Dawn Evening Patrol

Iraq

Walking the Line II - Critical Nodes [Michael Yon]
...CSM Mellinger was near Syria in Tal Afar, checking Coalition and Iraqi troops that have been battling with insurgents. On his return, Mellinger flew by helicopter from Tal Afar to Mosul to start the drive back to Baghdad. It was on this leg of the journey that I would finally be allowed to join his patrol.
We met in Mosul as the sun was rising over the Tigris, but there was no time to admire the peaceful view; once I joined up, we rolled out the gates and drove about half a day from Mosul to Camp Victory in Baghdad.

Lightning, Thunder then Rain... [Iraq the Model]
Okay, I think that "Lightning" updates have become a regular item on this blog, so here's today's-rather short-briefing of what's been happening as to this operation and other activities of security forces in Iraq in the last 24 hours:

Don't play with the contraband [Phil abd Becky]
Whenever our soldiers confiscate contraband, they must inventory it and turn it in to the S2 shop for either storage or further exploitation. Some items get sent up to Brigade if we deem them to have intelligence value while other things get stored and either destroyed, returned or given to the Iraqi Army or Iraqi Police.

Building or rebuilding? [Lance in Iraq]
Strategypage makes a point I mention frequently (see here and here): there was very little damage done to Iraq's infrastructure in this war because Saddam didn't care to build infrastructure. So when you see someone trying to score political points by referring to the "restoration" of basic services as "slow moving" you know s/he doesn't have much of a grasp of what is going on over here:...

The War Against Freedom [Hurl's Blog - in Iraq]
What do the following quotes have in common:

"There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein's regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed. ... There is clearly a threat from Iraq, and there is clearly a danger... We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction. ... In public hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March, CIA Director George Tenet described Iraq as a threat but not as a proliferator, saying that Saddam Hussein 'is determined to thwart U.N. sanctions, press ahead with weapons of mass destruction, and resurrect the military force he had before the Gulf War.' That is unacceptable...

3rd Recon gets back in fight [Live in Iraq]
After more than 30 years without deploying as a battalion, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, from Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, landed in Iraq mid-March to conduct combat operations in Al Anbar province.
Although elements of 3rd Recon have deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the past few years, the last time the battalion colors flew in a combat zone was during the Vietnam War.

21 CARE PACKAGES...LOL [Dixie Sappers]
I was taking a little break today when someone from the S-1 shop came into my room and said that I needed to come outside to see something. I asked what and they told me just to come outside. I followed them to where we sort out the mail and they said here you go. At first I didn't know what they were talking about, but then I realized they were pointing at a huge stack of boxes sitting all by themselves. There were 21 care packages. There were care packages from Utah, Virgina, Texas, Florida, California, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee and Mississippi. It took me about 5 trips to get them all in my room.

Arab Media Angered by Iraqi Insurgent Violence [Outside The Beltway]
Iraq violence shifting Arab media (BBC) The latest bombings and bloodshed in Baghdad have meant that violence in Iraq has once again been dominating the bulletins on Arab satellite television stations. The fact that Iraqi civilians are the mad...

Welcome home Brian [DogHostage - back from Iraq]
Here are some photos from this past week:

Afghanistan

"It's not a REAL war..." [A Storm In Afghanistan]
I heard and read that (or variations on a theme) quite a bit before I left. Seems since Afghanistan was going so well, and Iraq not so much, that people figured all was done here. We had a large coalition (that hasn't cut and run), the Afghan government (such as it is) looks stable, etc... "It's not a REAL war...."

Military Issues

Family Forgives Driver [GI Korea]
Mark tipped me off to this article in the Stars and Stripes. The article explains that the family of the woman killed in the traffic accident with a US Army LMTV two weeks ago outside of Camp Casey, has depised the protestors trying to cash in on them woman's death:

Her death has generated a wave of interest from local media and protesters, who have besieged the family. Yang-sup?s wife stressed that the family wants no part of the protests.

Military Life

Back at Sea [Yankee Sailor]
We're back at sea aboard the flagship of the "Lost ARG." I know, the Navy doesn't call our groups "ARGs" any more, we're "ESG's" now, but I've been here long enough that we were an ARG when I got here. (I'll explain why we're called the "Lost ARG" another time.) Anyway, my point is that life is busy and unpredictable again, so the Read Board and other posts will come whenever I get to them each day, whether it's during the work day or at oh-dark-thirty in the morning.

A day in the life aboard an aircraft carrier at sea. [Neptunus Lex]
0330 ? the alarm goes off in a coffin rack in the Ops berthing. A hand gropes in the darkness behind the rack curtains to silence the alarm. The curtains serve as a demarcation line ? they mark this space as the owners. This space is his only privacy, the only thing that is truly his own in a berthing area shared with 100 other men, themselves stacked in bunk bed three high, arrayed in cells that fade into the greater darkness.

The Media

This article by the Guardian is another striking evidence to the bias of the media whenever it comes to Iraq. (Hat tip: Kerry).

"What's new?" One would think. Well, the new thing and really disgusting thing is that the paper didn?t only ignore a piece of good news or exaggerated a piece of bad news like we get to see, hear or read almost every day in the last two years; instead, a frank victory for Iraqi police was somehow changed into a victory for the "insurgents"!!

More disgusting bias from the media. [Iraq the Model]
I read the piece twice and tried to see the any sign that indicates such a victory for the insurgents but I failed in both trials.
The editor carried almost accurate news about the incident in question, yet the commentary and conclusions were a piece of mere ridicule.
It is true that the terrorists were able to arrange a relatively large assault but it was far from being well organized or well done let alone a victory, and here is why:...

I Don't Give A Damn! [Soldier's Mom]
Over the last few days the media has inundated me with stories about how opinion of the United States in the rest of the world is plummeting. I have listened to a United States Senator tell me how bad he thought our treatment of detained terrorists is at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I read crap all over and hear just what despicable people we Americans are?

The MSM Reports

Another Year Of Living Misery In Baghdad (Washington Post)
In the streets of Baghdad, people wondered Thursday what else could possibly go wrong.

The War President (New York Times)
...Once the media catch up with the public, we'll be able to start talking seriously about how to get out of Iraq.

The Other Guy's Sacrifice (Washington Post)
...This war was conceived by sunshine patriots and directed by them -- and fought for reasons that some in the administration knew were exaggerations or, in some cases (Dick Cheney's nuclear scare-mongering), sheer fabrications. It has become the sorriest of wars, conceived for one reason, fought for another, good enough for others to fight, not good enough for ourselves and, maybe, an awful quagmire in the making. It's time the sunshine patriots looked outside. It's raining.

Gitmo

Gitmo versus Iraq [Chrenkoff]
Instapundit: "Interestingly, only 20% of Americans think that the Guantanamo prisoners are being treated unfairly, which is pretty astonishing given the colossal amount of uniformly negative Guantanamo-related coverage. This suggests that overplaying their hand has been as big a mistake as I thought."

As these things do, it got me thinking.

Torture at Guantanamo [Balloon Juice]
I have been very careful to try not to label the allegations we have heard coming out of Guantanamo Bay as torture, or even abuse, because I don't know where the lines are drawn. Sure, I have a gut sense of what is abuse and what is torture, and I know what is indefensible, but I don't want to run around haphazardly calling our boys (whether they be military, civilian contractors, CIA, etc.) torturers.

Apparently, our government has made a distinction:...

Debunking Another Gitmo Myth (Washington Times)...Michelle Malkin
...Treating foreign terrorists like American shoplifters -- with full access to civilian lawyers, classified intelligence, and all the attendant rights of a normal jury trial -- is a surefire recipe for another September 11. That is why the Bush administration fought so hard to erect an alternative tribunal system -- long established in wartime -- in the first place.

Politics

Let ?em burn it so we know who the Asshats are [CDR Salamander]
I know I am going to loose some of you here, but freedom isn?t free.
The flag burning amendment passed by the House yesterday is just stupid. IMAO we should always err on the side OF freedom, not AGAINST freedom. Just speaking for myself, my years of service are not insulted or wounded because some clueless,

Outrage! Gitcher fresh outrage! Hot off the press! [Kadnine]
Linda Foley issues non-apology apology. Lot of that going around lately...
Confronting right-wing hysteria
... the essence of my message is: Don?t kill the messenger. I should have said it that way in St. Louis. Instead, I decided to draw a parallel between the assault on journalists for their work and the assault on journalists covering Iraq. I used strong words and said it rather clumsily, but the St. Louis crowd got the point.

Trash The Fifth Amendment [GM Corner]
One of my first inklings of a story to come was this story on ABC News. In a nutshell:

The issue revolves around whether a government is serving a public purpose when it uses its power of eminent domain to take land. The Fifth Amendment prohibits taking private property for public use without just compensation. The New London case is not about the amount of compensation being offered, but whether the government can take the property at all.

Dang, people [Cadillac Tight]
So I take a day off to finish up a website project, and Karl Rove kicks off a firestorm in the 'sphere.
I saw that story last night, and I kind of figured that the usual suspects, along with the Democrats would go apeshit.
Look, people, what did you expect?

Karl Rove Insults Liberals [Blackfive]
Yeah, I know that's not a newsflash...that's like saying Howard Dean Insults Conservatives (not surprising either).
Peter Daou sends an email expressing outrage (you decide if it's manufactured and feigned)...

I Don't Get It [Free Will]
Sith Lord Karl Rove, once again proving his uncanny ability to manipulate the minds of Democrats, has sent them into a drunken rage:

911 Memorial

Step Right Up [Cox & Forkum]
Take Back The Memoria reports: NYC councilman backs family members' call for halt to IFC.

Blogging

On Air, The World Tonight [Bill Roggio]
I am scheduled to be on the radio tonight at 9:05 Eastern with Rob Breakenridge, the host of The World Tonight. We will discuss battle against the terrorists - the progress being made, the upsurge in bombings, "red on red" attacks, and the debate over when and how to bring the troops home. The program is broadcast on AM CHQR770 in Calgary. You can listen to the program over the internet by going to...