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

Lawrence in Arabia - [Michael Yon]

Michael Yon's photos are copyrighted, and are published with permission only.

Iraq Briefing 12 March 2007 -- [Pentegon Channel]

The 'Surge' Is Succeeding -- (Robert Kagan - Washington Post)
A front-page story in The Post last week suggested that the Bush administration has no backup plan in case the surge in Iraq doesn't work. I wonder if The Post and other newspapers have a backup plan in case it does.

Fallback strategy for Iraq: Train locals, draw down forces -- (LA Times)
If the current 'surge' fails, planners suggest relying on advisors as the U.S. did in El Salvador in the 1980s
...But a drawdown of forces would be in line with comments to Congress by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates last month that if the "surge" fails, the backup plan would include moving troops "out of harm's way." Such a plan also would be close to recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member before his appointment as Defense Department chief.

Duke in Iraq - Heroism -- [Broken Masterpieces - Duke dispatches from Iraq]
TFTC Mar 11- I have been thinking about three words lately and those are: courage, bravery, and heroism. It seems like they are often used interchangeably, but as I went to the dictionary for a precise definition I received an education. As I thought about these words, I thought courage was a willingness to be brave and bravery was when you really had to come through when things were scary or going very badly.

Seriously? -- [Rock and Roll Soldier - in Iraq]
So apparently they found some chlorine gas in this country. Nasty stuff.
So that no one accuses me of violating opsec again, here's a civilian news article about it: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/22/iraq.main/index.html
What boggles my mind, first of all, is how the dems can still scream "NO WMDs IN IRAQ" when they're now being used against us. And, they havent just found traces this time, this is significant quantities.

ON Point Exclusive: "An IED Attack" by Sgt Roy Batty (Part 2 of 2) -- [ON Point]
03-12-2007-Our squad moves into the mahallah across the field, and sets up blocking positions along a residential road. Apparently this is the street that the infantry saw Mr. Greenshirt run down, after the EFP went off. My truck is at the end of our convoy, and I position the vehicle to block the road, and then dismount to pull security. As usual in Iraq, normal everyday life goes on in the midst of a guerilla war. Apparently a school is just down one of the...

Setback for al-Qaeda -- [Calvary in Iraq - in Iraq]
...Good news! The Iraqi Army got a senior cleric in al-Qaeda in Iraq, the most violent terrorist network in the country, and part of the worldwide al-Qaeda network. The Iraqi Army nabbed him in a raid in western Baghdad yesterday.

Wrong Way Street -- [Calvary in Iraq - in Iraq]
I guess the convoy leader saw something ahead that he was not comfortable with, because we suddenly crossed the median of the highway and started going the wrong way down the other side of the highway for several miles!!
Trucks, passenger cars, police cars, everything just had to get out of our way! (We were a lot bigger, so no one challenged us on it!

COALITION FORCES CAPTURE 22 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS IN IRAQ -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD, Iraq –Coalition Forces captured 22 suspected terrorists during operations Monday morning targeting al-Qaeda and foreign fighter facilitators.
During operations in Mosul, Coalition Forces captured four suspected terrorists allegedly involved in the planning of improvised explosive devices attacks on friendly forces.

Battle on Haifa Street, Baghdad, Iraq - [MNF-I]

Locals helping troops find weapons -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — Iraqis in the country’s north, fed up with ongoing violence, are leading U.S. and Iraqi forces to some of the largest weapons and bombs caches found in the region to date, the commander of Multi-National Division-North told Pentagon reporters Friday.

Iraqi citizen leads Polar Bears to IED -- [MNF-I]
YUSUFIYAH, Iraq – Coalition and Iraqi Forces discovered an improvised explosive
device here March 10.
Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment “Polar Bears,” 2nd Brigade,
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) and the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division
discovered the bomb after an Iraqi citizen approached them at the newly established
Joint Security Station in Yusufiyah.

Iraqi Police Commercial

Dark Matter -- [The Dignified Rant]
In the many discussions about whether we have enough troops in Iraq to win, I am continually amazed that many critics who count up the number refuse to use all the troops inside Iraq fighting the enemy. Most amazing are those who only count American troops. But some don't even count all the Iraqi forces inside Iraq. One force, of about 150,000 strength that is rarely counted is the Facility Protection Force dedicated to protecting infrastrucuture--most obviously the oil industry.

Citizens Demonstrate in Ramadi -- [MNF-I]
RAMADI, Iraq – A small number of citizens gathered on the streets of Ar Ramadi and conducted a peaceful protest March 9. About 60 citizens demonstrated through the city districts of Al Sharikah and Qatana when they were informed that an Iraqi woman was believed to be missing and thought to be detained. When the crowd was informed that Iraqi and Coalition forces had not detained any females, the crowd peacefully dispersed.
“This is a coordinated attack by Al Qaeda attempting to undermine Iraq and Coalition Forces cooperation in Ramadi,” said Col. John Charlton, commander for 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. “Al Qaeda is attempting to sway the public’s opinion against us by deliberately giving them false information and coercing them into conducting demonstrations. The Iraqi Police are the Sons of Anbar and the protectors of freedom and security for the citizens of Ramadi.”

U.S. troops nab al Qaeda killer -- [MNF-I]
WASHINGTON — American troops killed one terrorist and detained 16 others, including an alleged al Qaeda-affiliated killer and a media representative, during a series of morning raids conducted throughout Iraq on Friday.
Coalition forces in Mosul captured an al Qaeda-related suspect known as “The Butcher,” who is allegedly responsible for numerous kidnappings, beheadings and suicide operations in the Ramadi and Mosul areas.

AFGHANISTAN

Native American trackers to hunt bin Laden -- [The Australian]
WASHINGTON: An elite group of Native American trackers is joining the hunt for terrorists crossing Afghanistan's borders.
The unit, the Shadow Wolves, was recruited from several tribes, including the Navajo, Sioux, Lakota and Apache. It is being sent to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to pass on ancestral sign-reading skills to local border units.
In recent years, members of the Shadow Wolves have mainly tracked smugglers along the US border with Mexico.

Afghan Security Forces Train at Fort Riley, Part 1

Drew is Next -- [Afghanistan Without a Clue - in Afghainstan]
Today I will give you the third and final installment of my discussions with Han concerning the history of Afghanistan.
...It is very common to hear from many sources that Afghans do not have a national identity. Rather, we have been told time and again, they are just a group of tribes barely held together. I’m certainly not an expert, and its something I’m interested in researching further, but I just don’t get that impression.

Saturday, March 10, 2007 -- [sgtdub - in Afghamistan]
Well, I hear that some of you already know who the second guest was that visited us yesterday. Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma stopped by Camp Phoenix and our camp in Pol-e-Charki after visiting more Oklahoma troops in Iraq. He was very well received by the troops and came bearing gifts.

New Zealand extends military deployment in Afghanistan -- [Afghanistan Military News]
... New Zealand extends military deployment in Afghanistan WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand will extend ... said Monday. New Zealand has had 120 soldiers serving in a provincial reconstruction team in ...

Pray for the Hostages -- [Not Ready for my Burqua] HT Jawa Report
This is the video of German hostage Hannelore Marianne Kraus and her son, begging for their lives after being abducted in Iraq in February. Speaking in German, she addresses Chancellor Angel Merkel, saying "I am here threatened by these people, they will kill my son in front of my eyes, then they will kill me if the German forces do not pull out of Afghanistan."

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Michael Jackson greets troops in Japan -- [Air Force Times]
TOKYO — Michael Jackson greeted thousands of U.S. troops and their family members March 10 at an Army base south of Tokyo, taking a break from days of parties with die-hard fans and well-heeled business people.

Mayans Plan To Clean "Sacred Site" After Bush’s Visit -- [Sweetness&Light]
Mayan leaders will spiritually “cleanse” ancient ruins in Guatemala after a visit by US President George Bush, unpopular because of foreign policies going back to Central America’s civil wars.
The leaders said they would hold a spiritual ceremony to restore “peace and harmony” at the Mayan ruins of Iximche after Bush tours the site on Monday.
“No, Mr Bush, you cannot trample and degrade the memory of our ancestors,” said indigenous leader Rodolfo Pocop during a press conference. “This is not your ranch in Texas.”

Lisa Ling Special on North Korea on You Tube -- [GI Korea]
Living overseas I wasn’t able to watch Lisa Ling’s National Geographic Explorer’s, Inside North Korea, but fortunately Nomad posted links to two You Tube postings here and here of the show. Lisa Ling travels with a Nepalese eye doctor and secretly films what she can of life inside North Korea during her trip. It was amazing to watch the eye doctor restore eye sight to people who had been blind for years and they immediately walk up to pictures of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il to thank them for giving back their eye sight without a word of thanks to the Nepalese doctor.
Inside North Korea (a few clips) -Part 1

Inside North Korea (a few clips) -Part 2

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Has the Global Islamic Jihad Movement fractured? -- [The American Thinker]
Even as the leadership of the Democrats sets timetables for withdrawal from Iraq, the sands have shifted and leaders of the Global Islamic Jihad Movement are displaying signs that their own alliance has fractured. Some pundits have described the Democrat leadership's position over the war on terror as "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory"; a cynicism that perhaps never sounded as plausible as it does this week. But to understand how this Islamic jihad movement has splintered, we must understand how it fits together.

Finally: Muslims Speak Out Against Jihad -- [Free Republic]
We can have hope for the future now that, for the first time, moderate Muslims collectively are speaking out against Jihad. FSM Contributing Editor Walid Phares explains why the recent Secular Islam Summit could be key to the success of this effort.

New Zawahiri Video Released 3/11-- [Jawa Report]
So far as I can tell the largest consumer of poppys in Pakistan is mumbling something about Palestine. How murdering people in Afghanistan and Pakistan helps that, I'm not sure.

Terrorists Proving Harder to Profile -- [Jihad Watch]
As we have noted here ad infinitum, there is no firewall within Islamic communities between jihadists and peaceful Muslims. There has been no pronunciation of takfir -- that is, a declaration that he is not a Muslim -- against Osama bin Laden or any other Islamic jihadist. Instead, there have been vague condemnations of "terrorism," without defining what that is, or condemnations of attacks against "innocent civilians," without defining either "innocent" or "civilian" against jihadist denials that certain groups of non-Muslims are either one.

Why Moslems Tolerate Islamic Terrorists -- [Strategy Page]
March 12, 2007: Four Moslem nations (Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan) have joined forces to fight Islamic terrorism via efforts to promote moderate Islam among young people throughout the Islamic world. The United States has long urged such a program, but the four nations involved here are acting largely out of self-interest. All four have suffered from attacks by their own young people, acting out their Islamic radical fantasies. All these nations have long ignored Islamic radicalism, feeling it was too risky to confront radical Islamic clerics. Like most Islamic countries, the U.S. is blamed for the recent upsurge in Islamic radicalism, brought about by the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Operation Military Pride Founder Told to Stop Accepting Money, Pay Back $310,000 -- [Joe Katzman - Wind of Change]
Operation Military Pride is an umbrella organization that claims to coordinate messages and care packages, and provide assistance to others who wish to do so. There's a lot of "get your own volunteer thing started in your area" on the site, plus good info. for people re: what to send, what not to, how to send it (without involving OMP in the sending). Some of you may have heard of it, and I included it in my "How to Support the Troops" compilation way back when.

You'll Be Sorry if You Miss These Links -- [Welcome To Andi's World]
A Walter Reed patient left a comment yesterday on one of my posts. It appears he's just started a blog. It is compelling. Go visit and offer him some words of encouragement.
Speaking of compelling, via this guy, I found another new blog written by the fiance of Sgt. James J. Holtom. Sgt. Holtom died on February 8 in Iraq. She could use a few words of encouragement, too.
The more I read about Montel Williams, the more disturbed I am about the manner in which his show operates. As I said on SpouseBUZZ, I don't think it's too much to expect that someone who has worn the uniform would treat military families with respect.

Thank You from Enterprise -- [Soldiers' Angels New York]
The following thank you letter was received by Soldiers' Angels from Enterprise, Alabama.
My name is SFC Thomas B. My son and I were home on March 1st when the tornado came through Enterprise, AL. To say that he and I are now bonded with the Lord and to each other in a very special way is simply an understatement.
...The first two pictures are what I saw out of my back door immediately after the tornado left. The third is my living room.

Last Chance -- [Sgt Hook]
The window of opportunity to acquire one of this year’s Pin Ups for Vets Calendars is quickly coming to an end so if you haven’t ordered one, or two, for yourself or for one of our wounded warriors, get to it!

NFL players visit Camp Victory -- [MNF-I]
CAMP VICTORY — Troops here packed the MWR facility commonly known as "Area 51" to meet some of their favorite NFL players ...

Groups Donate Gift Certificates to Troops and Their Families -- [GX Online]
3/12/07, Washington, DC— Two home-front groups are helping American citizens support service members and their families worldwide through the donation of gift certificates.
"Gift of Groceries" and "Gifts from the Homefront" allow contributions to be made through "CertifiChecks" that can be redeemed at military commissaries and exchanges worldwide.

MILITARY

F15 cockpit veiw of hunting drones

An Option to the Existing VA System -- [ROFA Six]
Is it time to get out of the "always been that way" thinking trap? One idea that does that, suggests offering the option of "vouchers" to veterans needing rehabilitative services. The idea is that the VA would still pick up the cost and cover 100% of the care at a private sector facility of their choice instead of being mandated to use the VA system.

Stronger, Tougher, Faster: Building Next-Gen G.I.s -- [Wired Blogs - Danger Room]
For nearly 50 years, Darpa, the U.S. military's way-out research arm, has been coming up with new inventions: the Internet, long-range drone aircraft, night vision, even the M16 rifle and the computer mouse. But a few years back, the agency decided to stop messing just with soldiers' toys -- and start trying to upgrade the soldiers themselves. Darpa began amassing a giant array of programs, meant to make our troops stronger, smarter, and more resilient than ever before.

Overtime Pay For Combat Duty -- [Strategy Page]
March 10, 2007: The U.S. Department of Defense is now paying troops an extra thousand dollars a month for every month, over a year, that they are in a combat zone. This has made a lot of U.S. Army personnel happy, or at least less unhappy, when their tours in Iraq or Afghanistan get extended beyond a year. But the U.S. Marine Corps has a problem because its normal tours are seven months long, and sometimes marines get held over for several months beyond that.

Combat Uniforms Evolve On The Fast Track -- [Strategy Page]
The U.S. Army continues to make small improvements in its combat uniform (ACUPAT, or Army Combat Uniform camouflage pattern). The army has a web site where troops can report problems, and suggest improvements, for the ACUPAT, and there's been a lot of traffic. The changes may seem minor, but they mean a lot to troops in combat. For example, the number and placement of pockets. This has been changed several times, and now complements the protective vest, and the kind of stuff troops put in the pockets. Then there's the monochrome American flag patch, attached via Velcro, that reacts to infrared light. This makes it easier to positively identify U.S. troops at night, without lighting up the area.

IN MEMORY OF...

Badgers Down: Memorial Day -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
...And then, as quickly as I started, I am done. I kept my composure. I looked my Soldiers in the eyes and told them how we would go on as Soldiers, a family, friends, and by doing so how we honor the men for whom we gathered this day to remember.

POLITICS

When California Runs Red... -- [Wordsmith - Sparks from the Anvil]
On Friday at noon, in Griffith Park, blue state California was awash in red, white, and blue. The National Support Our Troops Tour caravan made a stop, as part of its journey to Washington D.C. for the March 17th protests (which includes The Gathering of the Eagles).
I thought I'd play "citizen-photo-journalist-for-a-day", and share pictures and video clips that I took with my digital camera.

If you support the troops, -- [Marching Camp]
If you really do support the troops,
and you live in any district of any Congresscritter mentioned in this article or in the district of any other congresscritter engaging in this despicable behavior, I am asking you to contact him and tell him to get his stupid bullshit out of my funding bill.

Who is in charge in Washington D.C.? -- [Flopping Aces]
...Democrats voted for the war in 2002 without ever having read the classified National Intelligence Estimate that they demanded. The Washington Post reported that only a handful of Congressmen and 6 Senators signed in to view the classified report. Then, after authorizing the war, they claimed that they had not seen the intelligence caveats that detailed the confidence in various intelligence claims about Saddam’s regime…caveats that were in the classified version that they chose not to read. (1)
One would think that the next time Congressional Democrats demanded intelligence assessments, they’d actually read them. Nope. Since last August, Congressional Democrats have “demanded” that the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) provide a briefing to Congress on the war in Iraq. In January the DNI arranged for briefers from all of the different intelligence agencies to spend a full day briefing all of Congress. Your Congressman and mine, your Senators and mine all chose not to attend. No members of Congress attended the briefings they had demanded.(2)

The Unbridgeable Divide -- [Villianous Company]
Funny, for all the talk of how the President has divided us, it seems people who complain of bitter partisan division over the war might want to take a look in the mirror:...

TRUST YOUR INSTRUMENTS -- [American Citizen Soldier]
Is this really the end, (beautiful friend)? Has the Democratic takeover Congress spelled doom for the war? Should we be expecting another embassy airlift on live TV with al-Maliki and his favorite interpreter hanging from the landing wheels as the last Blackhawk leaves the Green Zone? Is Iraq about to jump the shark, or am I about to flip my lid? Um, will this be on the test?
See, one of the consequences of being in the majority party is that it ultimately entails a measure of seriousness on the holders of the gavel that is rarely expected of the back-benching opposition. Voters expect those holding power to behave accordingly (as we say in the military, "when in charge, be in charge"), rather than succumb to the easy out of continuing to blame everything on the top executive.

Bush urges Congress to back war funding -- [Afghanistan Military News]
... extensive review, Bush ordered 21,500 additional American soldiers to Iraq to help calm Baghdad and ... weekend, includes 2,400 combat support troops, 2,200 military police and 100 troops to protect economic ... of local police and army units in Afghanistan. This revision came as lawmakers opposed to ...

House Democrats Would Strip JSFs from Supplemental, Set Withdrawal Deadline -- [Defense News]
Two Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) that the U.S. Air Force hoped to buy with wartime emergency funds would be stripped from the 2007 emergency supplemental under a plan drafted by House Democrats.

Exclusive: Hillary Blasts Bush on Military Readiness, Revisionist History -- [Think Progress]
Today, ThinkProgress sat down for an interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) after she delivered an address at the Center for American Progress Action Fund on the U.S. military’s readiness crisis. We’ll be featuring clips from the interview today and tomorrow.
We asked her to comment on this quote attacking President Clinton from then-candidate George W. Bush in 2000

The Berger/Libby disparity -- [TigerHawk]
Michael Barone, like many conservatives, wonders at the arrestingly different treatment of Scooter Libby and Sandy Berger, a topic on which many of us have written before. Unfortunately, Barone dodged the question that has dogged me since Sandy Berger got past his rather egregious violation of national security with a slap on the wrist -- a $50,000 fine, 100 hours of community service, and a temporary (and therefore meaningless) suspension of his national security clearance, the fine having been quintupled after the judge in the case expressed his outrage. Rather than worrying about Scooter Libby, who does seem to have been at best dangerously cute with the grand jury, I want to know why George W. Bush's Justice Department cut such a sweet deal with Berger (and, no, I don't think it was mere lameness).

THE MEDIA

Gitmo terrorist becomes WaPo sob story -- [9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America - Tim Sumner]
Today, the Washington Post does not mention how Tariq Shallah Hasan Al Alawi Al Harbi, from Medina, Saudi Arabia, born sometime in 1983, managed to become G9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America uatanamo detainee #265. Instead, their Foreign Service reporter, Faiza Saleh Ambah, only refers to him as Mishal al-Harbi and relies heavily upon his family’s assertion that he was abused while a detainee in Guantanamo. While he admits going to Afghanistan, “for jihad, for the sake of God,” the Post leaves out al-Harbi’s March 2005 Combatant Status Review Tribunal (pdf format pages 65 through 67):

US Papers Sunday: Dear Brothers -- Help Us -- [Iraq Slogger]
A "Zombie Idea," a "Notification Script," and a Big Retraction -- Again
...From Karbala, Edward Wong provides a colorful narrative on the procession of millions of Shia pilgrims making their way to that holy city to mark the anniversary of the killing of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, in the year 680. Wong apparently accompanied Shia Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi on the journey.

Iraq Experts who Don't Go to Iraq and the Problem of Boosterism -- [Michael Fumento]
A lot of people like AEI Scholar Robert Kagan's reports on Iraq because he says what they want to hear. He's a booster. Thus, for example, he writes in his latest column in the Sunday Washington Post that "NBC's Brian Williams recently reported a dramatic change in Ramadi since his previous visit. The city was safer; the airport more secure." Actually, I've seen that Ramadi is safer than it had been. Alas, it has no airport. It hasn't since the war began. It has landing zones for helicopters but not even a strip of runway on which C-130s can land. Brian Williams, having been to Ramadi would know that and indeed a search of his writings turn up no mention of any Ramadi airport.

Pro-Defeat Media Backup Plan -- [Jules Crittenden]
Kagan in Post takes down whiny Post story from last week about the lack of a surge backup plan. In light of surge success, he wants to know what the pro-defeat media’s* backup plan is.
Great minds think alike.
* Not to be confused with the pro-victory media.

MILBLOGGING

Teflon Don of Acute Politics -- [VAJoe.com]
Teflon Don talks about his MilBlog http://acutepolitics.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-human-are-we.html
Question: What are three things your readers probably do not know about you?
Most readers don’t know my name. I choose to blog under a pseuodonym because who I am doesn’t really matter. The stories that I tell, and the feelings that I share could belong to any soldier in Iraq.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

Iraq War Bill Text Reveals Related Provisions -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-03-12) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, today warned President George Bush not to veto the Democrat-sponsored Iraq war redeployment bill, and for the first time she released the full text of the measure revealing some previously unmentioned initiatives.

WELCOME HOME

Arkansas Soldiers Welcomed Home After Year in the Desert -- [GX Online]
3/9/07, Rogers, AR— Family and friends of approximately 150 Soldiers gathered March, 7, at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, AR, to welcome home the ARARNG's Battery C, 1st Bn, 142 Fires Bde.
The unit was initially mobilized to Fort Dix, NJ on Jan. 10, 2006 where they conducted mobilization training for their mission. The unit forward deployed in and around Baghdad where they were tasked with conducting base security operations from March 2006 through Feb. 2007.

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