“There is no jihad. We are just instruments of death,”

- Former suicide bomber Ahmed Abdullah al-Shaya,

In context:

Al-Shayea says his change of heart began when he was visited by a cleric at al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh following his repatriation from Iraq.

He says he put two questions to the cleric: Was the jihad for which he traveled to Iraq religiously sanctioned? And were the edicts inciting such action correct in saying the militants should not inform their parents or government of their intentions?

No and no, came the reply.

“I realized that all along I was wrong,” al-Shayea told The Associated Press in a two-hour interview at a Riyadh hotel before returning to an Interior Ministry compound that serves as a sort of halfway house for ex-jihadists rejoining Saudi society.

“There is no jihad. We are just instruments of death,” he said.

Few people progress as far as he did in their "suicide" bomber career before seeing the error of their ways - and live to tell the story. We first met Ahmed here, in January, 2005:

His head and hands were wrapped in bandages and his uncovered face looked like bubbled tar.

The young Saudi man told investigators this month that he wants revenge against the Iraqi terrorist network that sent him on the deadly mission that he survived.

Ahmed Abdullah al-Shaya, 18, told Iraqi investigators during an interrogation early this month that he was recruited to drive a car rigged with explosives to Baghdad and blow it up.

He said the objective was "to kill the Americans, policemen, national guards and the American collaborators."

But Shaya said he was injured even before he went on the mission when insurgents detonated a truck bomb he was supposed to leave at a target site.
<...>
Shaya's video statement describes the journey of a young man ready to die in his zeal to drive Americans from Arab lands.

Shaya says he left Saudi Arabia for Syria in late October, right after the start of the holy month of Ramadan. A smuggler he knew as Abu Mohammed took him over the border into Iraq and into the hands of other Islamic extremists who call themselves mujahedin, or holy warriors.

In Iraq, he traveled first to Qaim, then Rawa, and finally to the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, where he spent 1? months with like-minded Muslims from Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and Macedonia. Most, however, were Iraqis, he says, gesturing with his gauze-wrapped arms.
<...>
Shaya moved to Baghdad in December to prepare for his final mission, which he expected to be as the suicide pilot of a bomb-laden car.

But on Dec. 24, he was given a preliminary job of driving a butane-gas delivery truck that was rigged with bombs. It wasn't supposed to be a suicide mission.

"They asked me to take the truck near a concrete block barrier before turning to the right and leaving it there," he says. "There, somebody will pick up the truck from you," they told him.

"But they blew me up in the truck," he says.
<...>
Shaya told the interrogators that he regretted his mission now.

"I want the Iraqi people to live in peace," he says, and he can no longer support Osama bin Laden because "he is killing Muslims."

As for the Zarqawi network that sent him on the mission that left him permanently disfigured and in prison, he says, "I want revenge for what they have done to me."

One could be excused for displaying little sympathy for someone who thought he was merely being a muderous thug and now expresses outrage at the discovery that he was to be among the victims, not merely the instrument of their demise. (While Ahmed survived his attack, his truck bomb killed killed nine people, including a family of seven in their house nearby.) But his "blinding flash of insight" was probably authentic, and was reinforced in his discussion with the cleric referenced above.

Can a man of such unique experience be redeemed? Back to today's story:

At the time he was first approached to join the insurgency, al-Shayea was already becoming a devout Muslim in his ultraconservative town of Buraida. He grew a beard, prayed five times a day and stopped listening to Arabic love songs he used to enjoy. He was 19 and jobless.

Then he was contacted by a school friend whom he doesn’t identify.

“My friend started telling me about Iraq, how Muslims are getting killed there and how we should go there for jihad,” said al-Shayea. “He told me there were fatwas (edicts) and DVDs issued by Saudi and Iraqi clergymen that called for jihad.”

“We didn’t think of jihad as something that would lead to our death. It was a fight against occupiers,” said al-Shayea.

Finally the friend told him he was going to Iraq, and invited al-Shayea to join him.

He was told to shave his beard and pack Western clothes to avoid looking like a would-be jihadist. He got a passport and an airline ticket to Syria. And he managed to save $1,600 — travel fees, he was told, that would go to smugglers, weapons training and al-Qaida’s coffers.

On a cool November night toward the end of the holy month of Ramadan, he donned a black T-shirt and jeans and told his parents he was going camping in the desert with his friends.

He and his friend flew to Syria, a favored transit point for Iraq-bound fighters because Syria doesn’t ask visiting Arabs for visas, and its 360-mile border with Iraq is thinly policed. A network of al-Qaida operatives sheltered him in Damascus, Aleppo and the border town of Abu-Kamal, and about two weeks later he and 23 other men were smuggled into Iraq.

Four Iraqi teenagers guided them to the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim. They saw Syrian border guards in the distance who fired in the air. “They didn’t try to stop us. We were already in Iraq,” al-Shayea said.

At al-Qaim, the men were split into two groups. Al-Shayea said his group of 12 met an al-Qaida leader who had direct links with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida chief in Iraq who was later killed by a U.S. airstrike. He took the men’s money and gave each $100.

“Then he asked us a question: ’Those who want to carry out martyrdom (suicide) attacks, raise your hands,”’ said al-Shayea. “No one did.”

Al-Shayea’s group then spent a week at the Sunni fundamentalist stronghold of Rawa before al-Shayea and another Saudi man were taken to Ramadi and finally Baghdad.

Al-Shayea met his new “emir,” or leader, an Iraqi who told him his first assignment was to take a fuel tanker to a Baghdad neighborhood to be collected by others.

“I felt scared. I didn’t know Baghdad at all, and I also didn’t know how to drive heavy vehicles,” he said.

Also, he says, he was never told that the truck would contain 26 tons of butane gas, rigged to explode outside the Jordanian Embassy.

“That evening, we performed the last prayer of the day and had dinner — a dish of chicken and aubergines,” said al-Shayea. “The emir gave me a crude map of my route.”

Two al-Qaida militants drove with al-Shayea, but then jumped out 1,000 yards from where he was supposed to park the truck and fled in a waiting car.

“I felt something bad was about to happen,” he said.

The farther he drove, the more nervous he got until, 60 feet from the embassy, an explosion — believed triggered from afar — turned the back of the tanker into a fireball.

“I saw the fire and I started to scream and pray,” he said.

“I looked around me and I saw everything had melted. My hands had turned black. I jumped from the window and started running without thinking of what I was doing.”

The blast killed nine people.

Thinking he was an innocent victim and a Shiite by his fake ID card, passers-by took al-Shayea to a Shiite-run hospital. There he kept silent for several days until he finally told his doctors the truth.

The world’s first encounter with al-Shayea was on footage of his interrogation which was sent to Arab TV stations. Back in Buraida, his parents saw their son, face charred, head heavily bandaged, but alive. They were stunned. They had been notified he was dead and had held a wake for him.

Al-Shayea said he told his interrogators where to find a senior al-Zarqawi aide in Baghdad, revealed all he knew about al-Qaida, and denounced al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden as killers of innocents.

He says he hasn’t seen nor heard from the friend who accompanied him since they parted soon after entering Iraq.

Today his hair has grown back, he sports a thick black beard and he can move without difficulty. He credits the medical care he received, including 30 operations, at the hospital of U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison.

He says that when he was handed over to the Americans a couple of days after his interrogation at the Iraqi Interior Ministry, he was scared because he had heard about the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib.

“But the care with which the American officers carried me down to the car when they came to take me made me relax,” said al-Shayea. “One spoke Arabic and tried to put me at ease.”

Al-Shayea now participates in a Saudi government-run program designed to convince young Saudis to follow other paths:

“The aim is to reform the youths, to listen to them and talk to them,” said Ahmed Jailan, one of the clerics. “We also try to instill a sense of hope in them by telling them they still have the chance to make up for what they lost if they follow true Islam.”
<...>
Saudi authorities don’t say how many have passed through their rehabilitation program, but they are thought to number several hundred, including returnees from Guantanamo.

His might be a voice worth listening to - let's hope the right people hear.

*****

While 's story might be unique, others are similar:

A suicide bomber captured before he could blow himself up in a Shiite mosque late last week claimed he was kidnapped, beaten and drugged by insurgents who forced him to take on the mission. The U.S. military on Sunday said its medical tests indicated he was telling the truth.

In a confession broadcast on state television Friday, Mohammed Ali, who claimed to be Saudi-born, said he was kidnapped and coerced to agree to the mission. He said he fled after another suicide attacker killed at least 12 worshipers Friday at a mosque in the northern city of Tuz Khormato.

Results from medical tests on the young man were "consistent with his story and characterization of his treatment," Col. Billy Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman said.

The suicide attack that was performed on an election center in one of Baghdad's districts (Baghdad Al-Jadeedah) last Sunday was performed using a kidnapped "Down Syndrome" patient.

Eye witnesses said (and I'm quoting one of my colleagues; a dentist who lives there) "the poor victim was so scared when ordered to walk to the searching point and began to walk back to the terrorists. In response the criminals pressed the button and blew up the poor victim almost half way between their position and the voting center's entrance".

So next time you read a story like this:

I watched a car bomb burn at a police check point in Tall 'Afar, the explosion killing no one but the people inside the car -- a man, a woman and two young children.

Or this:

BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber in an explosives-laden SUV killed at least 27, including an American soldier, late this morning in the deadliest insurgent attack in more than two months.
<...>
Many, if not most of the dead were children loitering and playing near U.S. soldiers at an impromptu checkpoint in Baghdad al-Jadida, a lower-middle class residential district populated by Shiites, Sunnis and Christians.
<...>
"We have received the bodies of 24 children aged between 10 and 13," said an official in charge of the morgue.
<...>
"Why do they attack our children? They just destroyed one U.S. Humvee, but they killed dozens of our children," he said as women screamed, slapped their faces and beat themselves over the head.

or this:

A suicide attacker steered a car packed with explosives toward U.S. soldiers giving away toys to children outside a hospital in central Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 31 people. Almost all of the victims were women and children, police said.
<...>
"It was an explosion at the gate of the hospital," a woman who had wounds on her face and legs told the AP. "My children are gone. My brother is gone."

With no room left at the hospital, emergency workers rushed victims to hospitals in Baghdad, about 15 miles to the north. And when the hospital morgue was full, the workers were forced to place the dead in the hospital garden so family members could find them.

...and wonder how one human could do this to another, you know one possible answer.

Wolves Among Us

"You know, boss," I once said to my boss, "we have over 200 people in this organization. Any type of person you can imagine, good or bad, any character flaw you've ever heard of, in this unit I can guarantee you there's one of each."

I've been around a while, I know. And this isn't unique to the military. Cut a random slice of the population, and you'll find the same. Hey, none of us are perfect - we are all of us flawed mortals. Some more so than others; some can't get to work on time two days in a row. Some abuse their children or wives. Some bounce checks, some steal CDs from the Exchange even though it's payday. Some go for all the above and more.

Some people are prone to that sort of behavior but somehow avoid it. Until they meet someone else who has already started down that path and whose example provides just the right amount of temptation to push them over the edge. This invariably happens to more than a few young people who leave the protection of their parent's home and join the military - just as it does to more than a few who leave their parents home and go to college - or band camp, or elsewhere.

And let's face it - war ain't band camp. Some are attracted to military life purely for the opportunity to participate in sanctioned violence. Some years back I had a good friend who was a volunteer fireman - I believe he was the first person to tell me that arsonists - or perhaps pyromaniacs would be the better term - often find employment as firefighters. The vast majority of fireman, however, have other motivations for what they do. They are, in fact, the exact opposite of that sort.

And that's true of America's warriors as well. Perhaps the best explanation for this comes from LTC (RET) Dave Grossman's On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs:

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

But believe it or not, many - if not most - people who join the military are sheep.

*****

There are degrees of "bad behavior" - in war and elsewhere. On the lower end - but sliding ever upwards - might be actions like those described by Scott Beauchamp; verbal abuse of people (anyone out there not guilty of this one?), physical abuse of objects, animals, and human remains. Somewhere further along you'll find infliction of pain on fellow man for one's own pleasure. A bit beyond that, rape and murder. Combinations and degrees of all the above blur the scale, as does motivation and premeditation.

Scott Beauchamp:

Yeah man,” I continued. “I love chicks that have been intimate—with IEDs. It really turns me on—melted skin, missing limbs, plastic noses...

...He slowed the Bradley down to lure the first kill in, and, as the diesel engine grew quieter, the dog walked close enough for him to jerk the machine hard to the right and snag its leg under the tracks. The leg caught, and he dragged the dog for a little while, until it disengaged and lay twitching in the road. A roar of laughter broke out over the radio. ...

...One private, infamous as a joker and troublemaker, found the top part of a human skull, which was almost perfectly preserved. It even had chunks of hair, which were stiff and matted down with dirt. He squealed as he placed it on his head like a crown. It was a perfect fit. As he marched around with the skull on his head, people dropped shovels and sandbags, folding in half with laughter. No one thought to tell him to stop. No one was disgusted. Me included.

Ignore for a moment whether those stories are true or not, and read this one:

Not long into their stay, two of the soldiers appeared at the base one day with animal carcasses. They'd found a dead goat and a dead cat somewhere and started slicing them up. Someone took a photo of a soldier pretending to have sex with the goat's head. "Then they cut off the cat's head and shoved it on the top of a soda bottle," England says.

For several weeks, the decaying animal heads provided entertainment for the soldiers. "Someone put sunglasses on them, and put the rifle next to the heads and took a picture. Some soldiers put a cigarette in the cat's mouth," she says. The soldiers stashed the severed heads in their rooms.

"It was funny," England says. "So funny."

That's a true story - and Beauchamp's stories reminded me in some way of that account. I'm not even suggesting that story inspired him, just that they sound like tales told about the same type of people.

That comparison story, by the way, is one told by Lynndie England of her fellow soldiers' actions immediately prior to their arrival at Abu Ghraib. They were certainly on there way there, you might say.

*****

So if many who join the military are sheep, believe me when I say that many are also sheepdogs - and some few are wolves. But it's a society of sheepdogs - believe it or not, it is so. Start out a sheep and stick around for a while and you'll become one - or at least more like one. But lest you revert, keep this in mind:

Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep.

There are wolves in here, too.

Is Scott Beauchamp a wolf? Hardly - he strikes me as a sheep who's trying to live up to his misunderstanding of expectations. He's confused the behavior of the sheepdog with that of the wolf. Back to LTC Grossman's description of the sheepdog: "He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence."

But...

The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

And who will perform this removal, you ask? The answer is not the sheep. Scott Beauchamp is not a sheepdog. And he is not a wolf. He is, like Lynndie England before him, someone who may slide the wrong way down a certain path. Who has in fact done so, in word if not in deed. He is fortunate in that he will be judged much sooner than she was; that if found wanting, he will simply be returned to the flock.

And in the strange world we live in, who are his strongest supporters? They are those who share his confusion:

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up.

.(More to follow)

Want some real news from Iraq?

Put away your New Republics and read Michael Totten.

Dear world

1. Scott Thomas Beauchamp's story is now in the hands of his superiors. They know him and his overall worth as a soldier and will decide his immediate future. If you are fortunate enough to be someone other than one of those superiors (or his wife) you are officially relieved of concern for this asshole and his future.

2. In the meantime, something to bear in mind as his story is bandied about: Scott Thomas Beauchamp is an asshole. He either did what he said he did to a disfigured woman in a DFAC (which makes him an asshole) or he fabricated the story for reasons unknown (which makes him an asshole). This same methodology can be applied to his other war stories, too.

3. As for anything else he might have to say regarding past, present, or future events: nobody in their right mind cares what an asshole has to say.

4. Some people might somehow consider this a political issue. They are wrong. There are assholes in the Democrat and Republican Parties in the United States. There are probably assholes living on your street. There are assholes in the Army. Those who think no soldier could be an asshole are wrong. Those who think all soldiers are assholes are wrong. While some assholes aren't exposed prior to their military service, those who think the Army transforms good people into assholes are wrong. (Beer can do that, but that's another story.)

5. I hereby add "those with an obsessive attraction to assholes" to the list in paragraph one. By all means, if you find assholes irresistible, please continue to obsess over this particular model until the next one comes along. You won't have long to wait.

Scott Thomas Beauchamp is married to New Republic reporter-researcher, Elspeth Reeve. !

From the Washington Post:

The magazine's editor, Franklin Foer, disclosed in an interview that Beauchamp is married to a New Republic staffer, and that is "part of the reason why we found him to be a credible writer." Foer also said Beauchamp "has put himself in significant jeopardy" and "lost his lifeline to the rest of the world" because military officials have taken away his laptop, cellphone and e-mail privileges.
As both the military and the magazine investigate Beauchamp's allegations, a personal blog surfaced in which Beauchamp said last year that each morning he feels "retarded for joining the army," "a little more liberal than the day before" and "a tool for global corporations."

<...>

Beauchamp did not provide any documentation for his three published columns. He is married to a reporter-researcher at the New Republic, Elspeth Reeve.

Beauchamp's writing was challenged by the Weekly Standard and conservative bloggers after he wrote vividly, and profanely, of soldiers mocking a woman disfigured by an injury, getting their kicks by running over dogs with Bradley Fighting Vehicles and playing with Iraqi children's skulls taken from a mass grave.

Foer said the magazine is attempting to confirm every detail. "We are trying to be as deliberate and meticulous as we possibly can," he said. "We're not going to be rushed into making any sort of snap judgment."

Maj. Kirk Luedeke, a spokesman for the base, said by e-mail: "We are conducting a formal investigation into the allegations made by Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp in the New Republic, so given that situation, I am unable to comment on the matter until the investigation is complete."

In his blog, called Sir Real Scott Thomas, Beauchamp quoted Vice President Cheney as explaining in 1991, when he was defense secretary, why the United States ended the Persian Gulf War without taking Baghdad. Beauchamp added that "we laugh harder at CSPAN than comedy central. Silly republicans."

Beauchamp, who was based in Germany when the blog entries were posted in 2006, described his career this way: "I shoot, move, communicate, and kill . . . the deaths that I inflict secure the riches of the empire."

As conservative bloggers yesterday continued to challenge the veracity of Beauchamp's accounts, Foer said: "It is really unfortunate that someone like Scott, who was really only trying to tell his particular story, has become a pawn in the debate over the war and the Weekly Standard's efforts to press an ideological agenda."

Greyhawk Replies:

Gotta wonder if she's considered cutting off one of her arms or setting her face on fire, now that she knows what kind of chicks her hubby really digs.

Ace has more:

The actual quote was "Frank doesn't want to tell ___ her husband is a liar," offered up not by my source but by someone else. The blank has now been confirmed as TNR staffer Elspeth Reeve, and even though the quote was "husband," there's some question about that: weddingchannel.com says their wedding is coming in October. Though perhaps they had a quickie civil ceremony before his last deployment or something, with the formal ceremony to occur later.

Look, husband/fiancee, not sure it matters. It certainly seems that everyone in the TNR offices were under the impression they'd already been married.

I was going to let this slide and not report it but then TNR played the hard guys and fired the guy actually sharing information about this with people. Meanwhile Foer and Beuchamp are still drawing paychecks.

<...>

Scott Thomas Beauchamp was not chosen for this job because he had some terrific amount of experience or credentials or integrity. He was picked for Plame-type reasons: He's married or engaged to someone at TNR.

As Gracie reported to me, this is openly discussed in the TNR offices. One representative quote: "Frank[lin Foer] doesn't want to call [woman's] husband a liar." That wasn't Gracie saying that, that was someone else in the office, explaining the inter-office politics of this.

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

Bird’s Eye View: The Battle for Baqubah -- [Michael Yon - in Iraq]
A Tactical Operations Center (TOC) is the headquarters for a unit. Company-level TOCs are the smallest I have seen. A typical infantry company has about a hundred or more soldiers. The commander will normally be a captain. A company-level TOC often consists of a radio and a map, and one person on duty 24/7. It might have a coffee maker, too. In fact, there is a company TOC at the other end of the tent in which I now reside with a company called C-52. C-52 is the smallest company with only 54 men, who all live in this tent with a huge amount of weapons, and great combat experience to back them up [to whit: Superman.]

Peace Agreement in Diyala - [Duty in the Desert - in Iraq]
This is how lasting peace will be achieved in Iraq.
The effort centered on the city of Khalis, near Baqouba, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are conducting an ongoing house-to-house sweep of the city.
Earlier this week, around 75 sheiks and local leaders met at the Iraqi Army Headquarters in Khalis to air long-standing grievances with each other, suggest security improvements and pledge to work against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups.
As has been the case in other areas, many local residents have chafed at the continuing violence sponsored by the insurgents and the hard-line Islamic law imposed in some areas...

Entrepreneurs or Insurgents? Economic Growth in Iraq -- [ONPoint]
An untold aspect of the “Surge” is to create jobs for the local citizenry. With “Clear-Hold-Build” finally being an accepted part of the Coalition strategy to pacify Iraq, what is being done to provide the Iraqis with jobs that will let them support their families? Security in a town is necessary for it’s own sake, but to provide jobs for the locals, where they can feed and house their families in some semblance of rationality – that’s what is necessary to stop the locals from saying “we were better off under Saddam”, and joining the insurgents or a militia group.
...Although JCCIA operates in both AO’s, the emphasis of these questions concerned JCCIA activities in Iraq :

Operation Fardh al-Qanoon achieving good results -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD — U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, and Iraqi Army Lt. Gen. Aboud Ganbar, commander, Baghdad operations, Fardh al-Qanoon, held a briefing to discuss the successes of current operations in and around Baghdad at the Combined Press Information Center Thursday.

Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi cell leader -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Soldiers, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained a cell leader of the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia near the southwest neighborhood of Bayaa in Baghdad, July 26.
The Iraqi Soldiers detained their primary suspect without incident during the early morning operation in Baghdad.
The primary suspect is believed to command a rogue JAM improvised explosive device cell that is allegedly responsible for attacks on Coalition Forces. He is also alleged to have received financial support and explosively formed penetrators from Iran, which were distributed to other JAM cell members in the Bayaa and Aamel areas of Baghdad.

Senior terrorists eliminated

Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda in Iraq members -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained two primary targets of an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell near southwest neighborhood of Jihad in Baghdad, July 26.
The Iraqi Forces detained their primary targets at several different residences during the early morning operation in Baghdad. One other suspicious individual present during the operation was also detained.
The al-Qaeda in Iraq cell is alleged to be responsible for conducting extra judicial killings of Iraqi citizens and emplaces improvised explosive devices. They are also believed to have conducted attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces as well as local Iraqi citizens.

From the Front -- [Fuzzilicious Thinking ]
Courtesy of a proud Marine Dad, from a lieutenant who doesn't get to email often:
It is a little bit of fun working with these Iraqis.
...I can't wait to be done training these guys, so we can go operational and start interdicting some insurgents on a grand scale, lol. I led the first set on their final class--a real patrol--a couple days ago, and they weren't bad. Not Marines, but not bad for what we had taught them.

Tet Comes Early This Year -- [Cannoneer No. 4 - in Iraq]
I don’t want to go through this again. I don’t want these Marines and soldiers and sailors and airmen I live with to suffer the morale-destroying disillusionment. I was an Air Force brat in Japan last time. My school bus drove past the Pacific Theater Graves Registration Tranfser Point at Tachikawa every day. Stacks and stacks of zinc coffins being moved with forklifts. The casualty list took up the entire back page of the Pacific Stars and Stripes. Big green ambulance buses. Wounded on cots in the hospital hallways, IV bottles hanging from rods attached to the cot. Walking wounded in neon blue pajamas on pass at the BX. And nobody was glad to see the Chaplain walking in their housing area in Class A’s. My father was stuck in Korea, caught up in the Pueblo Incident. We didn’t get Walter Cronkite. What I knew of the Vietnam War I did not learn from American television.
I was a cadet when Saigon fell. The psychological wounds of the men who trained me were to a certain degree contagious.
It’s happening again.

What the hell is going on around here? -- [Eighty Deuce On The Loose - In Iraq ]
...Usually company missions are accompanied by Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police, which this one was. The Army works with us and usually does the meat and potatoes of the mission and the IP's work with the MP's doing the cordon and whatnot. The nice thing is that our job is not to actually do these mission. We are there to help, advise and make it go quicker, but not actually do it ourselves. I've noticed that in the last 5 months or so that we've been working with these guys that they have been getting better and more effeciet. We're normally not out there as long as we used to be and we are having to do less and less as they take on more of the responsibility and become better at doing these things.
This mission was to clear out a local cemetary for some stuff that the IA had intel on. The weird thing is ...

Iraq Report: Al Qaeda strikes in Baghdad -- [The Fourth Rail]
After a lull of several weeks in major mass casualty suicide attack inside Baghdad, al Qaeda in Iraq struck three times against Iraqi civilians over the past 24 hours. Yesterday's attacks occurred during the celebration of the Iraqi soccer team's victory at the Asia Games, which advanced the club to the finals.

25 dead in Baghdad car bombing

A car bomb in the Karradah district of Baghdad has killed at least 25 people.

Destroying Happiness -- [Dude, where's the beach? - in Iraq]
...In that instant 28 men, women, and children were murdered about 2 miles away from where I sat in the comfort of my office. 95 men, women and children were sprayed with glass, metal, and debris while I sent my last email and picked up my gear. These people were preparing to celebrate an Islamic holiday. The night before they were happy because the Iraqi soccer team won another game in the Asian Cup. They were happy, and happiness is so rare for them these days. Why would someone want to destroy such happiness. All of those smiles were stolen away last night by people who can't stand to see joy and happiness.
"The terrorists, curse them, are behind this act," said Firas Rahim, who sells clothes at a stand near the site of the blasts. "They are angry because the people were celebrating and happy yesterday. Now they took their revenge."
The longer I'm hear, the more I love the Iraqi people. They're vibrant, emotional, patriotic, and strong.

Full Speed Ahead -- [Major Andrew Olmsted - in Iraq]
Sunday was reasonably quiet early on, after a busy Saturday afternoon, but that changed late when we received word that several of our Iraqi Army (IA) outposts had been hit by the enemy. We headed down to the IA battalion headquarters to learn what they knew about the attacks while U.S. forces moved to the scene to do their own assessment. That evening we put together the different stories to see if we could determine, at least roughly, the ground truth about what had happened so we could start planning for what to do about it.
That evening we also learned that a general officer would be coming to visit, and the unit we're working with had a number of other issues on the plate and didn't have an officer to spare to meet the general.

Guest Blogger, Colonel Michael Visconage -- [The Gunner's World -in Iraq]
The Camp Victory Life:
The Victory base camp is on the Southwest outskirts of Baghdad is part of a much larger expanse that has a number of other sub camps for the combat divisions and a variety of support troops. My guess would be that is covers perhaps 20 square miles and houses 40-50,000 people. While the staff has the easy life in terms of a low level of immediate danger, the fighting troops are usually out in the various forward operating bases and have much harsher living condition. They do get to rotate back to larger bases for periods of time, which I am sure they appreciate.

Everyday in Mosul.... -- [Jim Spiri - in Iraq]
The cavalry mounted up today, again. I remember as a young kid growing up on an arroyo in southern New Mexico, I would come home after sports practice and ride my horse. Just like sports practice to stay in shape, so it is with riding a horse. I had a good quarter horse, named "Jigger". I rode him almost everyday to keep not only him in shape, but to keep my riding skills fine tuned. Such is the case here in Mosul, in a way. Everyday, the Cav rides into town keeping a strong presence while at the same time handing over more and more responsibility to the Iraqi Army as the transition moves along.
We headed out in force early in the morning to the north side of Mosul today. We passed through some crowded business areas where people like ants were going about their daily lives. When the "herd" of Humvees comes through, all eyes are watching and no vechiles dare impede the way.

Summertime Blues -- [Jason's Iraq Vacation - in Iraq]
BOOM!-thud-
ughhh . . . I groan and roll over to look at my clock.
BOOM!-thud-
It's 3:15am, and the Artillery detachment is sending out some care packages to our boys outside the wire. No surprise there; the artillery men send out their lovin' every night, and since we are almost right next to them I get to hear every round up close and personal. The only question is what time and how often. The nightly barrage goes on...
These are a couple typical nights for us here. Nothing exciting, just the sounds of the battle going on around us. Our job isn't out there at night; it begins the next day with our Iraqi counterparts. Everyday we work with them, side by side, imparting what knowledge we have and trying to help them do their part better. Many nights I wish I was out there with my coalition counterparts, fighting a battle I know a little better; but I'm not, and many days it’s hard for me to accept that my battle is in getting the Iraqi's to sustain themselves without our help.

In the Wake of the Surge -- [Michael Totten - in Iraq]
... The battalion I’m embedded with here in Baghdad hasn’t suffered a single casualty – not even one soldier wounded – since they arrived in the Red Zone in January. The surge in this part of the city could not possibly be going better than it already is. Most of Graya’at’s insurgents and terrorists who haven’t yet fled are either captured, dormant, or dead.
...Graya’at’s streets are quiet and safe. It doesn’t look or feel like war zone at all. American soldiers just a few miles away are still engaged in almost daily firefights with insurgents and terrorists, but this part of the city has been cleared by the surge.
...Everyone was friendly. No one shot at us or even looked at us funny. Infrastructure problems, not security, were the biggest concerns at the moment. I felt like I was in Iraqi Kurdistan – where the war is already over – not in Baghdad.
...“Do they ever get pissed off when you search them?” I said.
“Not very often,” he said. “They understand we’re trying to protect them.”
“This is not what I expected in Baghdad,” I said.
“Most of what we’re doing doesn’t get reported in the media,” he said. “We’re not fighting a war here anymore, not in this area. We’ve moved way beyond that stage.

Temple of UR!!! -- [West Coast Notorious - in Iraq]
So we have been on the road for the past couple of days, same ol' stuff here and there. On are way north yesterday we saw an explosion to our three o'clock, we called it up and moved on. Everyone just watched quietly as the smoke from the blast rose into the air. "It's a controlled detenation over" we hear over the radio. Look's like someone found an I.E.D., this is always a welcome thing! We make it camp and decide to make a trip to Tallil. There we visit the temple of UR, this thing's been around since the early A.D. period. It was built by a Babylonian politician who ruled the area at the time.

The Night Shift -- [Strategy Page]
There's a war going on in Iraq that you rarely hear about. It goes on at night, and has been very successful.
While U.S. infantry and tank units make raids all over central Iraq, the other war, fought largely at night, by engineers and non-infantry troops (often artillerymen) serving as infantry, to catch and stop teams of terrorists trying to set up roadside bombs. The American troops are guided by an intelligence effort that keeps track of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) by type and location. Over 90 percent of IEDs do not do any damage to Americans, or anyone else. Many of these are captured, or at least examined remotely by a robot, before being destroyed.
Iraq Pictures - 26 July 2007 -- [Iraq Pictures - in Iraq]
CPT Paul Morton, commander of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, native of Fullerton, Calif., speaks with local elders of Jazira, a village within the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad's Adhamiyah District. The meeting allows Morton to gauge how residents feel about coalition forces because the elders are respected members of the community who represent their people's interests.

Near the Iraqi Border -- [The Tank - W. Thomas Smith Jr. - heading to Iraq]
ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE (Kuwait) — Internet is touch-and-go here at this huge tent city in the Kuwaiti desert about 23 miles from the Iraqi border. So this will be quick.
Will be flying to Baghdad in a day or so.
It's hot here: Close to 130 degrees in the shade (and believe it or not, humid). Mercifully, it drops down into the 90s at night. The dust and sand, like talcum powder, are also much worse than when I was here in March and April.

Iraqis Celebrate Win over Korea in AFC Asian Cup 25/7/07

Four Years -- [All Quiet on the Southwest Asian Front - in Iraq]
My battery's about to die, so I'll be brief.
This is four years in. My ETS date, by my original contract. I'm out, my term is up.
But not really. Call it 'Stop-loss', call it deployment, call it 'needs of the country', I'm still here, and will be for a year more and then some.
But for tonight, drinks are on me, party's at my place, and honey, I'm glad I joined.
To all the guys out on the front lines with me; I'm proud to be here.

Video Chat -- [Far From Perfect - in Iraq]
As you know, I am paying for internet in my CHU. Most of the month it has been useless. The connectivity is generally in the bytes/second range if there is any at all. It takes upwards of two hours to check my e-mail, if it connects. I am pretty ready to just give it up. However, tonight for the first time I was able to chat with my wife!
...its still pretty surreal to me to have internet available in a warzone, let alone video chat from my CHU. I guess its a sign of the times. Our grandfathers had letter mail that took 3 months. Now, its video chat and email.

---

AFGHANISTAN

Back to Blackhorse -- [A JAG in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan ]
Since I’ve told you about the travel to each location let me comment on our trip to Blackhorse – it was fast and easy. Since Blackhorse is just down the road it was a short drive down on the mail truck. The thing that was new and different was the fact that the road between here and Blackhorse is now completely paved. It’s been almost two months since I was last there and I was amazed and impressed with how much work has been done. They are now working on the road between here and downtown Kabul. At some point the Afghans will have a nice road/highway to travel on.

More Faces of Afghanistan (Photos) -- [A JAG in Afghanistan - in Afghanistan ]
Here are some more "faces of Afghanistan." These were taken by LCDR Steven Parks down in Kandahar. Thanks for sharing

News of Afghanistan - Edition 63 -- [Miserable Donuts]
Friday again? Ah, I guess this means it is time for the News! Come on then

Still here -- [ETT PA-C - in Afghanistan ]
Hi all. Borrowing some internet to check in. For those of you that have passed on toys in your packages, I've got some pics of the children that have received them. Thanks so much. These kids have never seen toys as such and are always so excited to get stuffed animals, cars, dolls, balls etc.
Not much else occurring here. Our missions have gone well without issue thus far and we take every one as serious as the one before. Safety first and stuff!

Heroes of Baylough

Story about U.S. Soldiers at a forward operating base in Afghanistan who face daily attacks.

New operation launched against Taliban extremists -- [ISAF - in Afghansitan]
The task force-level operation, codenamed “Chakush” or “Hammer,” began this morning in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, northeast of Gereshk. The operation is continuing the momentum towards expelling Taliban extremist forces from areas of the Upper Gereshk Valley.
“This operation is another important step in continuing the progress we have made recently in providing the enduring security conditions required for the Afghan government to remove Taliban extremist influence from the communities in Sangin and the Upper Gereshk Valley,” said Lt. Col. Charlie Mayo, Task Force Helmand spokesman.

Taliban Executes First Korean Hostage -- [GI Korea]
UPDATE: I just saw on CNN International that it has confirmed that the eight Korean hostages have not been released and are still threatening to kill the others. Whoever it was in the Korean government that leaked word that eight hostages were released should be fired for getting the family member’s hopes up like that.

---

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Majority Backs Getting Invaded -- [Strategy Page]
July 27, 2007: Much to Iran's annoyance, the U.S. is cracking down on financial institutions that moves money to terrorist organizations Iran supports. This includes Hizbollah and Hamas. The U.S. has ramped up its intelligence effort to discover who is paying who, and is ordering banks to cease providing services to terrorist related organizations, or face being cut off from the American banking system. Iran has to scramble to find banks that do not fear U.S. banking sanctions, and is discovering that this is not easy.

---

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Buried Videos Surface in HLF Trial -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)
A Northern Virginia man’s home landscaping chore became evidence Thursday in the terror-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation and five of its officials in Dallas. Marcial Peredo told jurors how he was leveling the yard at his new Falls Church home when he stumbled into a stash of videotapes buried in the ground.

---

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Their War--My War -- [Marching Camp - in Iraq]
The Washington Post published (I'm shocked) an excellent article on the disconnect between the American warrior class and the mass of the (largely unarmed) public.
It's hardly infantrymen alone, though their job has changed least. At the basic level, Soldiers are killers, regardless of how you dress it up in fancy words. The difference between a Soldier and a bandit is in intent and restraint. We kill those who deserve it, bandits prey on the weak regardless.
"But these days, that part of the job apparently makes America's civilians uneasy. World War II headlines celebrated accomplished military killers and called them heroes. Second Lt. Audie Murphy mowed down dozens of attacking German soldiers, won the Medal of Honor and went on to become a movie star. Today, U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who win medals for successfully doing their jobs while obeying the laws of war might get local coverage. But the brightest national spotlight is reserved for killers who are war criminals, such as the alleged perpetrators of the Haditha massacre, or heroes who are victims, such as prisoners of war. American civilians no longer seem comfortable labeling a soldier as both a killer and a hero.

America's Biggest Lie: "We Support The Troops" -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
The most pathetic hyperbolic chamber of them all-Congress.
Of the myriad fluff lines from our political heroes, paid well BY us to lie TO us, perhaps Hillary Clinton's lie about how best to support the Troops sums up just how little these clowns in Public Office truly understand what it means to actually "support" anyone:

FIRST THINGS FIRST -- [Soldier's Mom]
As most of you know, the fair treatment of wounded warriors -- active duty and Veterans -- has become a personal mission of mine. In that vein, here is the text of an email sent to our Congressman:
...We believe strongly that Congress has a fundamental responsibility to establish relative priorities, put first things first, and ensure that there is better proportionality between compensation and service and sacrifice rendered.
As the parents of a 22-year-old disabled U.S. Army soldier who faces a lifetime of inadequate compensation for his sacrifice, we say fix the current inequities before Congress creates others.
Also, if you use TRICARE (if you don't know what that is, you're not affected) be sure to check out this information on POSSIBLE TRICARE DATA COMPROMISE.

Freedom Walk -- [Sgt Stryker]
...The Freedom walk is a way that all Americans can show their support for this nation as well as honor our troops who are defending our county with their lives. One of the wonderful aspects of the Freedom Walk is that anyone can organize or host a Freedom Walk in their own community.
If you see that there isn’t a walk scheduled for your area, you can organize your own walk. The official America Supports You Freedom Walk is located here: Freedomwalk.

---

MILITARY

Museum aircraft carrier could serve as Emergency Operations Center -- [EagleSpeak]
the aircraft carrier museum ship USS Intrepid is available to be used as a contingency Emergency Operations Center for New York in the event of a disaster or attack.

Back in, Back out -- [From My Position... On the way!]
I am in from the field (and back out tomorrow--I've been recovering for the last couple days after spending almost a week getting pissed on by WA's "unseasonably rainy" weather.)
Training cadets is usually pretty fun. You have to realize (and it is a pretty large leap) that they are NOT trained soldiers. Worse, they haven't been working together for months, and really barely know each other. Luckily, we don't just evaluate them on tactical and technical abilities. We look at attributes (Mental, Physical, and Emotional), skills (Conceptual, Interpersonal, Technical, Tactical) actions (Communicating, Decision Making, Motivating, Planning, Executing, Assessing, (Subordinate leader) Developing, (Team) Building, and (individual) Learning.

---

WELCOME HOME

2600 Minnesota ARNG Soldiers Return Home -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Over the past week the last of thousands of MNARNG troops with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division have returned home after a 22-month deployment including mobilization time and a short stay at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin.

---

POLITICS

'It Didn't Happen' -- [Opinion Journal - JAMES TARANTO]
Democrats go soft on crimes against humanity.
Barack Obama's latest pronouncement on Iraq should have shocked the conscience. In an interview with the Associated Press last week, the freshman Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate opined that even preventing genocide is not a sufficient reason to keep American troops in Iraq.
"Well, look, if that's the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now--where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife--which we haven't done," Mr. Obama told the AP. "We would be deploying unilaterally and occupying the Sudan, which we haven't done. Those of us who care about Darfur don't think it would be a good idea."

WINNING IN IRAQ AND LOSING IN WASHINGTON -- [Ralph Peters - NY Post]
TO a military professional, the tactical progress made in Iraq over the last few months is impressive. To a member of Congress, it's an annoyance.
The herd animals on Capitol Hill - from both parties - just can't wait to go over the cliff on Iraq. And even when the media mention one or two of the successes achieved by our troops, the reports are grudging.
Yet what's happening on the ground, right now, in Baghdad and in Iraq's most-troubled provinces, contributes directly to your security. In the words of a senior officer known for his careful assessments, al Qaeda's terrorists in Iraq are "on their back foot and we're trying to knock them to their knees."
Do our politicians really want to help al Qaeda regain its balance?

"Worst Case of Voter Fraud in Washington History" -- [Jawa Report]
Courtesy of the leftwing group ACORN.
When the libs try to scream about stolen elections, oppressed voters, yadda yadda, all you need to do is say "How about ACORN?"
King County prosecutors filed felony charges Thursday against seven people in what a top official described as the worst case of voter-registration fraud in state history,

---

THE MEDIA

Document drop: A new critique of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study -- [Michell Malkin]
Update 9:30pm Eastern. Shannon Love at the Chicago Boyz blog called foul on the Lancet 2004 study early on and, with vindication, reacts to David Kane’s new analysis of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study: “Kane shows that if the Falluja cluster is included in the statistical calculations, the confidence interval dips below zero, which is a big no-no. Since the study’s raw data remain a closely guarded secret, Kane cannot be absolutely certain that the inclusion of the Falluja cluster renders the study mathematically invalid…but that’s the way to bet. In science, replication is the iron test. I find it revealing that no other source or study has come close to replicating the original study. All my original points still stand. Ah, vindication is sweet.”

Responding to the Bridge at No Gun Ri -- [GI Korea]
In my prior posting I posted in full the Associated Press’ entire uncut article about their version of what happened at No Gun Ri for everyone to review before posting a rebuttal to it. Unlike the AP writers I don’t mind people reading both sides of the story and judging the facts for themselves. In the rebuttal I have posted paragraphs from the original AP article in bold print and then offered my comments below them.

Newsweek of McCain's Implosion: America 'Won't Listen to a Military Man' Anymore -- [NewsBusters]
...There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth now that their favorite Republican looks to be a goner, at least if Michael Hirsh of Newsweek is any indication. In "Why McCain’s Collapse Matters", Hirsh not only laments McCain's diminishment of influence, but blames the American people for not listening to military "heroes" on how evil this war is. Hirsh also uses his piece as an excuse to repeatedly bash Fred Thompson using the media's "He's just an actor" mantra. Naturally, Hirsh learns all the wrong lessons from his review of history and displays it in this little tsk tsking tirade aimed at the American people for their gall in not fawning over McCain like the MSM does.

Hollywood joins the Long War In about the way I expected. -- [CDR Salamander]
On a night four years ago, five soldiers back from three months in Iraq went drinking at a Hooters restaurant and a topless bar near Fort Benning, Ga.
Before the night was over, one of them, Specialist Richard R. Davis, was dead of at least 33 stab wounds, his body doused with lighter fluid and burned. Two of the group would eventually be convicted of the murder, another pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and the last confessed to concealing the crime.

---

HUMOR / SATIRE

Soldiers Having Fun

Day By Day

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

---

Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, dawn patrol

Scott Thomas Speaks

From the Plank:

My Diarist, "Shock Troops," and the two other pieces I wrote for the New Republic have stirred more controversy than I could ever have anticipated. They were written under a pseudonym, because I wanted to write honestly about my experiences, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, my pseudonym has caused confusion. And there seems to be one major way in which I can clarify the debate over my pieces: I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for the New Republic using my real name.

I am Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division.

My pieces were always intended to provide my discreet view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier's view of events in Iraq.
It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.
--Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp

SWJ has more

TNR Editors have this reponse:

As we've noted in this space, some have questioned details that appeared in the Diarist "Shock Troops," published under the pseudonym Scott Thomas. According to Major Kirk Luedeke, a public affairs officer at Forward Operating Base Falcon, a formal military investigation has also been launched into the incidents described in the piece.

Although the article was rigorously edited and fact-checked before it was published, we have decided to go back and, to the extent possible, re-report every detail. This process takes considerable time, as the primary subjects are on another continent, with intermittent access to phones and email. Thus far we've found nothing to disprove the facts in the article; we will release the full results of our search when it is completed.

I'm sure Greyhawk will have something to add. When he has time to pull away from the duties of war.

Greyhawk:

It's really sad to see someone claim they have ultimate moral authority to insult women and kill dogs without anyone questioning their character just because they've been to Iraq.

Update -- More on that thought:

It's sad to think that anyone of any age or rank thinks he has absolute moral authority to kill dogs and insult women without having his character impuned by non-Iraq veterans. But one thing is worth keeping in mind - this is a Private in the Army, a young guy, perhaps prone to believe the more fabulous tales told by his comrades in arms. Or perhaps not. Whatever the case, it's pretty effing petty behavior on the part of The New Republic to set him up like this. In this entire situation they strike me as the biggest dirt bags of all. Then again, perhaps he and his buddies are the criminal thugs he claims they are, and TNR has done us all a favor.

Believe me, Pvt Beauchamp will have a lot of "explaining" to do to his chain of command. They get to sort things out from here.

"Next: The persecution begins"

Badger Forward reports from Iraq:

I have verified that there is a Private Beuachamp listed on AKO and he is listed in the listed unit.

No one has ever denied the plausibility of the events per se; we have questioned where the outside forces that constrain poor behavior by Soldiers were. I am sure he revealed himself because the detective work that was done by numerous people narrowed the unit down. JD Johannes at Outside the Wire correctly identified the unit before Pvt. Thomas' admission. As a Commander I imagine what the last few days have been like for that unit Commander. It cannot have been easy.

<...>
Bravo for standing up, finally. Now accept the consequence of your actions.

Cast of Characters

I actually forced myself to read The Nations article on atrocities committed by US Troops in Iraq. No surprise, I found some familiar names - they'd appeared in Mudville before. Oddly enough, most of the claims they made back then - some of which were well refuted here - are not included in their latest attacks.

For instance, in the Nation, Spc. Aidan "Coke Bottles" Delgado describes a riot (one he didn't witness, by the way) at Abu Ghraib prison. Judging by their absence, we must assume Delgado has dropped other claims he used to make about his fellow soldiers. Specifically, that they kept empty coke bottles in their Humvees to smash over the heads of Iraqis as they drove by them in the streets.

Jeff Englehart has no real atrocities to describe in this story, just that American troops are ignorant racist thugs:

"I guess while I was there, the general attitude was, A dead Iraqi is just another dead Iraqi," said Spc. Jeff Englehart, 26, of Grand Junction, Colorado. Specialist Englehart served with the Third Brigade, First Infantry Division, in Baquba, about thirty-five miles northeast of Baghdad, for a year beginning in February 2004.
<...>
"You can honestly see how the Iraqis in general or even Arabs in general are being, you know, kind of like dehumanized," said Specialist Englehart. "Like it was very common for United States soldiers to call them derogatory terms, like camel jockeys or Jihad Johnny or, you know, sand nigger."

He's really toned down his rhetoric. Back in November, 2005, Englehart made a bit of a name for himself by claiming that his fellow soldiers burned Iraqi Civilians to death in Fallujah using White Phosphorus. That claim - certainly more of an atrocity than any described in the Nation - is surprisingly not noted there.

Some classic Englehart quotes not appearing in the Nation:

a) ...a former US soldier who served in Falluja, tells of how he heard orders for white phosphorus to be deployed over military radio - and saw the results.

"Burned bodies, burned women, burned children; white phosphorus kills indiscriminately... When it makes contact with skin, then it's absolutely irreversible damage, burning flesh to the bone," he says.

b) "White Phosphorous was used, which is definitely, without a shadow of a doubt a chemical weapon".

c) When I joined the United States Army I swore an oath to "serve and protect the Constitution of the United States", not an ignorant greedy little fuck like George Bush or any of his court jesters in the White House. And by writing and speaking against his policies and his war and his grossly high death tolls, I know in my heart that I am still, to this day, fighting to protect all the constitutional rights that his administration is robbing from us everyday.

d) The Iraqi insurrection, in itself, is what I believe to be an honest rebellion. Because it is a guerrilla war against an illegal occupation enforced by our conventional military force, with far superior weapons and technology, it seems obvious that acts of terrorism are also acts of desperation.

Also appearing, "Spc. Garett Reppenhagen, 32, of Manitou Springs, Colorado":

Probes into roadblock killings were mere formalities, a few veterans said. "Even after a thorough investigation, there's not much that could be done," said Specialist Reppenhagen. "It's just the nature of the situation you're in. That's what's wrong. It's not individual atrocity. It's the fact that the entire war is an atrocity."

A ,long-time anti-war activist and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) member Reppenhagen - although he hails from Manitou Springs, Colorado, is often called upon to make appearances posing as an audience member during John "Jack" Murtha speeches and appearances. Following Murtha's declarations, "audience members" will be invited to address the congressman. Reppenhagen will be one of the first, announce his status as a veteran of Iraq, and praise Murtha for his courage. Here's one such example.

Another such planted soldier at that meeting was "Sgt. John Bruhns, 29, of Philadelphia" - who, in an amazing coincidence, also appears in the Nation's article, revealing the terrors of house raids:

As the Alpha Company team leader, Sergeant Bruhns was supposed to be the first person in the door. Skeptical, he refused. "So I said, 'If you're so confident that there are a bunch of Syrian terrorists, insurgents...in there, why in the world are you going to send me and three guys in the front door, because chances are I'm not going to be able to squeeze the trigger before I get shot.'"

So...

As Sergeant Bruhns ran security out front, his fellow soldiers smashed the windows and kicked down the doors

But in addition to appearing as a random veteran audience member praising John Murtha, other details of his post-military career didn't make the published version of The Nations hit-piece. He's a favorite of the MoveOn political group:

MoveOn.org Political Action said this afternoon that the liberal group's members have chosen the subject they want to see turned into a "pro-troops," anti-war, television ad that film director Oliver Stone will create.

The spot will focus on the story of John Bruhns, who served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and now says "I feel used and I feel misled" by the Bush administration.

...and frequently protests with Code Pink outside Walter Reed Hospital. Bruhns is a full-time Democratic party activist. He is probably the most heavily quoted ex-soldier in the Nation's story.

Sgt. Kelly Dougherty Tells one of the most horrific stories in the piece:

"It's like very barren desert, so most of the people that live there, they're nomadic or they live in just little villages and have, like, camels and goats and stuff," she recalled. "There was then a little boy--I would say he was about 10 because we didn't see the accident; we responded to it with the investigative team--a little Iraqi boy and he was crossing the highway with his, with three donkeys. A military convoy, transportation convoy driving north, hit him and the donkeys and killed all of them. When we got there, there were the dead donkeys and there was a little boy on the side of the road.

She adds that she thinks the vehicles didn't slow down much before they killed them. Dougherty is co-founder and current executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War>. Most of the ex-soldiers appearing in the article are members.

In fact, that's essentially what The Nation's story is - a thinly disguised public relations piece for Iraq Veterans Against the War.

The Nation interviewed fifty combat veterans, including forty soldiers, eight marines and two sailors, over a period of seven months beginning in July 2006. To find veterans willing to speak on the record about their experiences in Iraq, we sent queries to organizations dedicated to US troops and their families, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the antiwar groups Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War and the prowar group Vets for Freedom. The leaders of IVAW and Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of IAVA, were especially helpful in putting us in touch with Iraq War veterans. Finally, we found veterans through word of mouth, as many of those we interviewed referred us to their military friends.

Surprise!

This Nation investigation marks the first time so many on-the-record, named eyewitnesses from within the US military have been assembled in one place to openly corroborate these assertions.

As noted previously - at least since John Kerry fled Vietnam. I guess IVAW doesn't hold physical meetings.

Update: Via email, from Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA:

Greyhawk,

Great blog. I am a regular reader.

I wanted to contact you ASAP to let you know that we agree with you about
The Nation piece 100%. It was a total hit job. We do not approve of or
support this piece of trash in any way. We responded immediately here:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070730/veteran

Of course the Nation buried our letter, and gave the authors a chance to
respond before it was posted--a courtesy they didn't give us.

But there are also some other things you should know. Our guys have done a
bit of digging into who the writers of this piece are.

Laila Al-Arian has an interesting past. Look into Sami Al-Arian ("reporter"
Al-Arian¹s Father). FYI, Laila told LTC Mike Zacchea, (one of an number of
our vets who were approached, and refused to be interviewed when they
sniffed out the direction of the piece) that Sami was her uncle, not her
father. More background on that here:

Militant Islam Monitor.org

WikiPedia website

CNN Article

Huffington Post

The issues surrounding this piece are so numerous I don't know where to
begin. The fact that the magazine assigned Laila Al-Arian to this piece
alone undermines the article's credibility (and that of The Nation)
tremendously. Her work as an activist on her father's behalf is clearly
relevant, and obviously impacted her ability to be objective. Most of our
vets never would have talked to her had they known that.

The Nation wanted to smear vets and create an anti-war piece of propaganda.
They succeeded. They are using the names of groups like ours, Vets For
Freedom and others to do it. Please help us push back against this, and
alert all veterans. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Just let
me know.

Thank you.

Best,

Paul.

Also, please check out the latest from the Dole-Shalala Commission today
here

Important news that folks need to know about.

Call anytime we can be a resource.

Thanks again.

--
Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director
Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Another Day's Work

(Part one here.)

Think soldiers in the US Army aren't capable of bad behavior? Think again. Before jumping into any discussion of accusations of crimes leveled at US military members, one should probably keep the following headlines in mind:

Details Emerge in Alleged Army Rape, Killings
The U.S. military said last week that authorities were investigating allegations of a rape and killings in Mahmudiyah by soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 4th Infantry Division.

2 U.S. Soldiers Charged With Murder of an Iraqi
...in northern Iraq, two American soldiers were arrested in connection with the death of an Iraqi man in June. The military said the two have been charged with premeditated murder, and their battalion commander has been removed from his job.

US troops on Iraq murder charges The US military in Iraq has charged two of its soldiers with the murder of three Iraqis between April and June in the Iskandariya area, south of Baghdad.

3 U.S. Soldiers Charged With Murder The U.S. Army has charged three soldiers in connection with the murders of three Iraqi men who were in military custody in Iraq in early May, the military said Monday.

A truly disheartening roundup. But read beyond the headlines and opening paragraphs, and buried in the text you'll invariably find another report on the behavior of US soldiers. In order, from the above stories:

But on June 23, three months after the incident, two soldiers of the 502nd came forward to say that soldiers of the unit were responsible, a U.S. military official said last week. The U.S. military began an investigation the next day, the official said.

Military officials said that investigators began probing the death, which took place June 23 near Kirkuk, 160 miles north of Baghdad, after they were alerted to suspicious circumstances by other soldiers from the unit.

Charges were brought after fellow soldiers alerted the authorities.

The investigation was requested by Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, commander of multinational forces in Iraq.

Chiarelli's request and the decision to open the probe were announced Thursday in an e-mail from Baghdad. Chiarelli acted on the basis of suspicions raised by soldiers about the deaths.

This quote invariably included in military press releases on these topics is worth bearing in mind, too:

The soldiers are presumed innocent unless until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any alleged offense

But contrast the reports above with those included in anti-war veterans groups' claims of American atrocities:

But they nevertheless described such acts as common and said they often go unreported--and almost always go unpunished.

Invariably these veterans claim they didn't report the various atrocities they now claim to have participated in or witnessed while they were on active duty because the military wouldn't do anything about them.

Oh, by the way, here's how the Abu Ghraib story first came to the attention of anyone who was paying attention:

The U.S. military's criminal investigation into potential abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers at Abu Gharib prison in Iraq now includes reports from soldiers that military police took photographs showing soldiers hitting detainees, CNN has learned.

Earlier, several Pentagon officials who declined to be identified by name confirmed to CNN that investigators were looking into the reports -- all coming from fellow soldiers -- of photographs showing male and female detainees with some of their clothing removed.

Of course, no one was paying attention. Four months later Mary Mapes claimed the story as her own.

(Still more to follow...)

More BattleBuddies

Some time ago I advised folks not to focus on whether Jamil Hussein was actually an Iraqi police officer and instead concentrate on the accuracy of his claims. I'll now suggest avoiding the argument as to whether "Scott Thomas" is or isn't a soldier. The exhumation of a graveyard has already been corroborated, that alone leads me to believe Thomas is indeed a soldier here.

There was a children's cemetery unearthed while constructing a Combat Outpost (COP) in the farm land south of Baghdad International Airport. It was not a mass grave. It was not the result of some inhumane genocide. It was an unmarked commentary where the locals had buried children some years back. There are many such unmarked cemeteries in and around Baghdad. The remains unearthed that day were transported to another location and reburied. While I was not there personally, and can not confirm or deny and actions taken by Soldiers that day, I can tell you that no Soldier put a human skull under his helmet and wore it around.

This neither proves or disproves any claim that a soldier pranced around wearing a "skull cap". I do know what would have happened to any such soldier were he to be seen by an NCO, an officer, a fellow soldier, or any one else around who wasn't also a complete asshole.

But allow me to shock you: There probably have been dogs struck and killed by vehicles in Iraq. There probably have been people insulted in DFACs. And there are assholes in the US Army. The New Republic wants people to believe those assholes are typical soldiers. I suggest my bottom line comments from my first take on the story might be useful.

I for one would like to know whether "Scott Thomas" and his buddies are the sick little pieces of shit described in The New Republic or simply figments of some other sick little piece of shit's imagination.

I don't know the answer yet. Of course, if this guy is a soldier he's a pathetic excuse for the real thing, and he's going to face some repercussions for his actions. He either did what he says he did, and is an asshole, or he didn't and is fabricating stories, and is an asshole. Back to my first story:

Pretend for a minute his stories are true. He's not just reporting the actions of others, the Left's latest "war hero" is an active participant in the actions he describes. One wouldn't expect such a scumbag to take appropriate action within his chain of command to correct the numerous examples of "bad behavior" he reports, but I do concur with California Army National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Kurt A. Schlichter:

If this guy saw improper conduct, he needs to report it up his chain of command. No senior guy is going to look the other way and let his career go down the toilet protecting wounded-abusing, dog-killing kid corpse desecrators.
If you believe leadership in his unit is perfectly willing to allow soldiers to run amok in this fashion then you are ignorant of the US military today. Case in point: a unit here in Iraq was using the radio call sign "Aggressive". They had to change it to something else. Reason: "Aggressive" presents the "wrong image". This isn't an Orwellian effort - it is much more exemplary of the mindset of military leadership today than the sort Thomas describes (or infers from his description of those they lead).

If he's actually in the military and he's lying, then words aren't sufficient to describe the sort of low life scumbag he is.

If he (or she) is not in the military and is simply demonizing U.S. Soldiers for fun and profit, then he (or she) is simply doing what so many reporters find irresistible these days - providing gullible Leftists with what they are eager to believe.

If "Scott Thomas" actually is a soldier, you'll see an amazing example of Orwellian double-think. Any attempt by the Army to punish this douche bag for the behavior he confesses to (or for fabricating incidents, if his claims prove false) will be described by leftists in and out of the media as persecution for "speaking out". No one will commend the Army for cleaning it's own house. This is because Thomas' actions are seen by these same people as typical behavior of U.S. Soldiers - all of whom are as described in Thomas' dispatches. Thus the Army will be "hypocritical" for punishing (make that "scapegoating") one who will suddenly be described as a "whistleblower'.

Meanwhile, a second storyline will also develop. This one will be about the humbling of bloggers who will be described as naive, or part of a cover-up. Whichever might be the case, the bottom line will be that bloggers have zero credibility. Here's how that happened in the Jamil Hussein story.

So lets make one thing clear. For the record - and for what it's worth - I hereby call on The New Republic to stop covering for this little dirt bag and turn him in to proper authorities. The New Republic's new "war hero" is not exposing bad behavior of others that's condoned by his seniors - he's confessing to that behavior himself. Since the New Republic won't release his identity, we can only conclude that either they support this sort of behavior by US troops or know that he isn't one. Neither option speak