Dawn Patrol

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.

IRAQ

From Searching to Soccer -- [Up Country Iraq - in Iraq]
...Also from Iraq, which I assume you probably know about, the last of 550 metric tons of yellowcake was safely shipped out of Iraq to a firm in Canada. Yellowcake is the raw material from which nuclear bombs are made. A professor from Sussex University in England (Norman Dombey), estimates that the yellowcake shipped from Iraq was in large enough quantities to make 142 nuclear bombs. The presence of the material was kept very secret and it was shipped very quietly out of country to avoid any possibility of any of the insurgent groups getting their hands on it.

Key suspected terrorists surrender -- [MNF-I]
Since the beginning of July, three highly sought after suspected terrorists have surrendered to Iraqi Security and Coalition forces.
An emir of the Sinjar area Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for al-Qaeda in Iraq, surrendered to the Iraqi Army for reconciliation in Kisik July 5, about 43 km west of Mosul. The suspect is reportedly involved in terrorist and foreign fighter facilitation and a leader of rocket and improvised explosive device cells.

Rusafa leaders give power to residents (Baghdad) -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Rusafa district area leaders gave power to Rusafa citizens when they conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony, turning on micro-power generators in Muhalla 125 of eastern Baghdad July 24.
...“We defeated all the criminals around us, and now we are progressing,” Mohammed said. “Criminals are behind us, and we have to do something in favor of our neighborhoods.”

The Anbar Rising - Part 1 - narrated by Greyhawk

Victory in Iraq Creates Options -- [Matel - in Iraq]
I have lived in Anbar for awhile now and met people involved in the Awakening. They hate Al Qaeda with considerable passion and we certainly could not have defeated the bad guys w/o their help. But w/o our help, THEY could not have defeated the bad guys either. Our friends would have been isolated and killed individually or in small groups, along with their families, and others would have been intimidated into silence. I don’t have to speculate about this. We saw that such things happened in 2005 and we still could see them happening on a smaller scale even in the time I have been in Iraq.
Let me be as blunt as I can. ...

The Kurds Show The Way -- [Strategy Page]
July 24, 2008: The sudden collapse of al Qaeda operations in western Iraq was largely due to tribal politics. There are only a few tribes, or major clans, in western Iraq (Anbar province), and once U.S. commanders had finally convinced the tribes to switch sides, it was like hitting a light switch.

"Team ISF" -- [Newsweek - David Botti - embed in Iraq]
...“We really had to take a deep breath,” First Sergeant Brian Disque said of the time when the violence died down. “It was like turning off a switch. It stopped, it just stopped.”
Today things are relatively quiet in Team ISF’s area of operations. They’ve got the Internet, a few phones, bunk beds, and air conditioning but otherwise live a spartan existence packed in close enough that the option for privacy is totally absent.

THE BATTLE FOR BASRA - (pdf) -- [Institute for the Study of War]
Over the last year, operations by Coalition and Iraqi forces have made signifi cant gains against al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents. As the threat from these groups has decreased, Coalition Forces and the Iraqi government have focused their attention on the problem of Shi’a militias in central and southern Iraq. Nowhere was this threat more evident than in the southern city of Basra. In the wake of the premature British withdrawal from the city center and transition to an overwatch capacity in late 2007, Basra became a haven for militia and criminal activity. Rival Shi’a militias were engaged in a violent and protracted power struggle as drugs, weapons, and oil smuggling rings thrived. In late March 2008, the Iraqi government launched an offensive to reclaim the city from the militias. Iraq Report 9 offers a comprehensive look at the battle for Basra, Operation Knight’s Charge.

Vancouver soldier returning to combat zone as an amputee

Anna Song has been tracking the progress of Sgt. Matt Braddock for three years now and catches up with him to talk about his plan to return to Iraq, where he lost a leg to a roadside bomb.

Fun With Factions -- [Strategy Page]
Seems like most Iraqis either want someone to tell them what to do, or want to be the guy issuing the orders and death sentences. A really rough neighborhood. And it's getting worse partly because of all the training American instructors have been giving to the new Iraqi army and police force. There are still plenty of incompetent commanders and troops, but about a third of the units are pretty good, The trouble is that most army or police units are led by officers who are loyal to one faction or another. The troops tend to share the loyalties of their officers. Iraq, like most of the Middle East, is a culture of Factions.

My Continuing HP Lovecraft Tour of Iraq -- [Miserable Donuts - in Iraq]
I felt safe here, even after my earlier encounter. I was in Baghdad, large and cosmopolitan. A city looking to the future, despite a long past... how was I to know what waited for me?

Getting out the 81st Bde vote -- [Blog -AH - embed in Iraq]
WA Sec of State Release – The Secretary of State’s Elections Division is coordinating a three-week project to help ensure that Iraq-bound National Guard soldiers are properly registered and designated as military voters before they leave Washington in August.

Iraq banned from Olympics CNN Report
CNN's Hugh Riminton speaks with Olympic historian David Wallechinsky about the Iraqi ban.

Crocker Says Insurgency is Pretty Much Done in Iraq -- [LT Nixon Rants]
Ambassador Crocker doesn't strike me as a guy prone to bullshit about Mission Accomplished, and last year he famously told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that one word summed up Iraq...fear. So when he recently talked with reporters about how the insurgency was just about done, there is reason for optimism

Mosul conflict ebbs after five-year battle between Coalition, insurgents for control -- [LWJ - Bill Murray - in Iraq]
Iraqi and US troops have gained the upper hand against al Qaeda and the insurgency in Iraq's second largest city

AFGHANISTAN

Chad Hunt photo makes the cover of TIME -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Chad emailed last night to say one of his Afghanistan images has been selected for the cover of this week's TIME magazine. The photo was taken at a small outpost in the Korengal Valley during his embed with the 1oth Mountain Division in December 2006. The Soldier in the photo is 1SG David Combs, and you can see the full image here.
We both thought it was a bit ironic that it's taken almost 2 years for a magazine like TIME to need a good photo of Afghanistan, but whatever...

Video: al Qaeda Ally Using Children in Afghanistan -- [Jawa Report]
Here is the much discussed video from the Islamic Jihad Union showing children being trained for battle. The Uzbek jihad group trains in Pakistan and, like its allies in al Qaeda and the Taliban, raids NATO and Afghan forces across the Afghan border.

Islamic Jihad Union: Badr al-Tawheed (2nd half)

WARNING: The video, while not that graphic, does show the dead body of the child. Consider yourselves warned.

Pakistan cedes Hangu to the Taliban -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Hangu is the latest settled district in the Northwest Frontier Province to fall under Taliban control.

Get Some Cheese -- [Dadmanly]
One of the great things about encouraging young soldiers to try out blogging, is when they take the plunge.
I'm been eager to read first hand reports from Afghanistan from one such soldier, blogging at Cheese's MILBLOG.
He got a scare this week

More U.S. troops may help but not solve Afghanistan -- [Reuters]
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and President George W. Bush all agree on one thing -- more U.S. troops should go to Afghanistan. But would they make much difference?
Many experts believe a boost in combat troops would help check worsening insurgent violence. Some are not convinced more troops are the answer and all believe that the problems facing Afghanistan require much more than military solutions.

Taliban Propaganda: Winning the War of Words? -- [International Crisis Group]
The Taliban has created a sophisticated communications apparatus that projects an increasingly confident movement. Using the full range of media, it is successfully tapping into strains of Afghan nationalism and exploiting policy failures by the Kabul government and its international backers. The result is weakening public support for nation-building, even though few actively support the Taliban. The Karzai government and its allies must make greater efforts, through word and deed, to address sources of alienation exploited in Taliban propaganda, particularly by ending arbitrary detentions and curtailing civilian casualties from aerial bombing.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Sabotage Detonates Explosives in Military Convoy, Killing 15 in Iraq Iran -- [Ace of Spades]
Lovely base you 'ave 'ere, Guv'ner. Would be a shame if something were t' 'appen to it.
Details are only now starting to reach the outside world, and it looks increasingly like sabotage was responsible for devastating a military convoy as it travelled through Khavarshahar. The company responsible for moving the equipment, LTK, is owned by the Revolutionary Guards and is suspected of being involved in shipping arms to Lebanon’s Hizbollah Shia Muslim militia, which is trained and funded by Tehran.
...But what really concerns Iran’s leadership is that the incident is the latest in a long line of unexplained explosions.
Tensions have been running high in Tehran since Seymour Hersh, the respected American investigative journalist, revealed in the New Yorker magazine last month that President George W Bush had authorised up to $400 million to fund a major escalation in covert operations to destabilise the regime.
Having contended with Iran’s attempts to undermine the Iraqi government over the past five years, British and American military commanders are more than happy to undertake covert operations in Iran, and there have been unconfirmed reports that special forces "militants" are operating undercover in the country.

Three ROK Marines Die in Pohang -- [GI Korea]
Here is something I think Koreans should show a bit of outrage about:
Three enlisted marines were killed Wednesday while standing guard at their base in the southeastern city of Pohang from what officials believe was the accidental collapse of a 38-year-old guard post.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Brotherhood Against Democracy [Counterterrorism Blog]
Seven years after 9/11 the ongoing confrontation between the free world and the forces of Jihadism seems to be revealing another broader more dangerous dimension: the emergence of an undeclared solidarity between regimes and organizations which --despite their enmity for each other -- come together to destroy freedom and obstruct its spread.

Online Discussion on "The Challenges of International Terrorism -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
As several studies have demonstrated, organized radicalization and recruitment (let alone training and the provision of funds and weapons) has long been central to the formation of a terrorist--that is, someone who is not only angry but willing to act on that anger in a violent manner. Today, that organizational function is in some cases carried out more passively via exposure to ideas and, perhaps more critically, a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded followers, on the Internet. But even among the increasing number of "homegrown" terrorists, European officials stress the importance of pre-existing personal vulnerabilities that serve as "push factors"as well as exposure to "radicalizers" - in person or online - over a period of time.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Avoiding ‘CSI Kandahar’ - Will Democrats support our troops and fix Boumediene? -- [The Corner]
‘We don’t have to pass anything,” smirked Jerrold Nadler to Newsweek. “Let the courts deal with it.”
The key House Democrat seems ever ready to lend a terrorist a helping hand. Just ask Susan Rosenberg, the Weather Underground bomber he helped convince Bill Clinton to commute her 60-year sentence. But now it’s our troops — who Democrats are forever saying they “support” — who need a helping hand. So here was Nadler, giving his usual thumbs-down to a Justice Department plea that Congress provide them, and the nation, with something other than the usual empty words.

Obama scraps visit to wounded troops -- [Breitbart / AP]
BERLIN (AP) - Sen. Barack Obama scrapped plans to visit wounded members of the armed forces in Germany as part of his overseas trip, a decision his spokesman said was made because the Democratic presidential candidate thought it would be inappropriate on a campaign-funded journey.
The spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Thursday that Obama made his decision out of respect for the servicemen and women, but Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign immediately criticized the move.
"Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military," said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the Republican contender.

Did Obama Snub Troops Becuase He Couldn't Bring Reporters Along? -- [Ace of Spades]
Earlier I blogged about Obama canceling a scheduled trip to meet troops stationed in Germany. The reason given was his campaign was paying for this part of his trip so it was somehow inappropriate to visit the troops. As I noted, he could have avoided turning it into a political event by ditching the press.

Obama's "Inappropriate" Visit with the Troops -- [Weekly Standard]
Obama canceled a planned visit with U.S. troops in Germany because, his spokesman said, it would be "inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign."
But after a July 2 campaign event in Colorado, "Obama later paid a private visit to the U.S. Air Force Academy and Peterson Air Force Base and raised money for his campaign at a $1,000-per-person event at a luxury hotel."
That trip to Colorado was certainly "funded by the campaign". So how was that visit okay if visiting troops in Germany is "inappropriate"?

MILITARY

Lessons Of The Iraq War -- [Strategy Page]
July 25, 2008: As the U.S. armed forces have done so many times before, they entered the uncertainty of a new war in 2001, and are now trying to figure out what they gained from it. Most of what went on during this war was unreported or misreported. This is nothing new. The important details, and lessons, of all past American wars were poorly reported, and what the military is trying to avoid is taking away the wrong lessons.

Are Homosexuals Superhuman? -- [Jawa Report]
The problem with the whole debate over whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to openly serve in the U.S. military is that no one is willing to admit what we all know: men want sex. A lot of it. And with multiple partners

WELCOME HOME

Free Welcome Home Banners -- [A Soldier's Perspective - CJ]
[UPDATE] The program was tremendously successful. Buildasign gave away all 10,000 banners in just three weeks, helping families of the armed forces using the resources they had. Now that they hit the 10,000 free banner mark, Buildasign still wants to help out all the families going to their website looking for a banner for their "Welcome Home" celebration. They are offering 10,000 free customizable license plates now and 50% off the banners. The link is the same, www.buildasign.com/Troops

MILBLOGGING

Reno Army captain told to shut down blog from Iraq -- [Reno Gazette-Journal] HT: Castle Argghhh!
Gallagher, a Reno native, announced June 27 that he had been ordered to stop posting to "Kaboom" because of his May 28 post: "The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is Press Coverage."
...Boisselle said she knows Gallagher, who has eight months left in his deployment, still feels honored to be serving.
"He wants people to know that this is the choice he's made," said Boisselle, 22. "I hear it in his voice. Despite what he's said about the Army, he's proud of his men and his decision to join."
His family remembers what led him to do what he said "someone else's sons and daughters" do.
"But don't tell me 'I'm sorry,' or gasp an 'oh dear!' when you see me home on leave visiting my family, and you hear that I'm now in the Army," Gallagher wrote in his first entry. "Save your condescending prattle for yourselves. I chose not to indulge. I escaped for a reason.

Silent Posting -- [WaPo] HT: BlackFive
With His Blog Kaboom, a Young Soldier Told of His War. Last Month, the Army Made Him Shut It Down.
...Word got around, and more and more readers closely followed the postings of 25-year-old Lt. Matthew Gallagher, with the site drawing tens of thousands of page views. By the time Kaboom went kaput last month -- Lt. G was ordered to take down his blog -- it had a following that would be the envy of many a small-town paper.

THE MEDIA

Mitchell: 'Scuttlebutt' Says McCain Sabotaged Obama Military Hospital Visit -- [NewsBusters]
Are reporters in the business of reporting fact or rumor?
...Barack Obama's cancellation of plans to visit injured military members at bases in Germany has drawn considerable attention and criticism. On today's Morning Joe, Mitchell passed along an Obama-campaign inspired rumor that McCain used his Pentagon connections to sabotage the Obama visit.

Obama Whines that Troops Watch FOX News...VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY! -- [Atlas Shrugs]
This thumbsucker is unbelievable. Click below to watch the video of Obama complaining that the troops only watch FOX." Why is FOX always on? " Obambi whined. Major Garrett said, "they make the choice" " Obama replied "Is that the commander in chief's choice?" huh? What a frickin crybaby.
He implies its a Bush conspiracy. Just for knowing, American Forces Radio and Television Service offers all cable channels and mainstream media channels, the troops choose FOX.
It aint a conspiracy its called "remote control"! The troops can change the channel.

CNN’s Amanpour ‘Surprised’ by Lack of ‘Euphoria’ After Obama Speech -- [NewsBusters]
CNN’s chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, reporting on Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin on Thursday’s “The Situation Room,” expressed her shock that the European crowd didn’t seem to have the same mania for the Democrat that the media has: “I did ask some people as they were leaving what they thought. Everybody said good, good. But I was surprised that there wasn't this sort of euphoria afterwards,

Bias By The Numbers -- [Texas Rainmaker]
Face it, there’s a liberal bias in mainstream media. The actions of the New York Times this week in publishing an editorial for their darling, Barack Obama, while initially refusing to do so for John McCain is just the latest evidence. In addition, McCain is getting the standard election-cycle treatment by the media, enjoying 1 minute of coverage for every 3 minutes for Obama… to say nothing of the fact that much of that single minute is negative coverage to boot.

AP's Weird Way With Numbers: Hate Crimes Edition [Media Nlog - Kevin D. Williamson]
The Associated Press is reporting an increase in the number of hate crimes in Los Angeles:
So 125 hate crimes against Latinos and 310 against blacks: that's 435 of the 763 hate crimes reported, meaning that 328 hate crimes — the largest group — were suffered by people who weren't black or Latino. So, AP, who were they? Whites, Asians, Jews, Native Americans, homosexuals, what? Aren't they worth reporting

POLITICS

Spot reports from the Politikal Frontkämpfern. -- [Castle Argghhh!]
And while these are single-straw views of a much larger whole, and anecdotal, they deserve a hearing, too. We'll happily accept inputs from deployed personnel who were happy and impressed by Senator Obama, too.
...When his plane arrived (also containing Senators Reed and Hagel, but the news has hardly mentioned them), there was a "ramp freeze." This means if you are on the flight line, and not directly involved with the event in question, you stay where you are and don't move. For a combat flight arriving or departing, this takes about ten minutes, and involves the active runway and crossing taxiways only. For Obama's flight, this took 90 minutes, during which time a variety of military missions came grinding to a halt. Obviously, this visit was important, right?

Baghdad, Berlin, Barack -- [WSJ]
Obama might have given Baghdad the same support he gave Berlin.
"But in the darkest hour," said Sen. Obama, "the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. 'There is only one possibility,' he said. 'For us to stand together united until this battle is won…. The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty'." This, from a U.S. Senator whose consistent message to the people of Baghdad, a similarly besieged city, also dependent on America's protection, has been, in effect, to give up.

Shocker?... OK, Not Really... Obama Lies About His Opposition to Surge -- [Gateway Pundit]
Today's Obama lie is brought to you from his interview with Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News
Power Line discovered this Obama lie.
Brian Williams asks Obama about the surge, and whether it has been a success. Obama answers that "even at the time of the debate of the surge, was if you put 30,000 troops in, of course it's going to have an impact."
Obama tells Brian Williams that he always said more troops would have an impact

Obama Said The Surge Would Actually Worsen Sectarian Violence

"I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there in fact I think it will do the reverse.

Hagel: Stop talking about surge, focus on 'New Order in the World' -- [AP]
OMAHA, Neb. — Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, fresh from an Iraq trip with Democrat Barack Obama, said the presidential candidates should focus on the war's future and stop arguing over the success of last year's troop surge. Hagel mentioned both candidates, but his comments seemed directed at Republican John McCain. McCain, while Obama traveled the Middle East, attacked Obama for opposing the military escalation last year that increased security in Iraq.
"Quit talking about, 'Did the surge work or not work,' or, 'Did you vote for this or support this,'" Hagel said Thursday on a conference call with reporters.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

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