VP Biden celebrates July 4 with US troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, a day after warning Iraqi leaders that U.S. assistance will be jeopardized if the country reverts to ethnic and sectarian violence.

Biden began Independence Day by greeting more than 200 U.S. soldiers who were becoming American citizens at a naturalization ceremony in a marble domed hall at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces at Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad.

He then had lunch with the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade from Delaware to which his son, Beau, belongs. Beau Biden stood in the back as his father greeted the troops. The vice president, who's known for his often colorful language, told the brigade about the naturalization ceremony.

"We did it in Saddam's palace," he said. "That S.O.B. is rolling over in his grave right now."

"It may sound corny," Biden told the assembled troops, "but damn I'm proud to be an American. Thanks for choosing us."

Hey, no need to apologize, Joe. You're among friends.

Video highlights of the event:

Update: Another slightly different version of the AP story begins with this paragraph:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden spent the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, while the Iraqi government spokesman publicly rejected the American's offer to help with national reconciliation, saying it's an internal affair.

Previously: It didn't generate much media coverage, but last July 4th saw the largest re-enlistment ceremony in history (1200 troops) held in Baghdad.

Ride along with the first Special Forces team to enter Afghanistan in November, 2001. The words are Stanton's, the voice and formatting are mine - the pictures and video were found all over the web and in most cases serve only as a reasonable facsimile, and not images of the actual individuals involved. Hopefully altogether they convey some of the sense of what it's like to fly a few hundred feet above the ground in a combat zone.

Jut push play...

And if you haven't bought the book yet, you can do so here.

Stealing Scott Ott's line from Facebook message: "Sarah Palin Steps Down as Governor to Spend More Time with Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric"

Update: Now that line's a ScrappleFace story.
]]> tag:www.mudvillegazette.com,2009://3.32328 2009-07-03T17:38:37Z 2009-07-03T17:41:07Z

George Stephanopoulos updates from "just outside" of Baghdad*:

Biden spent a couple of hours this morning getting briefed by the Commanding General here in Iraq, Ray Odierno, and the new Ambassador, Chris Hill.

After the meeting he told me the reports were more optimistic than he expected.

*In keeping with the SOFA, Victory Base Complex will no longer be reported as "Baghdad".

Previous entry here.

On Monday, July 20, join NBC News for a groundbreaking television event when it sets forth on an international hunt for an accused terrorist with "The Wanted" at 10 PM ET.

"The Wanted" brings together an elite team with backgrounds in intelligence, unconventional warfare and investigative journalism. The show focuses on real operators, in search of real targets -- all in an effort to see individuals brought to justice.

"We hope this program sheds light on an overlooked story," said David Corvo, executive producer at NBC News. "It is surprising how many people with serious accusations against them are living openly and avoiding any sort of judicial process."
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"'The Wanted' is about seeking justice for the many victims of terrorism and atrocity around the world," said Crane. "It will start a national conversation, an important dialog about war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and international terrorism, as well as the indifference and political cynicism that hampers international criminal law and the quest for justice. 'The Wanted' drives home the point that the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of the gun."

Need some help spreading the word on this. Below is a bit of info on the Gun Blogger Rendezvous IV, which is kinda like the milblogcon, but with gun bloggers. I went to GBR II, and spoke for a few minutes about valour-it, and the various bloggers all held a raffle and raised close to $2100 for valour-it. Last year they decided to make valour-it their dedicated charity, and raised over $2k again, both times from their own pockets. (When I was there, they numbered less that 25 bloggers.) This year GBR IV, and they are trying to do an internet raffle.

On a more personal note, I met Joe and Barb Huffman while I was there. Their nephew was at WRAMC while I was there, and it was the second time I'd met them, Their nephew, unfortunately, did not make it. Joe writes the View from North Central Idaho, and is a must read for 2A information and constitutional rights in general.

Here's where to go next.

George Stephanopoulos:

Hello from Camp Victory just outside of Baghdad. I landed about an hour ago on Vice President Biden's C-17 for what will be the most extensive visit to Iraq by a president or vice president since the war began in 2003.

Before we landed Biden called a few of us traveling with him into his aluminum sided airstream trailer strapped to the floor of the C-17.

"This is the moment," he told us, "we have to make sure the Iraqis don't take their eyes off the ultimate prize."

He then explained the latest job President Obama has given him. A few weeks ago he was talking to the president about the challenges Iraq would face after US troops began to withdraw from Iraqi cities on June 30th and what the US needed to do about it. The president got right the point, Biden said, "Quote: Joe, go do it."

Do what exactly?

"Help the Iraqis resolve what they have to resolve."

"He was greeted upon landing by Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general of Multi-National Forces in Iraq" - Chris Hill (U.S. Ambassador to Iraq) does not appear in this story.

Previous entry here.

I'm adding quotes from news reports as they become available below. As you read, bear in mind that first reports are always wrong. Rumors and scuttlebutt are frequently passed on as news - they may or may not turn out to be completely (rare) or partly (often) true. I'll add only that a soldier can't just accidentally wander off a military installation in Afghanistan or Iraq. In fact, one shouldn't be able to exit without authorization for a specific mission. Determination or duress could overcome that obstacle. But any speculation as to how one apparently did get "outside the wire" in this case is just that - purely speculation at this point. I can confirm only that a soldier is missing, his family has been notified, and a massive manhunt is underway. Please keep that soldier and his family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.

Brief (as of now) AP report here:

KABUL -- Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.

"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

Here's the U.S. Forces Afghanistan statement (via their Facebook page):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 2, 2009

Release Number 20090207-01

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Soldier, who has been missing since June 30th from his assigned unit, is now believed to have been captured by militant forces. We are exhausting all available resources to ascertain his whereabouts and provide for his safe return.

We are not providing any further details at this time in order to protect the welfare of the Soldier.

I was in Iraq for a similar event - the rescue effort was unprecedented in intensity and number of people involved. I expect the same is happening in Afghanistan now.

CNN reports that the soldier's family has been informed. (They also pass along a rather dubious Taliban claim. (Made by a target of a recent high-profile drone strike.)

CBS report:

(CBS) A Taliban commander told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai Thursday that militants had captured one U.S. soldier and three Afghan nationals in Paktika province, near the Pakistani border.
<...>
The Taliban commander, who spoke to Yousafzai via satellite telephone from the region, said a group of militants cornered the American soldier and his Afghan counterparts near a U.S. military base and took them hostage.

He said the captives' fate would be decided by Taliban leaders, but that the Islamic extremist group "would not mind an exchange of prisoners in this case."

The BBC and other British news sources are reporting "The US has just begun a major operation against the Taliban in the southern Helmand province, but the captured soldier was not involved in this."

MSNBC says "enlisted soldier".

Washington Post:

Military officials in Afghanistan, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation, said the missing soldier appears to have walked off his base into an unsecured area.

A U.S. official in Afghanistan said the soldier's absence was discovered when he did not show up for morning formation. It is highly unusual for a U.S. soldier to leave a military base unaccompanied by other American troops.
<...>
"Our leaders have not decided on the fate of this soldier." the AFP quoted the Haqqani commander, identified only as Bahram, as saying. "They will decide on his fate and soon we will present video tapes of the coalition soldier and our demand to media."

While the AFP report quoted the Haqqani commander as saying that the soldier was captured with three Afghan "guards," the U.S. official said the Afghanis who reportedly were seized do not appear to have been soldiers.

From Afghanistan, Vampire 6: "we are conducting operations in an attempt to locate the missing soldier."

Stars and Stripes:

U.S. forces from the region have been diverted to the area where the soldier went missing. The region borders the South Waziristan tribal areas , where the Pakistani military has launched an offensive to capture top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Maj. Jose Aymat, the executive officer at Camp Clark, said reports from Paktika indicate that the soldier was captured by two individuals in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. He said battalions deployed across eastern Afghanistan have each committed one or two platoons to join the search effort and they have cordoned off the area where they think the soldier is being held.

"All the roads (in and out of the area) are pretty much under the control of U.S. forces and the ANA (Afghan National Army)," Aymat said. "All activities in the region other than force protection have ceased because the effort now is to find our soldier."

Information heard over radio communciations indicate that the Taliban is considering whether to negotiate a deal or ransom in exchange for the soldier's release, Aymat said.

At Clark, there was a sense of frustration at the situation created by the soldier's capture. Troops wondered not only why a soldier would take such a risk, if his disappearance happened as reported, but also whether he'd indicated to his fellow soldiers his plans. Many questioned why the soldier's leadership was not aware that he was in distress.

Other soldiers said they were concerned that the concerted effort to find the soldier was putting so many forces at risk, while leaving other areas with less forces to carry out their own missions. Several missions were canceled because so much air power was diverted to Paktika.

More from Bill Roggio: "Late last year, the Haqqani Network kidnapped a reporter for the New York Times and brought him to North Waziristan in Pakistan. The reporter escaped from the compound last month."

This is the conclusion of a three-part selection from Doug Stanton's Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan.

(Part one is here, part two here.)

Once again, the words are Stanton's, the voice and formatting are mine - the pictures and video were found all over the web (and in most cases serve only as a reasonable facsimile, and not images of the actual individuals involved). I hope you enjoy the end result as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Jut push play...

And if you haven't bought the book yet, you can do so here.

"So, Grim, you're just back from Iraq... what does it mean that we're 'out of the cities?'"

It means that the ISF -- especially the Iraqi Army, and the National Police -- are the first line of defense for urban Iraqis.

"Will it work?"

No.

Read on...

*We hung out in Baghdad together, and he's been a guest in my house. Welcome home, Grim.

From the archives: I wrote the following from Iraq the day after the January, 2005 elections there.

Greetings from a land of bent and broken things

Some of you may have noticed I didn't post my own thoughts on yesterday's elections. My reason is simple: it wasn't my day. I watched through tearing eyes. Yes, this old trooper shed a few tears of joy at what had happened. Like the amazing fall of the Berlin wall, the peaceful "revolutions" that freed Eastern Europe, this was another great victory in my lifetime, and one I felt a little bit involved in. This wasn't George Bush's victory, this wasn't America's victory, this certainly wasn't my victory, this was a victory for the people of Iraq and those who love freedom everywhere. I was an observer, a very close observer, but an observer nonetheless.

I liked what I saw.

Now note the header above. The work has just begun. I see bent and broken, scarred and ruined things here every day. Many were damaged years ago. 1991? 2003? In between? After? It's often hard to tell. Many will be fixed in time, others are beyond repair. Now substitute the word "people" for "things" in the preceding and read it again. Meet a group of Iraqi people and one will tell you how grateful he is that we have given him freedom. He will tell you he lived in fear for his life every day under Saddam. His joy is real, and fundamental, and obvious. Then the next will tell you he lost his entire family in the invasion. He's glad Saddam's gone, but he's paid a price that few would be willing to pay were they given the option.

What would you say to him? "Sorry about that. But cheer up, old boy! Other than that you must admit this freedom thing is pretty great, eh?" No - there's nothing that can be said. He may or may not hate the United States, he may blame Saddam for what happened, but here is a man with the rest of his life before him, and he'll live each day without his family.

The greater good, of course, is served. Many Americans died in this endeavor too; such things temper the celebration. I think Iraqi blogger Alaa offers the right perspective:

My condolences to the Great American people for the tragic recent losses of soldiers. The blood of Iraqis and Americans is being shed on the soil of Mesopotamia; a baptism with blood. A baptism of a lasting friendship and alliance, for many years to come, through thick and thin, we shall never forget the brave soldiers fallen while defending our freedom and future.

I'd add our Coalition allies to that sentiment too.

So amidst the triumph, I saw yesterday as a Memorial Day, of a sort, for those many who fell to make it possible. Some might try and use those deaths for their own ends, or to justify their belief that we should never have walked this path. Such people don't believe in heroes. They can't even comprehend this simple fact; no one is more opposed to war than the soldier. He knows the cost and has seen the carnage. But as I wrote at the top of the sidebar long ago: The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior, who prefers to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day he stands fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.

Today we re-build broken things. Grab a hammer or get out of the way.

LTC Karcher was riding in an MRAP just before noon on Sunday, June 28th. The MRAP is considered the Army's heaviest and safest personnel carrier. But the multiple and powerful EFPs (explosively formed penetrator), those Iranian made shaped charge that penetrate metal, struck the door near where Karcher was seated. His legs were gone. Normally a medevac helicopter would be called, but the soldiers were socked in by a dust storm, and nothing was flying.

I keep looking at the pictures I took of Lt. Colonel Tim Karcher a few months ago in Sadr City, Iraq. Even though we are walking through alleyways of raw sewage and rotting vegetables, Karcher has a soft smile on his face in every shot. In the interview we did he is optimistic, but realistic about Iraq's future. No spin.

Now this big bear of a man is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, both his legs blown off above the knees. It breaks my heart, and judging from the tons of emails I have received from soldiers, reporters and others who knew him, many feel the same. LTC Karcher was on his 3rd deployment to Iraq. He felt a profound responsibility to his soldiers, and two years ago despite a gunshot wound to his shoulder that ripped out much of his deltoid muscle, he fought hard to get back to the point where he could return to his soldiers. He said he felt guilty if they were in the fight and he was not. He also profoundly loves his family -- his wife and daughters aged 14, 12 and 9.

She also spoke with Mrs Karcher, as recounted here.

July 3rd update: "Today, for the first time since he was transported from Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Lt. Colonel Tim Karcher woke up." He'll soon transfer to Walter Reed.

While serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Reserve, Leon Batie Jr. dodged roadside bombs and scrambled to safety when rockets pierced the night sky.

When he returned to Dallas in early 2006, another battle loomed. Batie learned he was being stripped of the two Subway restaurants he bought before mobilizing.

The stores were sold to Subway insiders, with one transaction yielding a Subway executive a $100,000 profit, according to a lawsuit. One issue in the case is set for trial this week.

The suit, which alleges violations of the U.S. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, seeks more than $6 million from the Subway affiliate that controls leases.

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Larry Fowler, an attorney for Subway Real Estate Corp., the main defendant, said, "Corporate policy is not to comment on pending litigation." The company has filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

An employee with the Subway area developer in Dallas and a spokesman at the chain's headquarters in Milford declined to comment.