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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 and other sources around the world. 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. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.
The Shia Awakening -- [Michael J. Totten]
After returning to the U.S. from my summer trip to Baghdad and Ramadi, I wrote a piece for the New York Daily News that warned against bingeing on optimism in the wake of the surge. I wrote this despite the dramatic turnaround in Iraq’s Anbar Province. The abject defeat of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s al Qaeda in Iraq in and around Anbar’s capital of Ramadi is stunning, but local. The fight still rages on elsewhere, and in each place it is different. In early 2007, Ramadi was the most violent city in all of Iraq. It was also, counterintuitively, the easiest city to win.
Al Qaeda had seized it and declared it the capital of their so-called “Islamic State in Iraq.” Local tribal leaders and civilians initially welcomed al Qaeda as liberators against the hated American occupiers, but later rejected them after al Qaeda behaved like…al Qaeda, and launched a horrific murder and intimidation campaign against everyone who opposed them. “It was basically a hostile fascist takeover of the city,” Army Captain Jay McGee told me.
Locals Target Insurgent Assassins, keeping the towns safer
Fallujah: Security payoff in former insurgent stronghold -- [Chicago Tribune]
The Marines' presence is shrinking as the former insurgent bastion transforms
FALLUJAH, Iraq - The last car bomb in Fallujah exploded in May.
..."It stopped," said Lt. Col. William Mullen, commander of a shrinking force of U.S. Marines in the city who have watched the insurgency melt into the encircling countryside. "The 'significant events' in the city stopped. I think a lot of [the insurgents] left."
The Americans are not far behind: After surrounding the city with walls and improving security on its streets, the Marines are pulling back from the one-time insurgent bastion of Fallujah. They are redeploying to surrounding areas as the U.S. troop "surge" allows them to consolidate progress made largely by tribal leaders and local officials in security and civil works.
Reconciliation key to defeating al Qaeda in Iraq -- [MNF-I]
WASHINGTON — The United States has dealt al Qaeda many significant blows in Iraq and elsewhere, President Bush said here Wednesday. Military gains against al Qaeda are encouraging, but the situation cannot be won militarily, and that is why the U.S. continues to work with the Iraqi government on reconciliation and political development, Bush said at a White House news conference.
“We’re making progress, but I fully understand those that say we can’t win this thing militarily,” Bush said. “That’s exactly what the United States military says. That’s why it’s very important that we continue to work with the Iraqis on economic progress as well as political progress.”
No One Knows For Sure -- [Strategy Page]
October 17, 2007: The 2004 alliance between Sunni Arab nationalist groups and al Qaeda, is officially dead. All but one of the major Sunni Arab terror groups have publicly denounced al Qaeda, specifically mentioning the widespread use of terrorist attacks against civilians. Al Qaeda is definitely hurting, with their terror attacks down by more than half, and more al Qaeda leaders and technicians being killed or captured each week. Al Qaeda in Iraq is not destroyed, but it has been marginalized. Now the battle turns to the militias. The most dangerous ones are the Sunni Arab groups that want Sunni Arabs to be running the country again. While many of these outfits are rethinking their strategy, in the face of superior firepower wielded by the Americans and the Shia led government, some are willing to fight on.
Returning Home -- [A Battlefield Tourist - in Iraq]
While on a visit to the local Iraqi Patrol Base just inside Mahmudiyah, the Americans were given some information concerning the return of Sunni refugees that had fled sectarian violence earlier in the year.The reports indicated that at least six families had decided to return home to a small Sunni enclave on the city’s northern side. By September 2007 most Sunnis had been chased from the predominately Shia city, part of “South Baghdad”, which lies just 18 miles south of Baghdad itself. Above is an Iraqi boy who has just returned to a destroyed home. His family’s burned out van is in the background.
Building Relationships in Ninewa -- [manrymission.com - in Iraq]
In the comments for a post, Janice asks “What is it like when you go to a job site with your security?” To answer her question, I’d like to describe USACE’s approach to construction management in Iraq. As I’ve mentioned previously, I never leave the wire without my personal security detachment (PSD). I have two types of teams that work for me. The team that takes me to site visits is a security escort team (SET). As the name suggests, the SET’s mission is to escort USACE personnel on missions outside the wire.
Freedom Journal Iraq
CAFTT Getting the Iraqi Air Force in the Air - Fox News Edition -- [Dude Where's the Beach - in Iraq]
Fox News did a little story on CAFTT training the Iraqi Air Force. It's actually not that great of a story, but it's sufficient in showing some video of the people working to 'Get 'em in the Air.'
When you hear Fox's bleak picture about students with no shoes and desks, ignore it. Those guys were all new recruits in basic training. They all come in like that.
What they didn't show you were the polished and well-trained graduates, or the new Lieutenants just commissioned, or the new flight students at Kirkuk.
Im sh'Allah -- [Northern Disclosure - in Iraq]
There are plenty of political opinions of Iraqi Forces and of the state of security within the borders of Iraq. Being a participant and not a sideline player or arm chair general I sometimes develop my own opinions. I have spent the equivilant of half a tour (6 months) training the Iraqi's the last time I was here so I have seen what they get taught being instrumental in the delelopment of that training. This experience has me always paying attention to their actions so I can see the advancement or regression from what I know.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces, USSF detain extremist brigade commander -- [MNF-I]
BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, detained an extremist brigade commander in an early morning raid Oct. 16 in the al Hurriyah area.
The targeted commander is allegedly the main financier and weapons supplier in the al Shula area, near Baghdad. His 300-member cell is responsible for improvised explosive device attacks against Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Army.
Chopper crew in Action
Back From Another Base -- [From an Anthropological Perspective - in Iraq]
I am not ashamed to say I am honored to have been mentored in the weight room, at the range, and in the field here in Iraq by highly professional soldiers. Cutting my hair and taking their instruction seriously by trying my best to shoot well was my way of giving them respect in return. These are rituals of social acceptance and make possible good ethnography. The next blog entry to get latched onto by detractors will probably be an upcoming post regarding the honor of bestowing on me further unit acceptance and recognition for living with them in a combat environment: awarding me the 1st Infantry Division Combat Patch and Coin. As my commander told me on Saturday after I briefed him and the staff on my team's progress: "Duty First! Continue Mission!"
The BC dismissed everyone who was not a Soldier in the Battalion and had the doors closed. I know I won't do it justice, but here are the things he said that stuck with me:
We have a real mission, a good mission, a mission we will all be proud of. Do your jobs and take care of each other. If you are thinking about doing something and you're not sure if it is right, then you are probably wrong and don't do it. ... Most of all do not bring shame on this unit. Do not bring shame on these men serving with you. Do not bring shame on yourself.
For you leaders - while Serving is an Honor, Leading ... is ... a Privilege -- [Sgt Grumpy - heading to Iraq]
Leaders, your job is to take care of your men, that means they ... come ... first - they eat first, they sleep first, and their safety comes first.
Pak Military Offers AQ Safe Passage to Afghanistan? -- [The Tank - Steve Schippert]
Syed Saleem Shahzad is reporting that a "top Pakistani security official" has told him on condition of anonymity that the Pakistani military will soon begin commencing operations "to pacify Waziristan once and for all." Serious questions remain about the Pakistani military's ability to do so where, unlike Iraq, al-Qaeda enjoys broad popular support throughout much of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Pak-Afghan border, including North and South Waziristan.
Smuggling Explosives
From Iran to Taliban
The Bravery of our Navy Seals -- [Flopping Aces]
NBC has put together a great video of the heroism displayed by the Navy Seals in Afghanistan and whose bravery will be rewarded Monday by President Bush when he gives the Medal of Honor to Lt. Michael P. Murphy.
Coalition of American Muslims Set to Protest Saudi Support for Terror -- [Weekly Standard]
Next Monday, Al-Baqee--a new coalition of American Muslims--will take an initiative that other citizens and leaders of our country should have begun immediately after 9/11: The group has called a protest against Saudi Arabia's support--by preaching, money and recruitment--of terrorism.
The demonstration is set for 1 p.m. outside the Royal Saudi Embassy in Washington.
To raise them up. Part 2: The role of the Philippines in the Long War -- [LWJ - Grim - in Iraq]
What must first be understood is that the situation in the Philippines is different from either Iraq or Afghanistan. In many ways, JSOTF-P is in an enviable position: It has a stable partner in the Filipino government and works with security forces that are both reliable and structurally similar to US forces. The general orders of Naval Forces, Western Mindanao Command are precisely the same as those of the US Navy. In the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Marines and Navy Special Operations Group, the units are readily understood by US Marines and Navy Special Warfare. The Filipino noncommissioned officer corps is strong, as is the case in Western military forces. Their military academy is very much like West Point.
FISA Fight: Democrats Scramble To Figure Out How To Oppose Amendment Giving Wiretappers Right To Surveil Osama bin Ladin and Other Terrorists Whenver They Like -- [Ace of Spades]
They're in danger of losing many of those freshmen "moderates" who won in swing districts and have to pretend they give a shit about national security.
The Majority’s bill says that if a foreign target operating overseas – like Osama Bin Laden – has either had contact with a U. S. person or called a U.S. number, our intelligence officials would be required to obtain a FISA court order to listen into their communications. This is unacceptable, and it jeopardizes the safety and security of the American people. Boehner issued the following statement
Terrorists in training head to Pakistan -- [Daily Times]
LAHORE: An increasing number of militants from Europe are travelling to Pakistan to train and plot attacks on the West, European and US anti-terrorism officials say, according to a report in the LA Times.
Playing with Fire: South Africa's Dangerous Terrorist Liaisons
...Despite these signs of progress in counterterrorism, it needs to be borne in mind today's South Africa is a democracy and thus policy direction comes not from the security professionals, but the political echelons of the ANC among whom the "anti-Western" and "revolutionary" rhetoric of the bin Ladens and Ahmadinejads of the world still resonates. In fact, Mr. Gilder's restrained remarks elicited a strong negative reaction in the South African political and media circles. The Star newspaper, for example, ran a prominent commentary by a leading Muslim cleric, Moulana E.I. Bham, who, representing Johannesburg's council of Muslim theologians, the Jamiatul Ulama, decried the fact that "the global anti-terror industry, chaired by the U.S.A., has led to many unfortunate assumptions made by governments and the public alike." Moulana Bham trump argument was that "history has shown that today's illegitimate organization and suspected terrorist (the example of the ANC and Mr. Mandela would suffice) may just become tomorrow's hero."
While one should be careful not to over exaggerate the imminence of the threat, the overall risk is very real. Between the ideologically-motivated ignorance of the country's rulers to the dangers posed by transnational Islamist terrorism as well as the attractiveness of South Africa's highly-developed infrastructure to terrorist networks seeking a base for and/or a theater of operations, terrorists understandably find in South Africa an enabling environment at the very least.
The SpouseBUZZ Smooch: Smooching Military-Friendly Businesses -- [SpouseBUZZ - Andi]
Military spouses are incredibly loyal to individuals and businesses which are military-friendly. And let's face it, more often than not, we're the ones making the purchasing decisions for the household. We're usually the Chief Financial Officer.
Yesterday, someone forwarded an email to me. A credit union has asked their members to do something wonderful for deployed service members.
The Worthiest of Causes -- [Blackfive]
One mighty Blackfive pal and Someone You Should definitely Know is Big John in Washington, DC. Big John has done more for our wounded vets than I have and is the one responsible for many initiatives including taking our wounded vets out on Friday nights to experience life away from the hospital.
Code Pink Radicals & Pro-Military Supporters Collide in Berkeley -- [Gateway Pundit]
Protests in Berkeley... Pro-Military supporters rallied today for the US Marines...
So did Code Pink.
Anti-war protestor Giovanni Jackson, center, is pulled away from a confrontation with war supporters by Sgt.Randolph Files of the Berkeley Police Department in front of a Marine recruitment center in Berkeley, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. The Marine office near the University of California opened some months ago but was only recently discovered by the anti-war group Code Pink. They have been holding regular protest rallies there, which led to the counter-protest.
Welcome Home!!! -- [Eighty Deuce On The Loose - home from Iraq]
WOW! Let me start off by saying how awesome it is being home. I can't believe how much I missed "normal" life and all that comes with it. I have to admit that it is still a little weird being back. I look at myself in civilian clothes and it feels like I'm dressing up for Halloween or something. Getting used to traffic, and just being in civilized world is definatly an experience.
President Bush & Commission Urge Congress To Improve Military Healthcare -- [A Soldier's Mind]
PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Medical Issues, In The News, Military
At a White House news conference yesterday, President Bush along with the leaders of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, urged congress to pass legislation that will make the recommendations made by the commission a reality. The commission’s co-chairs, former Kansas Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala are scheduled to testify before Congress on the matter.
General (ret) Peter Pace at the Wall -- [BlackFive]
...So, Peter Pace steps down as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, heads to the Wall, and leaves his stars - the representation of his successful career - because his men are responsible for that career. And some of those men are on the Wall....
Rest in Peace TommyM1080. -- [Soldier's Mom]
I was overcome tonight. I learned a friend of mine was killed in Iraq yesterday. I had never gotten to meet Tom Martin, but through blogging he and I struck up an email friendship. We have traded emails throughout his long deployment.
See, Tommy had a blog: Green to Grey to Gold. He was enlisted and did a tour in the Sandbox (that's the green), got accepted to The Point (that's the grey). TommyM1080 thrived and did well and graduated an officer (that's the Gold). After graduation he learned to race drive tanks. Then he went to Ranger school. Got his unit. He was DAMNED proud of his men. One of my posts a few months back was from one of his emails to me.
Although he didn't blog this deployment, he sent many emails to a very large group of friends detailing the work and success they worked hard for in Iraq and he was looking forward to redeploying soon.
"Fire Power Forward" RIP - [Firepower Forward]
Lt. Col. Brian N. Delaplane passed away suddenly Oct. 9, 2007, in New York, following a pulmonary embolism. He was a logistical officer in the United States Army, currently serving as the professor of military science at Saint Johns University in Queens, N.Y.
Schweinfurt holds memorial for Sky Soldier PFC Christopher F. Pfeifer -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
SCHWEINFURT, Germany — He was a proud paratrooper, a proud husband, a proud father-to-be. On Tuesday, the military community assembled at Ledward Barracks chapel to pay their respects.
After fighting for almost six weeks, Pfc. Christopher Franklin Pfeifer, 21, died Sept. 25 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. His daughter, Peyton, was born the next day.
Press Conference by the President -- [The White House]
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. We're now more than halfway through October, and the new leaders in Congress have had more than nine months to get things done for the American people. Unfortunately, they haven't managed to pass many important bills.
Now the clock is winding down and in some key areas Congress is just getting started.
Can't Make These Up: Old Media Searching Desperately for Bad News from Iraq -- [NewsBusters]
The search for bad news relating to Iraq must be getting awfully difficult.
First example -- From the "Looking for, and Not Finding, a Dark Cloud on a Sunny Day" Department (HT Confederate Yankee, who says "you can almost feel their pain"):
Now we can talk even more about Think Pink and Pinching -- [MilBlogs - Greyhawk - in Iraq]
This might win the award for media quote of the decade:
...it came from a WaPo piece (co-authored by Tom "Fiasco" Ricks) quoting various unnamed officials on whether or not al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated. That should generate interesting political arguments among those who claim (wrongly) it was never a threat to begin with, and who likewise claim that anyone who says otherwise is trying to validate our presence in Iraq. Exactly where should any member of either group stand on this point of contention? No doubt many are eagerly awaiting their instructions...
Ricks also interviewed a guy who doesn't want his name used but who uses other peoples names a lot:
Fragging is Rare in Iraq and Afghanistan -- [CounterColumn]
So the Associated Press breathlessly reports.
American troops killed their own commanders so often during the Vietnam War that the crime earned its own name - "fragging."
...Of course, the dorks in the drive-by media don't have the institutional history knowledge to figure this out.
The problems in the military in the late 60s and early 70s -- which included not only fragging, but also rampant drug use and racial tensions that made barracks into low-intensity conflict zones well into the Carter years -- can be laid squarely at the feet of liberal stupidity, in the guise of the "Great Society."
Exchange of the Day -- [Media Blog]
Here's the entire exchange from the President's press conference today where he warns of World War III if Iran were to get the bomb. I'll post the transcript tomorrow, but Chris Matthews seemed particularly focused on World War III meaning we're going to war with the Russians. When you read the entire exchange, it's impossible to believe that's what the President meant.
NYT: Surprisingly, Voters Associate Iraq with War on Terror -- [Weekly Standard]
The New York Times's Janet Elder writes a column 'on polling,' and reveals a surprising finding: Americans seem to regard the Iraq war as a part of the war on terror:
The language used to talk about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the language used to take the nation to war in Iraq have been so interlaced that polls show they are inextricably linked in the minds of a substantial number of voters.
Other things may be at play, too, but for some voters, terrorists, terrorism, the war in Iraq, 9/11, Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda are all part of the same multi-headed hydra.
Elder chooses an interesting phrase to begin her piece 'The language used to talk about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks...' She makes it sound as if the listener is an unwitting victim of imprecise language, rather than someone who has listened to arguments on both sides and decided which one is correct--she offers no evidence either way.
Bush, Putin Agree: Iran Seeks Peace with Nukes -- [ScrappleFace]
(2007-10-16) — President George Bush today agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology is “ultimately aimed at a lasting peace.”
(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)
