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

Iraq Report: Lightning Hammer update -- [The Fourth Rail]
US and Iraqi security forces are pushing forward on two fronts against al Qaeda in Iraq and the Shia terror groups. In the regions north and east of Baqubah in Diyala province, Operation Lightning Hammer is in its third day. Nationwide, US and Iraqi security forces continue the intelligence-driven operations against the rogue Mahdi Army, Iranian-backed Special Groups cells, and al Qaeda. Meanwhile, al Qaeda in Iraq pulled off one of the biggest attacks in the war after four suicide bombers murdered upwards of 200 civilians in a small village in northwestern Iraq.

Iraq Briefing 15 August 2007 -- [Pentagon Channel]

Iraqis lead Soldiers to weapons caches north of Baghdad -- [MNF-I]
CAMP TAJI — Concerned Iraqi citizens recently fed tips to Soldiers from the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 1st Cavalry Division, which led to four weapons caches and two detained suspects during multiple operations north of Baghdad.

Lt. Colonel James Crider 1st RSTA Squadron 4th Cavalry Regiment -- [Matt Sanchez]

Military official discusses progress in Iraq -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — A military official discussed current events in Iraq at the Combined Press InformationCenter Wednesday.
“The Coalition is assisting the Iraqi Army and provincial authorities in providing humanitarian assistance, and will work closely with government authorities to bring these terrorists to justice,” Bergner said.

The Men Of MiTT -- [Matt Sanchez]
BRIEFING BEGINS at 0800 at FOB Prosperity, and I was ready for the typical "SIGACTS." Small push pins on a magnified satellite image map on the wall showed where each significant act occurred: SAF, IED, EFP, a morse-code of letters that usually meant danger, explosions, and possibly a dead body. But these were the Rogues, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division Military Transitional Team (MiTT), and they had a different mission than most stationed here in Baghdad. First Sergeant Joseph McFarlane, a career Army man whose father served in Vietnam and whose grandfathers both served in WWII, read the latest news from the place the soldiers cared about most--back home.

Gun-battle light show, Med-Ops, and Major Offensive Operations -- [Jeff Emanuel - in Iraq]
The last 24 hours has been interesting -- if a bit incongruous -- in this small slice of 115-degree, mud brick and dust heaven southeast of Baghdad.
After Blue platoon, Baker Co 1-15's departure from FOB Hammer (from their monthly "refit" at the dust bowl that houses Brigade headquarters) was slightly delayed by an electrical fire inside a Humvee, the actual drive back to COP Cahill (just north of Salman Pak), which passed through some traditionally very bad areas (Jisr Diyala, "Four Corners," which marks the informal boundary between JAM and AQI in the area, and Wuerdiya), was entirely uneventful. Not a shot was fired at us, and no IEDs were detonated

Haifa Street: The day after -- [The Fourth Rail - Wesley Morgan - in Iraq]
In the morning (Wednesday, August 8), I geared up before first light. We were supposed to roll back to the forward operating base around 0600, but there was a delay: The cameras positioned on the perimeter of the outpost showed very few pilgrims. Apparently the holiday hadn't really started yet – the marchers last night had been Shia from southern Iraq who had arrived early. "Nobody knows when this damn holiday actually starts," Peterson told me in frustration – the terps, apparently both Sunnis, had no idea either.

Balance of Terror -- [Michael Totten]
BAGHDAD – The American soldier sitting next to me flipped open his Zippo lighter and gloomily lit a cigarette. “Do you know why this base isn’t attacked by insurgents?” he said.
I assumed it was because his area of operations, in the Graya’at neighborhood of northern Baghdad out of Coalition Outpost War Eagle, had been cleared of insurgents. Many American military bases and outposts in Iraq are attacked by Al Qaeda terrorists and Mahdi Army militiamen with mortars and rockets. War Eagle was quiet and had not been bombarded for months.
“We aren’t being attacked because the Mahdi Army is in the next building,” he said. “They don’t want to hit their own people.”
American soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division shared the small outpost with Iraqi Army soldiers who lived, worked, and slept in the building next door.
“You mean the Iraqi Army unit here has been infiltrated?” I said.
He nodded grimly and took a pull from his cigarette.

Baghdad's 'Little Venice' -- [Dude where's the Beach - in Iraq]
Uncle Jimbo from Black Five was looking for information on Baghdad's 'Little Venice'. This area isn't the sewage-filled or disgusting place it was rumored to be. Sure, it's located in Baghdad, and inevitably there will be some stuff dumped into the water somewhere, but this place is more relaxing than anything else. It looks like it's a direct flow out of the Euphrates, which is located nearby. The temperature is also significantly cooler due to the water and shade.

Road Warriors - Iraq

A day on patrol with one platoon.

Sweet dreams are made of these... -- [Eighty Deuce On The Loose - In Iraq]
...The next day we ended up heading out for our patrol and we found out that one of our platoons was ambushed the day before. They were in the trucks and drove in to some heavy fire from AKs, a couple machine guns and RPGs. One RPG hit a truck and obliterated the engine. Rounds were hitting the trucks at a greater number than normal and one of the gunners joined the lucky day club. Apparently a round struck him in the head, but off to the side. It entered into his helmet, looped around the back and back out the front of the other side. God was again watching down, for he only received 5 stiches and we picked him back up from the CSH (Combat Support Hospital) the next day. The crazy thing was, no only was this ambush a new thing for the area we're operating in, but these guys seemed to be better shots than what we've seen in the past. But once again it was the platoon that is the only one that seems to find trouble these days that wandered in to this. How do they always manage to find it?!?

"Because They Don't Shoot At Us" -- [Matt Sanchez]
Dora is a dangerous neighborhood. Due, in part to the "surge", 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry, of Fort Riley Kansas, increased their presence in this small area. Soldiers talk to Iraqis on a daily basis and form relations. These personal relations between Iraqis and the American military may just be the least reported aspect of the war.

More from Matt Green -- [FOB Tacoma]
It's been a few weeks since we last heard from Lt. Col. Matt Green, writing about his experiences with a police training team in Iraq. This installment, No. 20, is out of sequence. No. 18 ended with a surprise -- an arrest warrant issued for Green's comrade, Iraqi National Police Brig. Gen. Bahaa.
We're trying to get our hands on No. 19, but in the meantime, here's No. 20 (and we are assuming that things turned out OK for Bahaa).

RE: Pistol-Packin' Senator -- [The Tank - W. Thomas Smith Jr - in Iraq]
...Sen. Lindsey Graham's carrying a weapon here in Iraq while on Air Force Reserve duty, which I first reported yesterday ... and now everybody is having a ball with (which is one of the predictably fun reasons I posted the observation in the first place).
It's certainly being talked (blogged) about from my NRO pals over at "The Corner" to Ana Marie Cox at Time magazine's Swampland. But here's the reality of it all:
Yes, I saw Graham in uniform carrying a weapon (specifically a pistol) in Baghdad, but every servicemember in and out of uniform does here. They have to. This is a frontless war zone, where you have to be prepared to defend yourself and others no matter where you are or what you are doing.
It was even suggested to me once by a Marine officer that I carry a weapon, because the area we were moving into was so utterly dangerous. Plus,

Insurgent killed by a Hellfire while trying to Escape

Fantasies and Competence Coexist -- [Strategy Page]
August 15, 2007: Shia warlord Moqtada al Sadr appears to have fled back to Iran once more, apparently in reaction to increased military pressure on his armed followers. The U.S. knows who al Sadr's key military lieutenants are, and these guys are being arrested, or killed while trying to avoid capture. When American and Iraqi forces raid Sadr's people, they often find Iranians (who claim to be religious pilgrims). There are 2,760 foreigners in Iraqi jails, including 800 Iranians.

Beauty in the Dirt -- [Acute Politics - in Iraq]
Last night was beautiful.
There's a stark, harsh beauty in the desert. In the daytime, it seems more harsh than at night. The sun beats the dust bone dry, and the wind drives it with a force that occasionally threatens to rip the body into atoms. The night is more subtle- the sand cools, while both the sky and ground come alive with predators. The bats and owl I heard last night are not the only ones- once I saw what seemed to be a herd of scorpions moving blackly across the road, pinchers waving. Camel spiders emerge from holes, skittering impossibly fast in search of those same armored denzians. Scattered across the desert are the moving dirt bumps, the ones that turn into hedgehogs as you approach.

Politics of Iraq - [Hugh Hewitt]
Though the AP was careful to bury the details in a story about the suicide attacks of earlier this week, the political news from Baghdad is encouraging:

The United Nation Returns to Iraq -- [Austin Bay]
Four years after an explosives-packed suicide cement truck blew up and destroyed the U.N. headquarters building in Baghdad, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to expand its operation in Iraq.

AFGHANISTAN

US Prof Putting Out Enemy Propaganda Overseas -- [Riehl World]
I thought this was a joke, but it isn't. I found it as I have spent several days trying to ascertain the fate of Taliban Leader Mansoor Dadullah, targeted in a recent air raid in Afghanistan.
Despite the best efforts of Taliban propagandists, claiming massive civilian causalities, as Rusty eventually posted, there were hardly any civilian causalities at all when the story was fleshed out.
Now weeks later, here comes an atrocious article illustrated with the worst of images (graphic depiction of a child in hospital) claiming massive civilian causalities and giving our enemies all the propaganda it could want under the heading of a US-based college professor: Marc W. Herold.

Pakistan Provided Military Support To The Taliban -- [Captain's Quarters]
Pakistan has insisted since 9/11 that it never provided military support to the Taliban before that date, let alone afterwards. Pervez Musharraf insists that Pakistan only provided diplomatic recognition and economic ties to the oppressive regime until the US ejected them from Afghanistan after the al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington. The Guardian reports that Musharraf may have lied through his teeth to save his rear end:

RIP SGT CHARLES KITOWSKI -- [Deviant Saint]
It's all over the web and papers now, so I can talk about it.
Kit was in my unit back in Dallas and came out with the rest of us volunteers into Afghanistan. We all decided to go fill in the slots of another battalion that needed people to do the mission. We were already passed the halfway mark when this happened.
Kitowski and two others were killed by a roadside bomb (or at least that's my understanding of it). a bunch of us from the Dallas unit found out as we rolled in the gate from a long op. We were all pretty happy because we made it through another one, all in one peice.
and then they told us.
about 48 hours ago 8 of us loaded a flag drapped box with our friend in it onto a plane to take the last flight he'll ever be on.
We carried him, we paid our respects, we wept unashamedly.

On Watching Grass *Not* Wilt -- [Castle Argghhh! - CW4BillT - in Afghanistan]
Results from Talking the Talk: I’m not sure what the coverage has been in MSM-Land, but the four-day Afghani-Pak jirga produced some interesting results. The closest suitable English translation I can conjure for jirga is “a summit conference incorporating national and trans-national entities” -- the trans-national entities being seven hundred Pashtun tribal delegates. And every tribe was *not* represented.
Next time you want to get a glazed look from your confreres in the conference room, ask them, “Did you know that there are sixty distinct Pashtun tribes in Pakistan?”

Return to Tora Bora -- [The Fourth Rail]
US-led troops in eastern Afghanistan kicked off a major offensive Sunday designed to root out Taliban, al Qaeda, and Hizb-i-Islami-Gulbadin fighters hiding in southeastern Nangahar province. So far, the fighting has killed at least three American GIs, two of whom were Green Berets. Local government officials say up to 50 militants are dead with another 40 "under siege." The fighting has forced as many as 100 families in the area to flee.

Five Years of Change in Afghanistan - Video from NATO

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.

Yes! A Hyena it is. -- [ETT PA-C - in Afghanistan]
...We ended up cruising a little out of our way into Taliban land for a couple of hours. Ironically, I think they were so shocked to see us in there turf it caught them off guard. We didn't get into contact at all. You should have see some of the looks on their faces as British vehicles and our Humvees drove by on these near impassible roads. They were priceless.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Padilla Found Guilty -- [Stop the ACLU]
All three counts get slammed on him, including the terrorist charge at the top. It won’t be long before we hear the cries of injustice from left field. Oh…and so it begins. Check out the comments at Huffington Post.

NEFA Series "Target America": KSM's West Coast Airline Plot -- [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 tenth in a series of reports examining the multitude of threats directed at the United States since 9/11.

The Domestic Intelligence Imperative -- [Threats Watch]
How do we deal with the enemies among us?
This is a banner week for intelligence-related stories, and the biggest story so far is summarized in this post at Secrecy News about the expanded use of intelligence resources in and on the US. Issues surrounding domestic intelligence are going to come to a head a lot sooner than most...

The Islamists' Agenda Exposed By Reformer Supports What We Are Seeing Today In CAIR's Support Of Terrorist Groups And The Saudi Wahabbists' Plan For America -- [Freedom Zone]
Thanks to Kemal for sending us this video (below) of Tashbih Sayyed exposing Islamist-supremacists (CAIR and MPAC) hidden agenda: to intimidate us into submission to Islamist domination.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

On a Wing and a Prayer Soldiers Angels Helps Support Our Troops and their Families With Emergency Airplane Flights -- [Soldiers Angels Network]
A wounded American soldier lies in a bed in a military hospital in Lundstahl, Germany. He is post-op, in intensive care, and holding on to his life. He is literally across an ocean and thousands of miles from home. The military rushes his mother and father to his side. His grandmother wants to see her grandson and support her daughter but the family does not have the money for the last minute airfare. Military regulations prevent the Army from paying for her flight. She calls Soldiers Angels, a military support charity. A ticket is purchased for her through the use of donated air miles and she is on her way to Germany on the next flight.

IN MEMORY OF...

Thinking about Elvis -- [PowerLine]
Today is the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, who died on August 16, 1977. Elvis died of a life of excess and drug abuse at an absurdly young age. He had been a superstar for more than 20 years by the time he died, entombed by his own celebrity.
...Bodyguard Sonny West would fly in from Memphis to meet them. Elvis asked Schilling to take out some cash for the trip, which Elvis ended up giving away to soldiers returning from service in Vietnam.
California Senator George Murphy was coincidentally on the flight from Los Angeles to Washington and Elvis sought out Murphy back in tourist to enlist his assistance. On the flight Elvis wrote a letter to President Nixon:

MILITARY

Man, People Are So Gullible... -- [Winds of Change]
...as long as the things they are gullible about confirm their prejudices.
I've got a newfound - interest - in military welfare these days. So I pay particular attention to news items that cross my computer screen that touch on issues about the welfare of our military.
A few weeks ago, I saw the release about rising suicide rates in the military, and to be honest I was concerned.
Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report....Gosh, guys. It is a damn serious issue - because the rate is rising, and because one suicide is unknowably painful to the circle of the person who kills themselves.
But you know, the first question I asked was "Gosh, I wonder how that compares to normal rates of suicide in the US?
So I spent a whopping ten minutes looking up stats and building a small spreadsheet.

Army Suicide Rate and Random Variation -- [Outside the Beltway]
The Army’s suicide rate for 2006 is the highest in a generation. While this sounds alarming, and will naturally be attributed to the stresses of an ongoing war, the chances are quite good that this is mere random variation in a low frequency event.

Today Is National Airborne Day -- [BlackFive]
I've been a member of many, many great organizations. But none am I prouder to have served than with the Airborne. It is amazing to work with such motivated people - and you have to be highly motivated to throw yourself out of a perfectly good airplane (all jokes about military aircraft aside).
So, here's to you, Airborne:

POLITICS

Time to Move Out and Draw Fire! - The Battle Over the War Narrative -- [Blackfive]
Notice the uptick in troll activity? Well, that's just the beginning. MoveOn and George Soros and VoteVets and CodePink and the cast of lunatic fringe elements are all trying to get ahead of the testimony from General Petraeus and paint the surge as a loss.
In order to join the fight, Uncle Jimbo and I should be joining up with Veterans for Freedom in Washington DC on September 17th and 18th. And both of us should be at a MAF rally on September 11th here in Chicago. Please consider joining us.

Giuliani and Edwards -- [Dadmanly]
...What on earth is Edwards talking about here? Military voices, despite a few critics and political partisans, are very supportive of GEN Petraeus, his counterinsurgency doctrine, and current surge operations. The military, in this entire affair, has been 100% responsive to however the mission has been defined, and whatever priorities military and civilian leadership have defined. If Edwards thinks any aspect of that needs fixing, he's not any keen student of the US military. Perhaps he's been reengaging a bit too much with some of our international critics (some of whom have a serious problem in this regard).

Prominent War Opponent -- [SgtStryker]
Cindy Sheehan will be running against Republican Nancy Pelosi, in a bid for the US House. She made her threat that if Pelosi didn’t move to impeach President George Bush by July 23, Cindy would challenge her. True to her words, Cindy Sheehan made the announcement last Thursday that she will run.
Nancy Pelosi states that she is adamant about bringing the troops home, but believes that it must be done in a timely and safe manner. Apparently, that isn’t good enough for Sheehan.

THE MEDIA

"Victim" Of US Sadr City Raid: American Troops Are Now Throwing Ammunition At People!
UPDATE: PHOTOGRAPHER SNAPPED *ANOTHER* ELDERLY WOMAN POSING WITH PRISTINE BULLET A MONTH AGO -- [Ace of Spades]
Back on July 10th, this same photographer snapped a pic of another sad elderly woman, that time claiming that gleaming, undamaged bullet had hit her bed.

Going to the Well Once Too Often -- [Confederate Yankee]
Photographer Wissam al-Okaili has had quite an interesting summer in Iraq, and apparently made quite a few friends.
In July, he published a picture carried in media around the world, as an elderly Sadr City woman held up a object that she claimed was a bullet that came into her room and hit her bed. What was quite interesting about the claim is that the "bullet" had no rifling, and did not match up to a caliber used by any known U.S. or Russian-designed weapons system. Many at the time felt that the object was most likely a fake, but results were never conclusive.
Over at Blackfive last night, Uncle Jimbo caught al-Okaili attempting to use this narrative once too often as captured on Yahoo!'s photostream:

It's Not Just Scott Beauchamp -- [American Thinker]
Scott Beauchamp was the last straw. I realized that I need a scorecard to keep track of all the fallen journalists, journalistic mistakes and major and minor screw-ups in the media.
...Offenses include lying and fabricating, doctoring photos, plagiarism, conflicts of interest, falling for hoaxes, and overt bias. Some are hilarious, such as an action figure doll being mistaken for a real soldier. Some are silly, such as reporting on a baseball game watched on TV. Some are more serious.
I leave it to you to judge whether the internet damaged "journalism's ability to do its job professionally", as Marvin Kalb accuses, or if the internet has in fact helped expose an already damaged "profession".
I doubt if my list is comprehensive, but I think it's a good start. So that I'm not accused of plagiarism myself, I would like to give credit to Wikipedia for many of the entries on this list. And all the information below can be found with a little internet searching; I just could not find it all in one place. I do give at least one source for each item, embedded in the text.

E&P: "It's Not About Balance...It's Not Even About Objectivity..." -- [Jawa Report]
E&P pens a piece pretending to scold journalists for wearing their dyed-in-the-wool Blue politics on their sleeves (prompted by the Seattle Times' newsroom erupting in applause at the news of Unterfurher Rove's resignation), but can't bring itself to actually engage the real problem - that newsrooms are overloaded with Democrats by ridiculous margins, and that this slants news coverage consistently and egregiously.

A New Tune for Iraq -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
If you like James Taranto's "Best of the Web" column in the WSJ, you'll enjoy his video discussion today, A New Tune for Iraq? about the new narrative developing in regards to the Iraq war.
View the video here.

HUMOR / SATIRE

US May Label Iran Guards ‘Terrorist’, Earth ‘Round’ -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-08-15) — Officials in the U.S. State Department are reportedly close to labeling Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a “terrorist” organization. At the same time, sources also indicate that the State Department may soon label the Earth “round”.

Day By Day

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