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

"Here and There"... -- [Jim Spiri - in Iraq]
So many stateside hear only the word surge. Here, they live it, day in and day out. I am constantly reminded that it is not just words and phrases but an event that is actually happening. It hits home upon seeing the photos of those lost. The pace is fast here, as well as most everywhere I've been recently. It is not a game. It is war.
Flying out of Taji I was able to view from the air just how expansive the Baghdad area is. There is a lot of population in the Baghdad vicinity and one can only imagine the enormous task of trying to contain the fight. One cannot help but imagine all the obstacles just looking down from above. As I've traveled from place to place and experienced from my varied vantage points how it all works, I am again in awe of how a coordinated effort such as this, even takes place. But that is what is happening. It is nearly impossible to explain it all in words, but after a sustained length of time going from place to place, one begins to see that the effort is a plan, and the carrying out of the plan is what lays before my eyes.

“Al Qaeda Lost” -- [Michael Totten - in Iraq]
“How long have you been in Ramadi?” I said.
“Since the last week of January, 2007,” he said. “When I first got here my area of operations was the southern half of downtown. It was ugly then, especially for the civilians. We found more than 50 dead in just one grave in the desert. 50,000 – 70,000 people have returned so far since the war ended in April.”
“Describe the progress you’ve seen so far,” I said.
“Sure,” he said, “let’s look at the Abu Bali area for example. 6,000 or so people live there. When I first arrived there were 10 attacks every day just in that small area alone. Since May 1, 2007, we’ve had only one attack total in that area. The people went from having two to three hours of electricity a day to having twelve hours a day. Insurgents kept blowing up the power lines, but now that they’ve been cleared out the government has put them back up. Commerce has really taken off.”

Iraq Briefing 23 September 2007

The Enemy -- [Far From Perfect]
...The first was a target we had been looking for. He was pretty high on the most wanted list. We rounded him up in some raids with a group of other people. He was caught wearing women’s clothes and trying to skirt out. He was acting suspicious for a woman, and I bet the big mustache didn’t help either. Anyway, why would he do this? Because he knows that coalition forces attempt to respect the Muslim culture and not search women directly if possible. We usually bring women with us to do the searches, if necessary, to avoid hurting Muslim women’s dignity. As a last resort, if necessary, we will get the husband or another Muslim woman on the premises to do the search under supervision. So he figured he would just be able to skirt out unsuspected by acting as a woman and playing to our sensitivities. Lucky for us, someone had a sharp eye.
The second man is even worse in my opinion. The IA raided his house and found several weapons, including a sniper rifle. They were initially unable to locate the man as they searched the house, but eventually found him. He was hiding under a blanket in the corner, using children as a cover and shield. The children were evacuated and the man arrested.

Night Rhino, Take 3 -- [Laughing Wolf - in Iraq]
...On the flights over, at the airport, and while waiting for the Rhino, I chatted with civilians and with soldiers, and one theme came through loud and clear: they feel the war is lost—at home. During a transportation wait, one person told me flat out that it was won here, but lost at home because the average person doesn’t have a clue how things really are here. Are there problems? Sure, but they are being worked and things are better, and people are working to keep making them better. But you never hear it on the news, and that is killing them.

An interview with the “Lion of Arab Jabour” -- [The Long War Journal - in Iraq]
LWJ: What motivated you to organize against al Qaeda in Iraq?
Mustaffa: They are criminals. There is no law, no order here. No system of government. We needed to organize against al Qaeda to protect ourselves.
LWJ: What has al Qaeda in Iraq done to the people of Arab Jabour?
Mustaffa: They killed our sons, ruined our infrastructure, displaced families, used sectarian violence against the people. They killed our electricians, our engineers, the technicians that run our water pumps and [water filtration] plant. They cooperated with foreign powers, with Syria and Iran, to kill us.
LWJ: Did al Qaeda in Iraq attempt to enforce Shariah?
Mustaffa: When al Qaeda announces its Islamic State, it forced people to obey their godless laws. The people of Arab Jabour would not submit to this. Al Qaeda are godless criminals.
LWJ: What support do your Concerned Citizens need from the central government to restore order to Arab Jabour?
Mustaffa: The central government hasn’t dealt with us. There is no provincial government. Every time we try we have been rebuffed.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Caught bringing weapons to Iraq

Update he was caught 9/20/07

The Latest from Jeff Emanuel, Reporting From the Front Lines in Iraq. -- [Vets for Freedom - Jeff Emanuel - in Iraq]
...Ramadan is well underway in the Islamic world. This past week has involved some joint patrols and operations, but has primarily featured, at its center, operations planned and conducted almost exclusively by the Iraqi and National Police in the area. These Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) planned and executed three major operations in the city, locking down large sections of houses and industrial buildings and searching them for weapons and hostile personnel. Between the three, the ISF detained nearly fifty individuals and impounded several vehicles. Some of the people were subsequently released and returned home, but others were kept for questioning. Some of these were found to be very high level targets in the area, including a key figure in an al Qaeda rape and terror cell, which was broken up by the ISF during the course of one of these missions.

How they Live: A Guided Tour of (most of) Patrol Base Olson in Samarra, Iraq -- [Jeff Emanuel - in Iraq]
The living situation would be considered austere by most at home, but Charlie Company's paratroopers make the most of it. Inside the Casino is a pair of cubbyholes housing five computers and five pay-per-use telephones that all of the occupants of PB Olson share. There is also one small, grainy television which plays the Armed Forces Network 24/7, and around which the paratroopers crowd in the early morning on Sunday and Monday to see football games.
However, the top priority at Patrol Base Olson is not comfortable living, healthy eating, or watching sports -- it is maintaining readiness and performing daily (or more) missions into the city of Samarra.

Iraqi Police surge dramatically reduces Baghdad violence -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — Violence in Baghdad has been cut in half, thanks to a massive influx of new Iraqi Police officers, a top U.S. military advisor said today.
“Along with the surge of U.S. forces is also the surge of Iraqi Police,” Brig. Gen. David Phillips told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Baghdad.
As deputy commanding general of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, Phillips helped stand up the Baghdad Police Academy in January 2004. Thursday, he watched 744 brand new officers graduate from that academy.
“A community (in) which, in the past, we saw a significant al Qaeda presence now has concerned local citizens come forward (to join) the police forces,” Phillips said. “You saw a lot of pride in these new police officers as they graduated.”

Insurgents strafed twice by Predator

Insurgents get two passes by a predator after planting IED, second time they exit the car.

The Battlefield of the Mind -- [ON Point - Andrew Lubin - in Iraq]
A major part of the success of the “Surge” operations is that the local villagers are turning in the insurgents, with the result that there are now 25,000+ in custody. The majority of the detainees are not hard-core insurgents, but have been recruited by AQI and various militias for a variety of religious and economic reasons.
These are the Iraqi’s that the Coalition wants to reach, and Detainee Operations, with Task Force 134, has instituted some extremely effective programs in religious enlightenment and other educational programs.
The Deputy CG of “Detainee Operations” is Maj Gen Douglas Stone, USMC, who runs the program out of Task Force 134. With two main internment camps under his control, along with a camp designed for minors south of Baghdad in Camp Victory, MajGen Stone talked about changing the minds and mindset of his detainees.
...Stone added that has released about 2,000 detainees since May "and we've not had any coming back." His goal is to keep those who are released from harming Coalition troops, Iraqi Security Forces, or the local population. "They're not going out of here unless I can feel comfortable about that…I'm not doing mass releases."

Boat Versus Apache HT: BlackFive

Time keeps on tickin' -- [Jason's Iraq Vacation - in Iraq]
And then I was back in Taji, back to my daily routine, back to trying to figure out ways to convince the Iraqi's to work more efficiently, a little harder, and a little longer. There was a new wrinkle to this challenge when I returned from the IZ, though: Ramadan. Ramadan is the 9th month on the Islamic calendar and represents the month that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. To observe this, Muslim's increase many of their religious activities and fast from sunrise to sunset. Ok - this is an abbreviated explanation of what Ramadan truly is

Iraq Pictures - 24 September 2007 -- [Iraq Pictures]
SSG Yair Cardona peers through the window of an abandoned building in an attempt to locate a sniper firing on fellow Soldiers.
Pic: lLT Richard Ybarra

AFGHANISTAN

Afstan: Strategy and negotiations -- [The Torch]
A thoughtful piece in the Ottawa Citizen; I agree with the conclusion; but I think the bit about "no negotiation" being possible is rather a straw man as clearly some sort of negotiations with some elements of the Taliban will take place--it's not an all or nothing proposition. And clearly foreign troops will be withdrawn in any case if and as the situation improves; nobody just wants to stay there:

Freedom Watch Afghanistan 9/24/07

Afghan army may fill key security role by 2009: NATO -- [Reuters]
Brigadier-General Vincent Lafontaine, operations commander of the 40,000-strong NATO force in Afghanistan, said the process of trying to put the Afghan army at the head of some missions had already started and the aim was to step this up next spring.
"It's the beginning and we will have to improve," the French general told a news conference in Brussels by video-link.
Asked when the Afghan National Army (ANA) might be able to take over a regional security role from some of NATO's provincial reconstruction teams, he replied:

Nato frees Italian hostages in Afghan raid -- [Times Online]
Two Italian soldiers kidnapped in western Afghanistan were freed in a Nato-led raid early this morning after a two-day ordeal, the Italian Defence Ministry reported.
The two men were taken to hospital after the raid by British and Italian troops, during which one of the hostages was shot in the head and chest, according to Italian media reports. Up to seven of the kidnappers were killed.

Korean Hospital Recieves 250,000 Patient

September 11 and Democracy in Afghanistan -- [Afghan Lord - afghani in Afghansitan]
Today many Afghan says God bless Osama Bin Landin who attacked the twin tower and drove the world to look at our country which was in burning and also they say God bless America that saved our live and brought democracy, freedom and security. I am not talking about how the NATO troops and international forces fulfilled their tasks and how much they are successful. I am talking about the importance of September 11 for Afghanistan and its people. Many Afghans says it is not important for us how many people have been killed in September 11 in twin tower in New York and Pentagon outside Washington but it is important that US saved our live and released our country.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Syria-North Korea Connection Scenarios -- [GI Korea]
More details are coming out now in the international media about the Israeli airstrike in Syria three weeks ago that provides details about how the attack was carried out and further explains the Syrian and North Korean reactions to the airstrike:

UN-Ruly Anti-Ahmadinejad Protesters Ready to Roll in Big Apple -- [Gateway Pundit]
UPDATED: With Photos From His Party Last Night In New York City!
Mahmoud met with several hundred regime supporters in the Big Apple last night:

Ahmadinejad plays coy ON 60 Minutes

Iran and Syria: Brinkmanship in the Middle East -- [Denizens of Argghhh!]
Iran has lately become an even hotter topic than Iraq and, once again, Afghanistan has fallen off the radar completely. An upcoming push by the United States and France to enforce even greater sanctions against Iran is heating up the rhetoric from all sides of the ocean. Germany continues to struggle with the repercussions of joining the sanctions program. Democrats in Congress have been inordinately quiet since their last political push regarding President Bush's attempts to "escalate" the war by "implicating" Iran in the Shia insurgency in Iraq.

Dean's Statement Re: SIPA Invitation to President of Iran -- [Columbia Law School]
(Sept. 23, 2007) -- A controversy has developed about the invitation extended to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran by the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. Although Columbia Law School was not involved in arranging this invitation, we have received many inquiries about it.
This event raises deep and complicated issues about how best to express our commitment to intellectual freedom, and to our free way of life. Although we believe in free and open debate at Columbia and should never suppress points of view, we are also committed to academic standards. A high-quality academic discussion depends on intellectual honesty but, unfortunately, Mr. Ahmadinejad has proven himself, time and again, to be uninterested in whether his words are true. Therefore, my personal opinion is that he should not be invited to speak.

ANOTHER MASSIVE PROTEST in Rangoon Against the Junta! -- [Gateway Pundit]
100,000 protesters marched down the streets of Rangoon today to push for democracy!
The locals are surrounding the protesting Buddhist monks locking arms to protect them from being attacked by the junta thugs.

All Bluff and Bluster -- [Strategy Page]
September 24, 2007: The new French government is talking openly of the possibility of war with Iran. This is talk, aimed at increasing European sanctions on Iran, in an attempt to convince the Iranian people to overthrow their Islamic dictatorship, and replace it with something more efficient, and less belligerent. War with Iran would disrupt, possibly for an extended period, oil shipments from the Persian Gulf. Iran may have a ramshackle and run down military, but they do have enough missiles and jets to seriously threaten Arab oil fields and shipping facilities, as well as use of the Straights of Hormuz, the only way in or out of the Persian Gulf. Cutting off oil revenue, and imports, would be catastrophic for Iran, and disruption of the oil supply would upset economies worldwide.

Russian Claims That Theirs is Bigger -- [Strategy Page]
September 23, 2007: Russian claims to have developed and tested a more powerful bomb than the U.S. MOAB are being picked apart. Russia recently tested a ten ton conventional bomb, which it claimed was twice as powerful as a similar U.S. weapon, the nine ton MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast). The American weapon was ready for service four years ago, but has never been used.

NYC gives illegal aliens licences

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Terrorists Announce Death of 'Juba, the Baghdad Sniper' -- [Jawa Report]
A forum connected to al Qaeda has announced the death of 'Juba, the Baghdad sniper'. Several videos produced by The Islamic Army in Iraq purporting to be of 'Juba' began to appear online 2005. A 'Top 10' video went viral and 'Juba' became a pop phenomenon.

Internal and External Threats to the Jihad Media War -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
Several Sunni insurgent factions fighting in Iraq have recently released official communiqués addressing brewing conflicts over the jihad media war--including divisions that exist within the mujahideen community itself. On August 29, the Mujahideen Army issued a statement accusing their "dear brothers" from the Al-Furqan Foundation--the official media wing of Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq"--of distributing a video of a military operation that had already been claimed months earlier by the Mujahideen Army.

Is Al Qaeda Iraq a Threat to Sweden? -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq recently offered a bounty encouraging the assassination of a Swedish cartoonist and his editor for having published drawings deemed insulting to the religion of Islam. Omar al Baghdadi, in an audio statement said Lars Vilks, who "dared insult the Prophet", should be killed for a reward of $100,000 and, if "slaughtered like a lamb", the killer will receive another $50,000. In addition, he offered a Jihadi financial reward of $50,000 for the murder of Ulf Johansson, the editor of Nerikes Allehanda, the Swedish paper that printed Vilks' cartoon on August 19.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Cabaniss Family Needs Help -- [Soldiers Angels New York]
CPL Jeremy Cabaniss was injured in two separate IED explosions. In July 2006, an improvised explosive device knocked Cpl. Cabaniss unconscious for 15 to 20 minutes in Baghdad. In February 2007, a second blast knocked him out for nearly an hour. He has TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and will be 80 or 90 percent disabled when he is discharged from the Army.
While Cpl Cabaniss was deployed, the roof of his home in Panama City Beach, Florida, was damaged in a hurricane and has been leaking since. Part of the house has started to collapse.
...Soldiers Angels and the Patriot Guard Riders have partnered together to replace this house, since the cost of repairs would exceed the cost to tear down the house and build a new home. However, we need your help to do so. Our goal for this project is to raise the $100,000 needed to replace the house.
Online Via PAYPAL
or
Checks payable to Soldiers' Angels
c/o John Adkins
7626 Kingman Street
Panama City Beach, FL 32408
Soldiers at Landstuhl talk about Soldiers' Angels -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
While at Landstuhl I often run into soldiers who know about SA, but this weekend was something else.
It seemed like every time I turned around another Soldier was coming up to me and shaking my hand and saying, "Did I hear you say you're with Soldiers' Angels? Well, I just want you to know that... "
" ...I've been deployed for 13 months and you guys were the only ones who sent me mail."
"... there's a Wii at our FOB from you guys. We treat it like a trophy - when we're not using it we cover it up with a sheet and put it in a cabinet to keep the sand out."

A Little Help From Our Friends -- [Major Andrew Olmsted - in Iraq]
The average Iraqi probably would love to see the U.S. gone, at least if we could leave without the country descending into chaos and bloodshed. But Iraqi children still love U.S. convoys, if only because we like to toss goodies to them as we pass by. It's debatable whether or not we should, but it's hard to resist when you see the children swimming in dirty canals and making do at levels of subsistence that make poverty in the U.S. seem like a sweet deal in comparison. So we like to toss candy, school packets, and soccer balls to the kids when we can.
One problem with all that, however, is that soccer balls tend to deflate over time, and we only have one air pump, so while the kids enjoy getting the balls, over time they need new ones. So we'd like to be able to provide them with pumps to go with the balls, if we can. Which is where all of you come in. Much as I dislike begging, if there is someone out there reading this who knows of a way we can get air pumps for soccer balls cheaply, I would greatly appreciate it if you would drop me a line and help us out.

IN MEMORY OF...

Like I Said, Subject To Change Without Notice.... -- [All Quiet on the Southwest Asian Front - in Iraq]
...I had to grab dinner and eat it on the run because I was at a memorial service for two of our guys killed last week. I suppose now I can finally mention their names. SPC Nurnberg and SPC Paredes. I didn't know Nurnberg, but Paredes was one of our medics, and I did know him. He was the friendliest guy you could meet, and utterly dedicated to being the best medic he could. He could quote exact answers from his medic training manuals that he studied all the time. He was just a 19 year old orphan, dedicated, friendly, and liked by everyone who met him. Nurnberg's child is not yet born, and will never know his/her father except in pictures and stories. They were my brothers, and all of ours. The chapel filled to overflowing with hundreds from the Battalion who came to the memorial.

MILITARY

Combat Zone Exemptions Updated -- [Strategy Page]
September 24, 2007: The U.S. Army is changed its regulations for soldiers who are exempt from serving in a war zone. This exemption practice goes back to World War II, when there were cases of families losing all their sons (as many as five) in combat. In response, rules were put in place to keep at least one son out of combat, and alive. The new rules retain that exemption. But there are modification. This in a family where someone has died in military service, is 100 percent disabled, is a prisoner of war or missing in action, the sole surviving son or daughter does not have to serve in a combat zone. But in a new twist, any soldier who has a family member who meets the above criteria (dead in combat, captured, missing or disabled) can also avoid combat duty. Another addition is that any soldier who was hospitalized for 30 days or longer because of combat injuries, can be exempted from finishing that tour of duty.

Marine convicted in murder of Iraqi civilian shares story

WELCOME HOME

David Hardt in Iraq - David's Last Day in Iraq -- [Blog-ah]
6:30 a.m.: The alarms start going off. They’re the same annoying alarms that I have heard over the last 15 months. At this point, I think when I get home I will be hearing these alarms in my sleep — especially Staff Sgt. Pearson’s cow alarm. I roll over in my bed and look over at Staff Sgt. Reeves’ bed, and surprisingly, he isn’t there. I start to wonder if I am late for something. I roll out of bed and then look at my watch — 6:30 a.m.

Final Thoughts on our Mission and Command -- [Badgers Forward - home from Iraq]
Team Badger and the rest of Task Force Pathfinder are now safely back in the confines of the United States. Many of the Soldiers have now seen their families at the demobilization station. For those who have not they are merely days away from being reunited with their loved ones.

I'm Home! -- [A Soldier's Perspective - Cpl M - home from Iraq]
I wanted to let everyone know that I have made it safely home! I got into base last night to the cheers of a huge crowd of families. My wife, daughter, mom, dad, and mom-in-law were all waiting once I got off the bus. I am really surprised at how big my little girl has gotten. Man, it is amazing.

Home at Last -- [Me Over There - home from Iraq]
I got home this last Thursday evening, and it is hard to express how wonderful it is to be here. The incoming baby was able to wait for me (probable arrival is by next weekend).
It is at this time that I'm going to retire this blog, at least until my next deployment 'over there'. Thank you for all the interest that you have shown, I have met many people through this venue that made a tough time a little more bearable.

POLITICS

Return on Success? -- [Real Clear Politics]
But events are not playing out that way. Last week, the Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have made it more difficult to rotate troops into Iraq -- and passed, by a 72-to-25 margin, a resolution denouncing the moveon.org ad that attacked "General Betray Us" for "cooking the books."
Polls show that the public approves of Petraeus' performance and endorses his recommendations for going forward with the surge -- the first margin of approval for the administration's course of action in a long time.

The Long Road Home -- [MilBlogs - Soldier's Dad]
Clinton said she couldn't promise to bring all U.S. troops home in her first term if she is elected president. ``I don't know what I'm going to inherit,'' Clinton said on ABC. ``I don't know and neither do any of us know what will be the situation in the region.''

THE MEDIA

This just in - NYT is biased! -- [John Of Argghhh!]
Yeah, well, so is this place. Only I get snarked for it by MSM journalists, but when the NYT does it... hey, that's just "hard choices" and "holding people accountable..."
Yesterday, I posted a link to this bit over at Stop The ACLU on the topic of ad rates at the NYT's., which Jay has updated since I posted it.

All The Propaganda That's Fit To Print -- [Roger Simon]
It’s not often I underestimate the stuck-in-time, fuddy-duddy sixties traditionalism of the New York Times, but in this case I did.
Not in my wildest dreams was the paper capable of deliberately giving a fifty percent advertising discount to the George Soros-supported Moveon.org for a juvenile advertisement calling General Petraeus General Betray-us, of all things
Quite clearly the Times’ favoritism to Moveon was deliberate.
In many ways this is worse than the Jayson Blair affair that so embarrassed the Times and caused a change in editorial administration. That was the result of inept fact checking. It could partially be excused as accidental, although the “accident” was repeated many times. The Moveon Affair goes much further, showing a functional and deliberate bias pervading the newspaper’s operations.

New York Times Will Run Anti-Ahmadinejad Ad Monday -- [Gateway Pundit]
"Ahmadinejad Is a Terrorist"
This FULL RATE ad will appear in The New York Times on Monday.
Sadly, this Pro-American Freedom's Watch ad did not get the same discount as the liberal democratic group MoveOn.org did when they called General Petraeus a traitor.
It appears to work that way at The New York Times.

Globe's Carroll: Bush, Not Ahmadinejad, Desecrates Ground Zero -- [NewsBusters]
This morning's column by James Carroll, the Boston Globe's resident gushy liberal, is so predictable you wonder whether it might have been produced by a liberal-column-generator software program. You know the kind: insert issue, names of political players, a few factoids, and let the program spit out the boilerplate of a standard leftist diatribe.

Stories Not Reported -- [Strategy Page]
A major problem with the war on terror is keeping score. Even if you count things like the number of terrorists killed or captured, and the number of attacks, there's no consensus on what the numbers mean. Moreover, journalists and pundits rarely take a close look at what might have happened if nothing were done. Granted, it's difficult to report on another time line that didn't happen. The government actually spends a lot of money on computer simulations that do just this. But these tend to make poorly attended news stories, so journalists avoid them. Since these simulations are not reported, they, effectively, do not exist. But consider that, without an invasion of Iraq, al Qaeda would still be flying high and exploiting its popularity to carry out more attacks in the West.

NYT’s Paul Krugman Calls Republicans Racists -- [NewsBusters]
I wonder how many NewsBusters readers knew they were racist.
After all, if the New York Times publishes a column saying that we are, it's got to be so given that it is the paper of record in this country, correct?
Ironically, it does seem fitting days after the civil rights protests in Jena, Louisiana, that one of the Times' leading columnists would point fingers at the Party largely responsible for getting civil rights laws passed four decades ago.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

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