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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.
Iraqis Say Deal Near On Troop Departure -- [Boston Globe]
Iraq and the United States are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that, two Iraqi officials told the Associated Press yesterday. US officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed upon.
Austin Bay - Conversation with General Petraeus
Prominent city leader gives state of Fallujah address -- [Fearless 1st Marines’ blog - in Iraq]
Sheikh Hamid Ahmed Al-Hashim, city council chairman, delivered his speech to the people of Fallujah through the local media. He addressed the progress the city has made in the past year, and focused on various quality of life projects and security improvements.
The city of Fallujah is rebuilding, Hamid mentioned. “We have a bright future ahead of us. Everyday, improvements are being made.”
...Security is only getting better, he said.
Iranian EFPs Disappear -- [Strategy Page]
August 8, 2008: Iran has been shipping far fewer Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) into Iraq this year compared to last, and there are fewer Iraqis willing to use them. This time last year, about a hundred a month were being used to attack U.S. troops. That's down over 80 percent this Summer.
Jamillia Market of Sadr City.
Happenings in the Jamillia Market of Sadr City.
In Iraq, Regional Politics Heats Up -- [WaPo]
Jockeying Grows Among Groups, and Within Them, as Violence Gradually Gives Way to Power Sharing
A growing number of Iraqi groups are choosing to pursue their agendas through politics instead of bloodshed, a trend that has helped bring down levels of violence. But as Iraqis leave behind the sectarian cataclysms of recent years, ethnic and regional political disputes in several parts of Iraq are becoming more pronounced.
Meeting With Iraqi Sheiks
U.S. Army soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division attend a meeting with Iraqi sheiks to discuss provincial unity in the Muthanna Province, Iraq,
Kirkuk row scuppers chance of Iraq elections next year -- [London Times]
The chances of key local polls taking place in Iraq this year all but vanished yesterday after Parliament failed to pass an law on elections because of a row over the contested city of Kirkuk, which threatens to heighten Arab-Kurdish tensions. Lawmakers will meet again after a month-long summer break to continue the debate, to the disappointment of the United Nations, Britain and the United States.
Rocks in a Hard Place -- Episode 6 -- Death Threats -- [Royal airforce]
The sixth of a weekly series of videos following the RAF Regiment on the frontline in Basra. II Squadron receives intelligence that insurgents are hiding rockets within range of the base and sends the Support Weapons Flight to investigate. It's not easy to get information from the local villagers as they frequently receive death threats from the local militias.
The last 10 yards in Anbar -- [Military Watch]
I spoke for an hour this afternoon with Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly, who commands U.S. and coalition forces in western Iraq. His take on winding down the war: "We are in the last 10 yards of this thing and we can't close that because it's economic, jobs ... the kind of things the government of Iraq needs to do.''
Rocks in a Hard Place - Episode 7 - Peace in a hostile territory - [Royal airforce]
A Flight enters into hostile territory to visit an Iraqi army post and gather intelligence. Close to a symbolic Shia shrine, the site was heavily bombed during the first Iraq war. Wary of local militias, the lads visit a nearby village bearing gifts for the school children.
Iraqis Work to Restore Essential Services After Bombing, Vow Terrorists Will Not Win -- [MNF-I]
A car bombing in northern Baghdad killed four residents and injured seven more shortly before 9 a.m., Aug. 3, 2008. Nearby business, buildings and power lines were also damaged in the attack.
“I think people that attack the innocent people are not real human beings. They are like animals,” said Omar Haddam, an electrician, who was working to help restore power to the residents of Suleikh, a neighborhood in the Adhamiyah District of Baghdad.
Coalition forces capture alleged terrorist leader -- [MNF-I]
Coalition forces detained 25 suspected terrorists Thursday during sweeps targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq operations and facilitation in central and northern Iraq. The alleged leader of an AQI network within Baghdad and one of his suspected associates are in Coalition custody after two precision operations in the city. The man is believed to be associated with the terrorist network in the Karkh neighborhood. The associate is also reportedly involved with AQI’s foreign terrorist network, helping to bring facilitation agents to Baghdad. Another
The end of Rakan's war -- Iraqi Mojo - Iraqi blog]
...Rakan Hassan, the boy whose life Larry Ronan saved, the boy I sat with most days for five months, the boy who became my sons' friend, the boy who touched anybody and everybody he met, was killed in June when a bomb exploded at his family's home in Mosul. He was 14 years old. Two of his sisters - an infant and a teenager - were injured in the attack but are expected to recover.
Transportation -- [Rocinante's Burdens - in Iraq]
I have no idea what the price of gas is in the USA. Here it is free.
...This is a typical Iraqi army vehicle. Made in the USA. This one is converted to the commander's vehicle and has a light machine gun on the back. I also see a lot of Ford F-350's here. By far though, the preferred vehicle for the Iraqi army is the HMMWV. They love those things. They love the horsepower and the armored sides and all the room inside to carry stuff. There is nothing comparable in their military history of vehicles. They are hoping
Interview With Army Gen. David McKiernan Barbara Starr -- [CNN]
STARR (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with CNN, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan warns Pakistan's continued harboring of al Qaeda and the Taliban could put the war in Afghanistan at risk.
GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, NATO COMMANDER, AFGHANISTAN: I don't believe we can get to the right outcome in Afghanistan as long as these militant sanctuaries exist across the border.
STARR: U.S. Army Four Star General David McKiernan is blunt about one of America's closest allies and the role of its intelligence service, the ISI.
MCKIERNAN: Do I believe that the Pakistani government must do more? I absolutely do.
Do I believe that there has been some complicity on the part of organizations such as the ISI, over time, in Pakistan? I believe there has been.
Pakistani forces clash with Taliban in Bajaur -- [LWJ- Bill Roggio]
The Pakistani military and the Taliban battled in the northern tribal agency of Bajaur after security forces launched an attack. More than 25 extremists were reported killed and 30 wounded after Pakistani forces targeted Taliban hideouts in the Loisam region in Bajaur with helicopter gunships and artillery, Geo News reported.
Wounded Warrior Returns
Package about Cpl. Garrett Jones, a Marine, who is an avid snowboarder, in spite of the fact that he lost a leg due to an improvised explosive device. Provided by American Forces Network Afghanistan.
Insurgencies and Politics -- [A Major's Perspective - in Afghanistan]
I briefly touched on this last night in the article about Pakistan and the Taliban forces (More On Afghanistan and Pakistan). I received a lot of emails asking about it, so I wanted to elaborate a little more. The original insurgency design of a Maoist type insurgent is one in which they attack the government along three lines of operation. These lines of operation are broken down into Political, Guerrilla, and Conventional War. The decisive effort (or most important) is ...
The Forgotten War -- [The Washington Independent]
Four-star General Calls Afghanistan Conflict "Generational"
As U.S. military casualties mount in Afghanistan, a retired four-star Army general, who just returned from reviewing the six-plus-year war effort, said the country "is in misery" and describes the war as "a 25-year campaign." In a memo written for the Social Sciences Dept. at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on July 30, Barry McCaffrey, a division commander during the 1991 Gulf War and drug czar under President Bill Clinton, writes that there is "no unity of command" -- either among U.S. and foreign coalition troops, or even among U.S. troops.
Ingress to Afghanistan -- [The Captain’s Journal]
India has long been very wary of the Taliban, having fought Islamic extremists in the Kashmir region for years. Hence, they knew long before the U.S. did that political and security problems would cast doubt on the supply of arms and other military materiel to NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Sea-Borne SCUD Threat to US? -- [Threats Watch - Steve Schippert]
This UPI article carried in today’s Washington Times will no doubt get the reader’s attention: “Threat of scud attacks a reality”. The threat is real, the technology exists, and it is available and incredibly cheap; at least a half-dozen rogue...
President visits Korea, thanks troops -- [Army News]
The president arrived to the enthusiastic cheers of more than a thousand Americans who serve, live and work on the Korean peninsula along with their Republic of Korea military counterparts. Bush thanked the service members for their dedicated service, lauded military families and commended the U.S. alliance with the Republic of Korea, which has endured for 55 years.
...Applause erupted from the crowd as the president discussed working with U.S. allies in Asia to deter the North Korean nuclear program. “We are going to stand united with South Korea and China and Japan and Russia until we reach our ultimate goal -- and that is a Korean peninsula where people are free from nuclear weapons and free from oppression.” Bush said.
Saudi Women's Activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider’s New YouTube Video: -- [MEMRI Blog]
On the Saudi Ban of Women Competing in the Beijing Olympics, Special Dispatch #2016
The following are screen shots from the new YouTube video by Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider titled "No to Women’s Oppression," on the Saudi ban on women competing in the Beijing Olympics. In the video, Wajeha Al-Huwaider writes, "participating in the Olympics is the impossible dream for Saudi women, until they lift the ban on sports for women in public schools and government universities."
Russia Threatens Retaliation After Georgia Says It Fired on Planes -- -[NY Times]
The sharpest fighting since the early 1990s in the disputed Caucasian enclave of South Ossetia threatened to draw Russia and the American-backed former Soviet republic of Georgia into direct military conflict on Friday.
...Speaking in Beijing, where he traveled to attend the opening of the Olympic Games, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Georgia’s actions "will certainly lead to retaliatory actions.”
Russia sends forces into Georgian rebel conflict -- [Reuters]
A senior Georgian security official said Russian jets had bombed the Vaziani military airbase outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and President Mikheil Saakashvili said 150 Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles had entered South Ossetia from neighboring Russia.
Israel warns Russia: We'll neutralize S-300 if sold to Iran -- [Jerusalem Post]
If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations, a top defense official has told The Jerusalem Post.
Islamic Group Warns Muslims to Keep Children Away From Olympics (Video) -- [Gateway Pundit]
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) issued a new threat on August 6, 2008 against the Beijing Olympics, and urged Muslims not to attend the games or be within the vicinity, reported SITE Institute.
China discovers al Qaeda in its backyard -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
In a video accusing China’s Communist Government of “mistreating Muslims” a Jihadi group threatened to attack the Summer Games in Beijin. A spokesman of the Turkistan Islamic Party accuses China of “forcing Muslims into atheism and destroying Islamic schools. The “Turkistan Islamic Party” is most likely based across the border in Pakistan, where sources affirm it received training from Al Qaeda.
Disgraceful Hamdan Sentence Calls Military Commissions Into Question -- [NRO - Andrew C. McCarthy]
In an astounding finale to the first military-commission trial, Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s personal aide, has been sentenced by a military commission to five-and-a-half years in prison — five-and-a-half years — upon conviction for the war crime of providing material support to al-Qaeda.
It gets worse.
About right -- [Neptunas Lex]
This is fair. The whole point of putting Hamdan on trial first was to validate the military commissions process. The case against him was strong enough to ensure a conviction on at least one count so long as no procedural show stoppers emerged and he was an insignificant enough a player in his own right that a procedural miscarriage carried with it little real security risk to the republic.
It offends the notion of justice to send an simpleton to prison for life merely for the crime of having been borne stupid, and it seems relatively clear that ...
Al Jazeera Hosts Party for a Terrorist -- [CNS News]
An Israeli official has accused the Arabic satellite television channel Al Jazeera of “unprofessional” behavior in hosting a party at its Beirut office for newly freed arch-terrorist Samir Kuntar. As a result, it may face sanctions from Israel’s Government Press Office.
Companions Of Wounded Warriors Share Pain -- [CBS]
When a soldier goes off to war, an entire family sacrifices as well. According to some experts, eight relatives are directly affected by every deployment. Much has been written about America’s wounded warriors. Less familiar are the challenges their spouses face when they become caregivers.
A Film to Watch: "Warriors... in their own words" -- [View from the 8th Floor]
I first wrote about the film when I got an email with a link to the trailer clip back in the spring.
This film isn’t about Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s about those who step up to serve as warriors - as our “sheepdogs” - who do not only their best, “but what’s necessary”.
In my opinion, this film is a reminder of why we need to respect what our warriors volunteer to do, regardless of our political persuasions.
USS Kearsarge’s Doctor Brigade -- [War is Boring]
There are more doctors aboard this ship than you can shake a tongue depressor at. Huddled in USS Kearsarge’s wardroom together, the dozens of physicians from the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the Canadian army, the Dutch navy and even the Brazilian military look like a bag of M&Ms that someone picked all the reds out of. And sprinkled among the browns, blues, tans and greens are the solid dark blue uniforms of the federal government’s seventh uniformed service, which I didn’t even know existed until this week. These belong to doctors and nurses from the U.S. Public Health Service. (In case you’re wondering, the sixth uniformed service is the oceanographic agency.)
...They’re not the kind of force you’d send en masse into a warzone, but for Kearsarge’s “soft power” deployment to deliver humanitarian aid to South America, the USPHS is perhaps just right. They’re highly skilled medical personnel with deep and diverse real-world experience … and they’re used to working far from home in austere conditions.
Adventures in Blogging: Early Impressions -- [Information Dissemination]
The three embedded bloggers who departed with the USS Kearsarge yesterday have spoken. We intend to follow the adventures of David Axe, Chris Albon, and Boston Maggie because they represent exactly what the Navy is trying to do here. David Axe is a veteran reporter, so his perspective will be big picture. Chris Albon discusses war and health, so we should expect some insight from the humanitarian angle from him. Boston Maggie is, well, representative of most Americans
Every penny counts. -- [Blog-ah]
In October I will have severed five years in the military, and during those years the only time I was financially stable was while I was deployed. When you come back from your tour there is a certain reflex that tells you: “You deserve something.”
...married soldiers as well single soldiers who have come to his office all have seemingly the same issues; they just can’t keep up with the ever-changing economics, such as the rise in gas and food and, for some, rent prices as well as mortgages. His advice to soldiers is
Interesting news from the Coast Guard - and Homeland Defense -- [Castle Argghhh!]
From an email: Not sure what this means but it seems that very shortly Coasties will be able to apply to serve with the SEALS.My thoughts? Heh. It sounds to me like HLD wants to have an in-house, non-DoD SpecOps ability not subject to Posse Comitatus. It could just be the Coast Guard wants SpecOps trained ship-boarders for some of those feistier drug runners and pirates, too.
Hannah’s “Army Angels” inspire deployed soldiers -- [Crossville Chronicle]
This courageous little girl who, throughout her difficult ordeal thought about others more than herself, finally got to welcome home "her soldiers.
...After successful surgery to remove the tumor, Hannah had a lot to think about and a lot to give thanks for. After much thought and many prayers she knew she wanted to "give something back" and decided to start a support group for deployed soldiers and their families here at home. She called it "Army Angels" and it eventually came to encompass the children of Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Megathlin: Every soldier deserves hug -- [Savannah Morning News]
...She said that before the soldiers arrived, she had been talking to another soldier in the unit's rear detachment. He was there to greet his returning buddies.
He told her that he had been to Iraq twice. When he came home, he didn't have anyone waiting for him. He had told himself it was no big deal, but as he watched his friends embrace their families, a silenced part of him found its voice. He collected his belongings, went back to his barracks, and cried.
The 3rd Infantry Division soldiers still in Iraq won't be home until January. Hundreds of them signed up to be adopted by patriotic Americans before they got on the plane at Hunter. To adopt a soldier, write to me.
Survivor Baghdad -- [Jane Stillwater - journalist in Iraq]
...She is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. She’s a war correspondent, a mother of two pre-teens and looks like she might still be in high school (a sophomore at most).
“Have you ever been to Iraq before?” I naively asked. She had. And also to Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, etc.
...“The only thing wrong with this life,” she added, “is the PTSD. Sometimes I’m just not in complete control of my behavior. That’s why I’m not voting for John McCain. After seven years in a prison camp, he’s bound to have PTSD — and occasionally slip out of control.” That’s a sobering thought — especially since McCain would be having his finger on the red button if he won.
NYT Can't Wait: 'Deadly U.S. Milestone' of 500 Deaths in Afghanistan -- [NewsBusters]
The New York Times's front-page report Thursday marking the 500th death in Afghanistan (most but not all in combat) tracks through the same muddy ruts as the paper's previous four stories marking each 1,000 fatality mark in Iraq. It's taken almost seven years of combat in Afghanistan to reach the plateau of 500, which
Selective Editing? -- [Confederate Yankee]
A man has be arrested for making threats against Barack Obama.
Notice any difference in how the story is told, however?
CNN's version: - AP Version:
The suspect also hated President Bush and is quoted as wanting to put a bullet in his head, so he's an equal opportunity assassination fantasist. Why CNN didn't think that detail was newsworthy?
Olbermann: Bin Laden’s Driver Is ‘Victim’ of Bush Admin ‘Urinating’ on Constitution -- [NewsBusters]
On Thursday’s Countdown show, one night after accusing President Bush of not doing enough to protect America from Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organization before the September 11th attacks, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann seemed sympathetic to the plight of bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan, during
Seven-year-old to Michelle Obama: Let’s finish what we started in Iraq -- [Hot Air]
I’ll say this much for the Obamas: No one has more interesting political conversations with second-graders than they do. Something for everyone here — for the righties, some easy snark that the correct way to proceed in Iraq is obvious even to grade-school kids; for the lefties, some even easier snark that it takes someone with the mindset of a grade-school kid to think this is the correct way to proceed; and for the nonpolitical among us, a warm and fuzzy moment at the end. A good time was had by all.
Federal Officers to Obama: We’re No Terrorists -- [Stop the ACLU]
The president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association has sent a blistering letter to Barack Obama castigating him for a remark he made that the organization says equates its members with “terrorists.”
...The letter from the Association’s National President Art Gordon states: “On behalf of the 26,000 members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), I take great exception to your disparaging remark, `.communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids.’
“While the dedicated men and women of ICE endeavor to carry out their dangerous and noble missions, you somehow felt compelled to characterize their efforts as something akin to terrorizing.
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