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

The Ghosts of Anbar, Part II of IV -- [Michael Yon - journalist in Iraq]
Through the window, clearly
Over the past several years, while working into a strategic fatigue, our military has made an amazing transformation in how it conducts this war. Gone, for instance, are heavy-handed tactics, replaced by multi-dimensional counterinsurgency strategy rolled out simultaneously with targeted kinetic battles, like those recently with the 3/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Baqubah.
Arrowhead Ripper was merely the latest experience that underlines the Army’s rapidly-growing expertise. Yet the Marines have adapted faster and seem poised to win the war in their battle space. In fact, it’s been Army officers who have told me repeatedly over the past several years that nobody is successfully morphing to meet this war faster than the Marines.

The Future of Iraq -- [Micahel Totten - journalist in Iraq]
MUSHADAH, IRAQ – “Al Qaeda terrifies locals,” said Major Mike Garcia from Canyon, Texas, before he put me in a convoy of Humvees with 18 American Military Police on their way to the small town of Mushadah just north of Baghdad. “The only people Iraqis may be more afraid of is their mothers. When we arrest or detain people and threaten to call up their mom, they completely freak out. Please, no, don’t tell my mother they say. Women are quiet outside the house, but they severely smack down their bad kids inside the house. When your Iraqi mother tells you to knock something off, you knock it off.”
The American military has slowly figured out how to leverage Iraq’s culture to its advantage, but it only works to an extent.

Operation Phantom Strike -- [Weekly Standard]
On August 15, several hours after night fell over Baghdad, an air assault squadron of the 3rd Infantry Division launched the first attack of Operation Marne Husky. A dozen darkened transport and attack helicopters took off and headed south along the Tigris River, carrying a full company of infantry--about 120 young riflemen with night goggles and weapons loaded. Their objective was a hamlet several dozen miles away. At about 11 P.M., the force landed and rapidly surrounded several small structures. The occupants were taken by surprise. Five suspected insurgents were captured. By 4 A.M., the entire team was airborne again.
Every night since then similar scenes have unfolded at dozens of locations in and around Baghdad--all part of a larger operation named Phantom Strike. The attacks involve units of all sizes and configurations, coming in by air and land. In some cases, the units get out quickly. In others, they pitch tents for an extended stay. The idea is to keep the enemy--al Qaeda and its affiliates--on the defense and constantly guessing, thereby turning formerly "safe" insurgent areas into areas of prohibitive risk for them.

Iraq Briefing 26 August 2007

Iraqi and Coalition forces capture a suspected distributor of Iranian weapons -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi and Coalition forces captured a highly-sought weapons facilitator before dawn Tuesday in Baghdad.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces conducted a raid to capture a suspected weapons distributor connected to the Special Groups network. The suspected senior weapons facilitator is responsible for distributing weapons and other forms of lethal aide smuggled from Iran into Iraq. The individual is also suspected of distributing explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs. The weapons distributor is also suspected of having direct ties to other senior commanders in militias operating in and around Baghdad.

Iraqi citizens escape makeshift prison, CF find remains -- [MNF-I]
TAJI, Iraq – Seven Iraqi citizens made their way to a Coalition patrol base near Khan Bani Sa’ad Saturday, after escaping a makeshift prison.
Attack helicopters patrolling the area earlier in the morning observed three armed individuals moving in a tactical formation through a ditch in the area. After positively identifying the individuals as hostile enemy forces, the helicopter fired on their position, killing all three.
The escapees identified the remains of the three individuals as their captors and led Coalition ground forces to the location of the makeshift prison.

Kidnap Victim Rescued by US Army in Baghdad (((A MUST WATCH)))

The "General" Public -- [Matt Sanchez - journalist in Iraq]
There should be no doubt, the so-called surge is working, but, in September, I am afraid General Petraeus will downplay the positive effect for fear of appearing too partisan. It is sad that in today's society and political environment it is unacceptable for a general to be…well, a general. Even worse is an ambivalent public afraid to root for their own team.
"Our strategy in going after this army is very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we are going to kill it."

Projected ISF Five Year Plan (end-2012) -- [The Fourth Rail]
...What follows is heavy on speculation, estimation, and extrapolations. If sixty percent proves accurate, I will consider it good. It is based on already formed and planned ISF elements, US standard organization, and extrapolation of the planned Table of Organization and Equipment (TO/E). What I have done is take the apparent framework inferred by the current organization and filled in the missing pieces in a standard TO/E. All hard data is in italics.

A Fractured Country -- [ON Point]
Today’s Feature is different. Instead of our usual article, today we’ve taken two articles about our troops, one covering the Marines in Fallujah, and the other written by five soldiers who were stationed in Baghdad, as an example of what is happening in Iraq.
In Fallujah, and throughout Anbar Province, the Sunni’s have joined up with the Marines in rejecting the Al-quada – insurgent philosophy of terror. As reported in ON POINT and other major news organizations, The Marines and the Sunni’s are actively working together to drive out the terrorists and rebuild their cities and their province into a workable, livable environment.
In Baghdad, however, and the other Shia-centric parts of Iraq, they are still struggling for power internally, still wrapped-up in their religious fervor, and therefore their cities are still in turmoil. Those are the areas from where we hear about the horrific truck bombings and suicide attacks.
But when one looks at the successes and advances being achieved every day by the Marines – with enthusiastic Sunni co-operation, as opposed to the daily Iraqi body count coming out of the rest of Iraq, it is no wonder that stalwart GOP leaders like Sen John Warner are saying that Prime Minister Maleki and his government are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Like General David Petraeus says, it’s their country, and they have to want to take control of it.

Night Shift in Iraq"... -- [Jim Spiri - journalist in Iraq]
"Jim, it's important that you keep up with us when we
dismount and go over the wall. You got that?"
"Roger that sir", I replied.
These are the words that SSgt Mansapit had told me prior to embarking on last nights mission. I've not ever had trouble keeping up the pace. Seems I thrive on the endurance part. However, what was going through my mind from that point on until we arrived at the objective was, the wall. "Oh great", I thought to myself. " I forgot my big res "S" and my cape, you know, the one Clark Kent always keeps handy when he runs into a phone booth to save the day from what ever Jimmy Olson got him into. For the next twenty minutes or so, I went over and over in my head how to scale a wall and not get hurt.

The attack of the demon dog... -- [Eighty Deuce On The Loose - in Iraq]
The story of these two dogs would not exist without the story of one dog. That probably makes no sense right now, but I will explain, trust me. I might have mentioned it before, but we have a dog that stays at our combat outpost. A few months ago my old squad was out on patrol at night and this cute little black and white puppy began following them. They didn't pay much attention to it at first, but he kept following them and, well, he was just so damn cute. They brought him back that night. I was on guard shift and happen to be sitting on the desk inside when they brought the little guy in.
...OK, so now that I've told you about Charlie, let me tell you about this demon dog.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Believe They Are Winning -- [Strategy Page]
August 28, 2007: It's mostly about money, mainly the money coming from growing poppy plants, turning it into opium and heroin, and smuggling most of the drugs out of the country, for sale in the Persian Gulf, India, Europe and North America. The Taliban get all the publicity, but the drug gangs have all the power. It's the drug gangs that pose the most serious threat to the government. The Taliban are largely ineffective in their attacks on the security forces and government officials. The drug gangs don't want to kill these people, but to make them rich.

Freedom Watch Afghanistan Aug 28, 2007

Breaking: Korean Hostage Deal Done -- [Pat Dollard]
Both the Taliban and the Korean government have announced that a deal has been done for the release of the 19 remaining hostages. Sources indicate that they finally settled on a dollar amount for the ransom.

Koreans Bow to Taliban Demands, Hostages to Go Free -- [Jawa Report]
It is also a major supplier of law enforcement ammunition under Federal Premium, Speer Gold Dot, Lawman, and CCI Blazer brands. The law enforcement ammunition is made in plants in Idaho and Minnesota that are completely separate for their military operations at Lake City. These production lines do not, as the AP falsely states, use the same equipment used to manufacture military ammunition

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

China Invades Germany and Gets Caught -- [Strategy Page]
August 28, 2007: Chinese Cyber War operatives have, over the last three months, hacked into the computer networks of several German government ministries (Foreign, Economics and Research), as well as the office of the Chancellor ( Angela Merkel, the head of the government). Some 160 gigabytes of data was moved to computers in northern China. This revelation was leaked to the media while the Chancellor was in China, to discuss trade matters, and demand that China do more to stop the theft of German intellectual property.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

The Drug-Terrorist Connection -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
There is much written on terrorist financing and possible sources of radical Islamist financing. We write about the Saudis (true), commodities (true) and many other parts of the puzzle. But, as the latest U.N. assessment from Afghanistan shows, one of the biggest sources of revenue now available to at least some parts of the Islamist forces is from heroin production and trafficking.
Afghanistan has set a new record on

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Bang Your Head... -- [MilBlogs - Andi]
airforcewife and I recently interviewed Drowning Pool about their support for our troops. Drowning Pool is part of the USO entertainment circuit. They played in Baghdad on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and are currently working on putting together another USO tour, which they hope will take them to Afghanistan and Iraq, and they will soon be visiting troops at Walter Reed.
Before the show, my husband were able to meet and chat with the band, and they could not have been more gracious to us. Ryan McCombs told us that his trip to Iraq "changed him forever.
While the meet-and-greet was wonderful, I was shocked, pleasantly shocked, at what happened during the concert....

Support our Troops Rally in Indianapolos, IN

WELCOME HOME

Home -- [Jake's Life - home from Iraq]
I am happy to say that as I am writing this I am not in Iraq, I am not in Kuwait, I am not holding my rifle, I am not wearing cammies, I'm actually not even sweating. I am sitting at a kitchen counter in Palm Springs, CA. I just got done swimming, grilling and eating, and I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE SECOND of it.
The flight home was long, but the reward at the end was perfect. Stepping off the bus, I couldn't find my family in the crowd at first. After pathetically wandering around looking like a lost puppy for about a minute my mom finally found me.

MILITARY

It's Not Combat That Will Kill You -- [Strategy Page]
August 27, 2007: The military has made enormous progress in reducing the number of fatal accidents the troops are subject to. So much so that the death rate in the military, even with combat casualties, is lower now than it was in the 1990s. The Department of Defense Medical Mortality Registry shows that, even now, combat deaths make up a minority of deaths in the military. Unlike World War II, where combat deaths out numbered non-combat deaths three to one, better training, weapons and equipment have greatly reduced the combat death rate. The big danger now is accidents and disease.

More fixed-wing love -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
This is a time lapsed photo of an AC-130 gunship firing its guns and cannons while flying a circular pattern over Afghanistan. Every fifth round is a tracer, so you can imagine how many are raining down on the enemy. You do not want to be under this.

Computer Games Helps Troops Cope.

Military commanders are turning to an unusual aid to help soldiers trying to recover from the stress of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

POLITICS

Sen. Kerry permits last statute of limitations for defamation to lapse, forever barring any defamation claim against SwiftVet authors O'Neill and Corsi -- [BeldarBlog - HT: The One and Only]
When I first brought it to his attention in September 2005, I reminded Sen. John F. Kerry that — based on the publication date on or about August 25, 2004, of Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi — Sen. Kerry had already allowed the one-year statutes of limitations for defamation to expire in Texas (where Mr. O'Neill resides), New Jersey (where Dr. Corsi resides), and the District of Columbia (where their publisher Regnery Publishing, Inc. has its principal place of business and Sen. Kerry has his own regular place of business).

Democrats Reject Earlier Arguments on Iraq -- [Weekly Standard]
Democrats and war opponents have for months argued for a withdrawal from Iraq, partly on the grounds that neither the people of Iraq nor its government would seriously attempt reconciliation so long as the U.S. commitment there seemed open-ended. Some Democrats went so far as to say that by insisting on a date-certain for withdrawal, they were helping the administration by playing 'bad cop' to President Bush's 'good cop.' If the Iraqis believed that Congress might really force a withdrawal, the argument went, they would press for reconciliation with more urgency.

Huffington Post ups Iraqi deaths past 1 million -- [Michael Fumento]
As of August 14th, 1,019,627 Iraqis "have been killed due to the U.S. invasion" according to Robert Naiman in a blog at the Huffington Post. His methodology, however, as you might guess, is a bit wanting.
He starts with a 2006 Lancet study that he says calculates 600,000 Iraqi civilians killed in the war as of July, 2006. (Actually, the study said 655,000 but then you can't expect Naiman to read actual studies or even their abstracts or conclusions.) He then updates that figure to the present by taking the estimated death figure at the website of an anti-war group called Iraqi Body Count at that time, the estimated figure now, and applying the percentage increase to 600,000. Comments on his blog express disbelief that the mainstream media has ignored this ingenious work and the horrifying conclusion - but there just may be a reason:

HuffPo: Don't Impeach Bush, Court-Martial Him -- [Weekly Standard]
A truly special example of left wing idiocy popped up over the weekend. It came from the Huffington Post (where else), which allowed "humorist" Martin Lewis space to request that General Pace arrest the commander-in-chief for conduct unbecoming.

MILBLOGGING

Blogging the War -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
...Both soldiers write their blogs aware of the fine line they walk with their postings. Coulson and Alanko have not experienced any Army censorship over their articles, but they make sure not to violate any security concerns in the course of their blogging.
“The bottom line is I don’t want to be writing anything that’s going to put myself or another American in danger,” said Alanko. “It’s kind of a trust system, where I’ve never violated that trust so they don’t feel that I need constant inspection to keep me in line.”
He continued, “There’s been a number of times where I’ve wanted to write about something that’s skirting the edge a little bit, that might be a little bit controversial, and in those instances I’ve gone to my chain of command and said, ‘Hey, this is what I’m thinking about, do you see a problem with this?’ And it’s all been stuff that I’ve ended up posting,” said Alanko.
Capt. Coulson said, “As a military blogger, even though I’m an independent voice, I am still an Army officer and I am that first, so I have responsibilities over the content of my blog.”

THE MEDIA

A letter to the Denver Post -- [THE DRUM and CANNON]
Denver Post cartoonist Mike Keefe set a new record for tastelessness, disrespect, and crudity in his "chickenhawk" cartoon on 8/28. He owes all veterans of the Vietnam War, especially the 50,000 plus who paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives, a serious apology for suggesting that it was they who "cut and run" from the war. Even Keefe must know that it was our spineless politicians and media-types, not our brave soldiers, who brought about the fall of South Vietnam. Better than an apology, Mr. Keefe should be given the opportunity to "pursue new career interests". By retaining him, the Denver Post becomes a willing accomplice in expressing disrespect and dishonor for those brave men and women who died giving their lives for their country.

MSNBC, CNBC Refuse to Run Pro-War Ads -- [Power line]
We wrote here about the television commercials that Freedom's Watch has produced, featuring veterans and their families, that urge Congress and the public to continue supporting the Iraq war. The commercials are well done, and convey the simple message that the Iraq war is important and winnable, and that we should allow our troops to see the mission through. The ads are appearing in the context of a blizzard of anti-war ads by left-wing groups, intended to pressure Senators and Congressmen into pulling the plug on the Iraq effort.
Freedom's Watch has placed its ads on Fox and CNN, but CNBC and MSNBC have refused to run the ads. Ari Fleischer wrote this morning on behalf of Freedom's Watch to let us know that CNBC and MSNBC have stubbornly refused to air the pro-war ads, even though they have run issue ads on other controversial topics. Freedom's Watch has written to CNBC and MSNBC to protest their decision; here is the text of that letter:

Bad Reporting After Bad
We've been over--and debunked--this story before:
Not only is the Washington Post running a story debunked a week before it was written, it is featuring it on the homepage.
Commenters are already shredding it, and linking to both my previous debunking and the one I recycled last night.
Was Howard Kurtz completely asleep at the wheel here?
What a trainwreck...

How A Biased Press Distorts History -- [Villainous Company]
Here's an interesting mental exercise. Get out a piece of paper and a pen. Now think of three words:
Decorated. War. Hero.
Write down - quickly - don't overthink this, the very first three names that come into your mind, regardless of your reaction to them. Whose names appeared on that little slip of paper?

The Red Cross Ambulance Incident -- [Zombie Time - HT: TigerHawk]
How the Media Legitimized an Anti-Israel Hoax and Changed the Course of a War
Of all the exposés and scandals surrounding the media's coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, The Red Cross Ambulance Incident stands out as the most serious. The other exposés were spectacular in their simplicity (photographers staging scenes, clumsy attempts at Photoshopping images), but often concerned fairly trivial details. What does it matter whether there was a big cloud of smoke over Beirut, or a really big cloud of smoke, as one notorious doctored photograph showed? The fact that the media was lying was indeed extremely important, and justified the publicity surrounding the exposés -- but what they were lying about was often minor, a slight fudging of the visuals to exaggerate the damage.

Iraqis Reach Accomodation - US Press Misses Story -- [NewsBusters]
Has the US media turned a completely deaf ear to actual events in favor of a warped view on what they wish to occur in Iraq? It would seem so. Ever since it became apparent that the miltiary 'surge' strategy was succeeding in Iraq, both the media and the Democratic Party have been complaining that the poltiical benchmarks in Iraq were not being met. in particular, they castigated the Iraq civilian leadership for failing to make strides in rteaching out to the minority Sunnis and releasing political prisoners.

'Ever Upbeat' Bush Deluded in His Iraq War Optimism, Says NYT -- [NewsBusters]
Reporter Steven Lee Myers's "White House Memo" for Monday's New York Times, "A Familiar Strategy to Help Stay the Course," portrayed the president as deluded in his Iraq optimism and chiding him for not acknowledging anti-war sentiment.

On the ISNA Conference and the DOJ -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
As Jeffrey Imm points out, Audrey Hudson of the Washington Times has reported that "[t]he Justice Department is co-sponsoring a convention held by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) -- an unindicted co-conspirator in an ongoing federal terrorist funding case." Unfortunately, this article overstates the DOJ's involvement in the ISNA conference and offers objections to DOJ participation that seem inaccurate.
Both the headline and opening paragraph of the article state that the Justice Department is co-sponsoring the 2007 ISNA convention,

HUMOR / SATIRE

Gonzales Quits, Bush Appoints Rove Attorney General -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-08-27) — Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales submitted his letter of resignation over the weekend to President George Bush, who today announced he’ll fill the post with departing White House adviser Karl Rove.
The president said he selected Mr. Rove because “he meets the major qualification for the job by being one of the few unemployed, longterm Bush cronies available at the moment.”

Day By Day

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