Dawn Patrol II

This one's for the non-father's day stories. (Those are here.)

Iraq

In Response to a Question [Grim - The Fourth Rail]
I believe the original question here was weather the the situation in Iraq was improving or worsening. As a Naval Intelligence Officer I see the raw numbers everyday. These numbers are presented in many ways, total number of incidents (per day/week/year), number of VBIED attacks (suicide or not), number of IED attacks, numerical insurgent strength, number of weapons caches discovered daily, estimated insurgent immigration and many more. You can do a lot with numbers, but no matter how you cut it, ALL of these number have steadly increased for the last two years right up to this week. And the insurgents technological capabilitys continue to improve with more and more sophisticated IEDs, VBIEDs and roadside bombs that can defeat our electronic contermeasures. So, from my point of view the situation has been steadily worsening for two years.

MSM
The who's writing the weekend headlines? section

U.S. and Allies Capture More Foreign Fighters (New York Times)
American and Iraqi military forces in Iraq are capturing larger numbers of Saudis, Syrians and other foreign fighters, in a new indication that combatants from outside Iraq are playing a more prominent role in the increasingly violent insurgency, according to figures provided by the Army general in charge of detainee operations there.

Insurgents Under Pressure In Western Iraq (Los Angeles Times)
Marines stepped up assaults Saturday on suspected rebel positions in western Iraq in an attempt to counter rural violence, which has surged during a security clampdown on the capital.

Forces pound foreign fighters (AP/Washington Times)
Helicopter gunships and fighter jets streaked across the desert sky yesterday as American and Iraqi forces battled insurgents near the Syrian border, killing at least 50 militants in two massive offensives to stanch the flow of foreign fighters from Iraq's western neighbor.

Commentary

Whether This War Was Worth It (Robert Kagan, Washington Post)
In Analyzing Iraq, Consider the Effects of Having Done Nothing

Serious scholars still debate whether the Civil War was necessary, never mind the more obvious "wars of choice" such as World War I, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, the Korean War, wars in Vietnam and Kosovo, and the Persian Gulf War. To a certain brand of American isolationist, even World War II was unnecessary and counterproductive. So there is nothing remarkable about polls showing Americans wondering whether the recent Iraq war was "worth it." It is a great American myth, voiced by John Kerry last year, that the nation goes to war only when there is no question about the necessity of going to war. There's always a question. Even if the Iraqi insurgency disappeared tomorrow, George Ibrahim al Washington became president of Iraq and every liter of Saddam Hussein's onetime stockpile of chemical and biological weapons suddenly appeared in the desert, historians would still spend the next century debating whether the war was "worth it."

Memo Manipulation (Jay Ambrose/Washington Times)
There are solid arguments against this war, and I respect those who make them. But there is also an extreme element that seems to have dominated much of the antiwar rhetoric -- one of its illogical suppositions being Mr. Bush would have told a lie that was sure to be found out.

In the end, such rhetoric does little service to either the antiwar cause or the reasoned discourse on which democracy depends.

Let Me Tell You About Those Humvees (Michael Fumento/Washington Post)
Having read countless articles on the Iraq war and having just been an embedded reporter in Anbar province, I can say with some authority that the June 10 front-page article "Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable" is the most miserably biased piece I've seen on the conflict...

Sorry, but when I rode through the improving but still hostile city of Fallujah, I also chose an open-backed Humvee -- horrifying nobody.

Dick Durbin

Durbin said what? (Chicago Tribune)
Durbin's comparison of U.S. interrogators to governments that together killed millions of people makes him look desperate for attention. Well, he's created a lot of discussion about Dick Durbin. We suspect that was the goal all along.

Perhaps, though, citizens should be grateful. At least Durbin has stopped repeating that odd little joke about President Lincoln--that he must have been Jewish because his first name was Abraham and he was shot in the temple.

Durbin's Gitmo Remarks Draw Fire Back In Illinois(The Washington Times)
Sen. Richard J. Durbin's comparison of the treatment of al Qaeda prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Nazi and Soviet gulag atrocities was sharply criticized by constituents and newspapers in his home state.

Frist Insists On Apology For Durbin's Remarks (Washington Post)
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) called on Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) to apologize and withdraw his comments made on the Senate floor comparing U.S. soldiers' handling of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the actions taken years ago by "Nazis and Soviets in their gulags."

In a statement yesterday from Nashville, Frist said, "In captivity at Guantanamo are murderers . . . many dangerous murderers. They are in jail cells where they belong . . . and not on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . or on the streets of Nashville, Boston, Miami or New York.

"I'm extremely disappointed by Senator Durbin's comments comparing U.S. soldiers' handling of prisoners to the actions taken by Nazis and Soviets in their gulags. Not one prisoner has been murdered while in custody at Guantanamo."

On Friday, Durbin retreated from comments he made on the Senate floor Tuesday but stopped short of an apology. "I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood," he said in a statement. "I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: Our soldiers around the world, and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support."

Frist insisted on an apology: "I call upon Senator Durbin to withdraw his comments and provide an appropriate apology." And he said other Democratic leaders should also seek an apology, adding, "Shameful does not begin to describe this heinous slander against our country . . . and the brave men and women risking their lives every day to defend it."

Actual Torture

Iraqis Found In Torture House Tell Of Brutality Of Insurgents (New York Times)
KARABILA, Iraq, Sunday, June 19 - Marines on an operation to eliminate insurgents that began Friday broke through the outside wall of a building in this small rural village to find a torture center equipped with electric wires, a noose, handcuffs, a 574-page jihad manual - and four beaten and shackled Iraqis.

The American military has found torture houses after invading towns heavily populated by insurgents - like Falluja, where the anti-insurgent assault last fall uncovered almost 20 such sites. But rarely have they come across victims who have lived to tell the tale.

Politics

In A Military Stronghold, A War Hawk Circles Back (LA Times)
It started this month, when Republican Rep. Walter B. Jones, an original supporter of the war, said he had lost confidence in the effort and would sponsor legislation calling on the administration to more clearly define how, and when, it intended to bring the war to a close.

Coming from the staunch conservative who renamed French fries "freedom fries" on congressional menus, the announcement shocked many.