 |
|
 |
| Monthly Archives | [−] |
Prev | List | Random | Next |
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.
Exit Petraeus, Without Fanfare -- [WSJ]
General David Petraeus's tenure in Iraq draws to a close at the end of the month, and it's a measure of his success that he is departing to far less political fanfare than when his tour began. In September 2007, MoveOn.org called him General "Betray-Us," and Hillary Clinton said his claims of progress weren't credible. Now those critics are silent.
Exiting Iraq, Petraeus Says Gains Are Fragile -- [NY Times]
The surge, clearly, has worked, at least for now: violence, measured in the number of attacks against Americans and Iraqis each week, has dropped by 80 percent in the country since early 2007, according to figures the general provided. Civilian deaths, which peaked at more than 100 a day in late 2006, have also plunged. Car and suicide bombings, which stoked sectarian violence, have fallen from a total of 130 in March 2007 to fewer than 40 last month. In July, fewer Americans were killed in Iraq — 13 — than in any month since the war began.
The result, now visible in the streets, is a calm unlike any the country has seen since the American invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in April 2003. The signs — Iraqi families flooding into parks at sundown, merchants throwing open long-shuttered shops — are stunning to anyone who witnessed the country’s implosion in 2005 and 2006.
You've Got To Be Kidding Me: Or, Yeah, Let's Courtmartial Petraeus -- [BlackFive - Grim]
What is the purpose of the US military -- to win the wars its nation sends it to fight, or to make sure they don't say anything that anyone might possibly construe as an insult?
[E]ven if Petraeus offered his comments personally, that's a distinction without a difference. "Privately he's denigrating 21 percent of troops," Weinstein said. Suppose he privately denigrated women, African-Americans or Jews? Weinstein asked.
"He should still be relieved of duty and court martialed," he said.
U.S., Iraqi Negotiators Agree on 2011 Withdrawal -- [WaPo]
U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from the country by the end of 2011, and Iraqi officials said they are "very close" to resolving the remaining issues blocking a final accord that governs the future American military presence here.
Former PM criticizes Iraqi politicians’ stances regarding long-term agreement -- [Voices of Iraq]
BAGHDAD, Aug. 22 - Former Iraqi Prime Minister and Leader of al-Islah (Reform) party Ibrahim al-Jaafari criticized the Iraqi politicians’ stances regarding the long-term Iraqi-U.S. agreement, according to a statement released from his office on Friday
Marines And Iraqi Army In Final Stage Of Negotiations
Day 63. The Iraqi Army Supply System -- [Rocinante's Burdens - in Iraq]
The Iraqi Supply System.
This is perhaps the largest remaining challenge keeping US forces in Iraq. The Enemy is defeated. The Iraqi Army is strong and willing to fight. The population supports their government against the insurgents. But the IA supply system is a source of frustration for all who encounter it.
Questions about U.S.-Iraq agreement - [Wa Times]
... a number of provisions that are being talked about raise troubling questions. For example, there is the question of whether American contractors would be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Bush administration "dropped its insistence that American contractors remain immune from Iraqi law." If that is true, it would be disturbing news indeed. Contractors like Blackwater International have played a critical role in providing security for Miss Rice and other State Department officials. While Iraq has made remarkable progress in many areas since the fall of Saddam Hussein, we have seen too many situations where Iraqi politicians have attempted to score easy political points by criticizing US contractors.
Failed myths and those who sell them -- [Armed and Curious]
Sometimes the truth comes out and nobody notices because a myth has been sold for so long. The truth about the Mehdi Army, or Jaesh Al Mehdi (JAM) as we soldiers call them, is finally coming out but it seems everyone is too busy to care now. The Olympics are in full swing, Georgia is fighting for its survival and the clock has moved on it seems. I thought of this because I caught a gut wrenching story on CNN from a terrific reporter named Arwa Damon yesterday. She is one of a crop of young journalists who have truly figured out Iraq and work hard to tell the stories no one else is telling.
The inside story on the night-to-day transformation in Iraq -- [Star Tribune - VFF's Pete Hegseth - in Iraq]
...Moreover, Samarra's Sunni residents have discovered that Al-Qaida is in their city, not to help them, but to exploit them, says Hegseth. They have seen Al-Qaida operatives behead children in front of their parents, chop off people's fingers to punish them for smoking, and carry out indiscriminate bombings in market places, he says.
In 2007, local leaders -- many of them former Sunni insurgents -- started the Samarra Rescue Council to expel the terrorists who had infiltrated their neighborhoods. But they got nowhere until months later, after the U.S. troop surge, when they found a U.S. battalion willing to collaborate in bold new counter-insurgency tactics.
Soldier Barbie
Soldier becoming "Barbie" for a local Iraqi family. Scenes include "Barbie" passing out pizza slices and playing with the children.
Black And Blue -- [The War on Big Tobacco: Black And Blue - in Iraq]
The referee stands between us: “No Armbars. No punching. If this guy taps out, you stop.”
“Wait a minute,” I think. “The referee pointed to me when he said that.”
The referee already knows that the outcome of this match is predetermined. It’s not a question of if Sergeant Rocksalt will win, it’s a question of how long before he chokes me out.
...I fought Sergeant Rocksalt because leadership should always stand up first, even if failure is imminent, because it proves to your soldiers that you are willing to face fear and adversity in front of them.
A REAL LEADER!!! -- [THE CI-ROLLER DUDE]
...As most of my readers know one of my favorite topics has to do with leadership. Do you know what a good leader is? I think I do.
Anyway, this dude was a Master Sergeant (E-8.) He was high enough in the NCO food chain to have stayed on the camp with all the other E-8's. But, he was a TEAM LEADER for one of our teams. He could have gone out (they went out 6-7 days a week) and rode inside the Up armored Humvee...but he didn't. He rode out in the gun turret.
The first time I saw him standing in the gun turret, I thought he was just joking around...but I found out he went out into Baghdad and back and stood in the gun turret the entire time....every day.
Jihadis shift attention to war in Afghanistan -- [CS Monitor]
... jihadi websites affiliated with Al Qaeda have been giving renewed emphasis to the war in Afghanistan, especially in recruitment advertisements, after years of highlighting the battle against US forces in Iraq, says Brian Glyn Williams, associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
"The perception on many Al Qaeda websites is that the momentum has come around to the side of the insurgency and that Afghanistan is winnable" as opposed to the war in Iraq, which is "no longer seen as a sure thing," says Mr. Williams.
Hidden Battles And Secret Victories -- [Strategy Page]
August 22, 2008: The Taliban are taking advantage of the unwillingness of many NATO contingents to fight. Groups of Taliban gunmen are being sent to the vicinity of Kabul, where many of these less warlike NATO operate, and have launched attacks. They got lucky and killed ten French troops in one of these operations, in an action that highlighted the degree to which these troops, and their leaders, were unprepared for combat. By attacking, and inflicting losses, on these troops, the Taliban stir up political controversy back in Europe, leading, the Taliban hope, to withdrawal of the NATO troops from Afghanistan.
Embedded Transition Team in Zabul Works Hard to Root Out Taliban -- [First Lt. Amy Bonanno - in Afghansitan]
Zabul Province (August 3) — Ever since they gave wheat seed to the local community in February, the Taliban have relentlessly been after them. Does that stop this hardened group of U.S. Army Embedded Trainers who mentor and advise the Afghan National Army (ANA)? Never.
Why we are losing Afghanistan -- [Captain's Journal]
Completely aside from any political point or campaign (TCJ is conservative), and in spite of having lost readers and links because of our stand, The Captain’s Journal has made it clear for more than half a year that the security situation in Afghanistan is degrading. We have pointed out that many NATO troops operate under rules of engagement that prevent them from participating in any offensive operations, that NATO has no coherent strategy of engagement with and provision of security for the population, and that the Taliban, once restricted primarily to asymmetric operations, have been able to field hundreds of fighters in heavily conventional operations such as the battle of Wanat, in a raging battle that U.S. soldiers describe as pure chaos.
While U.S. Army intelligence and senior command in Afghanistan was denying that there would be a spring offensive, we were describing the dual front strategy of the Taliban
bad decisions -- [Cheese's MilBlog - in Afghansitan]
If you're ever considering parking your gaudy SUV in an infantry company's already meager parking lot while they're out on mission, remember this:
Russia says ready to supply Syria with defensive weapons -- [Russian News & Information]
Russia is ready to supply Syria with defensive weapons, the Russian foreign minister said on Thursday following a meeting between the two countries leaders in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Russia Wednesday on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, in particular the situation in the Middle East and Iraq.
"We are ready, and Dmitry Medvedev has confirmed this, to review a Syrian request to purchase new types of weapons," Sergei Lavrov said following the meeting between Medvedev and Assad.
Report from Tbilisi -- [Michael Totten - in Tbilisi]
Fleeing Russian brutality, Georgians look to the West for support.
Russia’s invasion of Georgia has unleashed a refugee crisis all over the country and especially in its capital. Every school here in Tbilisi is jammed with civilians who fled aerial bombardment and shootings by the Russian military—or massacres, looting, and arson by irregular Cossack paramilitary units swarming across the border. Russia has seized and effectively annexed two breakaway Georgian provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It has also invaded the region of Gori, which unlike them had been under Georgia’s control.
A view from inside Georgia... -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
...during the invasion of Georgia by Russia. Written by a student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. David is Georgian himself, as he notes in his note, reprinted here with permission.
Here at Castle Argghhh!, we found ourselves in the midst of the Russian InfoOps campaign almost immediately, with the email that prompted this post apparently from a retired russian Lieutenant Colonel, named Vadim.
A Nasty Piece Of Work -- [Strategy Page]
August 21, 2008: Iran continues to ignore threats of sanctions from the West, and keeps its nuclear power (and suspected nuclear weapons) program going. Iran is getting around the sanctions by increasingly going to China for materials, and access to financial services. Russia and China continue to run interference for Iran in the UN.
Dem Mantra of More Deaths By Terror Under Bush Disproven -- [NewsBusters]
A new independent study shows that deaths from terrorism have actually declined by more than 40 percent since 2001. This flies in the face of the constant Democrat mantra that states the opposite, that terrorism has increased since Bush initiated the War on Terror. It is a mantra that the media have helpfully spread for their friends at the DNC.
New Zawahiri Video Released -- [Jawa Report]
As promised two days ago, al Qaeda's as-Sahab production arm has released a video of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The video shows Zawahiri eulogizing Abu Khabab al-Masri (aka, Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar) and Abu Abdullah al-Shami.
Al-Qaeda bombing, propaganda networks degraded -- [Jawa Report]
BAGHDAD – Coalition forces detained 16 suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq bombing and propaganda networks Thursday and Friday in the central and northern parts of the country.
General Calls for International Effort in Combating Terrorism -- [FSM]
Faced with threats from al Qaeda and similar groups, as well as a nonspecific “malign Iranian influence,” U.S. and allied strategic planners are expanding their toolkits beyond military force to include diplomacy, communication, humanitarian assistance and other civilian-oriented tools, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert H. Holmes, deputy director of operations for US Central Command.
Holmes said his role at CentCom includes oversight of “irregular warfare, the nonkinetic solutions, some whole-of-government approaches, but particularly ...
Religion, Radicalization and the future of Terrorism -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The UK's Guardian today published details of a report produced by Britain's Security Service (MI5) entitled, 'Understanding radicalization and violent extremism in the UK'. The report is from MI5's internal behavioral analysis unit and contains within it some interesting and surprising conclusions. The Guardian report covers many of these in depth (so no need to go over here) but one point, which is worth highlighting is the claim made within the report that religion is and was not a contributory factor in the radicalization of the home-grown terrorist threat that the UK faces. In fact, the report goes on to state that a strong religious faith protects individuals from the effects of extremism.
Guardian Angels For Soldier’s Pets -- [Far from Perfect]
Guardian Angels For Soldier’s Pets is a wonderful organization that helps find foster families for soldier’s pets. A lot of times family pets end up in pounds when soldier’s deploy because they can’t find anyone to take care of them, or don’t have the funds to send them to a family member. I have even heard of pets being set free to roam or locked in their now empty houses. I wanted to bring this organization to attention here, because until a few days ago I had never heard of them
A welcome home -- [Woodbury Bulletin]
Non-profit organization "Homes for Our Troops" raised funds to construct the home, which is specially-equipped for Kuboy, who was wounded while serving in Iraq.
AZ Vet Cemetery Under Attack -- [C.H.U.D. Busters]
Vandals are stealing headstones, ripping down signs and plastering graffiti on pillars at the Valley's Veteran's National Memorial Cemetery, Phoenix police said."Well, they tried to pry this off the wall,' said Wayne Ellis, cemetery director. Ellis was pointing to a spot where vandals tried to pry open a memorial marker where the remains of one of Arizona's U.S. war veterans is enshrined.Ellis said it's the latest incident in string of crimes targeting the cemetery off Cave Creek Road in north Phoenix.
What's in a suit? -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
Do clothes make the man? The warrior? Of course not. It's what's *in* the suit that matters - but...
Admittedly, the only uniform that truly matters is the combat uniform.
...Who'da thunk it could get *worse*?
So, now we're going to wear our dress blues as our everyday uniform.
Heh, again.
The Sergeant Major of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army have decided. Almost every Chief makes some tweak to the uniform - the nature of the beast is such that it's about the only change a Chief can initiate and see through to completion during his term. Can't blame 'em for the frustration inherent in that.
Military to select firm for ‘info ops’ initiative in Iraq -- [Cannoneer4]
MNF-I RFP here.
counter misinformation spread by hostile parties. Stopping rumors
You know. Stuff milblogs and civilian irregular information operators do for free.
Who Serves in the US Military? The Demographics of Enlisted Troops and Officers. -- [Heritage Foundation]
- US military service disproportionately attracts enlisted personnel and officers who do not come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Members of the all-volunteer military are significantly more likely to come from high-income neighborhoods than from low-income neighborhoods.
- American soldiers are more educated than their peers.
- Contrary to conventional wisdom, minorities are not overrepresented in military service.
Leaked Data on Radicalization in the UK -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The Guardian newspaper made public today parts of a classified internal research document produced by Britain's MI-5. As someone who has worked in intelligence and law enforcement, I do not condone the unauthorized release of classified material. While it is important to keep the public informed, prematurely releasing classified matieral can put (human) sources and (technical) methods at risk. I wonder how much such considerations factored into the Guardian's decision to publish its "exclusive" report on this report.
LATimes Brooks Thinks Russia/Georgia War is Funny -- [NewsBusters]
The L.A. Times' Rosa Brooks has done it again, taken a serious subject and made an uninformed romp of it. One wonders how the old Georgian lady seen in news photos standing wounded among the ruins of her apartment building, or the Georgian Mother running down the street, infant in her arms, trying to escape Russian tanks might feel about the humor with which Brooks brings to bear upon their plight?
Vets not victims, part 4 -- [Foreign and Domestic]
Al Franken repeats a promise made last week to Veterans if he gets elected-free health care for life.
Now most WWII and Korea vets will no doubt be happy with this, as many of them were promised free health care and the government has made an annual spectacle of putting off that promise until next year. For about 30 years now, Congress decides to figure out how to pay for it next year. And the next. And the next year. And so on. Most WWII vets will give you a stern lecture with lots of four letter words when it comes to government promises of free health care for life.
Yikes! Obama-Ayers Ad Released -- [Gateway Pundit]
American Issues Project released the first Obama-Ayers ad of the season today.
This ad is devastating:
EXPLOSIVE AUDIO!... Obama Argues For Death Of Babies Born Live After Attempted Abortion (2002) -- [Gateway Punfit]
Infidels are Cool discovered this shocking audio from 2002:
Military mistakes accidents and crashes :) -- [HT: LT Nixon]
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
