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More Rumsfeld in Iraq

Donald Sensing has an email from the front on Rumsfeld in Iraq. I don't think there's ever been another SecDef that meant as much to the troops as Rumsfeld, there's an unprecedented bond between the man and the troops. It stems from mutual respect, grows from the real feeling of brotherhood of war that most military members feel at this time in history, and is strengthened by the us against them mentality that the media is fueling with their war on our boss.

Nightmares and End States

Austin Bay is a Colonel in the Army Reserve and a syndicated columnist with a feature article in the current Weekly Standard. Beyond that he holds a title I look forward to claiming myself: veteran of service in Iraq.

An excerpt from his Standard story:

What are the acceptable End States in Iraq? In an essay he wrote for the Wall Street Journal in August, Iraq's interim prime minister Iyad Allawi identified three keys to success in Iraq: (1) security and the rule of law, (2) a prosperous economy, and (3) an "inclusive, collaborative" political system. To achieve it will take years of low-level warfare and continuing security assistance from the United States even after the New Iraq begins to manage its own domestic security. No administration of whatever political stripe should think otherwise.

Another acceptable End State would be what a friend called "a too strong, bulldog Iraq." Don't dismiss the notion out of hand. Here are the attributes: "New Iraq" decides to rearm for offensive capability--and the French or Russians sell it weapons. Angry at perceived Syrian, Iranian, or Saudi interference, a brave new Iraqi government turns to regional assertiveness as a way of solidifying domestic support. The United States could live with this End State, but it would seriously frustrate attempts to spur political evolution in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

A far less acceptable End State would be a "gentle" dictatorship in Iraq, an authoritarian regime that did not threaten the region but held Iraq together by force and smashed civil opposition in the name of domestic security. This would be an ideological defeat for the United States, the defeat salved if this New Iraq were an effective counterterror partner in the region. Early Coalition withdrawal, whatever the reason, would make this End State more likely.

The last acceptable End State, but one that further frustrates long-term American goals, is the oft-debated tripartite Iraq, with Kurdistan in the north, Shia-stan in the south, and Baath-istan in the Sunni Triangle and Al Anbar Province. This would be a dangerous mosaic, but for the sake of oil revenues the Baathists would have to police al Qaeda. Kurds and Shia areas would also destroy al Qaedaites.

Defeatists and cynics will argue it's too late for the United States to wage the Millennium War on ideological grounds. This ignores the fact that this war is ideological in its deepest origins.

Afghanistan is the guide. Afghanistan's October 9 presidential election was the most significant election in 2004. Obviously, it was significant for the people of Afghanistan, but it was significant too for the forgotten, trampled, robbed, and oppressed people suffering in Earth's various tyrannies--those who do long for freedom's fairer shake. The successful election was also a major step toward victory for the civilized world. This Millennium War is as much a war against fear, poverty, and anarchy as it is a war against the petty tyrants who harbor and sustain terrorists. The 8 million Afghans who voted, despite terror threats from al Qaeda and Taliban holdouts, rejected fear. The Afghan people acted, ignoring death threats made by religious fascists, the destruction wrought by 30 years of war, and the lack of "a modern transportation and communication infrastructure" (i.e., roads and telephones).

While reading it two thoughts occurred to me.

One, this may be the first post-election (and thus free of that questionable motive) item I've read approaching serious discussion of "end state" in Iraq. Of course, that ultimate "end state" is up to the people of Iraq, but certainly now that the American elections are passed and we no longer need pay lip service to talk of "exit strategy" and other code phrases for failure the debate among those whose opinions have been shown to matter would be worthwhile.

Two, actually I have seen a purportedly serious discussion of "end sate" in Iraq before, but it was from the left, before the war even started. From Alternet, under the headline http://www.alternet.org/story/15379"Bush Wins: The Left's Nightmare Scenario"
Mark Levine, ("assistant professor in the History Department at the University of California at Irvine") writes of his thoughts on various "end states" for Iraq, and their palatability to leftist tastes:

The first is an optimistic "We Win" scenario, which would result from massive protests and diplomatic pressure forcing President Bush to postpone an invasion indefinitely. (What has yet to be addressed is what exactly we win if Hussein remains indefinitely in power and the sanctions go on killing Iraqis.) With war seemingly imminent, the movement is being forced to fall back on a second scenario, "Everyone Loses," in which the warnings of a protracted and bloody war that destabilizes the Middle East and increases terrorism bear their bitter fruit.

However unpalatable in terms of destroyed lives and infrastructure, this latter scenario would at least quash the Administration's imperial dreams and force the kind of soul searching of United States' policies that is a major goal of the movement. But this outcome is less likely than many assume, and the antiwar movement would be well advised to plan for a third scenario: "Bush Wins."

In this third scenario, the war is over quickly with relatively low U.S. casualties, some sort of mechanism for transitional rule is put in place, and President Bush and his policies gain unprecedented power and prestige. From my recent conversations with organizers and their latest pronouncements, it is clear that this possibility has yet to be addressed. Waiting much longer could spell disaster for the antiwar movement.

You see, what he's saying is, they didn't have a plan to win the peace. Those seeking insight as to why the left continues to insist that the "Everyone Loses" option described above is in fact what is happening in Iraq today should familiarize themselves with this genesis piece on that sort of thinking. The "We win" option went out early, and the peaceful and prosperous Iraq is beyond their ability to accept for the reasons the author makes clear. All of Colonel Bay's "End States" are, to one degree or another, their nightmare; Allawi's vision made reality might be more than they could bear. Every time a bomb goes off in Baghdad, every time another Iraqi election worker is murdered in the streets, the Mark Levines of America can nod thoughtfully over their copy of the NY Times or add comments at The Daily Kos. Fortunately last month American voters ensured they can do little more.

An interesting contrast between the vision of possible futures from two perspectives, a telling juxtaposition of priorities, and a fine illustration of what I meant in stating that "the debate among those whose opinions have been shown to matter would be worthwhile.

2004 (and Beyond)

Some time in January Mudville will welcome its one millionth reader. To put that number in perspective, big blogs achieve it every week. Meanwhile, a million other blogs never will. I certainly thought I never would - through the first 8 month's of Mudville's existence the daily visits were rarely more than what the hourly totals are now.

My thanks to Mudville's top referrers for '04, in alphabetical order:

The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller
Argghhh
Blackfive
Tim Blair
Blogs for Bush
Captains Quarters
Citizen Smash
The Corner
Daily Briefing
Dean Esmay
Doc in the Box
Hugh Hewitt
Imao
Instapundit
Lileks
Little Green Footballs
Lucianne
Michelle Malkin
Power Line
Rather Biased
Scrappleface
Sgt Hook
Roger L. Simon
The Weekly Standard (Hugh again!)

Those familiar with the blogosphere will likely express no surprise. If you do see an unfamiliar name in the list above by all means click through and stay a while, these are folks with gravitas, and all are worthy of attention.

There's something worth mentioning here, however, and it speaks volumes to how the blogosphere works. Glenn Reynolds pointed it out in his review of Hugh Hewitt's new book:

He also catches on (actually, I think Hugh was one of the first to make this point, in a post on his blog) to the importance of what Chris Anderson is calling the Long Tail -- that in the aggregate, the vast hordes of small blogs with a few dozen readers are more important than the small number of big blogs with hundreds of thousands of readers. (Here's an article on that topic by Anderson, from Wired.) I think that's absolutely right, and Hugh has some interesting things to say about it. (And journalists mostly don't get this point at all -- every time I get interviewed it seems that they want firsts, mosts, and biggests, when I keep telling them that the real story of the blogosphere is the day-to-day interaction and writing of a whole lot of blogs).

"Indeed" (heh!). As supporting testimony, I'll point out that the bottom line of my referrers list compiles "all remaining" - and that total exceeds any of the above individual referrers save one. Approximately 150,000 people visited this blog last year via links from "all remaining" and of that fact I am grateful, humble, and proud. Thank you all.

As a result of this, I'm now able to cause a noticeable blip on other site meters with a simple link. I can't remember who I first heard use the term "Mudslide" for this effect, but I like it. It's especially fun to drop one on someone in that "all remaining" category, when the result looks something like what an Installanch does to me, and I hereby announce a new year's resolution to do so more often in the coming months.

A confession on this topic: back in those early days when I rarely saw 50 visits a day I was often hesitant to link to other sites, expecting the resulting lack of traffic flow to be visible evidence of my own insignificance. I now realize that nothing could be further from the truth. Such links undoubtedly brought me to the attention of more than a few good folks. And now if you'll take a quick look down my side bar you'll find a list of those who've sent traffic this way today. (See "cavalry" section.) This is where I turn to find things new and different in the blogosphere. There's no need to click the top guys for this purpose, it's the new names farther down the list I seek out, and each one I visit reminds me that the "Long Tail" is a source of brilliance, insight, and surprise beyond anything I'll find in the all too predictable mainstream media today.

I'll close this entry with a final point. I've said this before but I can't say it enough: thanks to all who place eyes on this page. You're the only reason any of this matters! Your emails and comments are appreciated, your criticisms are valued, your presence is what keeps me going here.

Here's to more in '05.

Scott Ott is not funny.

At least not this time. And you can count on one finger the number of times that's been said here.

Please go read.

Rumsfeld in Iraq

In Mosul, a Soldier asks Donald Rumsfeld "Sir, how do we win the war in the media? It seems like that is the place where we're getting beat up more than anybody else."

The NY Times covers Rumsfeld in Iraq without addressing the exchange between the SecDef and the Soldier in a story headlined US Can Beat Insurgents, Rumsfeld Tells Troops

Not to be outdone, the Washington Post ignores the exchange in their coverage headlined In Iraq, Rumsfeld Urges Persistence

No slackers on the West Coast! The LA Times ignores that part of the story in a piece titled Rumsfeld Drops In on Troops in Iraq

But the Philadelphia Inquirer tops them all with their story! Rumsfeld tells troops: More attacks likely - yeah! - that was the message!

Other than the glaring omission they are fairly balanced efforts though. Perhaps a sense of guilt on the part of reporters post-Mosul, something similar to that felt in humans?

Top Ten Blog Moments

A link in Ed Driscoll's top ten blog moments? Yea baby. Big time.

Thanks Ed.

Mosul - the shot heard 'round the World?

As the awareness of blogs continues to rise military members are increasingly taking advantage of the ease of long-distance mass communication to family and friends offered by the web-based medium. Outside of a few mainstream media dinosaurs it should surprise no one that intentionally or incidentally, unfiltered coverage of the war in Iraq is becoming readily available "back home" in near real time.

Consider this: a few short days before Christmas 2004 a suicide bomber entered the dining facility (DFAC) at an American military installation in Mosul and detonated his explosives, killing several Americans and Iraqis and wounding many more. I'll spare you my own thoughts on the event itself; several miles and a lot of concertina wire separate me from that spot on the map. And after all, why listen to me when no less than four blogs from GIs who were there (and a fifth with a letter from a GI there) are available to you now?

What follows may be a first of it's kind; a round up of observations of a specific event in an ongoing war, posted within hours of its occurrence by troops on the ground in the combat zone. Some of these have been heavily linked throughout the blogosphere, others overlooked by all. I'll excerpt from them, but these brief cuts won't do justice to the authors' efforts. Click through and read them, along with the other posts at their sites. It's literally history in the making.

A Chaplain at the scene:

The day began early as I didn't sleep very well last night. Once I was awake I decided not to just lay there and stare at the darkness so I got up, got dressed, shaved and headed into the TOC, the heart of what goes on. In the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) they monitor several different radio nets to keep abreast of what is happening in the area. It's the place to be if you want up to the minute information. When I arrived it was fairly calm. I made small talk with the guys there and sipped that first cup of morning coffee. The day was clear and there was very little going on, or so it seemed. A very short while later we received the initial reports.

He goes on to describe the events of the day, in detail, from a very close perspective.

A GI tells the tale of two Iraqi Soldiers who were in the DFAC at the time:

Both of them were blown from their seats by the blast, which they described as, "very powerful, lots of noise and heat." The two Iraqi soldiers were both dazed. One of them could only hear a loud ringing sound in his ears. The other couldn't believe his eyes: Every where he looked people were gasping for air or bleeding profusely. Before the two Iraqis lay a helpless American soldier, who staggered across the smoke-filled mess hall at first only to fall on the ground. They couldn't understand a word coming out of the American's mouth. They only saw the blood spewing from his leg.

These two men, both in their 20s, saw carnage caused by the very people they took an oath to defend Iraq against. These two men were proud Iraqis who were trained by U.S. Army Special Forces. These two men had seen enough people die at the hands of terrorists, and on December 21, 2004, they would do everything in their power to save every person they could.

Such should be noted along with every statement of the obvious: some Iraqis are against us, and they can don uniforms too. It's also worth remembering that among the first American casualties of the war in Iraq were those caused by an American soldier rolling live grenades into the tents of his fellow GI's.

The Docs at Mosul pick up where the Chaplain leaves off:

I completely lost track of time, so I am not sure when we finally got most of the return to duty patients out, but I am guessing it was around 1800. Then it was time to start taking care of the patients on the wards. More washouts, more CT's, and more chest tubes. It was not until around 2330 that we could actually sit back, catch our breath, and relax. There was not one person in our CSH that did not work their butts of today. The team work and overall job performance were second to none. As the docs sat around and tried to analyze what had just occurred we were all shocked. We could not believe what we had just been through. But even more important, we could not believe the way the CSH handled this situation which completely overwhelmed our system. By definition a mass casualty situation is when the number of patients and their injuries exceed the available resources . This was the mass casualty of all mass casualties.

The story they tell is incredible; along with the courage and fortitude of the American and Iraqi troops at the scene, the skilled medical teams and technology at their disposal saved more than a few lives this grim day.

Afterward they were interviewed by a military public affairs rep, who tried her best to get their story told:

Coincidentally, she reports that she sent this out to almost 1200 newspapers. She only heard back from a few... To me, THIS is news. Based on the overwhelming number of emails I have received, there are a lot of people out there who are interested in reading about this stuff much more often than reading about the daily reports of the numbers killed or wounded.

Ultimately a very few outlets would bother.

The aftermath of the attack, from yet another GI on the scene:

Sitting in our chow hall this morning, I couldn't help but look at it in another light. I saw the broken bottles of steak sauce mixed with puddles of blood on the floor, the food still steaming on the steam table, littered with rubble from the blast and the absolute chaos that the scene was, even when I got there after everyone had left.

One wonders where the heroes of Mosul had their Christmas dinner this year.

And how's morale in the aftermath? Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visits the wounded; within hours a stateside blog has an email from a doctor there describing the scene as he approached the bedside of a wounded GI (hat tip Instapundit):

That is when I, without any thought, piped in with "Sir, you can talk to him, he's awake." He told the soldier, named Rob, how proud he was of his service. The soldier was in a bit of disbelief, because he couldn't see with one eye patched and the other swollen shut. He said he wanted to talk to Rumsfeld. That's when I said "He's standing right to your left, Rob, that's his voice you hear. You can talk to him." The kid was nervous at that point, but sputtered out how honored he was to talk to him. Mr. Rumsfeld replied, "No, it's an honor for me to talk to you."

Then remarkably, the young soldier, who had just lost his left hand and right eye from an explosion, came to the defense of the Secretary of Defense, stating "Mr. Rumsfeld, I want you to know, that you are doing a fantastic job. I know that you are taking a lot of heat for the problems with getting armor for vehicles. I want you to know that things are vastly improved. Our vehicles are great, and I have never searched through junk piles for scrap metal."

At this point, Rumsfeld looked choked up, and I had a lump in my throat and and watery eyes. It was moving. What makes a man who has been so close to death, and maimed for life, come to the defense of the Army's highest ranking official? Loyalty, I dare say. Did Rob think Mr. Rumsfeld was having a self-esteem problem? In his greatest hour of need, his thoughts went to the emotional needs of another. I found it quite amazing, and moving. The Secretary took out a coin and gave it to a bystander for him, as if he didn't know he could touch him. Finally, the soldier said, "Man, Donald Rumsfeld, I wish I could shake his hand."

Later the secretary takes Q and A from the troops. CNN played it live on their Daybreak program, but could not have known what was coming. Much of the talk swirls around stop loss issues - often called a "back door draft" by those with little understanding of the seriousness of the military's business - when suddenly another topic arises. As you read it, bear in mind this question is asked by a soldier immediately following a horrific attack. Given the opportunity to address the SecDef, this is what was on his mind:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, how do we win the war in the media? It seems like that is the place where we're getting beat up more than anybody else. I've been here -- this is my third tour over here, and we have done some amazing things. And it seems like the enemy's Web sites and everything else are all over the media, and they love it. But the thing is, is everything we do good, no matter if it's helping a little kid or building a new school, the public affairs sends out the message, but the media doesn't pick up on it. How do we win the propaganda war?

RUMSFELD: That does not sound like a question that was planted by the press.

(LAUGHTER)

RUMSFELD: That happens sometimes. It's one of the hardest things we do in our country. We have freedom of the press. We believe in that. We believe that democracy can take that massive misinformation and differing of views, and that free people can synthesize all of that and find their way to right decisions.

Out here, it's particularly tough. Everything we do here is harder, because of television stations like Al Jazeera and al-Arabiya and the constant negative approach. You don't hear about the schools are open and the hospitals are open and the clinics are open, and the fact that the stock markets are open and the Iraqi currency is steady, and the fact that there have been something like 140,000 refugees coming from other countries back into this country. They're voting with their feet, because they believe this is a country of the future.

You don't read about that. You read about every single negative thing that anyone can find to report.

I was talking to a group of congressmen and senators the other day, and there were a couple of them who had negative things to say, and they were in the press in five minutes. There were 15 or 20 that had positive things to say about what's going on in Iraq, and they couldn't get on television. Television just said we're not interested. That's just sorry. So, it is, I guess, what's news has to be bad news to get on the press.

And the truth is, however, it gets through eventually. There are people in the United States who understand what's really going on over here. They do understand that thousands of acts of kindness and compassion and support that are taking place all across this country. They do understand that large portions of this country are relatively peaceful. And something like 14 out of 18 of the problems it's had, incidents of down around five a day as opposed to the ones in certain places like Baghdad that are considerably higher.

And the Internet is helping. More and more people are seeing things that are taking the conventional wisdom and critiquing it and arguing it and debating it. And that's a good thing.

So, we are a great country. And we can benefit from having a free press. And from time to time people will be concerned about it. But in the last analysis, look at where we've come as a country, because we have had a free press.

And we've -- I mean, I've got a great deal of confidence in the center of gravity of the American people. What hurts most is in the region, where the neighboring countries whose help we need are constantly being barraged with truly vicious inaccuracies about what's taking place in this country. And it's conscious. It's consistent. It's persistent. And it makes everything we try to do in neighboring countries, where we're looking for support, vastly more difficult.

And we, as a country, don't do that. We don't go out and hire journalists and propagandize and lie and put people on payroll so that they'll say what you want. We just don't do that. And they do. And that's happening. And Al Jazeera is right there at the top.

CNN reporters were not prepared for this, and responded accordingly (read carefully the statements I've put in bold highlight below, in light of the Mosul events):

COSTELLO: Karl, I wanted to ask you about a question a soldier posed to the defense secretary that blamed the media for not talking about the positive things that happen in the country. Tell us about that. And I guess I sort of want you to stand up for yourself, because it's so dangerous to travel in Iraq. It's tough to get to those good stories, isn't it?

PENHAUL: It's almost impossible these days, Carol. The real safe option these days is actually to be embedded with U.S. forces. The very unsafe option is to be in a civilian sector like we are here at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad.

Once we're out there on the streets of Baghdad, we really are at the mercy of what's going on. And it's very difficult to show what's going on in ordinary Iraqis' lives.

Yes, it is quite true that there are military reconstruction projects going on. It is true as well that quite often we will focus on the military operations. But it is also true that this insurgency has spiked in a way that U.S. military commanders at this time last year didn't believe was going to happen.

And it's also true that if we try and go out on the streets of Baghdad, for example, to show Iraqis having to wait in lines many kilometers long to get gasoline, to show them in their homes without electricity for many hours a day, it is very dangerous for us to do that because there are insurgents out there. And they have kidnapped journalists before, and they've made it very clear they will continue to kidnap Westerners as they can -- Carol.

Worth noting, the officer that next got the opportunity to speak returned to the stop loss issue, offering the perspective of a man who'd been in country for a long time already; who'd seen the horror first hand. This from a man apparently planning his exit from the military, thus not seeking personal gain:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I just have a comment as an officer who is likely going to come under that stop-loss during his time here. I just want to say that there are people who understand the importance of keeping the integrity of a unit, and the stabilization of units is also a very good thing. And I wanted to thank you for that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we do understand that sacrifice comes with us all.

RUMSFELD: Well, God bless you for saying that. It is -- as I say, it is no fun for anybody to have to make that decision that they want to extend somebody beyond when they had every reason to expect they wouldn't be extended, or to have to impose a stop-loss to maintain unit integrity for the benefit of everyone in the unit and the effectiveness of our force.

But we do have to do it from time to time, and I thank you for speaking up and for saying that a great deal. God bless you.

All right, thank you, folks.

(APPLAUSE)

Is any of this earth shattering? No; it's just an inevitable step further on the road we once called the "information superhighway". I can't speak to the attention the press in the US gave the Mosul bombing. From what I saw on CNN it seemed that once the hopes thay had for decrying the lack of "armored chow halls" were extinguished by the revelation that the event was the work of a suicide bomber they rather quickly lost interest. Certainly after the embarrassment of CNN the visit from the Secretary of Defense was overlooked by most news sources, as Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs was able to find only this brief mention from Reuters:

MOSUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday took a delighted dig at the media after troops he was visiting in Iraq complained their good works were ignored by the press while disasters grabbed the headlines.

A soldier at his first stop in Mosul asked Rumsfeld how the "propaganda" worked?

Rumsfeld, under attack since he appeared to brush aside a question about poor equipment from a U.S. soldier in Kuwait that later turned out to have been composed with help from a reporter, jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables.

"That doesn't sound like a question placed by the press," he told his audience to loud applause.

A few hours later in Tikrit, the same frustration surfaced with another soldier complaining that she had a hard time explaining what they were doing in Iraq when she got back home and asking what could be done to get past the bad press.

Rumsfeld said the message was getting through anyway.

"I think the country does understand that we lost 3,000 people on September 11th and the fact that those people were operating in this part of the world ... You've seen the evil up close and personal, you know the danger that this poses.

"What you're doing is important. I think the American people get it."

But those in the media, previously the sole source for reporting on events and their impacts on the troops in a combat zone, should take note: there are other voices everywhere now. Your ignoring (or worse, twisting) of the scenes like this one will not make them vanish down the "memory hole".

Here; Rummy at a later appearance at Camp Victory, Baghdad, as 'reported' by Rich at Beef always Wins:

As part of his surprise (to the press at least) visit to Iraq, the Secretary of Defense stopped by Camp Victory, Baghdad this evening.

I just happened to be in the dining facility, in line for dinner when he showed up. I was nearing the front of the line and watching him make his way through the crowd of Soldiers when I noticed an NCO handing him a hat and apron.

Sure enough, as I got to the serving line Secretary Rumsfeld took his place behind the counter and served me a plate of fried shrimp with a big smile. He continued serving Soldiers for about 20 minutes until all the Soldiers had their food.

A big deal? No. Should it be on the front page of the NY Times? Depends - what else happened that day?

But it should serve as a wake up call to those who do control the front pages of newspapers everywhere.

Last year the Mudville Christmas list included about a half dozen blogs by soldiers and/or spouses overseas (including yours truly). This year we listed 25 in combat zones alone - again I'm one of them. (and I know we missed at least that many too). For most of these MilBloggers a trip home is in the near future, but certainly others will come to pick up the torch. So as much as I'd prefer having zero blogs reporting from combat zones at Christmas or at any other time, I've no doubt that if needed they'll be here.

So back to the question, yes, how can we win the war on the media? :)

Keep shooting boys, keep shooting. And this is a battle that folks on the homefront can fight too. My thanks to so many of you who have over the past year. I think we're starting to see the tide turn, and that the Secretary is well aware of what forces are turning it. Look for increasing questions on the credibility of blogs (or false fears about the security of MilBlogs) from the mainstream media as evidence I'm right.

Won't matter though, will it?

Here's to victory.

Timesaver

The terrorists responsible for Mosul Bombing thoughtfully describe their methods:

BAGHDAD ? A video posted by an Iraqi insurgent group yesterday purported to show last week's suicide attack at a U.S. base in Mosul, with a fireball rising from a white tent.

The group said the bomber slipped into the base through a hole in the fence during a guard change ? an operation carried out after a long period of surveillance.

The footage showed a black-garbed gunman wearing an explosives belt around his body ? apparently the suicide bomber, identified in the tape as Abu Omar al-Mosuli ? bidding farewell to his comrades. The video of the pre-suicide ritual gives no details about the bomber beyond his name.

The Ansar al-Sunnah Army earlier had said it would release a video of Tuesday's attack, which killed 22 persons, including 18 U.S. service members and civilian contractors.

The bombing ? the deadliest attack on a U.S. base in Iraq ? prompted a U.S. military investigation into how the bomber got onto the heavily guarded site and how security at bases can be improved.

Three Iraqi national guardsmen and a fourth "non-U.S. person" also were killed. The military has not said whether that fourth man was the bomber.

In the video:

"One of the lions from our martyrdom-seeking brothers will infiltrate the defenses of the enemy at the Morez base in Mosul.

"He will slip through a hole in the camp's wire, exploiting the changing of the guard. We have been observing their schedule for a long time.

"This lion will then proceed to his target, and he will take advantage of lunchtime, when the dining hall is crowded with the crusaders and their [Iraqi] allies.

"The operation will then be carried out. Let Bush, Blair and Allawi know that we are coming and that we will chase them all away, God willing," the terrorist said, referring to President Bush and Prime Ministers Tony Blair of Britain and Iyad Allawi of Iraq.

The two men then embrace the one wearing the explosives belt.

An image then shows a map of the base, as one gunman points out locations using a military knife. One location is marked "the dining hall" in Arabic.

A later outdoor video image ? shot on Tuesday, when the attack occurred ? shows a fireball rising from the distance with the accompanying sound of the explosion. A final image ? shot from a vehicle driving past the base ? shows the torn white tent that served as the base mess hall.

This should help speed up the investigation, and avoid repeats.

All Mrs G wants for Christmas...

...is a soldier coming home.

For those troops that are reading blogs to get closer to home, our thoughts and prayers are with you. We love and miss you.

Merry Christmas,
Keep Safe,
Come home soon.

ps

Greyhawk,

I've spent too much on Christmas presents this year,
I think trying to compensate for you not being here,
but out of all those gifts under the tree,
the only gift these kids want is you to come home safe and free.

XXXXOOOO

(Now this didn't start out to be a poem but after the first three lines it had to end as one. I think there's a poetic bug in the blogosphere air)

Belleau Wood

A Classic!

Belleau Wood

Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence
over Belleau Wood that night
For a Christmas truce had been declared
By both sides of the fight

As we lay there in our trenches
The silence broke in two
By a German soldier singing
A song that we all knew

Though I did not know the language
The song was "Silent Night"
Then I heard my buddy whisper,
"All is calm and all is bright"

Then the fear and doubt surrounded me
"Cause I'd die if I was wrong
But I stood up in my trench
And I began to sing along

Then across the frozen battlefield
Another's voice joined in
Until one by one each man became
A singer of the hymn

Then I thought that I was dreaming
For right there in my sight
Stood the German soldier
'Neath the falling flakes of white

And he raised his hand and smiled at me
As if he seemed to say
Here's hoping we both live
To see us find a better way

Then the devil's clock struck midnight
And the skies lit up again
And the battlefield where heaven stood
Was blown to hell again

But for just one fleeting moment
The answer seemed so clear
Heaven's not beyond the clouds
It's just beyond the fear

No, heaven's not beyond the clouds
It's for us to find it here

The Authors are : Joe Henry and Garth Brooks Copyright 1997Listen to it here

In the mail:

Dear Madam, DearSir, We wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and all your friends. And a great Thank You to all the people who has supported us to help the wounded Soldiers and Marines in Landstuhl. We will all the wounded troops are staying for recovery over Christmas in LRMC here in Germany a still and peace loving Merry Christmas and a great and good Happy New Year and more Peace of Earth.

Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year

Wilhelmine Aufmkol, Germany
soldiersangels.com
Army Fisher Houses
________________________________________________________________

- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from home -
to all Soldiers, Civilian and Patients in the US Hospital in Landstuhl,
the Fisher House Landstuhl and the Kleber Barracks in Kaiserslautern!

On the 15th December 2004, a wonderful winter morning with blue sky and white frosted trees, we started with 2 cars our trip to Landstuhl. It was so cold, but no rain and snow! A great day began. So let me tell you: Our day in Landstuhl was, I cannot tell you, overwhelming. It was a large moment to see, that someone is so far away from home and you can treat to him and you see that he is overjoyed and his eyes beam with joy.

This is a story you don?t believe if you have everything what you like to have to live! Rudi told me he has never seen that someone was so happy to get a shower gel! He told me, ?Tell me how anyone can be happy only over a shower gel! As I set up an open box with personal hygiene items at the entrance of the Kleber Barracks because I had something left in my car. I saw as I came back that a soldier in uniform was standing nearby the box and looking in it! ? As my husband saw him the Soldier looked at Rudi and asked him: ?Sir, can I have this shower gel, only the shower gel please?? Rudi looked so surprised and said, ?Yes sure! All the things we have with us are for the soldiers, Sir.? In this moment the Soldier, he has been arrived in Kleber today, looked perfectly happy and he said so many thanks to Rudi. So a shower gel is sometimes such more as an expensive gift what you do not need at the moment!

First I must say ?Thank you? to all the wonderful people who donated so much good things for the 60 backpacks, 25 sport backs, and all the Christmas stockings which arrived here in Germany for to hand out to wounded Soldiers and Marines in LRMC and in the Kleber Barracks.

Our new Angel Mary Ann, an American from Munich, came with us with additional 47 filled backpacks, 20 CD player and 20 special backpacks for wounded women. And so it is the Soldiers Angels hope that we can bring the wounded service members - who are far away from home and loved ones in this holiday season - holiday greetings and a little bit of comfort.

The Fisher House is ?a home away from home?

Irene and Manfred Kilp, Mary Ann and I we met us at 9:30 am in Landstuhl on gate 3. At first we had an invitation to a wonderful musical program at the Fisher House! The Officers' wifes' Club from Ramstein AB were coming to present their Christmas program. They sung Christmas songs for guests of the Fisher House.

Here we met John, a wounded Airborne Division soldier with his wife. John is an outpatient and stays with his wife for recovery in the Fisher House. We wished both a wonderful Christmas under this specific circumstance this year. For his wife we had a nice German/English cooking book and for him a backpack with a handmade blanket and a large Christmas stocking.

A great thank you to Kathy Gregory, manager from the Fisher House Landstuhl for to give us her time to go with us to the wounded soldiers. We don?t know how it could works without Kathy and the Fisher House! Read more here about the Fisher House and how you can help: http://soldiersangels.homestead.com/Fisher-House-Germany.html

from left Manfred, Willie, Rudi and Irene

At the Hospital

LRMC is about eight miles away from Ramstein and is the largest U.S. Medical Center in Europe. It operates with outpatient clinics - one of them is in Kaiserslautern ? the Kleber Kaserne. Landstuhl has a capacity of 230 beds or more if it is necessary. Here you have inpatients who can have battle injuries with gun shot wounds, burns, amputations, or other non battle injuries as heart attacks and so on. And here are outpatients, who can go by themselves and do not need to lay down in a bed for recovery.

As we went to the hospital with Kathy, the manager from Fisher House and SPC W. from the Family Assistance Center with 60 filled backpacks with handmade blankets. Our sewing circles gave their time and sew the blankets for the wounded. These blankets will bring hope to so many of our wounded heroes. The Clair E. Gale Junior High School, ID as well as, Joyce from AZ, Paul and Berta from CA, Rosi from Idaho, Sarah from FL and the students from the East Hill Christian School 1st and 4th grade Pensacola, Fl and other Angels and friends have sent us to fill in the backpacks wonderful Christmas cards. A lot of other Angels have donated T-shirts, socks, underpants, candies, items for personal hygiene, books and more goodies. And we here in Germany have filled all the backpacks and sportbags. And without the personal help from Sgt. Leecharde R. Bersamina from the 1st AD this would not be possible, too.

The 150 Christmas stockings from the Soldiers Angels were a gift bag of goodies filled with reading materials, stationary, pens, socks, and selected toiletry items such as bath gels, shampoos, lotions, razors, dental products, or more goodies.

Operation Christmas From Home

As we handed out the first Christmas stockings in the Hospital the both wounded were so surprised that someone from home was thinking on them. Both asked me at once, "Who has made the wonderful Christmas stockings?" I told them, ??two great ladies, Sarah and Becky, worked over months to make this ready for you!? A doctor who was standing beside the bed of one wounded hero told me, ??it is a great thing that so much people from home spend their time and money to bring our heroes a so great Christmas gift. They must know that they are not alone?? You can believe me the both guys had tears in their eyes!

I'd like to thank Soldiers Angels for their time and dedication to make sure all of our soldiers feel loved.

Christmas messages

Later we met Chaplain Young on the floor too and he told me, ??please give all Angels and friends a great thank you for all the good things the Soldiers Angels are doing for the wounded soldiers here in Landstuhl and Merry Christmas to you all?." The eight Christmas books we have with us, with - Christmas messages from home - we have let one in the Fisher House and the others in the Hospital and Kleber. Later as we were on the way to lunch I met Lt. Col. S. R., one of the chief nurses of the Landstuhl nursing staff and she said, ?? you all are doing a great work! Thank you again and Merry Christmas??

Wounded Guardman

A Deputy Public Affairs Officer from Oregon National Guard asked me,? Please look for Staff Sgt. C. who will arrive soon from Iraq. We have heard he shattered the bones in his legs enroute to his base station in Iraq and was at the hospital in Baghdad due to be sent to Landstuhl for stabilisation prior to travelling to Army Hospital in the States?.? For the wounded Guardman we had a special backpack with a pair of trousers, t-shirt, underpants, socks, sweater, personal hygiene items, blanket and candies and more. It was not possible to visit him in person and talk to him. The security is very high at the moment! A nurse has brought in our name this backpack with a nice Get Well card to him and has given him out best wishes for a fast recovery! This is the most of the time normal I must say. Sometimes we can go and talk with the wounded soldiers and other times it is not possible like here. We are not sad about this! Security is very important today, terrible that we must say this.

Operation Christmas From Home

Our Angels Sarah LaPage, FL and Becky Morton, NC started in fall the project ?Operation Something From Home? to bring some love and cheer to the wounded soldiers in Landstuhl and other main military hospitals in the States. A lot of students and people from companies have helped to make 500 Stockings ready with a lot of personal items and goodies and more. And over 140 are arrived in Landstuhl and donated amongst other things from:

The Soldiers? Angels Foundation and Hershey Foods, PA. Hershey Foods sent the following message to our Herous: ?Please relay to the men and women that it is people like them who have made our great country what it is today, and we at Hershey Foods thank them for their dedication. Our hearts go out to them for so bravely serving our nation.? Cindy and Caley Trujillo, Kennesaw, GA. Caley is in the Girl Scouts, and chose Operation Christmas from Home as her service project! She and her mom Cindy contributed over 70 stockings to the project with assistance from: Girl Scout Troop 2161.

The many, many Soldiers? Angels who wrote Christmas cards and sent them to Sarah and Becky to stuff in the stockings for the heroes. There are too many of them for to thank here! Four schools in Pensacola, FL whose students wrote Christmas cards especially for our project. Despite being delayed in their lessons for several weeks due to Hurricane Ivan, these schools still took the time to do something special for our wounded soldiers: Little Flower Catholic School, East Hill Christian School, Alethia Christian Academy and Trinitas Christian Academy. If you have more questions about the Christmas Project 2004 or if you are interested to work with us for the next Christmas project 2005 please contact: Sarah LaPage: Soldiers? Angels, PO Box 699, Cantonment, FL 32533 e-mail: sarah_ruth_81@yahoo.com or Becky Morton, Soldiers? Angels, PO Box 375, Graham, NC 27253, email: rpmorton375@yahoo.com.

Santa`s for Soldiers

You do not believe it! More Christmas Stockings were coming! From the project ?Santa`s for Soldiers?, from students of the Lewisville High School, 1098 W. Main, Lewisville, Texas 75067 came 145 stockings in 13 boxes to me for to bring it in their name to the wounded soldiers.

?Santa`s for Soldiers?
Posted on the wall at any ward in LRMC.

All students don?t have a lot of money, but they have big hearts. In all the stockings the soldiers didn?t find expensive stuff, but what they used so much, personal items and goodies.

"May No Soldier Go Unloved?

From Colorado we received wonderful 38 handmade ornament Christmas stockings from clients of Bernina Sewing Center which are donated over the Bernina store, Co. The filling was donated and suffered by church members, friends and family of Joan Pignon or others. From the Colorado Angels we had to talk to all wounded soldier: ?Thank you for sacrificing the comforts we are enjoying to go away from your family and friends, your hobbies and interests so that we can maintain our liberties. Thank you for going without creature comforts and for enduring extreme environments, hostile people, monotonous work, horrible scenes and repetitive meal selections. Thank you for sharing the generosity and concern of Americans with those who question our movies dislike our interventions. Again, thank you for your service to our country! We are praying for your health, safety, and optimism and for your family.?

"May No Soldier Go Unloved?
Christmas Stockings from a Colorado Contingent of Soldiers Angels

Our visit in the Kleber Barracks in Kaiserslautern.

On our trip to Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern a medical facility from Landstuhl came Darla and Jane with us. This was the first time that we were here. As we arrived in Kleber, at first SSG G. told us something about the Kleber Kaserne.

Here it is where soldiers stay who not requiring hospital beds but evacuated to Landstuhl stay here during appointments and medical treatment. The soldiers travel normally 30-40 minuets each way by bus to LRMC to have here their medical treatment. The barracks can hold 356 Soldiers, but average only 150. If necessary, up to 410 Soldiers could be accommodated in the second building they have. Here is a place where transient Soldiers can relax and recharge their batteries as they wait for their wounds to heal. At the moment every week 110 wounded come or leave Kleber. The average stay for a Soldier ? before returning to duty lasted not more than 15 days. The soldiers told us a stay at Kleber are short term and relatively comfortable. Here the soldiers have a pool table, library, free Internet access, movie rooms, reading room, Ping-Pong table, air hockey table, two day rooms, each with its own wide-screen television, a kitchenette and a telephone room where Soldiers can call their families for free. The soldiers here in Kleber do not need a phone card! The library has a lot of donated books and new magazines. Soldiers who come here receive two sets of desert battle-dress uniforms, a Gore-Tex jacket and a pair of gloves and a $250 AAFES gift card so they can purchase some civilian clothing. SSG G. showed us his full storage. He was glad that he has now enough uniforms for the soldiers.

After the lesson from SSG G. our hard work started! At first we all together brought the Christmas stockings in the large hall on the first floor. We all drove a lot of nails into the wall and have hung up all Christmas stockings on the wall. So all soldiers could take a wonderful Christmas gift by themself.

A younger and an older soldier were coming to us and say thank you for the stockings. And Kathy introduced us Germans working together with the Soldiers Angels to make this ready for them. They asked us if they can make pictures of our group and we said ?sure?. And so they beamed with joy!

Jane, Kathy and Rudi.......................Irene and the Christmas Stocking

All the soldiers who were coming in or went out, or were sitting in the TV room we have given a Christmas stocking. They asked us currently, "Who has made these wonderful Christmas stockings". They all were so surprised that we have brought such gifts for them.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Let us hope that the next year will bring us more peace and freedom in our world.

And thank you to all the women and men to fight for us the war against the terrorism.

Wilhelmine Aufmkolk, Germany
"May No Soldier Go Unloved?
soldiersangels.com
e-mail: JosephineFS@aol.com

Tending Distant Fires

Far from hearth and home, watching
Cold alone but not alone
On distant shore and only wanting
Safe return and little more

What tales we'll tell
When that time comes
When tales can be told

When things grim
Seem far away
When other fires go cold

Some distant sunset, vision fading
Memories remain
And tired eyes gaze 'pon folded flags
While distant drums beat their refrain

Saluting fallen friends whose names
And youth will never fade
Here's to those on other shores,
for them live well, the price is paid

- Greyhawk,
-- Iraq, December 2004

Deployed far from home and hearth this Holiday season, awaiting a bit of cheer via comments:

1000 Words from Iraq

2Slick's Forum

Able Kane Adventures

Armor Geddon

Beef Always Wins

Blog Machine City

Dagger JAG

In Iraq for 365

Iraq Calling

Lance in Iraq

A Line in the Sand

The Mudville Gazette

Never heard of this place till now!!!

News from Baghdad

OIF

The Questing Cat

Steven Kiel

Training for Eternity

Tweak's World

Life in This Girl's Army

pure-randomness

NotQuiteDead

DogHostage

RaMrOd's Blog

67TH COMBAT SUPPORT HOSPITAL DOCS

And those who wait:

Trying to Grok

Visit here; spread Christmas cheer
and if you can, throughout the year

(missed any? Leave a comment or email greyhawk@mudvillegazette.com)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIEND

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIEND

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

It's courtesy of WLIT's Melissa Forman (thanks to Sara B. for the link). Below is the credit from WLIT:

Written by former Marine Corporal James M. Schmidt, in 1987 when stationed in Washington D.C., it was pounded out on a typewriter while awaiting the commading officer's Christmas holiday decoration inspection. It was originally title "Merry Christmas, My Friend", and was an instant success that reportedly brought tears to the eyes of the barrracks Commander who ordered it distributed to everyone he knew. It appeared in the barracks publication Pass in Review in December 1987 and Leatherneck Magazine in December 1991.
The poem was recorded as a tribute by Father Ted Berndt, a former Marine and Purple Heart recipient during World War II, currently residing in Dousman, Wisconsin for his daughter Ellen Stout, a Clear Channel radio personality.

My version seems a little different than the Audio. The original poem is here

Hat tip to BlackFive for audio

Remember the Grinch

Does it seem to you that there's lots of bad news lately?

It seems that way to me every year...

A Soldier's Christmas

This is my favorite

A Soldier's Christmas

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed 'round the room and I cherished the sight;
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell....a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight;
The sparkling lights on the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep;
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered in peace, then I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it came to my ear;
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble. I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near;
Standing out there alone in the cold of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I reckoned, some eighteen years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled there in the cold;
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, my wife, and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment! It's freezing out here;
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on this cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment, I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold, and the snow in a drift;
To the windows that danced with a warm fire's light,
Then he sighed, and he said, "It's really all right."

"I'm out here by choice. I'm here all the time,
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line;
No one has to ask me, or beg, or implore,
I'm proud to stand here like my father before."

"My grandpa at Pearl, on a day in December,
Is a memory my grandma will always remember;
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,
And now it's my turn, and so, here I am.

I've not seen my family in more than a while,
But my parents send pictures. They're great for a smile."
Then he bent down and carefully pulled from his bag,
The Red, White, and Blue. An American flag.

"I can live through the cold, and this being alone,
Away from my family, my house, and my home;
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole, with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life for my buddy.....my brother;
Who stand here with me against any and all,
To insure for all time that this flag does not fall.

So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you some money? Prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you do,
Being away from your home and your family too."
Then his eyes welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget;

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone;
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, wither standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled,
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you, as you mattered to us."

By Michael Marks? 2000

Global
SpecOps

Soldier On

In the aftermath of the bombing in Mosul, life goes on:

Sitting in our chow hall this morning, I couldn?t help but look at it in another light. I saw the broken bottles of steak sauce mixed with puddles of blood on the floor, the food still steaming on the steam table, littered with rubble from the blast and the absolute chaos that the scene was, even when I got there after everyone had left.

There is no other option.

Where are you having Christmas dinner this year?

Rumsfeld

The last straw. Fire this man, Mr Rove, fire him now!

Christmas Eve Question

Christmas Eve Question

"Mommy, who brings Santa presents?"
(it was his hundredth question of the day)
His little face gazed up solemnly;
She was at a loss for words to say.

She hugged him tight and smoothed his blanket
and thought of Santa and all that flying
?round a world caught up in tragedy,
a world at risk ? so many dying.

Yet this unselfish five year old
with Christmas starlight in his eyes
had to think and wonder who
would give Santa his own surprise.

Then carefully she chose her words
so he would understand
how the scope of Santa?s trip
?cross each and every land.

"Your Daddy and men like him, son,
give Santa gifts this night
each time he leaves the North Pole,
they help him plan his flight."

"They tell him when it?s safe to fly
so he?ll come to no harm
from our Okinawan high rise
to the smallest German farm.?

?In camouflage they guard him
from every dune to each oasis ?
in deserts torn apart by war,
bringing gifts to hiding places.?

?Helicopters are his mountain escort,
protecting him at such a price!
So Afghani boys and girls like you
Will have candy, toys and even rice.?

?When he flies over seas and oceans
ships and carriers light his way
while submarines listen in on sonar ?
none will let him go astray.?

?Men like Daddy guard the White House too,
as they watch our flag fly free,
then map out a route past the ?No Fly Zone?
towards Grandma?s in Albany.?

?He whispers his thanks to those standing guard
in Arlington, this dark lonely eve;
bows his head in respect for those who have died,
asking comfort for those who grieve.?

?He?ll stop off quick at Quantico,
and Parris Island too,
they?ll refill his pack with toys there,
for kids not as lucky as you.?

At Camp Pendleton he?ll land the sleigh ?
For the reindeer need to rest
And even Santa needs to eat and drink
(they?ve left cookies and milk in the mess.)?

?So you see sweetheart, he does get gifts
all through our Christmas Eve night.
He?s safe, he?s guided, protected and loved
Throughout his worldwide flight.?

?Men like Daddy give him the same gifts
they bestow on the world each day.
All gifts can?t be wrapped up in ribbons and bows,
can you see what I?m trying to say??

and we can stay calm and serene.
He belongs to the world, but especially us ?
You see, Santa was once a Marine.?

by: Paula

TO YOU AT CHRISTMAS

To those that are grieving our lost soldiers.

If I could do whatever I want to do
To make complete your gladsome Christmas-Day,
I would not bring a single thing to you,
But I would come and take some things away.

I'd take away all trouble from your heart,
Each pain and sorrow I would have relieved;
And every word that caused a single smart,
And every hour through which you sadly grieved.

I'd have them all begone - forever gone
Forgotten like the things that cannot be
And then each hour would be a joyful one
For only good things would be left, you see

Now that is what I'd really like to do,
If I could do the things I wish for you.

-Author Unknown

Mosul

More

Rocket

Bingo

Tony Blair and Iyad Allawi, in Iraq yesterday:

Question:

Prime Minister, can you just give us a sense of your feelings today. You flew here in secrecy, under armed protection, into what is still a safe zone, more than a year and a half after Saddam fell. Can you honestly say to yourself, this is what I meant to bring about when I said that we will ...?

Prime Minister:

That is a good question. I will tell you exactly what I felt coming in. Security is really heavy, you can feel the sense of danger that people live in here, but what I felt more than anything else was this, the danger that people feel here is coming from terrorists and insurgents who are trying to destroy the possibility of this country becoming a democracy. Now where do we stand in that fight? We stand on the side of the democrats, against the terrorists. And so when people say to me well look at the difficulties, look at the challenges, I say well what is the source of that challenge? The source of that challenge is a wicked destructive attempt to stop this man, this lady, all these people from Iraq who want to decide their own future in a democratic way, having that opportunity. And where should the rest of the world stand, to say well that is your problem, go and look after it, or you were better off with Saddam running the country, as if the only choice they should have in the world is a choice between a brutal dictator killing hundreds of thousands of people, or terrorists and insurgents. There is another choice for Iraq, the choice is democracy, the choice is freedom, and our job is to help them get there because that is what they want. And you know sometimes when I see some of the reporting of what is happening in Iraq in the rest of the world, I just feel that people should understand how precious what is being created here is. And those people from that Electoral Commission that I have described as the heroes of the new Iraq, every day, a lot of them aren't living in the green zone, they have got to travel in from outside, they do not know at any point in time whether they are going to be subject to brutality or intimidation, even death, and yet they carry on doing it. Now what a magnificent example of the human spirit, and that is the side we should be on.

Dr Allawi:

I may add a few points to what Prime Minister Blair has said. Iraqis do not see what happened as invasion, as I clearly said that we deeply appreciate the commitment of the international community to have helped the Iraqi people to rid Iraq of ... and to stand with us in fighting terrorism. Frankly what you see now, the security, is a manifestation of a war that is being waged against us by evil forces. We have to stand firm, we have to stand tall, we have to defeat the insurgents, we have to defeat the evil forces, we have to defeat terror, and this is really to protect the whole world and the generations to come. We are adamant that we are going to proceed with the democracy, with the freedom, with the rule of law, with respect of human rights, these are the important values that have been brought into Iraq, and for the first time the Iraqis feel the sense of liberty, it is a dream which is becoming true. We don't expect forces ... against us just to stand idle, to see this huge construction going ahead in a peaceful way. This what you see now, inshallah will disappear in the very near future.

Words not intended to address yesterday's events, but remarkably apropos.

All We Want for Christmas...

This is beautifully written, and thought it would be befitting to all those lost.

Twas the night before Christmas, the house seemed so sad, Early this year, this family lost ?Dad.? He?d been a soldier, in Afghanistan serving, To help people live free, now thankful, deserving.

His wife and the kids have cried a river of tears,
They had known this could happen, through all of the years.
It?s a dangerous business, no place for wimps.
Some don?t come home, some others with limps.

As I slipped down the chimney, I really did dread?
That I?d fall straight apart in this house with war dead.
I crept from the hearth, wondering what would I see,
What my eyes would behold, in this land of the free.

The home was decorated, with the tree and some lights
The milk, plate of cookies, and some other tasty bites.
Next to this was a note, from the boys up in bed,
I picked the page up and here?s what it said.

Please go read the full version written by MajorDad

THE HOLIDAYS

The holidays

Well the holidays are here.
Everyone is filled with christmas cheer,
But the life of a soldier is so alone,
As he leaves his wife and kids at home.

He's serving his country in some foreign land,
He longs just to hold his daughter's hand.
From the smiles on her pretty face,
To her little dresses, made with lace.

He wishes and dreams of being home on
Christmas day. To sit and watch her see
If things went her way.

I hope you get everything that you wanted,
And then some too.
I promise you sweetie,
Daddy will be home soon.

Merry christmas
I love you,
Daddy

By Keith Goins

How Will the Media Spin This One?

The Washington Times provides background on 'Chemical Ali', expected to be the first member of Saddam's regime to stand trial:

On March 16, 1988, 5,000 residents of Halabja, a Kurdish city in eastern Iraq, were killed and 10,000 injured when Saddam Hussein's army attacked with chemical weapons ? perhaps the largest-scale use of such weapons against a civilian population in modern times. That morning, Iraqi Air Force planes bombed the city with a lethal chemical cocktail of mustard gas and sarin, tabun and VX nerve agents. Two days ago, the man accused of overseeing the attack, Gen. Ali Hasan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, appeared before a judicial tribunal in Baghdad. He is likely to go on trial next year for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with Halabja and a series of other atrocities allegedly carried out by forces under his command.

In Halabja on that terrible day, families hiding in their basements (the safest place to be when Iraqi troops launched conventional artillery attacks) began vomiting and died of suffocation as a result of the chemical weapons attack. As the gas spread, birds began dropping out of trees, cows collapsed and women and children attempting to flee the city went blind. As children fell, their panic-stricken parents abandoned them by the side of the roads leading out of town. Dr. Christine Gosden, a professor of medical genetics at the University of Liverpool in Great Britain, who has visited Halabja to study the effects of chemical weapons, reported that long-term effects of their use include eye and respiratory problems, severe skin problems, mental difficulties, miscarriages and infant deaths.

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Later, addressing members of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, al-Majid spoke about the Kurds on a tape obtained by Human Rights Watch: "I will kill them all with chemical weapons...Who is going to say anything? The international community? F?- them!"

How will the media spin it? Here are some early indicators:

The London Telegraph: Trial of Chemical Ali can't end the suffering of his victims

The Seattle Times: Iraqis criticized for secret hearings

Dallas Mornng News: Hearings for Hussein regime blasted

The Washington Post: Can this man get a fair trial?

The trial is at least a month away.

Free Time

The headline over this story reads "Brash Guardsman Isn't Sorry":

The National Guardsman who put Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the spot about having to scavenge metal to boost the armor on military vehicles says he has no regrets.

In speaking out for the first time, Thomas Wilson declared: "If this is my 15 minutes of fame, I hope it saves a life."

"Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills?" he asked Rumsfeld in a Q&A nearly two weeks ago. The secretary's response, that "You go to war with the Army you have," spawned a storm of criticism.

"Personally, I didn't like that answer," Wilson told Time magazine, though he was quick to add he meant no disrespect and that he is a big supporter of President Bush. But Wilson brushed off reports that he was coached by a reporter to quiz Rumsfeld.

The reporter "suggested a less brash way of asking the question," he added. But "I told him no, that I wanted to make my point very clear," Wilson said.

That, of course, is the Reader's Digest Condensed version of the give-and-take between the two. But hey, why let facts interfere with the story?

Sorry or not, however, now that the claim that Spc Wilson's unit was traveling into Iraq with unarmored Humvees has been declared false he may soon be a sorry son of a bitch.

Meanwhile, Spc Keith Lucas actually is in Iraq, and spending a lot of his time clearing roadside bombs. He does have off-duty time though:

Spc. Keith Lucas, a Missouri National Guardsman on duty clearing bombs from roads in Iraq, participated Saturday in the commencement ceremony at the University of Missouri-St. Louis with the help of a satellite hookup. ?Hopefully, we'll get back real soon,? Lucas told fellow graduates watching him live on a giant screen. The 26-year-old mass communications major was given a minute-long ovation. Lucas' family accepted the diploma on his behalf. ?It shouldn't be just for him ? it's for all those guys over there,? said his father, Larry. Keith Lucas is due back in the states in February.

Not sure if Spc Wilson will have that much free time on his deployment... (que the NCOs...)

Tanks!

Hugh Hewitt, on Time magazine noting a "blog of the year":

This recognition is greatly deserved but also a little ironic --as if, in 1940, the radio networks got together to award a "television reporter of the year" award.

Geeesh, some people just can't show simple gratitude.

The fact that it's been a year since my response to Time's cover story reminds me that after another year with an increasing number of front-line blogs, emails home, and other real-time communication from GIs here we've seen little change from some sources in tone of coverage on the supposed "GI view" of the war. The fact that the media storyline hasn't changed is not surprising, the fact that so many are willing to believe it is unfortunate.

The fact that blogs have come a long way in that same 12 months shows that increasing numbers of people are not so inclined, and I remain hopeful for the year ahead.

So continue to put words in our mouths at your own risk, you priests of a crumbling temple. We've our own platform now, and we'll call you down from that lofty tower...

Here's OIF vet Jason Van Steenwyk</