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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. (We have a daily "Open Post" too, if you have something on another topic you can link there.)
Muqtada's office in Najaf is on fire. -- [Iraq the Model - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Right now there are bloody clashes in Najaf between the supporters of Muqtada Al-Sadr and the residents of the city.
The clashes started after Al-Sadr men tried to reopen their office which has been closed for months but the locals attacked the office, set fire in it and clashed with Sadr's men.
The police forces intervened and the casualties till now are 7 killed and tens wounded.
I have received news saying that a curfew has been imposed in the city.
ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS TARGET WOUNDED AT WALTER REED -- [A Soldier's Angel - Holly Aho]
I am totally sickened by this. According to developing news on the Drudge Report as of August 24th, 21:20 ET,
"Anti-war protestors besieged wounded and disabled soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C, a new web report will claim!
CNSNews.com is planning to run an expose on Thursday featuring interviews with both protestors and veterans, as well as shots of protest signs with slogans like ?Maimed for a Lie.?
The conservative outlet will post video evidence of the wounded veterans being taunted by protesters, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned."
Time to Ride -- [Ma Deuce Gunner - in Iraq]
0300. It is dark. The moon is high and bright, but filtered through the camo netting, it provides an eerie white glow on the warriors who are preparing for a mission.
The smell of diesel exhaust wafts through the motor pool. Radios beep, crackle and hiss..."Animal Base, this is Renegade 3B, Radio Check, Over." "Roger, Out." comes the reply.
Rolling with the Heavies -- [365 And a Wake Up - in Iraq]
Here in Iraq the M1 Abrams tank is the apex predator, even at rest its sleek lines convey a sense of lethal menace. The M1 isn?t so much a vehicle as a rolling battleship, it?s massive belts of armor were designed to absorb or deflect direct hits from the main guns of enemy tanks. There must be some parallel between the ballistic laws governing deflection and the laws of aerodynamics, because the M1?s low profile mirrors the shapely lines of an exotic sports car.
Out and about -- [Ramrods Blog - in Iraq]
...So it's totally creepin my boys out that I tell them that I'm happy to be back, creepin me out too..lol. But I really am glad to be back, get back to what I know and am comfortable with. I guess that's good, to be comfortable with this shit; cuz I know I'll be back at least two more times and then who knows after that, Syria? Iran? N. Korea? Bleh...
Huh? -- [DSS Hubris]
This was the lede in a story by Reuters today:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has approved full-rate production of a new Hellfire missile variant, touted by President George W. Bush for its ability to kill guerrillas in urban settings, the missile's manufacturer said on Wednesday. U.S. commanders in Iraq have asked for more of the rounds, said Lt. Col. Kevin Curry, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, who added that early versions had already been used there in 'limited numbers.' More than 1,870 Americans have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.
COALITION FORCES CAPTURE TERRORIST, DESTROY HIDE-OUT -- {Centcom}
Baghdad, Iraq ? Coalition forces captured a known Al Qaeda-in-Iraq member, two suspected terrorists and destroyed a terrorist sanctuary, weapons and equipment near Al Asad Aug. 23.
IRAQI ARMY TAKES OVER COALITION CAMP -- {Centcom}
CAMP ECHO, Iraq ? Coalition forces turned over Camp Zulu in As Suwayrah, Iraq, to the Iraqi Army Aug. 21.
This is the first coalition forces camp within the Multi-National Division Central?s South area of responsibility to be turned over to Iraq?s 8th Division. The division?s 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade will be permanently housed there.
From the ruin, an Iraqi Army is fabricated - Part IV Part III Part II Part I -- [Live in Iraq]
During basic training, drill instructors tell their recruits that they can not earn the title 'Marine' until learning to accurately fire the M16 service rifle. Following that tradition, the Iraqi students may not graduate this course unless they demonstrated proper weapons handling skills.
Day 217 - Video Clip 2 - Fighting Insurgency -- [Waynes World - Wayne's in Iraq]
A couple of days ago, WLBT-TV3 in Jackson, MS, reported on Alpha Company?s patrol missions. Last night, Mississippi moms told me about a follow-up story telling how soldiers of the 150th fight insurgents.
new kids on the block -- [Blog Machine City - in Iraq]
Every day new troops arrive at Camp Liberty, wearing their new ACUs, clean new boots, and jet-black rifles with all the latest cool gear dangling off of them. They travel in huge packs, great globs of digitized gray-green swarming over the streets and into the DFAC and the PX and the laundry and the internet shack.
It's not just their new uniforms and weapons that set them apart as newcomers; it's their attitude, their ...
Iraqi Leaders Again Put Off Meeting on New Constitution (New York Times)...DEXTER FILKINS and KIRK SEMPLE
Parliament today set no date for a future session, a signal that factions were failing to agree on a new constitution.
Shiite Cleric's Soldiers Battle Rivals In Najaf And Basra -- (New York Times)...Kirk Semple
...In an unrelated burst of violence in Baghdad, fierce gun battles erupted between about 40 insurgents and the police in the streets of two residential neighborhoods in western Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, most of them civilians, and wounding at least 57, an official at the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.
Rival Iraqi Shiites Clash In Najaf, Killing 7 -- (Washington Post)...Saad Sarhan and Jonathan Finer
More than 1,000 Shiite Muslim demonstrators clashed Wednesday night with supporters of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr in this southern Iraqi city, leaving at least seven people dead and dozens wounded, according to officials at a local hospital.
In Iraq's Prisons, Try a Little Tenderness -- (New York Times)... SCOTT GERWEHR and NINA HACHIGIAN
American forces in Iraq should try a tactic used in Vietnam - showing compassion to prisoners.
Lost in Translation -- (New York Times)...THOMAS X. HAMMES
THERE is an amusing scene in an "Indiana Jones" film where a British scholar walks around a train station in a foreign land desperately seeking help by calling out, "Excuse me, does anyone here speak English? Or Ancient Greek?" Today our troops in Iraq often find themselves in that same scene - except it never ends.
IRAQ: AL-SADR APPEALS FOR CALM BETWEEN RIVAL SHIITE FACTIONS -- (AKI)
Baghdad, 25 August (AKI) - The radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has appealed for calm after violent clashes between rival Shiite factions, which have left at least six dead and scores more injured since Wednesday. "I call upon the people of Iraq... the believers... to preserve Muslims blood and go back home. I call upon them to maintain calm," al-Sadr told journalists. The violence began when traders in the holy Shiite city of Najaf demonstrated against al-Sadr's
Tripartite Commission meets in Islamabad -- {Defense Link}
Islamabad , Pakistan ? The Tripartite Commission, comprised of senior military and diplomatic representatives from Afghanistan , Pakistan and the United States , held its 12th meeting in Rawalpindi , Pakistan today.
This meeting was the first in which Afghanistan and Pakistan were represented at the four-star general level.
From refugees to 're-fugees' -- [Afghan Reality]
Pakistan's forcible eviction of Afghan refugees from areas alongside Pak-Afghan border and Islamabad will deteriorate not improve the refugees' living conditions.
Karzai had rightly called for 'volunteer repatriation' rather than 'forcible eviction' of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran given the country's inability to provide the returnees with basic resources.
Gratuitous Afghanistan Photo of the Day (66) -- [Miserable Donuts]
Afghanistan adheres to the "Central Asian Child Labor Law". The law is very simple - Children shall labor. Now you know why we were helping build so many schools...
10 suspected rebels killed in Afghanistan -- (USA Today)...(AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan ? U.S.-led coalition aircraft and ground troops as well as Afghan forces battled suspected Taliban rebels in three separate firefights in southern Afghanistan, killing at ...
Afghan election security said OK, but fragile --(Reuters)...Robert Birsel
KABUL, Aug 25 - The chief organiser of Afghanistan's Sept. 18 elections said on Thursday the state of security for the vote was acceptable but the situation was fragile an...
Afghan vote plans on track -- (Bahrain Tribune)... Reuters
KABUL: Organisers of Afghanistan?s September 18 elections said on Wednesday preparations were well on track and they promised there would be no nasty surprises with the ink they will use to mark voter...
UN reports rise in Afghan attacks -- (BBC News)...Susannah Price
The UN Security Council says it is gravely concerned about increased attacks by Taleban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups in Afghanistan.
Here is what I learned at the Imjimgak Peace Festival: -- [GI Korea Blog - in S Korea]
It is the English translation of one of the poems on display at the Peace Festival. It says:
I still rise, you can record me with severe force, lies in the history, I don't care if you trample over me with slander, I still rise...
It is a form of a video poem with the background poem of America's representative hostess, Maya Angelou who gave a congratulatory speech at US President Bill Clinton's inauguration. This poem is dedicated to the children that went through pain and died from the chemical weapons that was used by the US Army at the US & Iraq war.
The poem doesn't translate very well into English but the last part about the US Army using chemical weapons on the Iraqis I found absurd. Even at a Peace Festival there has got to be a cheap shot taken at America. I wonder
There are people out there who genuinely care about us -- (AETC News)...Tech. Sgt. Tony Moon
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AETCNS) ? Sometimes life becomes so routine with everyday customs, we forget why we do our job and what we stand for.
Operation Troop Appreciation -- [Who's your Baghdaddy? - in Iraq] (pics)
This post is a salute to Operation Troop Appreciation (OTA). OTA was born from the efforts of Kristen Holloway who started with an idea to provide some comfort items to some National Guard soldiers deployed from her home state of Pennsylvania. The overwhelming response she recieved inspired her to take the idea to the next level and as a result OTA was established as a non-profit organization in July 2004.
?I Support The Troops, Just Not The War? -- [Jump Blog]
I hesitate to trot this tired old horse out of the barn anymore, and wouldn?t, except that a buddy of mine just had some pretty profound things to say about it. This buddy is a Marine with long years of service doing some pretty special things and who has been ?sandy? a couple times in the last few years. Here?s what he had to say about ?supporting the troops but not the war?: ...
Terrorist Weapons Cache Found in Moscow Apartment -- [NEW MILBLOGGER! - Foreign Object Damage]
http://news.pravda.ru/crime/2005/08/24/79554.html
A large cache of weapons and explosives was found today in an apt in SE Moscow, according to security forces, it may have been put there by the terrorists who conducted the last attack in Moscow(Dubrovka -2002). The cache included 20 AKs, 3 Colt pistols, 6 RPGs, 18 silencers, 500 grams plastic explosive, a large number of detonators and more.
Viral terrorism -- [Winds of Change - Donald Sensing]
by Donald Sensing on August 24, 2005 02:23 PM
Paul Stares is vice president for research and studies at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Mona Yacoubian is a special adviser to the institute's Muslim World Initiative. Their piece in yesterday's WaPo proposed that Islamist terrorism be conceived of thus: ...
Radical Indoctrination in the U.S. Prisons -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The investigation of a recent alleged terrorism plot that law enforcement officials say was hatched in a California prison has raised fears about radical Islamic indoctrination in the country's prison system. Law enforcement officials told ABC News that former Oakland gang member Peter Martinez and cellmate Kevin James, both held in the New Folsom State Prison, organized a plot to attack military and Jewish targets in the Los Angeles area this coming September 11. The plot was discovered when former Folsom Prison inmate Levar Washington (who converted to Islam while in prison) and an accomplice were arrested for a string of gas station robberies
MG Ann Dunwoody Tapped for Third Star -- [Outside the Beltway]
Ann E. Dunwoody has been nominated for a third star and head of Army logistics. This would make her the Army's top-ranking woman and the first three-star female in five years.
Closer to Tomorrow -- [Bobby's World]
Ulchi Focus Lens (UFL) is going well-- while I obviously can't talk about any of the details of an exercise, I can say that I'm quite impressed with the performance of our South Korean allies and the way they do things. Having seen their performance in this exercise, at least thus far, has further convinced me that (despite what the doom-sayers might want to believe), the War in Iraq is strategically irrelevant to the defense of the Korean Peninsula.
Panel Approves Plan to Close Walter Reed Army Hospital -- (New York Times)...DAVID S. CLOUD and CHRISTINE HAUSER
A federal commission voted to close the crown jewel of Army hospitals as it began its second day of decision-making on sweeping plans to restructure military bases.
More Media Spin -- [Dadmanly - in Iraq]
Were you dismayed by a recent report in the NY Times that the military was upgrading Body Armor, still working at this late date to replace current body armor that leaves soldiers vulnerable?
It turns out, not to worry. This was a classic example of either willful deceit or blind ignorance on the part of a NY Times Reporter. (Imagine that.)
Media and Iraq in general and Fallujah, specifically -- [5th CAG's Experiences in Iraq]
Now, my (very few) regular readers know that I don't like to preach much. I know this blog is being read by you-know-who, but that's only part of the reason. The real reason is that I'd prefer to show you pictures of every day life in Iraq rather than give you my views on events that are beyond my control and out of my lane. However, in reading the below piece from Jack Kelly, it struck me that I haven't shared with you my own little first-hand brush with media bias. So here goes:
Answering a few questions -- [From My Position - Recovering from IED attack]
I received an e-mail today, from a woman in Seattle. The text of it is below:
I hope you are doing better! I just found your blog and I think it is great. I have a question for you and your guys/gals in Iraq....Should you all come home? All the editorials in my paper (liberal Seattle Times) are calling for a pullout, (Mrs. Sheehan has stirred things up). I am a Christian, and I am not sure that the Lord would want us all fighting. But I want to know, do the Iraqi people want us out? And if not, then where are they, why arent they speaking up? When I get paid in Sept I will send you guys a care package. Thanks for all you do.
I'm officially asked me basically four questions.
1. Should you all come home? ...
The V-Word -- [Froggy Ruminations]
"We are locked into a bogged-down problem not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam." This golden nugget of wisdom comes from Vietnam veteran, Senator, and Presidential hopeful Chuck Hagel. When my daughter says, ?Daddy, daddy, watch this!? I know that she is feeling a little left out with a new baby brother in the household. Which is essentially what the Republican Senator from Nebraska is doing when he goes on ABC?s ?This Week with a
Chuck Hagel Redux -- [GM's Corner]
I was taken to task by a commenter regarding my use of "idiot," "idotarian," and "RINO." (See first comment here.) The commenter rightly noted that the Senator is a Vietnam vet who was decorated, has some purple hearts and a distinguished career before coming to the senate. My commenter is correct. But that doesn't give the good Senator a pass when he goes overboard and says something really stupid. Another example of the good Senator's fatuous remarks: ....
Hillary or Condi in 2008? -- [Newsmax]
NewsMax.com, one of America's leading online news services, is conducting an urgent national online poll.
NewsMax will provide the results of this poll to major media, Congress, the president and key members of his administration. Additionally, NewsMax's results will be shared with every major radio talk show host in America.
Leak: Draft of Bush Answer to Cindy Sheehan -- [ScrappleFace]
An internal White House memo, leaked today, indicates how President George Bush initially planned to address Cindy Sheehan's question: What "noble cause" did my son die for?
(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)
