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

Soldiers On The Ground Hopeful For The Future Of Iraq -- [Thinking Right]
I’ve had the great opportunity to work with Sgt. Keller at CENTCOM public affairs he and his superiors have graciously allowed this amateur internet journalist interview another soldier. This time, I spent some virtual time with SFC Smith who is serving his country in the area around Basra, Iraq. I would also like to thank SFC Smith for taking time out of his very busy schedule to spend time answering my questions. As I said during my last “boots on the ground” interview, I believe that it’s vitally important to publish the opinions of those serving their country. I also believe that it’s important to find out about the good stuff going on in Iraq. The MSM joined the out of Iraq drumbeat long ago, and because of that I feel that we often don’t hear about the good things happening there. So, without further delay, here’s my interview with SFC Smith.

Tell me about some good things that are happening there… hospitals, schools, Iraqi troops, etc.

A Little Media ‘Interaction’… -- [Justice Soldier - in Iraq]
...The other night, we got bombed. Does not happen very often for us, but on occasion the bad guys get “froggy” and decide to lob some fireworks at us.
...So, there I sat half awake in my tennis shoes waiting to see just how many fireworks the bad guys brought with them this time. So, I decided to turn on my TV. Sometimes the base blocks the stations and puts out info, but the news was still on. I don’t remember the name, but it was some CNN show. They had a panel of guests, and it was one of hose typical “negativity” hours where they slam everything. Some “analyst” from NEWSWEEK was on and as she was ranting she proclaimed “…and the President’s new intelligence on this supposed Iranian connection, well, that evidence is speculative, at best..” Right then I heard 2 more explosions rock our base. (Here in Southern Iraq we have known for a long time where the “fireworks” come from.) I thought to myself- yeah lady, I got your speculative right here for ya…. another media “expert analysis” I guess.

More "he said", "she said" with Nancy Pelosi -- [A Proud Infidel - in Iraq]
...So Nancy, I really have to ask why you are running to the principal when you are strategically attempting to end the war in Iraq, be it through your posturing or through the threat of legislation, which is also Al-Qaeda's goal. You claim to put the national security of our nation above individual liberties and at the same time prevent the possibility of a terrorist attack on US Soil.
How then is pulling out of Iraq, giving a victory to Al-Qaeda thus emboldening the enemy, limiting the possibility of a terrorist attack on US Soil?

Good News and Bad News -- [Jules Crittenden]
Sometimes they make it sound bad when its good. Sometimes they make it sound good when its bad. Sometimes good is good, and bad is bad, but not for the reasons you might think.
Good news on Iraq: Senate Democrats are moving to rewrite history, by limiting the Iraq war authorization they voted in 2002. Good news how? Well, if you’re a surrender enthusiast, it’s a step in the right direction! But if you believe the United States must fight and win in Iraq as in all the theaters of this generational war on Islamic extremism, then every move the anti-war Democrats make to undercut a wartime president and troops in the field is a shot in the foot that will drive Americans farther from them.

Al-Doura residents welcome Soldiers, security -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — “Face time.” It seems to be a term used more by celebrities than Soldiers, but as Iraqi Army and Police go on patrols with Coalition forces, “face time” is something one unit is saying is very important to their mission of capturing the bad guys.

A Company is like a Family.... -- [1016th - in Iraq]
Distant, brotherhood, sacrifice, disappointment, and the feeling of accomplishment are some of the many emotions the 1016th QM have experienced during this deployment. With 80% of this company coming from all around the Northwest and with different backgrounds, you might say we have learned to adapt in new ways to accomplish many goals we were tasked.

Blowback in Iraq -- [Strategy Page]
NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS
February 23, 2007: For the third time in a month, Sunni terrorists in Iraq have set off bombs that included cylinders of chlorine. This is a chemical normally used to purify water, or as a disinfectant or bleach. But when you put a lot of it into the air, people can be killed or injured by inhaling the fumes (a thousand parts per million, which is a pretty thick concentration.) The terrorists are basically targeting children here, as kids are the most vulnerable to chlorine fumes. So far, these "chlorine bomb" attacks have not caused massive casualties, but over a hundred children have been injured.

"Chemical" Iraq Enters a New Equation (Photo)-- [MEMRI]
An Iraqi woman holds two chlorine canisters used to blow up a truck

Al Qaeda in Iraq Promises Revenge For Alleged Rape in Iraq -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The leader of Al Qaeda's "Islamic State of Iraq," Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, issued an audio tape today titled, “At Your Rescue, Sister,” threatening revenge for the alleged rape of "Sabrin al-Janabi" (a pseudonym for a Sunni woman) by Iraqi police. You can hear the entire tape ...

Basrah IA division transfers to Iraqi command -- [MNF-I]
BASRAH — The Iraqi Army division based in Basra has transferred from Coalition command, and is now – for the first time – taking its orders direct from an Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad.

AFGHANISTAN

Friday, February 23, 2007 -- [Sgt Dub - in Afghanistan]
...Many of you have posted about the way Congress is acting these days. I am glad to see that not everyone has lost their marbles. The Democrats, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid made grand gestures about changing and reforming Congress, to make it better. This would indeed be a modern day miracle as it appears the only thing on the agenda is....how did they put it....yes, to "slow bleed" the troops. Yes, they support the troops so much they are willing to sacrifice them for their political gain. Now, this does not pertain to all liberals. Clinton and Obama are way too busy to even show up for work these days.

U.S. Soldier Wrestles Suicide Bomber: US -1, Terrorists -0 -- [Jawa Report]
This is how good our guys our. Seriously, this has action movie written all over it.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan – Seven U.S. Soldiers were wounded Tuesday, when a suicide bomber detonated himself during the opening ceremony of a new emergency section of the Khost City Hospital in the city of Khowst, Khost Province.
...A U.S. Soldier wrestled him to the ground, restraining him long enough to allow the crowd of people to move safely away. He was able to break free from the bomber prior to the explosion. He sustained only minor injuries from the blast.
News of Afghanistan -- [Miserable Donuts]
Men such as former warlords (l-r) General Atta Mohammad, Ismail Khan and General Abdul Rashid Dustum may be granted immunity for alleged war crimes
Wolsei Jirga (lower chamber) already said "yes", now the Meshrano Jirga (upper chamber) gives it a thumbs up...off to President Karzai's desk.

Britain Planning A 1,000 Man Afghanistan "Surge" -- [Sweetnes & Light]
Britain is preparing to send more troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of an upsurge in violence from the Taliban, it was reported today.
...Do you think this “surge” of 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan will get as much media attention as the possible “withdraw” of 1,600 soldiers from Iraq in the coming months?

Going The Distance, Part I -- [Kabul Blog - in Afghaistan]
...So there has been a decent amount happening in this place. Kabul, as usual (well except for today), remains largely outside the fray. Most of the military activity has been in the usual trouble spots, and of course attacks have been increasing in Pakistan as well as that string of attacks in southwest Iran. So the instability seems to be increasing. Maybe it’s just a random confluence, or maybe it’s several factors and movements coalescing, specifically the Iranian influence expansion efforts, the Balochi independence movement, the Taliban resurgence, the Kashmiri fighters, Musharaf’s military efforts along the Af-Pak border and his efforts in Balochistan, and Al-Qaeda’s purported strengthening of camps and manpower in Waziristan.

Bear and Rat -- [Afghanistan Without a Clue - in Afghaistan]
...When you adopt a world-view, a religious conviction, a moral certainty of how things should be, what are the implications for those on the wrong side of your beliefs? In America, the phrase I heard a lot in churches was, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” In Afghanistan, it’s more like “Hate the sin, kill the sinner.” But in either case, you have decided, for whatever reason, that the lifestyles of others are unacceptable. Inthe US we wonder if gays should be allowed to marry, while in Afghanistan the question is, “Should gays be allowed to live?” In the states, we have at least gotten past that point, except for the few, Taliban-like pinheads who actually go out and beat-up and/or kill gays. In both cultures we have real morons. We should not be too smug in our superiority; thugs walk our streets too.

AFGHANISTAN: RUSSIA OPENS NEW EMBASSY IN KABUL -- (AKI)
Kabul, 23 Feb. - The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov formerly opened a new Russian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, according to a report on the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency, which said that the embassy was destroyed in 1989. Other reports said that it was closed in 1992 after the mujahadeen forced the last Russian soldier out of Afghanistan. Reconstruction work began in 2002 after the then Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov visited Afghanistan.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Tony Blair: It would be wrong to take military action against Iran -- [Jihadi Watch]
Evidently it would be the decent thing to do just to allow them to nuke Israel. "Fears grow over Iran," by Tom Baldwin and Philip Webster in the TimesOnline, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

Iran Leader Khamenei: Iran Today in Best Situation Since Revolution -- [MEMRI]
The website of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said today that Iran and its government are currently in the best situation ever since the victory of the Islamic revolution, and that "the nation and the authorities will stay on their successful and winning path by sticking to the chief factors of revolutionary victory and survival, to wit, patience and gratitude to God."

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Trouble in Paradise -- [Strategy Page]
February 23, 2007: Police stumbled upon a terrorist training camp in Bahrain. A small (665 square kilometer) island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, Bahrains population is only 700,000. But oil and gas provide a per-capita income of over $20,000. While generally peaceful, the country has many unhappy, and violence prone, citizens. The problems are many. First, there is the monarchy. Although competent, many of the educated citizens would prefer a democracy.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Tolerance of The Left -- [Boots & Sabers]
Mike Hahn is an Iraqi War veteran who writes a column for The Badger Herald, an independent college newspaper at UW-Madison. Recently, he wrote a column supporting the troop surge.
...Obviously, Mike, as a war veteran, feels pretty strong about this. But what is really remarkable about this column is the vitriolic comments underneath it. Here’s a few examples:
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE.

Rolling Victory Fast Update: 23 February 2007! -- [Tanker Brothers]
Sign Up For A Day: Here or send an email to TankerBrothersReconATgmail.com
Updated Duty Roster: Here
Pick Up Your RVF Tee Shirts (Limited Edition, Only 50 printed, Only $10 each): HERE (All proceeds go to help support Soldiers Angels)

Facing the Wall -- [Old War Dogs]
When we band together on March 17, 2007, we will turn our back on those that have turned their backs on America. We will face the Wall. I have a new project that I hope will also “face” the Wall. Please read what has been posted at the original GOE forum, and hopefully will be posted in many locations this weekend:

Gathering of Eagles -- [Allah Pundit - Hot Air]
Charles at Age of Hooper checked out the press conference and counter protest, ANSWER vs sane patriots, in DC yesterday. He has videos, pics, commentary, the whole nine. The interviews with Richard Becker are especially entertaining. Becker’s brother Brian is the leader of International ANSWER, the group that’s been patiently building the anti-war movement since the afternoon of 09-11-01. Charles pesters Becker, bugs him and to my ear catches him in a bald faced lie about ANSWER’s connections to Communism.

MILITARY

Remember -- [BlackFive]
W. Thomas Smith, a former Marine and author who we link to frequently here, sent this email about remembering Iwo:
Sixty-two years ago today, AP photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a photo of five U.S. Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

Computers Reading the Troops Email -- [Strategy Page]
February 23, 2007: The U.S. Department of Defense is quietly introducing a censoring system for email. Or trying to. Internet security is not just about keeping hackers out, but also about keeping an eye on what normally goes out. In a word, watching what's contained in email. Corporations, worried about losing valuable information via innocent, or deliberate leaks, plus exposure to lawsuits from "inappropriate" comments, want to screen outgoing email. And that they have been doing that, with increasing success, over the past few years. So the Department of Defense is testing commercial email filtering programs, to find those that can screen email for information that should not be in the email.
...The U.S. Air Force is taking the lead in testing new products, apparently because air force bases have the manpower to monitor filtering systems, and lots of high tech secrets to keep inside. But army and marine commanders suggest that the Department of Defense just back off on this stuff until there is evidence of a real problem to be solved.

POLITICS

The wording of the Appeal for Redress is: -- [Appeal for Courage]
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.

Democrats Legislate to Fight Al Qaeda in Iraq That Is Not In Iraq -- [Gateway Pundit]
You've got to love this one...
Democrats plan to handcuff American troops in Iraq to "only fight Al-Qaeda"...
The same Al-Qaeda they say is not in Iraq!
Just two months ago... On November 28, 2006 Speaker Pelosi said this about Al Qaeda in Iraq:

Leaving Iraq: A Taste of Things to Come -- [Hot Air]
One argument against withdrawing our troops from Iraq prematurely is that doing so would look like a defeat for us and a victory for our enemies, and that would embolden our enemies to ramp up their activities and rhetoric against us.
On the other hand, Democrat point-man John Murtha says that the second we leave Iraq, the Iraqis will route Al Qaeda (because we’re just holding them back, I guess) and then the whole region, now scourged of terrorism, will right itself.

THE MEDIA

Associated (with Coverups) Press -- [Jihadi Watch]
In this week's Jihad Watch videoblog at Hot Air I discuss the strange reluctance AP seems to have to identify Muslims who commit crimes as Muslims -- a reluctance they do not display when the perps are Christians.

Ollie North and Fox continue coverup of North's role in Ramadi deaths
On December 6, Marine Maj. Megan McClung, Army Capt. Travis Patriquin, and Army Spc. Vincent Pomante were killed instantly in Ramadi when their Humvee was ripped apart by an IED. At the time, they were accompanying Fox TV's Ollie North and his crew plus a Newsweek reporter to their embed positions. Newsweek never even mentioned their deaths. North subsequently noted McClung's death, while ignoring that of the soldiers. He also made no mention that any of them died helping him. Fox went even further, falsely claiming on February 7th that they “died while supporting combat operations.” Sorry, embedding is not a combat operation. North had a chance to change this during his "War Stories" broadcast of Feb. 11, when he mentioned the deaths. But all he said was they occurred, "while War Stories was embedded with 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division."

WaPo Editor: Obviously We're Not Liberal, Because We Get So Much Hate Mail From Liberals! -- [Ace of Spades]
Liberal media outfits do loves them their unhinged-leftist hate-mail. Because they use it again and again as proof positive that they must be reporting straight down the middle to incur so much wrath from the left.

F-Bombs Away! Chris Matthews, Cursing and Character -- [Pajamas Media]
In the midst of commending the presidential candidacy of Rudy Giuliani on NBC radio’s “Imus in the Morning” show, the MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews dropped the F-Bomb: “We love good mayors, because we love our cities and Giuliani is a city guy … I’m so sick of Southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for president who doesn’t have a f***ing ranch”

Helen Thomas Loses Her Seat -- [Media Blog]
Every theater-style seat in the White House briefing room, now closed for renovation, had a brass plaque inscribed with the name of a news organization. Only one, in the middle of the front row, had a name: “HELEN THOMAS,” it said. The unique assigned seat between the chairs for CBS News and ABC News was reserved for the legendary United Press International correspondent who is now a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Dems Want Repeal of 2002 War Bill, GOP Offers Trade -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-02-23) — Democrats in the Senate plan to introduce a measure next week to repeal the 2002 Iraq war authorization, and Republicans have already announced they’re willing to discuss the bill in exchange for Democrat support of a measure repealing the 1935 Social Security Act.

02/23/2007 Day by Day -- [Chris Muir]

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