Dawn Patrol, A bit Differently From Now On
I've decided that the Dawn Patrol should be of our MilBlogs and not of the MSM. I'd rather promote Free Speech from those who help make it possible than those who take it for granted. I know alot of you liked the Dawn Patrol before, but let's give this a whirl.
It has proved to be a daunting task since we now have 211 members in the MilBlog Ring and 40 perspective ones in the Queue waiting to get their code up, so bear with me. If you know a milblogger with a story who's not in the ring, send me the title, top paragragh and a link and I'll happily post it (keep in mind lewd offensive ones will not be) If your in the Ring and I've missed you, send me the same.
This is the first run, there is no special order. I'll be tweaking as I go.
- Ansar al-Sunna
Rot in hell, you bastards. [From My Position... On the way!]
No, not our boys. These boys. This morning, a very, very early morning, the Fighting Aces were kicking in doors with the IA and raiding houses. Our target was a cell of Ansar al-Sunna operating in my Nahiya. I was pretty nervous about this one, given the targets and their location. The town that they were in is a maze of family blocks, narrows streets and alleys, and only has one way in or out. Potentially, it could have become a hornet?s nest, with us surrounded and bad guys running amok. Luckily, the town is supportive of the ISF and Coalition Forces. The town?s Sheikh is a really good guy, and his son led the raid on one of the objectives.
- Remembering A Friend This Memorial Day [Parrot Check]
On this Memorial Day, I am not only remembering and honoring all of the brave soldiers and patriots who have sacrficied for this country, but I am thinking about a specific one. A man I knew in college. A man who was no better a friend. A man of strong faith. A man who personally touched my life. A man that everyone liked. Capt. Ernie Blanco. I could write alot about him, but I am going to let the men who served with him directly in Iraq talk.
- Memorial Day, 2005 - It?s Not All About the Numbers [Chaotic Synaptic Activity]
We take a moment to consider those who have sacrificed their lives, so we may have our freedoms. It is difficult, however, to grasp being without such things as the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, and so many other things we enjoy every moment of our lives in the United States.
- The Straight Word...Straight from an Iraqi Citizen [Ma Deuce Gunner]
In response to some of the comments of my previous interviews, I bring you another installment of interpreter interviews. This interview was conducted with "Bob," another of our terps. "Bob" is actually "Steve's" (from the previous series) brother. These questions are from readers and fellow bloggers Dymphna and Leigh Blackall.
- CIA Air Operation Details Exposed by New York Times [The Word Unheard]
A logical person must stretch reason to its limits to understand why The New York Times decided to publish with frightening specificity about the CIA's contracted air services used to shuttle captured terror suspects in the War on Terror.
- Chasing security with dollars [Law and Terrorism]
"Overflowing with Department of Homeland Security anti-terrorism money, and with broad authority to spend, the state has had trouble managing the cash.
- High New York Times: Prisoner Transports Revealed [Winds of Change]
If you are al Qaeda, and you are interested in interdicting or attacking CIA air services that transport captured high value targets, how would you go about finding out how the CIA is moving these prisoners around? Would you:
- Bodies [Hurls Blog]
A few nights ago things got real ugly again just after dark. A convoy of contractors and Iraqi security personnel was ambushed just to the South of a town not far from us called Hit. One fellow got away and another was captured. The rest ? about 15 or so ? were slaughtered by the side of the road. We showed up right after the ambush and found burning vehicles and bodies strewn around the area ? a very gruesome sight.
- A walk through the valley of the shadow of death [Kokasexton]
Thoughts of daily roadside bombs or IEDs as the military called them were killing soldiers more often than enemy gunfire. Memories of the explosion that rocked the truck like an imaginary monster had swatted the humvee like it was a small insect flooded into sight. The initial drive north was hit by two, luckily with no causalities. The explosions flew through sections of the truck like a hot knife through butter but other than a few more air vents nothing was damaged. Taking a deep breath he looked up in the sky and thanked God for sparing him one more time.
- Nice of you to notice [Major K]
When I first got here almost 4 months ago, Haifa Street was the worst area in all of Baghdad. Casualties had piled up there and the unit that we replaced had earned over 50 Purple Hearts there. It was considered a "no go" area because if you went in, you went in with no less than a Company of Soldiers. (100-120) Between daily bombing and body count reports, that are considered the only things newsworthy here, someone in the media actually noticed that Haifa Street is no longer arhabi turf.
- We are in the news again. [Edward's Blog]
Well, I was waiting for this to come out in the news before I wrote about it. We were in the news once before over here for slingloading a blackhawk. Video on CNN and everything. Anyways, the helicopter that went down last night (May 21,05) was my 'Chalk 2' during my PC ride. Chalk 2 means that it was the second helicopter in the flight. In this case, we only had 2.
- I'm Not Gonna Make It, Go On Without Me [Irr Soldier]
I got my first combat wound and had minor surgery yesterday. Before you get too concerned read this entire blog and then decide if you should be concerned or not. There are two versions to this story. The first is ?The War version? that I?ll probably tell for the rest of my life, and the second is a much less interesting version I like to call ?The actual truth?. Here goes.
- Outsourcing [Steven Kiel]
There have been a lot or arguments lately about whether the military is big enough or not, and whether the fighting force here in Iraq should be increased or decreased. I think many of the articles are missing the point though, especially the ones calling for a larger military (leave aside the point that, with decreasing enlistment numbers, dramatically increasing the size of the military would be cost prohibitive).
- A Soldier's Story [Alumni.ucsd.edu/magazine]
When you watch Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld orchestrate a press conference on CNN, you get one impression of the American presence in Iraq, and when you watch the hair-raising documentary Gunner Palace, you get another. The devastating press reports of prison abuse by American soldiers or insurgent car bombings can leave you with a sick feeling, and the uplifting accounts of the January elections have a completely different effect.
- Can Anybody Tell Me This? [An Atheist Soldier]
I know the count of US casualties in Iraq, but can anyone tell me how many have died of wounds received there once they were no longer in country? What I am asking, really, is how many US servicemembers have died as a direct result of wounds sustained in Iraq?
- Guard vs Active [Confessions of a Caffinated Zoomie]
Well, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away........ hey wait a sec. Lets break it down. First off folks the differences between Guard and Active Duty are so gargatuan that I am surprised our military works at all. I mean, the Guard has no sense of rank structure.
- What George Lucas Did Wrong: The (Semi-)Definitive Post [Brain Fertilizer]
He did a great job (apparently with help) on these issues in Episodes IV-VI. Sort of. Star Wars: A New Hope was nearly perfect in and of itself, in that the story started with "The Princess is in Peril", and ended when the threat to her was defeated. And the whole trilogy did a fairly good job, in that the problem established at the beginning of the trilogy was that the Emperor had dissolved the Senate and begun ruling directly and ruthlessly, and the trilogy ended when the Emperor was killed.
- NMPS Movie List Review [The Yankee Sailor]
The Phibian memed (is that a word?) me the other day, and made an aside that he thought those of you surfing the sphere should have an idea of what's on the Navy Motion Picture Service's movie list. There are over 600 movies currently on the list, so I won't innundate you with the whole thing, but here are some highlights (and lowlights).
- Operation Homelink? Homepage- [A Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho]
"Operation Homelink? provides free refurbished computers to either parents or spouses of deployed service men and women in the ranks of E-1 through E-5. Our program enables email communications between families and their loved ones deployed outside of the continental United States."
- Dusk till dawn [Blog Machine City]
At dusk last night I stood on the roof of our building, looking around, still trying to process this idea: this is Iraq. June 6 will mark our eighth month in theater, and for all that it's sometimes still hard for me to believe I'm here. Being at Justice hasn't helped, where I basically never leave the area of the building that we call home; most of our efforts are to make the environment as home-like as possible, so it's easy to forget it's Mesopotamia and not Minneapolis
- Memorial Day [Courage Without Fear]
...Last week these three soldiers were killed when an IED on the side of the road exploded as their humvee passed by. These soldiers lived in the same FOB as us, ate at the same chow hall as us, and wore the same uniform as us. Their jobs we like ours; make the country safer for the fledgling Iraqi government to be able to run things on their own. I didn't know these three soldiers.
- Memorial Day [Lt Smash]
THOMAS MULLEN ADAMS was my brother?s Navy buddy ? they were stationed together in Japan, until Tom got a prized assignment as an exchange officer with the Royal Navy. A descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Tom loved soccer, beer, cars, and flying.
- Wendell Fertig, American Hero [Stacking Swivel]
Beginning in late 1941, Japanese Imperial forces began their invasion of the Philippine Islands. For American forces, cut off from supplies and reinforcements by overwhelming Japanese forces employed throughout the South Pacific, it was only a matter of time before the Japanese would achieve a victory.
- Death [Hollywood Marine]
I got a phone call today and I must admit it really shook me up; one of my best friends who I worked with virtually every single day was killed not in Iraq or Afghanistan but rather right here in San Diego two days before he was scheduled to be honorably discharged.
- Ole Sarge Career Day Tour [Hunter Herald]
The kids got a kick out of Ole Sarge however there was a Drill Sergeant there who tried to steal my thunder. I ceded to him for the sheer fact he out ranked me. But Ole Sarge passed out a pocket US Constitutions to the kids, and told them ?This is why we fight.
- The "Combat Action" Badge [Airborne Hog Society]
The Army is on the verge of issuing yet another award for serving in harm's way. It is not so much due to a new demand for recognizing excellence as it is due to the watering-down of the other awards. The Army is still debating the official criteria for the badge. Does it really matter?
- Laura Bush Versus Hillary Clinton in 2008 [Outside the Beltway]
Vice President Cheney's dry sense of humor was on display in a Larry King Live appearance, in which he suggested Laura Bush would beat Hillary Clinton in a presidential match.
- Bought The Farm [Eric's Grumbles before the Grave]
A last post to close out Memorial Day, 2005. This is a bit of trivia, for those who may be interested, on the origin of US Army slang for being killed in action, "bought the farm". The term originated, in the modern era, with the US Army after the Civil War. Long service sergeants were given, depending on when their service was, either the chance to purchase land at very low prices, or actually received land gratis, when they retired from service.
- Memorial Day Address [Daisy Cutter]
The following are my Memorial Day remarks delivered on Sunday, May 29, 2005:
...In the Spring and Summer of 1990, I was a one of a class of a couple of hundred Marine lieutenants trying to find my way through The Basic School -- a six-month-long indoctrination of Marine lieutenants learning the "basics" of leading an infantry platoon before being sent to our respective duty stations and jobs in the fleet.
- ON THE LIGHTER SIDE [Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum]
Today was Memorial Day, uneventful and without serious incident. It was only about 112 as the sun set so, once it did set we all scurried from our buildings and grabbed miscellaneous items from the exchange. I received an email from Jordan from Poland. He is a photographer, and his work is simply incredible. Take a look and let him know what you think.
- The Non-Issue of Armor, Garry Trudeau [A Day in Iraq]
Some of you may have seen Garry Trudeau?s comic strip a couple of weeks ago. Its focus was on our supposed lack of armored vehicles. I?m a little late in commenting on this, but unlike Mr. Trudeau, I?m actually over here in Iraq working. That?s what always amazes me about people like Trudeau. They?re so vigorous in their attempt to criticize everything about this war, yet they have no idea what they?re talking about because they?re not actually here.
- Reflections... [Reverse Retna from the Sandlot ]
While I've only just crossed the 4 month mark here in Iraq I am going on my mid-tour leave. So this seems to be as good a time as any to sum up some general thoughts from the last several months.
Posted by Mrs Greyhawk at
12:47 PM
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Dawn Patrol
- What Is the Real Meaning of Memorial Day?
As the family of a Fallen Hero, we are so proud of our loved ones who knowingly put themselves in harm's way so that they could make a difference in the lives of others.
I would like to share an excerpt from a sermon by John Hagee
"I gave you a birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it. I fought in the snow barefoot to give you the freedom to vote and you stay at home because it rains. I left my family destitute to give you the freedom of speech, and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you and it has stolen democracy from the people.
- America, a Symbol of . . .
This Memorial Day is not a good one for the country that was once the world's most brilliant beacon of freedom and justice.
- SEARCH FOR NEW NATIONAL ANTHEM
The search is on in Iraq for a new national anthem. Iraq's culture ministry has set aside prize money worth 2,000 dollars for the winning entry of a competition to find a new tune and lyrics, according to the ministry's director general, Jamal Hasan al-Atabi. "Every poet who enters the contest must compose ten verses that contain a description of Iraq's history, the country's historical influence, its struggle for independence and its journey towards democracy,"
- Remember the Wounded
Unfortunately, no Memorial Day ceremony or war memorial that I have seen has explicitly honored the wounded. In fact, under House Concurrent Resolution 587 of Feb. 10, 1966, Memorial Day is simply for paying "tribute to those who gave their lives."
- Iraqis target 'terrorist dens'
Iraqi forces swept through Baghdad yesterday, erecting checkpoints and searching vehicles as they began the largest offensive of its kind since Saddam Hussein's ouster.
- Suicide bombers target crowds of Iraqis, kill 21
Two suicide bombers strapped with explosives blew themselves up among crowds of Iraqis in the mainly Shi'ite town of Hilla south of Baghdad Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 34, police said.
- U.S. Detains Iraqi Islamic Party Leader
U.S. troops detained the head of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party during a house raid early Monday in western Baghdad, a top party official and police said. Mohsen Abdul Hamid, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was detained by American soldiers along with his three sons and four guards, said party-secretary-general Ayad al-Samarei. U.S. military officials could not immediately confirm the detentions.
- Facing Chaos, Iraqi Doctors Are Quitting
The letter came to this city's main cardiac hospital late last month. It was unsigned and handwritten, but its message was clear: It threatened the hospital's top doctors and warned them to leave their jobs immediately.
- Cleric Slain After Speech Against Taliban Leader
Gunmen killed a prominent anti-Taliban cleric in southern Afghanistan. Mawlavi Abdullah Fayaz was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle as he was leaving his office in the heart of Kandahar, witnesses said
- Afghan television airs video of kidnapped Italian
Looking tense and wrapped in a brown blanket, kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni appeared in a videotape broadcast on Afghan television on Sunday, flanked by gunmen pointing assault rifles at her.
- Too Few, Yet Too Many
One of the more bizarre aspects of the Iraq war has been President Bush's repeated insistence that his generals tell him they have enough troops. Even more bizarrely, it may be true - I mean, that his generals tell him that they have enough troops, not that they actually have enough. An article in yesterday's Baltimore Sun explains why.
- 10 reasons not to kill Bush
...If the assassin were looking for a way to hurt America, blowing up the president would be a good idea. Bush's martyrdom would put the last nail in the coffin of the liberal agenda. So, for those Bush-haters out there, here are 10 reasons you should stop praying for an assassinated G.W.B.:
- In Rising Numbers, Lawyers Head for Guantᮡmo Bay
In the last few months, the small commercial air service to the naval base at Guantᮡmo Bay, Cuba, has been carrying people the military authorities had hoped would never be allowed there: American lawyers.
- Musharraf Denies Iran Nuke Remark
Pakistan yesterday denied President Pervez Musharraf had said Iran wanted nuclear weapons. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement came after Tehran demanded Musharraf clarify his remarks to the German magazine Der Spiegel which quoted the president as saying in an interview that Iran was ?very anxious to have the bomb?.
- U.S. charges two with conspiring to aid al Qaeda
During the course of the investigation, Shah and Sabir allegedly pledged their support and loyalty to al Qaeda and its leader, Osama Bin Laden, in conversations that were recorded with their consent, the statement said.
- Lebanon Runs Elections 'by Itself' for the First Time
The son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in February, Saadettin Hariri declared his victory at the end of the first round of the first general elections
- Hariri slate wins Beirut poll, turnout low
Candidates led by the son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri have won all the seats in Beirut polls, but turnout was low in Lebanon's first parliamentary election in three decades with no Syrian troops in the country.
- French say firm 'No' to EU treaty
The French leader had campaigned hard for a "Yes" vote.
...French voters have overwhelmingly rejected the European Union's proposed constitution in a key referendum.
- EU faces crisis after France rejects EU charter
"The French people have given a huge smack in the face to an entire system that has the nerve to tell us what to think," said nationalist French politician Philippe de Villiers, a leading opponent of the charter. "The constitution is no more."
- In Britain, a Man Fights for a Feeding Tube
Leslie Burke does not want to spend the rest of his life imagining a slow death by starvation. He can picture it: lying still, unable to communicate but conscious every second as his doctors let him die.
- Wheldon Overcomes Patrick, Wins Indy 500
With BC-CAR--IRL-Indy 500-Danica's Day, Bjt; BC-CAR--IRL-Indy 500 Notebook; BC-CAR--IRL-Indy 500-Andretti Luck. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Andretti jinx is over at the Indianapolis 500. Danica's era is just beginning. Dan Wheldon won it - his fourth victory in five tries this year - ending 35...
- Patrick lives up to the hype
Rookie Danica Patrick, who garnered much of the pre-race media attention, became the first woman to lead an Indianapolis 500 lap and she finished fourth.
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It certainly was the best by a woman in the testosterone-driven, death-defying sport
Posted by Mrs Greyhawk at
12:25 PM
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Dawn Patrol
- Slayings deepen rift in Iraq; bloodshed rooted in religion ...
The mutilated bodies of Shiite men have been turning up in Sunni areas. The mutilated bodies of Sunni men have been turning up in Shiite areas. Cries for revenge have gone up on both sides.
- Shiite, Sunni groups to cooperate
Two of Iraq's most influential Shiite and Sunni groups agreed Saturday to try to ease sectarian tensions pushing the country toward civil war as the government prepared to take its battle against the insurgency to Baghdad's streets.
- 50 Iraqis, 2 GIs Killed in Attacks
Two of Iraq's most influential Shiite and Sunni organizations agreed to try to ease sectarian tensions pushing the country toward civil war as the government prepared to take its battle against the insurgency to Baghdad's streets. The new effort to make peace came Saturday as attacks killed two U.S. troops and at least 50 Iraqis since Friday ? including 10 people returning from a religious pilgrimage in Syria whose bodies were left in the border city of Qaim. A Sunday suicide car bomb attack near the northern city of Kirkuk killed two and wounded nine.
- And now, for the rest of the story....
The media is an industry; but their business is not to report news. The industry needs a captive audience to beat the bottom line. The product is advertisement.
- Clarification
Recent messages and articles have promulgated a belief that I work for the Associated Press. I have no affiliation with the AP or any other organization. I am a freelance author, by choice
- Iraqis Try to Find Carefree Moments
Women in strapless dresses and men in tuxedos were twirling to Kurdish folk music at a wedding party, while their children clapped hands in excitement, when a blast rattled the hall's windows and the electricity flickered and died.
- Iraqi Softball
Members of the Baghdad softball team celebrate after wining a championship game against the Diwaniay team May 5, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi national baseball and softball federation was established after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Hussein considered baseball a product of U.S. imperialism. The Baghdad softball team has been invited to travel to the U.S. in July 2005.
- A Mothers' War
They were talking about military burial benefits as the waitress took the salad plates away, and one of them had come up with something perversely humorous even on this subject, so they had been laughing.
- Time for an Iraq Accounting
American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve the nation's thanks and respect this Memorial Day. But they deserve more. They deserve a clearer, more realistic explanation from President Bush of their strategic mission, and they deserve directives that show them precisely how to accomplish it.
- Ground Zero Is So Over
IN its not-so-brief and thoroughly unhappy life, ground zero has been a site for many things: tragedy and grief, political campaigns and protests, battling architects and warring cultural institutions, TV commercials and souvenir hustlers. Perhaps it was inevitable we'd end up at pure unadulterated farce.
- Iraq War Images Seep into Popular Culture
After seeing the reality of war in Iraq as a Marine, Jonathan Barton now finds himself in Hollywood as a military consultant. These days, business is booming.
"There are more military shows being made in the next five years than were made in the past 20," Barton said.
- U.S. military develops tiny sensors disguised as rocks
The U.S. military is developing miniature electronic sensors disguised as rocks
The disguised sensors can be dropped from an aircraft and used to help detect the sound of approaching enemy combatants, the London Financial Times has reported.
- U.S. Set to Test Missile Defenses Aboard Airlines
In an airplane hangar north of Fort Worth, technicians are preparing to mount a fire-hydrant-shaped device onto the belly of an American Airlines Boeing 767. It is an effort that could soon turn into a more than $10 billion project to install a high-tech missile defense system on the nation's commercial planes.
- Australian hostage moved to safer location-mufti
Australia's top Muslim cleric says he has been told by Iraqi tribal leaders that Australian hostage Douglas Wood has been moved to a safer location by his captors and he should return to Baghdad to try and secure Wood's freedom.
- Judge: Public Has Right to See Abuse Photos
A federal judge has told the government it will have to release additional pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, civil rights lawyers said.
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The judge's decision stems from a lawsuit the ACLU filed in October 2003 seeking information on treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic
- Demonstrators interrupt Rice's speech
Protesters dressed as Abu Ghraib prison abuse detainees interrupted US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's speech in San Francisco on Friday. | Shortly after Rice started speaking, three protesters
- Nine Inch Nails drops MTV show over Bush backdrop
"We were set to perform 'The Hand That Feeds' with an unmolested, straightforward image of George W. Bush as the backdrop. Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me," Nine Inch Nails' leader Trent Reznor said in a statement posted on the band's Web site.
- Japanese Trying to Contact WWII Soldiers
Japanese diplomats pressed ahead Saturday with efforts to contact two World War II soldiers reportedly living in the southern Philippines since they were separated from their division six decades ago.
- Major nuclear leak undetected 9 months
Tens of thousands of litres of highly radioactive liquid leaked unnoticed for up to nine months from a ruptured pipe in the controversial Thorp reprocessing plant at Sellafield in what the IoS can reveal was Britain's worst nuclear accident for 13 years.
- Lebanese vote in Beirut with Syrian troops gone
Voters trickled to the polls in Beirut on Sunday in an election starting a month after Syrian troops quit Lebanon, with the son of assassinated former premier Rafik al-Hariri seeking a clean sweep in the capital.
- Assad's Uncle Calls for Reform in Syria
His resemblance to his older brother, Syria's late President Hafez Assad is astounding. As a behind-the-scenes strongman and head of an elite military unit, he has been linked to a brutal repression of Islamic militants that reportedly left thousands dead.
- Oliver Stone Arrested on Drug Suspicion
Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and driving while intoxicated, police said Saturday. Stone, 58, was arrested Friday night at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard after showing signs of alcohol intoxication, police Sgt. John Edmundson said. A search of his Mercedes turned up drugs, Edmundson said. He did not specify what kind, but Lt. Micaela Garland said police confiscated pills that were being analyzed at a lab.
- Web journals quickly bring war front to homefront
In her Palm Bay home, Elizabeth Stickney has a front-row view of life on the battlefields of Iraq, where her husband has been fighting.
E-mail, satellite phones and now Web logs are bringing home up-to-the-minute personal accounts from troops on the front.
"If stuff happens, the next day I find out," she said. Her husband, Army Spc. A.J. Stickney, is an infantryman on his second tour in Iraq.
Posted by Mrs Greyhawk at
11:51 AM
Dawn Patrol
- Marines Return to Fight in Lawless Haditha
More than 1,000 Marines, sailors and soldiers are taking part in a counterinsurgency operation in Haditha, a Sunni-dominated trouble spot 140 miles north of Baghdad, the military said Friday.
- Operations Disrupt Enemy, Give Iraqi Forces Experience
Recent and ongoing operations such as Matador, Squeeze Play, Hudson and New Market in Iraq, are serving two important purposes. They "have focused on disrupting enemy activities," said Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, the Joint Staff's deputy director for regional operations. "And, they've also provided an opportunity for the Iraqi security forces to gain valuable experience.? He said that a massive security sweep to begin in Baghdad conveys the growing confidence and capability of Iraqi security forces.
- Iraqi Bombers Claim They Were Deceived
Wisam Younis' sole ambition in life, he said Friday, is to kill Americans. So he claimed surprise when he discovered his car bomb had killed eight Iraqis and wounded more than 80 outside a Baghdad restaurant.
- Dahuk Reconstruction Projects - (video)
The US Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District is facilitating reconstruction projects throughout Iraq. The projects help Iraqis by supplying them with jobs and rebuilding their infrastructure. Soundbites from John Binford, US Army Corps of Endineers and Muhammed Hassan, Site Engineer. Produced by Staff Sergeant Jeremy Glassford, American Forces Network Iraq.
- Gunmen Kill Sunni Tribal Leader in Kirkuk
Gunmen shot and killed a moderate Sunni Muslim tribal leader with close ties to Iraqi Kurds in the northern city of Kirkuk, police said Saturday. Sheik Sabhan Khalaf al-Jibouri, 52, died in a hail of machine-gun fire late Friday outside his home, Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin said.
- Iraq group says it killed Japanese hostage
Islamic militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna said it has killed a Japanese hostage and posted footage allegedly showing his bloodied body, according to an Internet video.
- AFGHANISTAN: FATWA ISSUED AGAINST THOSE WHO KILL FOREIGNERS
The president of Afghanistan's supreme court has issued a fatwa or religious edict saying that anyone who kills a foreigner will be sentenced to death. Fazli Hadi Shinwari, who also heads the Council of Islamic Leaders in Afghanistan, said that the recent kidnapping of Italian aid worker, Clementina Cantoni was also against Islamic teachings and that they had decided to issue the fatwa against all of these actions.
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- Muslims denounce 'US Koran abuse'
Thousands of people across the Muslim world have rallied against the alleged abuse of the Koran by US personnel at the Guantanamo Bay military camp. Protesters in Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia
- Rice rejects Amnesty report on detainees
''The United States is as open a society as you will find," Rice said, and the administration is being held accountable ''by a free press, by a Congress that is a separate and coequal branch of government, and by its own expectations of what is right."
- Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Hospitalized
King Fahd, whose efforts to strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia - the world's largest oil exporter - and the United States provoked the wrath of Islamic militants, was hospitalized Friday, apparently suffering from pneumonia.
- Uncertainty over Saudi king's health
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd remained in hospital on Saturday one day after he was admitted suffering from pneumonia and fever, raising concerns over his health in the oil giant that has been fighting al Qaeda.
- A Boost for Mr. Abbas
In little more than four months in office Mr. Abbas has accomplished several key reforms previously thwarted by Mr. Arafat. A Palestinian cease-fire he negotiated has mostly held, giving Israelis and Palestinians their most sustained respite from violence in five years. Palestinian security forces have been reorganized and scores of commanders forced into retirement. U.S. Lt. Gen. William E. Ward, who has been monitoring the Palestinian security efforts, delivered a mostly positive assessment to the White House, countering an Israeli campaign to portray Mr. Abbas as having failed to act.
- Abbas Sees Mixed Results in His Meeting With Bush
He lauds the U.S. push for peace but gets nowhere with his idea for informal talks
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday applauded the Bush adminis- tration's stepped-up efforts to negotiate peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but he acknowledged that President Bush did not support his proposal to initiate informal talks on major issues holding up an accord.
- Awards for analysts behind Iraq finding- report
Two U.S. Army analysts whose work was cited as part of a key intelligence failure on Iraq have received job performance awards for the past three years, The Washington Post reported on Saturday
- What Bush is saying when he's talking
White House reporter Judy Keen has covered Bush since 1997 and has watched him spar with journalists at scores of news events.
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The result: a guide to help viewers interpret Bush's words.
- 'Green Acres' star Eddie Albert dead at 99
Actor Eddie Albert, a two-time Oscar nominee best known for his TV role as a big-city attorney turned farmer on the popular CBS comedy series "Green Acres," has died at age 99, a spokesman said on Friday.
- Microsoft urges Windows users to dump Netscape 8
Microsoft Corp. is urging Windows users to uninstall the new Netscape 8 Web browser from their computers, saying it damages Microsoft's own Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft's announcement
Posted by Mrs Greyhawk at
11:02 AM
Dawn Patrol
- 40,000 Iraqis to Form Shield in Baghdad
US Marine Maj. Steven Lawson, of Columbus, Ohio, walks outside a house that Marines believe is owned and was once occupied by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Haditha, 220 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Thursday, May 26, 2005.
- US helicopter shot down
Baghdad - A United States helicopter was shot down northeast of Baghdad and two soldiers on board were killed, the military said on Friday
- Message Claims al-Zarqawi Fled Iraq
An Islamic Web site statement claimed Wednesday that Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's point man in Iraq, has fled to a "neighboring country" with two Arab doctors treating him for gunshot wounds to his lung.
- Who is really losing in Iraq? Insurgency or the new Government?
A lot is happening in Iraq. It seems Al-Zarquawi is wounded if not dead has left Iraq to a neighboring country. Most of his immediate associates are in custody or killed. Even Syria has decided to send back foreign fighters back to their country instead of allowing them to duel further insurgency. So what really happened? Insurgency in Iraq lost it?
- Putting stock in Iraq
Though barely over 30, Ahmad Walid al-Said has already become the biggest of the hotshots on the noisy floor of the Iraqi Stock Exchange.
- Inspector: Saddam created WMD 'ambiguity'
Saddam Hussein may have "created a certain ambiguity" about his weapons capabilities before the second Gulf War for two reasons: pride and the threat of Iran, the former top U.S. arms hunter said Tuesday.
- U.S. hunts invisible enemy in Afghanistan
GIs face unwieldy terrain, infrequent combat in drawn-out search for bin Laden.
Afghanistan, often elbowed aside by news from America's fight in Iraq, is nearly a war forgotten.
- Inquiry Finds Some Quran 'Mishandling'
Joint Task Force Guantanamo Commander Brig. Gen. Jay W. Hood, and Pentagon Spokesman Lawrence DiRita, right, brief the media, about the inquiry into allegations of possible mishandling of the Quran, Thursday, May 26, 2005 at the Pentagon in Washington
- Musharraf urges US action over sacrilege
President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri conveyed to US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca on Thursday the ‘deep dismay’ of the people of Pakistan over desecration of the Holy Quran in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. When Ms Rocca called on the president, he told her that people had been dismayed at the incident and called for full inquiry to bring to justice the perpetrators of the shameful act.
- Assault On the Media
So it turns out that the FBI has documents showing that detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, complained about the mistreatment of the Koran and that many said they were severely beaten.
- Probe finds 5 Quran mishandling cases
..."we found that a Quran was either touched or stood over during an interrogation. The first incident does not appear to be mishandling, as it involved placing two Qurans on a television," Hood said.
- U.S. 'Thumbs Its Nose' at Rights, Amnesty Says
In coordinated broadsides from London and Washington, Amnesty International accused the Bush administration on Wednesday of condoning "atrocious" human rights violations, thereby diminishing its moral authority and setting a global example encouraging abuse by other nations.
- Judge Says U.S. Must Release Prison Photos
A federal judge in New York told the Defense Department yesterday that it would have to release perhaps dozens of photographs taken by an American soldier of Iraqi detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
- Marine cleared in killing of 2 Iraqis
A Marine lieutenant accused of murdering two detained Iraqis and hanging a taunting sign over their corpses was cleared of all charges yesterday, a decision that the Marine ...
- U.S. Soldier Acquitted in Iraqi's Death
An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow soldier. A jury of four soldiers and two officers deliberated for less than three hours before finding Staff Sgt. Shane Werst not guilty of premeditated murder. He had faced a maximum of life in prison without parole
- Slain Soldier's Mom Rejected by Gold Star
Everyone agrees that Ligaya Lagman is a Gold Star mother, part of the long line of mournful women whose sons or daughters gave their lives for their country. Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan, but American Gold Star Mothers Inc., has rejected Lagman, a Filipino, for membership because - though a permanent resident and a taxpayer - she is not a U.S. citizen.
- Bush pledges $50 million in aid for Palestinians
President Bush pledged $50 million in aid for the Palestinians on Thursday and gave an unusually tough message to Israel to halt settlement expansion and other steps that could block a final peace deal.
- SYRIA: INTERVIEW - CRACKDOWN REVEALS REGIME'S WEAKNESS
The recent arrests of dozens of anti-government dissidents in Syria signals that the regime of Bashar al-Assad, stung by a US-led campaign to isolate it internationally, is hitting out against homegrown opponents, according to a veteran Syrian opposition leader. "By tightening the instruments of repression the government is revealing all its weakness," Riyad at-Turk, a prominent leader of Syria's Communist Party, told Adnkronos International...
- Russia holds on to nuclear materials
U.S. Department of Energy officials fear that Russia continues producing weapons-grade nuclear materials and is not disclosing all of its existing nuclear stocks, an official told U.S. lawmakers.
- Kerry finally signs on
Better late than never was our reaction to Joan Vennochi's Boston Globe column on Tuesday. More than 100 days after he promised to do so, Sen. John Kerry has signed the form authorizing the Defense Department to release his military records. Somewhere, John O'Neill and his fellow Swift Boat veterans are doubtless smiling.
- ABC, NBC News launch news podcasts
ABC News and NBC News each plunged into the world of podcasting on Wednesday with plans to offer TV newscasts as on-demand audio programs over the Web.
- A father's suicide, a girl's sentence
"He was concerned that one shot would not be sufficient to cause death, and he indicated that he did not want to end up like Terri Schiavo," court records stated.
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Dawn Patrol
- Bin Laden's 'emir' in Iraq is wounded
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, has been wounded in fighting, the group he leads said on Tuesday. A statement issued by al-Qaeda in Iraq said the Jordanian ...
- Al Qaeda issues call for vengeance
AL QAEDA in Iraq called yesterday for an increase in attacks against its enemies in revenge for an injury suffered by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.
- Iraqi Insurgency On A Deadly Comeback
Iraq's insurgents, described earlier this year by U.S. officials as a dwindling force, have resisted military efforts to halt their attacks and have an apparent new bombing strategy to inflict headline-grabbing casualties, according to diplomatic and academic experts.
- U.S. launches new Iraq offensive
1,000 troops encircle city of Haditha, target insurgents
About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled this Euphrates River city in the troubled Anbar province Wednesday, killing at least three insurgents after launching the second major operation in this vast western region in less than a month, an official said
- A Series Of Iraqi-Led Raids Nets Hundreds Of Suspects
In what American military officials said was the largest Iraqi-led operation to date and evidence that the country's fledgling army was up and running, hundreds of Iraqi soldiers fanned out Sunday and Monday in a dangerous western suburb here, arresting 437 people they accuse of having ties to the insurgency
- Beleaguered Iraqi Police Maintain Sense of Honor
Poorly equipped men are shot at and lured into traps. Still, they show up at the station.
Scar tissue from shrapnel runs like a shiny thread above Jawad Ali's ear. It rises like a blister on his thumb. His skin is a diary of these brutal streets. He slipped out of his bulletproof vest the other day and pulled down his collar, exposing a bullet wound from an insurgent attack on his way to work
- South Korean Unit Trains Iraqi Troops
The Defense Ministry said yesterday the South Korean Zaytun unit in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil has been training about 400 Iraqi soldiers and police since February, an action that could incite Iraqi insurgents to target the Korean contingent.
- Marine back from Iraq
At a certain point, Shiling said he was totally on-edge, waiting for a trip home to see his family. But, Shiling said many parts of his time in Iraq were positive -- especially the days he helped transport the Iraqi election officials in and out of Fallujah.
- Iraq Suspends Oil Exports to Turkey
Iraq has suspended oil exports to the Turkish port of Ceyhan because of a production shortage in the northern fields of Kirkuk, an Iraqi official said Tuesday. The northern pipeline and facilities regularly are sabotaged by insurgents.
- The pipeline that will change the world
It is 42 inches wide, 1,090 miles long and is intended to save the West from relying on Middle Eastern oil. Nothing has been allowed to stand in its way - and it finally opens today
- FBI accused over torture in detention
Two US citizens yesterday alleged that FBI interrogators were complicit in their torture and illegal detention by Pakistani security forces over an eight-month period.
- Veterans Sue Over Care At D.C. Home
A group of veterans living at the U.S. Armed Forces Retirement Home filed a class-action suit yesterday on behalf of all its residents, claiming that drastic budget cuts by the Defense Department have resulted in substandard medical care.
- 'Nightline' to air list of war dead
"Nightline," which stirred up controversy last year with its decision to read the names of the 721 US military personnel who had lost their lives in the Iraq war, is going to do it again
- PBS President Denies One-Party Influence
The Public Broadcasting Service does not allow political pressure to influence content decisions, PBS President Pat Mitchell said Tuesday, defending the public television network from accusations of liberal bias.
- The Media Blame Game In Iraq War
...In other words, there is no "basic media mistrust of the military." That doesn't mean, of course, that there are never articles that critique the military on a specific subject as part of normal journalistic work. But media mistrust regarding Iraq has rightly focused on civilian administration officials. The reason has nothing to do with Vietnam syndrome, but everything to do with watching Pentagon civilians make repeated mistakes that undercut the Iraq effort. Unlike Newsweek, those officials rarely admit their mistakes.
- Parties Face Off Before Vote On Women In Combat
Democrats and Republicans staked out positions on women in combat yesterday on the eve of an expected House vote on legislation that would, by law, prevent the military from moving women into ground combat units
- Let Lawmakers Decide
This week, the House of Representatives will debate whether the Defense Department or the American people should decide if women fight in direct ground combat
- House passes stem cell bill despite threat of veto
Despite a veto threat from President Bush, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday easily approved bipartisan legislation that would permit more federal funding of stem cell research on human embryos that would otherwise be discarded.
- Military, Families Get State Help
National guardsmen and military reservists will have access to grants to help bridge the gap between their civilian and military pay, more veterans' widows will get a tax break and military personnel will get cheaper hunting and fishing licenses under bills signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jeb Bush.
- Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Moves to Senate
In defiance of a presidential veto threat, senators who support embryonic stem cell research are pushing for a quick vote on a bill passed by the House that would lift restrictions on such studies.
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Dawn Patrol
- Karzai Says Newsweek Report Not To Blame For Riot Deaths
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan denied yesterday that the riots in Afghanistan that led to 16 deaths had been prompted by an article in Newsweek magazine, calling them instead "a political act against Afghanistan's stability".
- Terrorist: Bin Laden To Set Up Caliphate State
An alleged terrorist on trial for a conspiracy targeting the U.S. and Israeli embassies claimed Monday that terror masterminds Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would soon set up a Muslim caliphate state.
- 521 PRISONERS TO BE RELEASED
In the next few days 521 Iraqi prisoners are set to be released from several different prisons around the country. The decision was made on Monday by the interministerial commission responsible for the handling of prisoners, according to the Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The commission is made up of representatives of the defence, interior and human rights ministries. Some 284 of the detainees will be released without any bail being paid.
- Romanian captives return from Iraq
Three Romanian journalists who were hostage in Iraq for nearly two months have arrived home aboard a military plane, a day after their release
- Baghdad Sweep Nets 285 Suspects; Car Bombs Kill 44
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers poured through Baghdad yesterday and Sunday, detaining at least 285 suspected insurgents in house-to-house searches and seizing $6 million in $100 bills, the preferred currency for paying insurgent hit men and bomb-makers.
- Bombings Across Iraq Kill More Than 50 People
Bombings targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces and Shiite Arab civilians at worship, at lunch, at home and on the road killed more than 50 people across Iraq on Monday, officials said, heightening sectarian tensions and taking the death toll past 600 since a new government was installed less than a month ago.
- Bombs, other attacks kill 49 in Iraq
“May God turn your violence upon you,” he bellowed as he stood under the blazing sun in a lilac colored robe. “All these people were killed for no reason. What wrong did they do by being policemen or soldiers?”
- Soldiers Prepare Bosnian Troops for Iraq Duty
As a platoon of soldiers from the Bosnian Armed Forces prepared for their first major mission outside of Bosnia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Army Reservists supported them with some medical training that could eventually save their lives.
- US and Iraqi forces detain more suspects
Iraqi and US forces detained 143 suspected insurgents, taking the number of people rounded up in a two-day offensive in western Baghdad to 428, the military has said.
- Syria Ending Cooperation With U.S., Envoy Says
...Bush administration officials said Syria's stance has prompted intense debate at high levels in the administration about new steps that might be taken against the Syrian government. The officials said the options included possible military, diplomatic or economic action. But senior Pentagon and military officials cautioned Monday that if any military action was eventually ordered, it was likely to be limited to insurgent movements along the border.
- Iraq Can't Explain $69 Million In Fuel Oil From '04, Audit Says
Iraqi officials cannot explain what happened to $69 million worth of fuel oil produced in the second half of 2004, raising fears that it was smuggled out of the country for private gain, according to a report released yesterday by United Nations-appointed auditors.
- Insurgents Flourish In Iraq's Wild West
...U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad agree that Al Anbar province — the vast desert badlands stretching west from the cities of Fallouja and Ramadi to the lawless region abutting the Syrian border — remains the epicenter of the country's deadly insurgency. Yet U.S. troops and military officials in the embattled province said in recent interviews that they have neither enough combat power nor enough Iraqi military support to mount an effective counterinsurgency against an increasingly sophisticated enemy.
- Cowboys and IndiansInstead of giving up and withdrawing from Iraq, we need to learn not just from past disasters but also from historical victories over insurgencies.
- Escape Tunnel Is Found At Iraq Camp
The weight of a fuel truck collapsed the roof of an escape tunnel being dug out of Camp Bucca, where more than 6,400 suspected terrorists and insurgents are being held.
- American hostage not a pilot
Iraq's al-Qaida frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed his group executed an American pilot, but personal ID posted on the Internet indicates the terrorists may have mistaken a frequent-flier card for a flying license, according to an intelligence analyst.
- Shiite Cleric To Lead Drafting Of Constitution
Iraqi legislators yesterday chose a Shiite Muslim cleric to lead the drafting of Iraq's permanent constitution, a thorny process that could extend beyond a mid-August deadline because of ethnic and sectarian bickering.
- Laura applauds Mubarak for vote
First lady Laura Bush yesterday praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for what she called an important first step toward open elections and, standing in front of the pyramids, said building democracy is a slow process
- Egyptian opposition rejects Laura Bush comments
Opponents of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday rejected U.S. first lady Laura Bush's interpretation of Egyptian politics, saying they could not even see the progress she was praising.
- U.S. Skeptical Of Arms Deal With Russians
U.S. officials in Venezuela say they have had some of their "questions and confusion" about Venezuela's recent arms purchase answered, though doubts remain about the intended use of 100,000 Russian assault rifles.
- Death by a Thousand Blogs
The Chinese Communist Party survived a brutal civil war with the Nationalists, battles with American forces in Korea and massive pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. But now it may finally have met its match - the Internet.
- Inquiry Into Dismissal Of An Air Force Chaplain
The Department of Defense inspector general's office is looking into accusations that a chaplain at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs was dismissed from her administrative job and given orders to transfer to a base in Japan because she had criticized the religious proselytizing of academy cadets.
- Soldier Says Killing Of Iraqi Was Self-Defense
An American soldier accused of murdering an Iraqi police officer while they were on patrol together in 2003 and then concocting a story about being shot during a gun battle said on Monday that he had made "a split-second decision" to open fire in self-defense
- Drop Maher for `treasonous' comment
A congressman says comedian Bill Maher's comment that the U.S. military has already recruited all the "low-lying fruit'' is possibly treasonous and at least grounds to cancel his show. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), takes issue with remarks on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher'' May 13, in which Maher points out the Army missed its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April. "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club,'' Maher said. "We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies.''
- Cat's Chance For New Model Army
...But with its pick-up trucks, troops in baseball caps and bandanas and weakness for macho swaggering, this is still, as one American colonel described it, a "Third World army". Soldiers have been reported stealing equipment. Desertions continue. Many units are infiltrated by insurgents despite rigorous attempts to screen recruits.
- Tillman Tragedy Skewed--Att'y
The Army's bogus early accounts on the death of NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman mirrored the false first reports on the capture of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, her lawyer said yesterday.
- 7 Republicans abandon GOP on filibuster
Seven Senate Republicans bolted from their leaders last night and dropped their support for the "nuclear option" in exchange for seven Democrats' bandoning filibusters against three of President Bush's judicial nominees.
- Last-minute deal averts Senate crisis
A group of 14 centrist senators from the Republican and Democratic parties last night struck an 11th-hour deal aimed at averting a political crisis over President George Bush's judicial nominations.
- Former Democratic leader swaps parties
Lawrence Davis, a former state Democratic Party chairman from Raleigh, has switched his registration to the Republican Party.
Davis said he decided to switch parties because his personal beliefs on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriages and the lottery differed from the positions of the Democratic Party.
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