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

"Raiding and Finding in north Mosul" -- [Jim Spiri - in Iraq]
...Yesterday evening, I ventured by Bravo (Bulldog) company of 2/7 Cav, where I had earlier met 1st Sgt. Gonzalez and Captain Kendell. Both were eager to accomodate me and as I had hoped, a mission was planned for the morning of August 2. So I determined while all the "big media" was swarming around the FOB, doing whatever it is they do, I would go and mingle with Bravo Company. I showed up at the prescribed time and met a new group of folks that were preparing for the big day. Some information had been obtained about a location in north Mosul and we were headed that direction to see what we could find.
...As we departed north Mosul, Lt. Dolny pointed out on the way back, areas on the left and right, that had been recent points of IED explosions. He also anticipated the possibility of receiving small arms fire from other areas he pointed to on the left and right again. He warned the gunner up top to take heed. We pressed on, and eventually arrived back at the FOB.
We had scored one in the confiscation of nearly 15,000 lbs of bomb making material. We also had located two prime suspects. For now, at least, there is less material available to do damage to soldiers as well as innocent Iraqi civillians.

Long Day -- [Far from Perfect - in Iraq]
...On one patrol, my crew spotted a suspicious vehicle darting around some alleyways. We had IA on perimeter with us, and when the car popped up again, we managed to corner it and do a search. We knew it wasn’t a VBIED or an attack, but we suspected it was someone trying to gather information. Turns out it was a local IA higher up who lived around the corner. This is no reason for him not to be a suspect, but it made the job that much harder. He had a weapons permit, and admitted to the AK-47 and pistol, but not to the grenade we found. He stated he was authorized to have it and had it for his protection because he was under threat. I can see the rifle and pistol for protection, but not the grenade. He would more likely kill himself, his family, or innocent bystanders with it than he would successfully engage the enemy. In my mind, and the minds of several others, the only reason to have a grenade in your personal vehicle is to covertly throw it out the window at something. Maybe we are just too paranoid. We called it in, and the IA sent out some people to verify his story. After a heated discussion, he was allowed to keep his grenade (not my first choice), but he was warned not to have it in his POV or next time he was caught he would be detained. He went home after that and we did not see his car sneaking about again.

Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: August 2007 Update -- [The Fourth Rail]
The August 2007 updates to the Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle are now available at the ISF OOB Page. Significant changes include plans to deploy a Kurdish Regional Guards (Peshmerga) Division outside of KRG, a minor reorganization of the pages and the planned addition of a Logistics Brigade to the Iraqi National Police. The significant changes to the Order of Battle are summarized below.

Getting to Know You -- [Army Major Andrew Olmsted - in Iraq]
Yesterday morning we hopped on the HMMWVs and rolled down to the U.S. part of the base to link up with the mortar platoon. Their area of responsibility is one of the hotter parts of our sector, and while our battalion doesn't work there, with all the other MiTTs in Baquoba for the foreseeable future, it falls on my team to try and help that battalion as well. Since the mortars know the area and were heading there anyhow, we rolled with them to increase our force protection and to make sure we could find our way. It turned out to be a good thing we went with them, as one of our HMMWVs went down as we pulled in, so we ended up leaving them behind.

"Sacrifice, not a Casualty" -- [The Tank - W. Thomas Smith Jr - in Iraq]
FORWARD OPERATING BASE GANNON (Iraqi-Syrian border) — My embed unit, Regimental Combat Team 2, lost a Marine yesterday: Killed in an ambush while interdicting fuel tankers just up the road from my position in the Al Qaim sector. RCT2 then shut down all military to civilian communication — in order that the family be notified before word leaked out — so I have been unable to contact anyone beyond our area of operations.
The Marines are understandably angry about the loss of one of their brothers. One highly vocal leatherneck here was also quick to point out that the Marine's death is "far more than just a casualty of war. It's a sacrifice."

IA, Stryker leaders assess progress in Baqubah -- [MNF-I]
As Operation Arrowhead Ripper continues, the effort has shifted from combat operations to reconstruction and humanitarian missions. The Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and provincial council members are leading the majority of the projects. Many residents have joined in to do their part to improve their city.

Female combat medics in the fight daily; earn respect -- [MNF-I]
KIRKUK — Temperatures exceeded 115 degrees during the five-hour mission in Amerli that day. More than 50 Soldiers were on site and tensions were high; Amerli was the scene of a massive suicide truck bombing just four days earlier.

Highlanders rock on with Mawtini -- [Marine Corps News]
COMBAT OUTPOST RAWAH, Iraq – (Aug. 2, 2007) -- North of the Euphrates River, an unusual sound began to echo across the sands and through the hills, gradually building until words and instruments could be recognized.
“…thunder…,” pause.
Suddenly the ground shook as a mortar round, loosed by Lance Cpl. Shelby A. Weathers, exited its tube and ripped through the air, landing over a mile away on the side of a hill.

The Real FOB Falcon -- [Matt Sanchez]
Falcon, in southeastern Baghdad, is a Forward Operating Base (FOB) which means it's not quite big enough to be named camp, but should have enough firing power and defenses to hold its ground. Razor sharp barbed-wire and huge slabs of concrete delineate the borders in a place where boundaries save lives. Above helicopters ferrying soldiers and personnel touchdown on the landing puds. Inside, soldiers running steadily-timed round-the-clock patrols in Baghdad muhallahs emerge from dusty entry control points and onto distinctively American named routes like "Senator" and "Jackson."

Baghdad -- [The Gunner's World - in Iraq]
I am jolted by the Soldier walking past me who snaps a salute and says “Good Morning Sir” I wonder what the hell is he doing? I have been in Iraq since May and we Marines do not salute in a combat zone. I am seconds away from asking him ‘Do you know where the hell we are” I salute him back and think where the hell am I? A salute out here is recognition of who the officers are, a great target for snipers or anyone else trying to find out who the leaders are... things are different here at Camp Liberty in Baghdad I learn.

The Booze-Free Bar in Baghdad -- [The Tank - Mario Loyola - in Iraq]
Earlier this afternoon, I was walking through the lobby of the Al Rashid hotel in Baghdad's Green Zone. Mostly empty, dark, hot, and humid, it has the feel of a hotel in Puerto Rico after a hurricane has passed. Except a lot more creepy, because it doesn't seem like a real hotel: most of the vehicles that pass in front of it belong to the American military; I didn't even want to ask what the occupancy might be;

Curse of the Flamingos -- [My Desert Adventure - in Iraq]
I’ve learned a couple of things while I was here in Iraq. One of which—Flamingos are pure evil. Just ask any trailer park resident in “Tornado Alley”. The other thing I learned was that wives are often more right than I ever realized.
Last fall, my wife gave me a pair of pink flamingos to decorate my trailer. On the day they arrived, I spoke with Braye on the phone and told her that I was going to put one in front of my trailer that night when I got “home” from work. She relied “OK, but are you sure someone won’t use it as an aiming point?” At the time I thought “Well… someone has been watching the History Channel without me” and told her something along the lines: “I’m in Iraq, what could possible go wrong?”
Well a few hours after the Flamingo went into the ground, a rocket landed about 30 feet from my trailer.

Reality on an August Afternoon -- [Wyld's Q & A - in Iraq]
Today, while the sun was passing over the horizon and the blast furnace seemed to go down a notch, I realized "I really hate this place."
...Then suddenly, it all comes back to me, with the dust cloud surrounding the base, I am still in Iraq and I can not give blood today since I gave last week. So I look at it in sorrow that I cannot help that soldier or Marine today.

Doing the Deid -- [USAF Guy's Milblog - in Iraq]
...We folded the flags in a proper triangle and explained the significance of the stars, the stripes, and the fold. I asked them how they folded their flag and they weren't really certain. Lee had never owned a flag and explained that flying a flag on their homes, et al, wasn't really something the British did though everyone knows the significance of the patterns in the Union Jack.
When we arrived at Al Udeid the British collected all our information and inprocessed us into the base...all we had to do is sit there and wait for them to return which saved us quite a bit of running around. I'll miss the British.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Commander: Why We Took The Koreans, reports Newsweek -- [ON Point]
The kidnapping of South Korean aid workers signals a key shift in Taliban tactics. In an exclusive interview with NEWSWEEK, a Taliban commander discusses the thinking behind the abduction and what might happen to the surviving hostages. By Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai Taliban Subcommander Abdullah was on the lookout for hostages. Ever since his superior, Commander Daro Khan, was arrested by U.S. forces in Ghazni province's Qarabagh district in June, Abdullah has had his men patrolling the...

News of Afghanistan - Edition 64 -- [Miserable Donuts]
This is going to be the last edition for a while. I will be on vacation the next two Fridays and after that I will be making some changes around here. Oooh, cryptic! All that aside, here is the News...

Afghan Stories: Afghanistan - a land of contrasts

The following clip, from the Romanian Forces shows soldiers provinding assistance and health care to the local population in Eraze Kalay, south of Kandahar. They provided health care to more than 100 and distributed food and water supplies to hundreds of people in the village.

Video highlights five years of change in Afghanistan --[ISAF - Nato News]
A brief video highlights some of the changes in education, reconstruction and economic development in Afghanistan over the past five years.
After 25 years of war and just over five years since the fall of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan is now one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. Beyond this, some 7 million girls and boys are now attending school.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

NUKES AND MIDGET SUBS: HOW AND WHERE IRAN MIGHT USE THEIR NUKES -- [Astute Blogger]
First: it's gotta be obvious to anyone with an IQ that Iran is only interested in enriching uranium to make bombs.
NEED PROOF: As the Guardian asked last week, why rush to enrich uranium for peaceful uses when the nuclear power plant they're building isn't finished and can't used what they're making? And why did they keep it secret and lie about for all those years? And why have they been running it NONSTOP on a blitz to produce enriched uranium? QUOTE:

Sean Penn Meets Friend Hugo Chavez- Bashes Bush -- [Gateway Pundit]
Is there any enemy of America that this Hollywood icon will not befriend?
Sean Penn is the latest Hollywood Leftist to meet Hugo Chavez.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Military Work” in the US--UPDATE -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial is already proving to be a watershed event in terms of exposing the inner-workings of the Ikhwan, or the Muslim Brotherhood, in the United States. The exhibits released by the U.S. district court in Dallas paint the picture of a semi-secretive organization bent on recruitment, expansion, subversion, and – as Doug Farah pointed out in his excellent post - The Smoking Gun on the Muslim Brotherhood's Agenda, transforming the United States into an Islamic state. One of the documents released, quoted by Farah, is a strategy memo by Mohamed Akram (Adlouni), (More on Akram below) that explains that the Brotherhood in America wages:

Moronic al Qaeda Propaganda of the Day -- [Jawa Report]
Behold, al Qaeda's glorious parade through Baquba! That's, what, like 4 old Nissan sedans, a kid on a bike, and a few dozen onlookers? Yeah, Allah and the ummah are on your side alright.......

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Week #4: Sign up Today to Show up on September 17/18
In September, General Petraeus will report to Congress on the status of the mission in Iraq. At that time, members of Congress will decide whether to continue the mission and defeat Al Qaeda, or abandon the mission and surrender to America’s enemies. The stakes could not be higher.
It is absolutely crucial that veterans have a voice in September's debate. And therefore we're asking every Iraq and Afghanistan veteran who believes in the mission - and supports our fellow soldiers and Marines still serving - to converge on Washington, DC on Tuesday, September 18th.
We plan to have hundreds of veterans on Capitol Hill ... and hope you'll be one of them.

Vets For Freedom Thanks Norm Coleman

The troops do not deserve respect

RE: The troops do not deserve respect

RE: The troops do not deserve respect

Re: The troops do not deserve respect

IN MEMORY OF...

They Have Names -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
SGT James (Jim) Holtom was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin to David and Reyne Holtom on January 30, 1985.
...During his funeral, Pastor Randy Mitchell said, "He knew he was probably going to end up in Iraq, yet Jim being Jim, he knew that's what he was supposed to do and he stayed on task. He loved the Lord, family, church and country." Jim's father, Dave, spoke of his son as the "point of the spear" in his service for the Army, and he said the greatest honor for a man was to give his life for someone else. Dave also called for increased efforts in missions in Iraq and the need to fight for liberty. He said his son was all the great things people said about him, but that he could get angry and lose his temper, "He wasn't perfect, but he was a wonderful young man. We had 22 wonderful years with him."

Someone Deserves a Pat on the Back -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
There are a large number of working dogs over here. I see them all the time and envy the Soldiers and Marines that have canine partners.
So the Army Times brings us this story of Corporal Kory D. Wiens and his partner Cooper who were killed on July 6.
The first military working dog team killed in action together since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were laid to rest together July 18.

MILITARY

POLITICS

30,000 troops out of Iraq this fall? -- [Jack Army - in Iraq]
OK, so things still suck, no reason to believe the Surge is working other than folks saying that it is, but CENTCOM will reduce forces in Iraq in the spring because things are not getting better. Uh, has Mr. Murtha lost his mind? Where is the logic in that prediction? And there's more!

Links on Iraq, John Doe, The Most Disturbing Statement I've Seen all Week -- [Marching Camp]
...Even if you set aside malicious intent, there's the question of knowledge. I have a pretty good idea what to look for in a suicide bomber. Do you? Does Fred All-American know the difference between a Costa Rican who owns a construction business taking his family to Disney World, and Jamal abu Jihadi who is taking a one-way flight to the afterlife? Hell, no. Most American's can't peg the ethnic group of someone with a dark complexion more than half the time. Most Americans cannot pick the potential suicide bomber out of a crowd. Part of that is because they have not been educated--because of liability issues, who wants to take responsibility for saying that a Middle Eastern military-aged man with a freshly-shaved beard, smelling of flower water, who is either nervous or stoned, wearing unseasonably bulky clothing, is most likely to be someone you want to tackle now and ask questions of later?
I'm not sure that everyone needs the blanket legal protection implied in this act. I think it could have been better thought out.

Dems Now Demand "Monumental" Iraq Progress -- [Sweetness&Light]
“The military victories are just episodic,” said Rep. Jane Harman, a hawkish California Democrat and chairman of the Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.
“It is doubtful that there will be a silver bullet, or even a brass bullet, in this report that will turn this thing around.”
Rep. Charlie Wilson, a freshman Democrat from a conservative blue-collar Ohio district, said he “would definitely need monumental proof, not just an isolated improvement.”
They are moving the goal posts. Of course Nancy Pelosi will decide what is “monumental” and what isn’t.

Who’s Not Listening Now? -- [One Hand Clapping]
Not even a year ago the Democrats in Congress and others of their allies vehemently charged President Bush for not listening to the military. They criticized the civilian leadership of our defense establishment for creating a culture of fear wherein generals were afraid to challenge military policy.

Obama’s Folly: Plan for Disaster -- [The Captain’s Journal]
...In further news, we learn that Obama has no plan for the exercise of nuclear power, or he does, or perhaps he doesn’t. U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons “in any circumstance” to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, drawing criticism from Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democratic rivals. “I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance,” Obama said, with a pause, “involving civilians.” Then he quickly added, “Let me scratch that. There’s been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That’s not on the table.”
So he would send U.S. troops into a land where they are likely to take one hundred thousand casualties and inflict a million, and he has no plan if Pakistan invokes the nukes?
One word: disaster

THE MEDIA

Reading is FUNdamental... -- [Guidons, Guidons, Guidons! - in Iraq]
In a rush to call some COL a unfeeling zealot in the religious war that isn't, some folks at the Danger Room call out COL David Rice (not named in the Danger Room article but named in the Ares article that was linked as the reference) for a statement that he made about GMLRS and their effectiveness in Iraq.
Here's the statement as quoted in Ares

HUMOR / SATIRE

Al Qaeda Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays (VIDEO) -- [The Onion - Via: A Soldier's Perspective]

Health Bills Promote Senior Smoking to Fund Kid Care -- [Scrapple Face]
(2007-08-04) — With child health care bills emerging from the House and Senate each relying on increases in the federal cigarette excise tax to help provide $7 billion a year or more, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, today offered an amendment designed to “guarantee an un-ending funding stream for children’s health by encouraging older Americans to take up smoking.”
“Without a growing population of smokers,” Sen. Reid said, “We won’t have enough cash to fund these increases in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and we would have to raise other taxes. This bill would provide federal matching dollars to create an advertising campaign through the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to get more seniors to consider the joys of tobacco in their waning years.”

Day By Day

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