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

Iraqi forces see victory in Basra -- [Times Online]
Iraqi soldiers are standing proud in Basra one month after launching a surprise offensive to wipe out murderous gangs of Shia militants that had been allowed to flourish under Britain’s watch.
Many of them say the operation has boosted their confidence, but the militiamen warn that the only reason the fledgling Iraqi army had any success was because they continue to observe a ceasefire order by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The men in black vanish and Basra comes to life -- [Times Online]
Young women are daring to wear jeans, soldiers listen to pop music on their mobile phones and bands are performing at wedding parties again.
All across Iraq’s second city life is improving, a month after Iraqi troops began a surprise crackdown on the black-clad gangs who were allowed to flourish under the British military. The gunmen’s reign had enforced a strict set of religious codes.

Report: New U.S. Military Discovery Shows Iran Still Sending Arms to Iraq-- [FOX News]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military says it has found caches of newly made Iranian weapons in Iraq, leading senior officials to conclude Tehran is continuing to funnel armaments into Iraq despite its pledges to the contrary, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Officials in Washington and Baghdad said the purported Iranian mortars, rockets and explosives had date stamps indicating they were manufactured in the past two months. The U.S. plans to publicize the weapons caches in coming days.

Iraq News (25 April) -- [LT Nixon - in Iraq]
The Good: More excellent embedded reporting from Michael R. Gordon of the NY Times. This one's about our military providing medical aid to residents of the southern portion of Sadr City. On the political front, the Iraqi Accordance Front (Sunni bloc) will return their ministers to the government, since they see the Prime Minister being tough on Shia militias and not just out to marginalize Sunnis. The reconstruction of the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra is helping with reconciliation. This was the mosque bombed by terrorists in February 2006 that caused a disastrous increase in ethnic reprisal killings throughout Iraq. Oh yeah, for our Aussie allies and drinking buddies, it's Anzac Day.

Someone You Should Know - Staff Sergeant Carletta Davis, Combat Medic. -- [Castle Argghhh! - CW4BillT - in Iraq]
Davis was worried about returning to Iraq and made sure to spend more time with her family, including her husband and three sons before her most recent deployment.
“I think she was concerned particularly for her children,” [her mother] said. “She knew the danger of going back a third time.”
Yet she went. She died in Tal Al-Dahab, a few miles from here, on 5 November, 2007, along with four other soldiers when an IED detonated near their Humvee. They were enroute to set up a combat aid station.

Coaltion Forces Aim to Boost Fish-farming Industry in Mahmudiyah -- [MNF-I]
A Task Force Marne initiative to revitalize Iraq’s fish farms is in full swing in the Rakkasans’ area of operations.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) began a comprehensive assessment in February of hundreds of fish farms throughout the Mahmudiyah Qada.
“Fish farming was one of the top three agricultural businesses in Iraq,” said Maj. Robert Bertrand, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), civil military operations officer. “Right now the farming has diminished significantly due to the war, but as capacity building is increasing, fish farming is becoming more and more important.”

Moment of Truth in Iraq’ author Michael Yon -- [9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America]
Syndicated talk radio host Mark Levin interviewed former Special Forces soldier and now author Michael Yon about his book ‘Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New ‘Greatest Generation’ of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope.’ Having spent much of the past three years as a self-embedded journalist there, Michael talked about Iraq and the situation now: (Audio)

Iraq War Is Everyone Else's Fault, Feith Explains -- [WaPo]
Feith Explains — Mistakes were made. But not by him. — Doug Feith, the No. 3 man at the Pentagon before, during and after the invasion of Iraq, has come in for his share of blame for the failures there — in large part because he led the Pentagon policy shop

Sadr City – Reconciliation or bloody fight -- [OPFOR - Richard S. Lowry]
Last Tuesday evening an Apache helicopter crew noticed three criminals loading a mortar into the trunk of their car in Sadr City. After insuring there were no civilians nearby, the American soldiers fired a Hellfire missile which obliterated the front end of the vehicle. The criminals rushed to the mangled auto and grabbed the mortar, tossed it into a second vehicle and sped away.
Events like these have become commonplace as neither American nor Iraqi Security Forces have been patrolling the streets of Sadr City. Even though Muqtada al Sadr has declared a cease-fire, the Sadr City District has been a very dangerous place for Coalition forces.

Musings and Memories -- [Acute Politics]
...I never understood the guys who complained about the mess, saying that "no one here cares enough to pick up the trash" (I would have a hard time caring, too, if the trash in my neighborhood covered IEDs), and then use the trash as an excuse to toss old water bottles-turned bathroom breaks out of the trucks.
An old favorite pit stop was Saddam's Mosque, the grandest structure in Ramadi, and oddly (I thought) named for the primarily secular former leader. Every night there was an IED on the corner next to the mosque- often, the wires ran inside the wall. Every night, the Explosives Ordnance Disposal techs blew up a little more of the mosque wall. No sense, after all, in moving the bomb too far from the site in the interest of preserving architecture. Every night, piss bottles sailed over the broken wall in a barrage directed at the IED triggerman.

Major Ryan talks about Iraqi Army, Police and Coalition

the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces are working together in Eastern Baghdad!...Iraq Baghdad Iraqi Police Army Soldiers Ft Carson Talking with Heroes

To the Principles! Office -- [Kaboom - in Iraq]
There are moments in this war – albeit more sporadic than the movies of the future will show and almost always spontaneous – when we’re conducting the combat operations I envisioned us executing prior to our arrival to Iraq. Running through side streets in the midnight black to storm known insurgent safe-houses. Digging up caches of homemade RPG launchers and warheads while the local leaders stammer that they have no idea how those things got in the ground in the first place. Penetrating deep into the unknown through a hail of flying bullets, effectively ending a firefight simply because we’re the biggest dog on the block - if said big dog had a long-barreled 50-caliber machine gun mounted on top of it. Still being over here doesn't negate the ability to already recognize that these are the times that will stick to my psyche like quicksand for the succeeding ever after. I’m no adrenaline junkie, but these lethal operations make getting up in the morning worth it.

One step closer; MWSS-172 provides key step in mission-accomplishment -- [3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) - in Iraq]
...Using heavy equipment, the Marines level the area, compact the dirt and lay down a coat of “rhino snot,” a soil-stabilizing substance which hardens the ground, preventing excessive dirt and sand clouds, or “brownouts,” when aircraft land on site.
Limiting brownouts increases visibility, allowing pilots to land their aircraft safely.
“Having these Marines improve this LZ will allow us to continue to conduct operations out here and sustain a safe and smooth command post,” said Maj. Paul D. Mackenzie, the future-operations planner with Multi National Force – West. “We’re heavily dependent on the air wing for resupplies, close-air support and aerial reconnaissance missions.”

VMU-2 CO talks about their mission and transfering authority from VMU-1 [3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) - in Iraq]

Citizenship Ceremony -- [Something on the staff - in Iraq]
Two of my interpreters are now American citizens. I’ve never been to a citizenship ceremony, so I had to go.
Fatima, side-kicking interpreter, had to pass a test before she took the oath. The test shouldn’t be a challenge to any high school graduate, but I doubt most Americans can find Iraq on a map. She had some trouble understanding the Judicial branch, so I directed her to the world famous “How a Bill Becomes a Law” video, presented by YouTube. She didn’t get it. Anyway, she passed the test.
There were over 250 soldiers there to swear the citizenship oath. A big part of the oath is about ‘picking up arms’ to defend America.

Time is Shorter than You Think -- [Badgers Forward - in Iraq]
In March 2006 our Operations officer (S3) and I were sitting around the office having a conversation. Both of us were already on active duty orders, preparing to take the 321st Engineers to war. We had a daunting schedule ahead of us; an NTC rotation at Fort Irwin, work in Boise, two to three months mobilizing at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Kuwait, and then Ramadi, Iraq.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban IED operations disrupted in Khowst provinc... -- [Combined Joint Task Force - 101- in Afghansitan]
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – A suspected Taliban militant was detained April 22 during an Afghan National Security and Coalition forces’ joint operation to disrupt militant IED activities in the Jaberi District, Khowst province.
ANS and Coalition forces conducted a search of several compounds in Jaberi District targeting a Taliban militant known to have facilitated IED attacks against Afghan government and Coalition forces.
During the course of their search, ANS and Coalition forces detained a suspected militant.

Special Forces Finding Weapons Cache

Special Forces troops in Afghanistan finding a weapons cache near the Pesch Valley. Scenes include a group of U.S. service members and Afghan security forces recovering a weapons cache. Interview with a U.S. Special Operations officer.
Pesch Valley

Taliban operations disrupted in Paktya province -- [Combined Joint Task Force - 101- in Afghansitan]
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Five suspected Taliban militants were detained, April 24, during an Afghan National Security and Coalition forces joint operation to disrupt Haqqani Network financing activities in Zadran District, Paktia province.
ANS and Coalition forces conducted a search of several compounds in Zadran District targeting a Taliban militant, suspected of both financing and facilitating attacks on Afghan government and Coalition forces.
During the course of their search, five suspected militants were detained and several weapons were discovered on the compounds and removed or destroyed.

New Terror Tactics For a New Year -- [Strategy Page]
April 25, 2008: This year's Taliban "Spring Offensive" has gotten off to a slow start. This is largely because Taliban recruiting efforts have not produced as many recruits as last year. Most Pushtun tribesmen many be illiterate, but they can count. And over the Winter they counted far fewer of their friends who had joined the Taliban last year. The smart bombs and UAVs, plus better trained Afghan troops, has made it very difficult for groups of armed Taliban to survive.

Freedom Watch Afghanistan

Road-Building in Afghanistan -- [SWJ- Dave Kilcullen]
Part 1 of a Series on Political Maneuver in Counterinsurgency
...A few weeks ago I was out on the ground with coalition and Afghan units in Eastern and Southern Afghanistan, and spent a short time with a Provincial Reconstruction Team and its associated Brigade Combat Team in the Kunar River Valley.
I last worked this area in summer and fall of 2006, supporting General Karl Eikenberry, then commanding Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. He was about to wind up his headquarters and hand over to the NATO International Security Assistance Force; at his invitation I took a small inter-agency field team into Afghanistan to study and record U.S. counterinsurgency techniques. Incidentally, this produced a body of knowledge on best-practice counterinsurgency which informed our efforts to execute the “surge” strategy in Iraq a few months later, so that some of the techniques we ended up applying in Iraq were first developed in Afghanistan.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

ANZAC Day 2008 -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Half mast ... the Australia flag in Sydney's Darling Harbour flies at half mast as a mark of respect to the nation's fallen. Picture: Charlie Brewer
Lest we forget ... Hobart's Cenotaph was the venue for many to remember the contribution of Australias servicemen and women. Picture: Kim Eiszele

S. Cargo Ship Fires on Iranians -- [Jawa report]
Breaking from Reuters:A cargo ship contracted by the US Military Sealift Command has fired at least one shot toward an Iranian boat, a US defense official said on Friday. "It was an MSC vessel," the official said, confirming the ship...

Wallet stolen from 18-year-old ROTC cadet having a seizure and convulsions -- [Live Leak]

Dallas police arrested yesterday a man accused of mugging a teenage ROTC cadet who had collapsed in a seizure outside the downtown Greyhound bus station.
...The security video shows the victim standing outside minding his own business when a homeless man strikes up a conversation and the cadet digs deep in his pockets for some spare change to help the man out.
But when the cadet collapsed a few minutes later the man who rushed to the cadet's side was only interested in helping himself.
The video shows the 18-year-old ROTC cadet, who was on his way home to Mississippi, flailing on the ground from a seizure as a man digs into his pocket to steal his wallet.
"He sees an individual that can't fight back. Can't call for help. Can't flee," said Dallas Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse. "This guy's down on the ground having a seizure and he knows he's got an easy target."

Photographs of the Syrian Nuclear Reactor Released -- [ROK Drop]
More and more information briefed to Congress in regards to the Syrian-North Korean nuclear connection is making its way into the media to include many of the photographs to include one of the nuclear reactor itself: (PICS)
It is nice to see what the nuclear facility looks like from ground level instead of from all the satellite imagery:
...It is pretty clear from this picture that this facility is much more then just the box like shape that it appeared to be in the satellite imagery. The new information also has answered one of the questions I have been thinking about, which is whether the reactor was about to be operational or not:

US accuses Syria of building weapons reactor

The Last of America’s Army in Vietnam -- [PJM - Richard Fernandez]
..After the abandonment of South Vietnam, about two million Vietnamese fled the country, half a million of whom eventually found their way to America. Two million Cambodians died from the “re-education” efforts of the communist Khmer Rouge. But while these catastrophes are well known, the genocide in Cambodia even having been made into a Hollywood movie, the tragedy that befell the Hmong was forgotten with the 1960s. Unlike Tony Poe, who believed in keeping faith with peoples who joined America’s cause, the Hmong who stayed behind were forgotten by their “friends”; but they were remembered by their enemies. In the years following the Vietnam War, the Hmong were “hunted like animals.” And they still may be. The Center for Public Policy analysis reported that the Laotian and Vietnamese governments have begun a campaign to wipe out the last holdouts against their regimes.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

The War on Terror Is Not a Crime -- [WSJ - DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. and LEE A. CASEY]
...Many positions taken by these attorneys, laying the fundamental legal architecture of the war on terror, outrage international activists and legal specialists. Nevertheless, in a series of cases beginning with Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004), the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld many of their key positions: that the country is engaged in an armed conflict; that captured enemy combatants can be detained without criminal trial during these hostilities; and that (when the time comes) they may be punished through the military, rather than the civilian, justice system.

Who is America Fighting - Jihadists or Extremists? -- [Counterterrorism Blog - Jeffrey Imm]
Now we officially know the answer - the U.S. Government states that America is definitely not fighting "jihadists", based on new guidelines directing federal agencies not to even use the term "jihadist". So who is America fighting? Defense Secretary Robert Gates tells us: "the enemy is extremism".

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

White House to Lighthouse Challenge - April 23-27, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland SOLDIER RIDE returns TO THE white house!
On Thursday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m., President George W. Bush will welcome a group of wounded warriors to the White House as they kick off Wounded Warrior Project’s second annual “Soldier Ride: White House to Light House Challenge”.
-On Thursday, April 24th, Soldier Ride will start at the White House, stop at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and continue to Baltimore. This day of riding is by invitation only.
-On Friday, the ride will begin with a "support the troops" rally at Baltimore Maryland's Inner Harbor Harborplace Ampitheater at 10 am and proceed to Jonas Green Park in Annapolis. The kickoff event will honor the wounded veterans and the recently redeployed 58th Infantry Brigade of the Maryland Army National Guard.

SoldierRide/Wounded Warrior Project

Kinard, other Wounded Warriors show drive in bicycle benefit -- [GoUpstate.com]
WASHINGTON - Eighteen months after a roadside bomb in Iraq left Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Kinard of Spartanburg a double amputee, he embarked on a journey Thursday that would challenge many with both legs.
...Bush describe the event as "one of the most inspiring athletic events in our nation's history" during his brief remarks on the South Lawnbefore the ride.
"The three-day bike ride that you're starting today at the White House says a lot," Bush said. "It says that you're showing that even when you are wounded, you're not done fighting."
...Bush's statements centered largely on Marine Cpl. Chad Watson, who lost his right leg after the vehicle he was in was hit by a bomb. Watson is cycling with a prosthetic leg.
"The technology you are witnessing today is helping our troops regain their lives, and it's state of the art," Bush said. Thursday marked Kinard's fifth meeting with the president.

President Bush Welcomes Members of Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride to White House -- [Whitehouse.gov]
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. Doocy, thanks for the introduction. This has got to be one of the most inspiring athletic events in our nation's history. At least it is for me, and I hope it is for you.
I was going to ride with the guys today, but Laura told me I probably wouldn't be able to keep up. (Laughter.) There is no doubt in my mind the people behind me are some of the most bravest people in our country's history. I admire their courage; I admire their determination. (Applause.) We're honored to have you here.
...One of the riders today is Marine Corporal Chad Watson. I've gotten to know Chad. I met him when I was at Walter Reed three weeks after his Humvee was hit with an IED on patrol in Fallujah. He lost his right leg, he shattered his left ankle and foot, he took shrapnel to his face. And when I went into his room, he wanted to stand at attention and shake hands with the Commander-in-Chief, as well as salute.
He got up to his walker. His daddy helped him and so did his brother. He held himself upright with his arm strength while a fellow Marine read his accommodation, and I had the honor of giving him the Purple Heart.
I told him to sit down. He didn't want to. He was a Marine. (Applause.) And now he's here. He's got a new leg, and thanks to that leg, Chad will be able to start on even a greater journey than the one he begins today -- this summer he's going to walk down the aisle to get married to his beautiful bride. (Applause.) We're glad you're here.

MILITARY

What the heck are we fighting for? -- [MilBlogs - Badger 6]
Since at least the pin-up era of World War II, service members have somewhat half-jest referenced those pretty girls as what we were fighting for. Now maybe we were not really fighting for Betty Grable, Raquel Welch, or Jessica Simpson specifically, but surely we were fighting for the right to express ourselves by adorning our barracks, lockers, and personal space with pictures of pretty women. And in this day and age, sometimes those women have no clothes on.
That is why this story is so outrageous.

WELCOME HOME

Plainfield soldier stuck in Iraq as airline bringing troops home goes bankrupt -- [Times Argus]
PLAINFIELD – Waneta Mayhew has waited 12 long months for her son to come home from Iraq. She found out Tuesday she'll have to wait a little longer.
Mayhew's son is one of at least two Vermont soldiers stranded in Baghdad due a transportation snafu that has delayed the return of hundreds of American servicemen.
ATA Airlines, the private company contracted by the Department of Defense to ferry servicemen from Iraq to the United States, went bankrupt earlier this month, leaving soldiers in the lurch after their tours had expired.
..."I'm pissed," Mayhew said from her Plainfield home Wednesday. "He's done his year. Bring him home."
Mayhew's son, Spc. Clinton Holt, deployed to Iraq last May. He was the subject of statewide media interest last month when Congressman Peter Welch credited him as the driver behind a new Vermont law that sets aside five moose hunting permits for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mayhew, who lost two brothers in the Korean War, said she has worried long enough.
"I know it's only a couple weeks. But tragic things happens in the last few days of a tour," Mayhew said. "Don't we have some army planes? Why do we have to depend on commercial airlines to get our men to and from Iraq?"

Community Puts Out Welcome Mat for Maupin -- [WKRC-TV Cincinnati]
As the Tri-State prepares for to say a final goodbye to Matt Maupin this weekend, an army of volunteers is cranking into high gear. Many of them are members of the Yellow Ribbon Support Center in Eastgate. Men, women, even children, all dedicated to doing their part to support our community, the Maupin family, and our troops.
Local 12's Rich Jaffe visits Eastgate with a look at a few of our dedicated neighbors.
The path from Lunken Airport, where the memorial procession will begin, all the way to the Union Township Civic Center, where the visitation will take place Saturday, is lined with yellow ribbons. These, the signs along the way, and much more have all been done by people who felt a need to do something. Julie Holcomb's dad was in the Army. So was her grandfather. Up until the wee small hours of the morning making yellow ribbons, today... she was out tying them on the guardrail along State Route 32.

POLITICS

Raging Bush-Basher Pummels Disabled Girl in Wheelchair! -- [Gateway Pundit]
"He began yelling about Iraq and Iran at Jenna Bush. She was waving at the crowd. I told the guy, 'What are you doing? Shut up. This is about a child and books,' " said John Lovetro. "He was unperturbed. I said, 'Get out of here! You're being a moron!' "
The next thing he knew, Talis was allegedly punching Maureen - a fan of the first lady since meeting her in 2004.
"I heard my daughter hysterical yelling, 'He's hitting me!' " said Wendy Lovetro.
"He punched her on the shoulder blades, but that wasn't enough," she said.
"My husband pushed the wheelchair away from him and he reached beyond my husband and began pounding my daughter in the thigh."
German Talis is reportedly a member of "We Are Change" a Truther organization.

Rev. Wright Steps In It Again -- [Flopping Aces]
The mentor of Obama who said the following:

Now says that it was unfair to air his statements...
This doesn’t shock me in the least. I never thought the man would back away from his statements because he IS a racist fanatic. What is surprising, and very welcome is this statement from him:

BILL MOYERS JOURNAL | Rev. Jeremiah Wright | PBS | Clip #3

Bill Moyers interviews the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in his first broadcast interview with a journalist since he became embroiled in a controversy for his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama. Wright, who retired in early 2008 as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Senator Obama is a member, has been at the center of controversy for comments he made during sermons, which surfaced in the press in March.

THE MEDIA

Has the Press Failed in Iraq: War Torture and Accountability

A conversation with Robert Silvers, co-editor, New York Review of Books; Michael Massing, contributing editor of Columbia Journalism review, writer and author of "Now They Tell Us," and UC Berkeley...

Abu Ghraib gone to Hollywood

A new movie gives the stories behind the shocking pictures from the Abu Ghraib scandal.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

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