with a list of future airings, visit the documentary’s page at hbo.com.

MILBLOGGING

Closing Shop -- [Andrew Olmsted]
As I noted yesterday, it turns out that I have been blogging in violation of a Department of Defense directive that restricts how much political activity soldiers may be involved with. This directive is intended to prevent even the appearance of impropriety among military personnel: the United States prides itself on being a nation where the citizens tell the military what to do and not the reverse.
...While I am hardly well-known within the blogosphere, I have established enough of a brand that simply no longer noting my connection to the military is not sufficient for me to continue blogging. While I enjoy blogging, I cannot do so with a clear conscience in violation of orders. I could continue blogging while attempting to remain within the rules, but that kind of blogging is not really my style.

HUMOR

Gore: Climate Change Makes Hillary Less Polarizing -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-02-22) — Oscar-nominated filmmaker Al Gore today agreed with fellow Hollywood mogul David Geffen and other supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama that Sen. Hillary Clinton is an “incredibly polarizing figure”, but said global climate change will make her “more temperate” by the time she assumes the presidency in 2009.

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