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. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.

IRAQ

Al-Qaeda on the Run: Feasting on the Moveable Beast -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
...Al Qaeda’s ultimate failure in much of Anbar and now in parts of Diyala relates back to one of the pillars of success—or failure—in this war: Values. People who understand how to tamp down this war realize the critical pillar that values can play into success or failure in counterinsurgency, or COIN.

Iraqi people, Coalition join against al-Qaeda -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, spokesman for Multi-National Force-Iraq held an operational update on al-Qaeda in Iraq Wednesday at the Combined Press Information Center.
Bergner named al-Qaeda in Iraq as the principal near-term threat to Iraq. “The government of Iraq, Iraqi security forces and Coalition forces are engaged in a tough fight against al-Qaeda and in particular it’s extremist ideology and leadership,” said Bergner.

Eleven killed as insurgents bomb house in western Iraq.... Official US Statement.

Antiterrorism Successes Continue in Iraq -- [Defense Link]
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces have killed or captured hundreds of al Qaeda members in Iraq over the past two months, including 26 of the terror network’s “high-value” leaders and a would-be bomber, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said today

Two Suspected Secret Cell Terrorists Detained by Coalition Forces -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained two suspected Secret Cell terrorists before dawn on Thursday in Baghdad. It is believed that the terrorists are members of the Special Groups affiliated with Jaysh al-Mahdi, the terror group active in Baghdad and believed to be responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians as well as Coalition Forces in Baghdad.
Coalition Forces conducted the raid to capture or kill terrorists who allegedly specialize in kidnapping, killing and building and placing improvised explosive devices. Intelligence reports indicate that the suspected terrorists targeted during the raid are associated with key leaders in the secret cell terrorist network and have ties to Iranian terrorists groups.

Should we stay or should we go now... -- [Desert Flier - in Iraq]
I live in a vacuum. I have Internet access, obviously, but it is usually slow and mostly unreliable. However, when I do have it, I make a point of scanning today's headlines, the progress (or lack thereof) interpreted by the media, and editorials from a number of sources.
What I do offer on a personal level to you is an eyewitness account of what is happening in my little part of this world and this war. Ramadi, ...
...Progress is slow, I admit. However, who gets to set the timetable for success? Who defines success, and what is it? Right now, there are still many more questions than answers. That is exactly why setting timetables for withdrawl would, in my humble opinion, be a grave mistake. I fear it would spell a total failure and complete negation of my and many others' sacrifice.

Burden of the big tent -- [MYSA.com Blog]
..."You with me? Take some good deep breaths, OK?" the doctor, Army Lt. Col. Jeff Ross, told Barnes. "Deep, deep, deep."
The operation began and ran well past the dawn. It went well, thanks to Habib's speedy hands. An Air Force lieutenant colonel with a deep faith in God, asks every wounded soldier if they want to pray before the operation.
My guess is that no one turns down the offer.
"The Lord has a plan. There is no need to fear," Habib said later. "He told us, 'Let me take your burden.' "
There are a lot of people like him in this hospital, folks who take up the burden of a terrible war night and day but never complain about their working conditions or the threat of a mortar attack that would rip the tent and all inside it into shreds.

The Bad Guys -- [My Desert Adventure - in Iraq]
...Recently, the Sunni tribes have been taking up arms against the Al Qaeda types out in the Al Anbar province and recently, south of Baghdad. I guess Shari law doesn’t settle with them very well. I also think they are starting to realize that it will be better for them to work with the Collation than against it.
Of course to the vast majority of Iraqis are good people that just want to get on with their lives. They are the ones that are suffering and we have a moral obligation to help--why? Because we are the good guys and it is the right thing to do. Of course, many people in our country don't see it that way. I guess ours isn’t a perfect country either.

The Onion -- [Jason's Iraq Vacation - in Iraq]
The honeymoon phase is over. We are slowly realizing that this place is sort of like an onion - everytime we peel away one layer, we discover another layer underneath - and they all make us want to cry. For example, a few posts ago I wrote about my frustration with the Iraqi major who insists on turning away all of the supplies before they even enter our compound. I couldn't figure out why he was so stringent on the quality of products, and it was driving me crazy. He was turning away perfectly good supplies for no reason!
...Seeing my frustration, one Iraqi that I trust pulled me aside and gave me some inside info, which was later verified through another source who came to me in confidence. Apparently, there are some Iraqi's here who demand bribes from the drivers in order to let them into our compound to deliver their supplies. Most drivers pay, because if they are turned away they face the repercussion of not being paid by their employer, with the added danger of having to drive the dangerous roads. So, now I have to figure out how to stop this.

Iraq Medals Given to Iraqi Soldiers

200 Suicide-Bomber Belts Enter Iraq From Syria -- [The Tank -- W. Thomas Smith Jr.]
AP reports some 200 "explosive [as in suicide bomber] belts" were discovered today by Iraqi security forces searching a truck that had just crossed the Syrian border.
But if you look at the types of attacks, it doesn't take a military expert to realize most of the big, dramatic attacks on mosques and against civilian crowds — where there is a large presence of women and children — are carried out by terrorists, not insurgents. And there is a big difference between the two in terms of tactics, objectives, and who the players are (Though I'm convinced the anti-war crowd doesn't want the general public to understand those differences for obvious reasons.)

Iraq Report: Al Qaeda in the northern villages -- [Weekly Standard Blog - Bill Roggio ]
As Operations Phantom Thunder pushes forward in Baghdad and the Belts, U.S. and Iraqi forces attacked and killed an al Qaeda team attempting to take control of a rural Kurdish village in Diyala. Meanwhile, as critics claim the U.S. is al Qaeda focused in operations, Iraqi and U.S. forces put a significant dent in the Mahdi Army over the past several days.

Al Asad -- [The Gunner's World - in Iraq]
...I have come to Al Asad to cover four Marine squadrons, two helicopter and two fixed wing. I start the day with a courtesy visit to the XO to thank him for the truck and temp can, also to let him know I made it here. We exchange a hand shake and my plans for the week and off I go.
My week starts off the Marines of VMAQ-1 an EA-6B (Prowler) squadron, I am getting excited as I make the turn and start to see the flight line come into view, I start to make out the Harriers, Prowlers, Herc’s and Hornets parked on the ramp, I also notice a squadron of Air Force Warthogs…starting to feel at home, and not so tired. The Marines of Q-1 take care of me and the day starts with interviews lined up until 5:00pm.

Proper I.D. Please! -- [Matt Sanchez]
"In Their Own Words"
Lance Cpl. Williams gives a great account of the use of the ID cards. It pays to proper ID and you'll hear why in Cpl. Williams' own words.....

Nearing the end -- [sixty-six - in Iraq]
It’s 0004. I am tired, but am too restless sleep. My mind wanders in the dark.
I know that soon I will be home. It has been so long since that all I know is that home is supposed to be a place I want to be. But a part of me is afraid to go home.
My life here is simple. There are few things I have to worry about. I don’t have to do my own laundry or cook for myself. I don’t worry about paying bills, what I’m going to wear or catching the next episode of Lost. But most of all I don’t have to worry about what I should do with myself, my time and my education –that decision has already been made for me.
Sometime in the last fifteen months I’ve lost sight of where I was going and what I wanted to do. I am going home uncertain of which path to take. That is what keeps me from sleeping this night.

Baghdad -- [Major Andrew Olmsted - in Iraq]
...The flight into Baghdad went remarkably smoothly. It took about six and a half hours to get from our tent at Camp Buehring to our tent here at Camp Stryker. That includes loading the buses and baggage truck, the ride to the airfield, loading the aircraft, the flight to Baghdad, offloading the aircraft, and offloading our gear. All in all it was an impressive experience.
BIAP itself is an amazing sight. Technically known as the Victory Base Complex, it includes multiple Coalition bases arrayed around the airport and thousands of personnel. We've only seen a small fraction of it, but what's we've seen bustles with activity and is a testament to how much work goes into maintaining the Coalition presence in Iraq.

American Naval Infantry Go To War -- [Strategy Page]
July 12, 2007: The U.S. Navy has just created Riverine Squadron Three. Meanwhile Riverine Squadron One has been in Iraq for three months now, the first U.S. Navy riverine unit to see combat since the Vietnam war in the 1960s. Riverine Squadron Two is undergoing training.

AFGHANISTAN

Lies To Die For -- [Strategy Page]
July 12, 2007: June was the bloodiest month in a long time, with about a thousand dead (700 Taliban, a hundred government and foreign troops and 200 civilians). For the first six months of the year, about 3,200 were killed, compared to about 4,000 for all of last year. About 70 percent of the dead are Taliban. The high Taliban casualty rate is the result of high losses among Taliban leaders, and recruiting many younger, inexperienced Pushtun tribesmen. The more experienced Pushtun gunmen noted the losses from last year, and took a pass on a Taliban paycheck this time around. Their misgivings were well founded, with most Taliban war bands getting chewed up pretty bad.

Interview with Ambassador Said Jawad of Afghanistan, Part I -- [Peace Like a River]
Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters did a very informative interview with Ambassador Said Jawad of Afghanistan and aired it on his CQ Radio program as part of BlogTalkRadio.
Here is a transcript of the first half of the interview. I typed it up off the webcast, so any errors are mine.

Villagers turn in explosives to PRT -- [ISAF - in Afghansitan]
CHAGHCHARAN, Afghanistan (July 12) – Villagers of Dahane Qutse Sufla, Ghowr province, turned in explosives that they found to soldiers of Provincial Reconstruction Team Chaghcharan.
The explosives included two rocket-propelled grenades, five 82-mm mortar rounds, and one 82-mm, four 30-mm and one 115-mm artillery shells.
“We were coming back after our tasks, when the villagers saw us and stopped us,” said Warrant Officer Arturas Traskovskis, PRT Chaghcharan explosive ordnance disposal commander. “This was the first time people have stopped us and turned in explosives, because they were afraid of what could happen if children found them and started playing with them.”

Week 24--NSTR -- [Richard's Deployment - in Afghanistan]
This last week was quiet. But I guess my standard of quiet has changed over time. When I think about the week I try to remember all the patients that have come through the hospital:
Two patients with gunshot wounds to the chest, one patient with shrapnel wounds to the neck, one patient with a traumatic amputation to the lower leg, one patient with a skull fracture and C-Spine injury from falling out of a truck and four patients from a vehicle accident, all with various cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises. And those are just the trauma patients that come to mind right now. And that does not include the various scheduled cases in the OR; spleens and thyroids mainly, but also various abdominal and breast masses. And to facilitate all this patient care are the numerous MEDEVACs and Air Evacs for patients coming and going from the FOB. And all the training, in between patients arriving, to prepare for the next case. When all is said and done, even a quiet week around her is very busy.

Some Photos -- [Partamian Report - in Afghanistan]
Taliban leadership was having a meeting and the good guys found out. (pics)
Taliban all gone...
RPGs were found in the "rafters" of one of the remaining small buildings.
the mud hut behind him has the hidden RPGs. Dutch EOD had some fun with that hut. It's gone now.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Update: Airman shot by unhinged anti-war gunman in serious but stable condition -- [Michelle Malkin]
Here’s the latest on the young McGuire Air Force Base airman who was shot in the heart by an armed anti-war zealot...
A reader e-mailed this address to send Schrieken get well cards

200 Suicide Bomb Vests Captured in Truck from Syria -- [Media Blog - Tom Gross]
Somewhere in Syria, there’s a factory mass-producing suicide bomb vests.
The Associated Press reports that Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf confirmed that 200 explosive belts were captured in a truck crossing into Iraq from Syria yesterday. There is no doubt they were designed to murder as many ordinary Iraqis as possible.

Jane Felix-Browne, a 51-year-old grandmother and parish councilor from Cheshire, England, marries Osama bin Laden’s 27-year-old son -- [Media Blog - Tom Gross]
Yes, it’s true, according to today’s Times of London:
A British woman has married a son of Osama bin Laden after a holiday romance and is to apply for a visa so that he can visit Britain.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Al-Qaeda Has "Regrouped to an Extent Not Seen Since 2001" -- [The Tank - Steve Schippert]
The National Intelligence Estimate recently produced by CT analysts officially documents that al-Qaeda is not 'on the ropes' or even weakened any more than it is led by two men darting about from cave to cave. They are, in fact, stronger, more capable of producing terrorists, and more comfortable in their havens carved out in Pakistan than they were in Afghanistan prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

NEFA Series "Target America": Irhaby007's American Connections -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
On the heels of the foiled plots targeting Fort Dix and JFK Airport, the Nine Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation announces the release of the sixth in a series of reports examining the multitude of threats directed at the United States since 9/11. This week's report focuses on the Atlanta, Georgia cell in Younes Tsouli's global, Internet-based, jihadist network.

Al Qa'ida Returns to Pre-9/11 Operational Level

Al Qaeda to Pakistanis: Join The Jihad -- [Couterterrorism Blog]
Al Qaeda's Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri issued a new videotape on Wednesday titled "The Aggression against Lal Masjid".
This message is focused on the clashes between the Pakistan Army and Islamic students at the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Pakistan, in which Al-Zawahiri calls upon Pakistani Muslims to rise up and take revenge against the Pakistani Army and the Pakistani government for their actions against the Lal Masjid mosque. Al-Zawahiri stated: "Muslims of Pakistan: your salvation is only through Jihad".

Use All Available Tools to Fight Terrorism -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
International law enforcement and intelligence bodies are only as effective and useful as the people in them and the political will of various countries. Open source information is only as useful as the willingness to look for it and use it. But the truth is that some of these international groups produce very useful data that the U.S. and European communities could use effectively. If we are to maximize the chances of finding the needles in the haystacks of data that could be useful, some of these walls have to come down.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Quilts For Iraq -- [Duty In The Desert - in Iraq]
Kimberly Dozier recently visited a group of women in Tennessee to thank them for giving her a quilt while she recovered from the injuries she suffered in Iraq.
Last December, Dozier wrote about her injuries and our U.S. military in a story titled "Emerging From A Nightmare":
"The U.S. military treated me as one of its own, saving my life a few times over, with the best people, the best training and the best equipment. I was blessed time and again on my particular journey, with daily encounters with extraordinary people who helped put my body, and in some instances, my spirit, back together again...
"Those men and women worked the same kind of miracles on me that they do daily for thousands of injured servicemen:

1st Annual "Ride To Remember" - Saturday, August 25th, 2007 -- [mikestokely.com]
Law Enforcement Escorted Ride
Starting at First Baptist Church of Peachtree City (208 Willow Bend Road/behind City Hall), THE ROUTE WILL INCLUDE THE SGT MIKE STOKELY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN SHARPSBURG, GA Ending at Jackson-Pless National Guard Armory on Armory Road by Newnan High School/Newnan, GA
When confronted with the news of Mike's death two years ago, we made a choice to remember with honor rather than blame in bitterness. On August 25, 2007 - 104 weeks since we sat graveside grieving as our hearts broke in the final moments of saying goodbye to Mike, a 21 gun salute and the sound of TAPS riveted our hearts with a forceful reminder of what we had lost, we will gather again to celebrate a lifetime of love we shared with Mike, and a lifetime of memories to carry forward. We will send a message - Honor is the reward for what one has given, and we will remember with honor by helping others go to college in memory of Mike Stokely. Freedom is not free and we shall never forget the price Mike and his fellow Georgia National Guard 48th Brigade soldiers, and all the other soldiers from each branch of service paid for us. DUTY HONOR COUNTRY!!!

IN MEMORY OF...

Mourning The Passing Of A Hero -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
This is Terri, with some information that I think all the reader's here at ASP need to be aware of. Today, we're mourning the passing of a World War II Hero…. CJ's grandfather, James A. Stuthers Sr., who passed away in his sleep on Monday, July 9, 2007. He’ll be terribly missed by CJ and his family. CJ will be away for the next week to attend his Grandfather’s funeral in Florida and pay tribute to this World War II Hero. May he rest in peace.

New memorial park at Fort Lewis -- [FOB Tacoma]
Fort Lewis and its housing contractor, Equity Residential, say they're going to break ground Friday morning on a new park on post to remember fallen service members from Washington and Fort Lewis' contribution to conflicts going back to World War I

MILITARY

Breaking: Armor-Makers "Risked Soldiers' Lives," Says Pentagon I.G. (Updated) -- [Danger Room]
A report from the Pentagon's Inspector General, obtained by DANGER ROOM, is accusing the Marine Corps, the Army, and suppliers of armored vehicles of contractual wrongdoings which "increased risk to the lives of soldiers."
The Marine Corps Systems Command "continued to award contracts for armored vehicles" to one firm, Force Protection, Inc., "even though [the company] did not perform as a responsible contractor and repeatedly failed to meet contractual delivery schedules for getting vehicles to the theater," the report says.

Haditha Commander To Stand Trial -- [RedState]
Wires are just now carrying the announcement, based on a leak of that investigation, that the Article 32 officer investigating the charges against Marine LTC Jeffrey Chessani has recommended that he stand trial for one count of failure to obey a lawful order and one count of dereliction of duty all arising from the alleged massacre in Haditha.

POLITICS

Poly- Tick- ing -- [Wyld's Q & A - in Iraq]
Being in the military it is very hard to get away from politics, since the sole purpose of the military is to be an arm of politicians and the government. I was looking at the use of the left and right terms and how they translate into what I do, and unfortunately, that would take away too much space on the Internet and is really not worth it.
The part that really gets me is these terms come from the French then in the 1800 the Spanish used the terms in their Constitution. I figure,HG Wells, can be blamed. He was one of the first to openly use left and right.

Helen Thomas vs. Bush on Iraq

Democrats Define Defeat For America -- [Gateway Pundit]
So much for Land of the Free and Home of the Brave...
Democrats and the media have set new guidelines for America.
The national sacrifice limit will now be set at 4000, max.
Anytime the US records 4000 military losses in 5 1/2 years it will be recognized under the new rules as a horrible defeat.
The US will then promptly surrender to the nearest enemy.
It does not matter how these numbers compare to the last time democrats surrendered:

Who Says the Democrats aren’t doing Anything? -- [RedState]
Six months into the new Congress and Democrats have accomplished almost nothing for the country and continue to make one bad decision after the other.
They decided to redirect intelligence resources to study global warming, want to turn important U.S. nuclear weapons proliferation program over to United Nations control and have a senior Democratic Chairman threatening Members who question his earmarks on the House floor. Then you have Speaker Pelosi appointing Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), in whose freezer authorities found $90,000 in cash and who has since been indicted on federal charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering, on a panel that oversees our national security.

What's wrong with right? -- [Vox Veterana]
With the resurgence of talk lately of a planned date of withdrawal from Iraq there is nothing I can do but shake my head at the stupidity of many of our politicians. Apparently the democrats, and those few weak-kneed republicans who have turned on the president’s plan for Iraq lately, have very short memories. It was only 30 some years ago, (when all of them were alive by the way) that we made an early exit from Vietnam and watched as the massacre that we knew would come ensued.
For those of you who may be wondering why it is such a bad idea to set a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq let me explain using an analogy.

THE MEDIA

Japanese Propaganda and American Mass Media -- [Strategy Page]
U.S. troops have been mystified at how differently the war they fight in Iraq is portrayed by the U.S. media back home. Most just shrug it off as "politics," and yet another reason to not trust what the mass media presents as reliable reporting. But recently, the troops have been passing around an interesting discovery. Namely, that the Japanese psychological warfare effort during World War II included radio broadcasts that could be picked up by American troops. Popular music was played, but the commentary (by one of several English speaking Japanese women) always hammered away on the same points;
1 Your President (Franklin D Roosevelt) is lying to you.
2 This war is illegal.
3 You cannot win the war.
The troops are perplexed and somewhat amused that their own media is now sending out this message. Fighting the enemy in Iraq is simple, compared to figuring out what news editors are thinking back home. A few times, the mass media has been bold, or foolish, enough to confront the troops about this divergence of perceptions. The result is usually a surreal exchange, with the troops giving the journalist a "what planet are YOU from" look.

How to win the CNN Young Journalist Award? Fabrication and Plagiarism -- [Michael Fumento]
"Negotiating with the Taliban is like going to dinner with Hannibal Lector," Michael Fumento, an American author and columnist on the West's engagement in Afghanistan, told ISN Security Watch. "You cannot gain."
So declares Anuj Chopra in his June 30 article, "At the Table with the Taliban," for ISN News. (Swiss-based International Relations and Security Network)
Problem is, I never spoke or exchanged e-mails with anybody at ISN Security Watch, to include Mr. Chopra. I had never heard of either the writer or the publication. But I did say (or rather write, those words in my own article that appeared in various print and online periodicals and on my own website. He simply lifted them and made it look like it was from an interview.

The WaPo: Regarding Iraq, there is wishful thinking on all sides -- [TigerHawk]
Regarding the timing of any retreat from Iraq, the editors of the Washington Post are more intellectually honest than their colleagues at the New York Times:

As clear as a glass of water from the Tigris. -- [Media Blog - Denis Boyles]
Here's how US News is headlining its advance coverage of the interim Iraq progress report:
At Least Half Of Iraq Benchmarks Unmet
That "half-empty" take will be repeated ad infinitum over the next 48 hours or so. The Iraqi glass can never be half-full, of course. Something about the water in Baghdad.

How Al Qaeda is Winning Even as it is Losing -- [J.D. Johannes]
In Iraq, the administration has empowered a general and officer corps capable of winning the war on the ground. Now it must develop the media corps that can win the war on the airwaves. June 2007 saw a dramatic turnaround in our military fortunes, with the insurgents in headlong retreat in Anbar, Baghdad, and Diayala. But al Qaeda continued to dominate its chosen battlefield: America's living rooms.

Dearly Departed
Woodward holds a seance, summons up a false ghost
Both Bush and Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, have repeatedly said that there is no military solution to Iraq and that the sectarian strife and the insurgency can be resolved only by the Iraqi government.
Actually, what they have said is that there is must be a political solution. But there must be security, a military component, for that to happen. That would be the current counter-insurgency strategy.
...Because it is hard, otherwise, to see what the point of this raising of the dead is about. The headline, “CIA said Stability Was Irreversible,” suggests it’s about more fatal, wrongheaded Bush myopia. There’s a bit of debate in there about whether Hayden actually said “irreversible” or not. Several people discuss whether they think that assessment, real or not, was and is accurate or not. The article otherwise, like all efforts to bring a departed loved one to life, goes nowhere.

A Cut & Run Lovefest -- [The Tank - W. Thomas Smith Jr.]
The following conversation between MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and The Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran is not only disturbing — because of the sheer fact that it aired on national television, and some Americans who don't know any better about military operations might actually believe what these two were talking about — but it is so irresponsibly wrong (regarding what was suggested), that the only reason I'm responding to it is because it did air on national TV.

Unreported Tragedies -- [Strategy Page]
...for those who were paying attention, you could follow the progress of the war, despite the misleading reporting and partisan rhetoric.
Added to the mix was the Western attitude that Arabs were not capable of handling democracy. There was certainly a lot of evidence to back that up. There were no functioning democracies in the Arab world in 2003. The sorry state of Arab governance had also produced economic and cultural backwardness. Despite all that oil wealth, the Arab world had made little progress in the last half century, and was still mired in poverty and ignorance. Even many Arabs were noticing. The initial purpose of al Qaeda was to rectify this situation by replacing the tyrants with a religious dictatorship. The tyrants proved too formidable for al Qaeda, which turned to attacks on Western targets (in the belief that it was the West that was keeping the Arab tyrants in power, when, in fact, Arab tyrants got most of their police state tutoring from the defunct Soviet Union

BLOGGING

Teh Crazy Surfaces (UPDATED) -- [Baldilocks]
Jeff Goldstein of Protein Wisdom has quit blogging again. Since he recently overhauled his site, I suspected that the abrupt, initially unexplained decision had something to do with the nut job and pervert Deborah Frisch. As it turns out, it does. From Jeff:
Frisch has once again — with no provocation — stepped up her assault on me, my site, my family and my friends.
Which means I am simply going to redouble me efforts to put a stop to it.
Frisch is known all over both sides of the political blogosphere for her disjointed, racist, hateful and pedophilic musings and for continual harassment of her former colleagues in higher education, but for some reason known only to her and to the person she serves, she has fixated on Jeff and his family, which includes a pre-schooler.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Bush: CIA Needs More Money to Watch Qaeda Grow -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-07-12) — As details of a new top-secret threat assessment begin leaking to the media through the usual intelligence community channels, President George Bush stands poised to ask Congress for more funding to boost the CIA’s ability to watch al-Qaeda grow.
The unreleased National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) will show a resurgent al Qaeda — with training facilities, money and communication abilities not seen since 2001 — enjoying safe haven in the western tribal regions of Pakistan, a U.S. ally.

Day By Day

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