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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.
Iraq violence calms, but is the war over? -- [Baltimore Sun]
Violence has largely subsided in Iraq. American casualties are at their lowest levels since 2003, and Iraqi forces are maintaining security in most of the country.
Is the war in Iraq over?
Iraq is a hot issue out on the presidential campaign trail, where Barack Obama and John McCain are squabbling over the genesis of the war and where to go from here.
But from the battlefield, U.S. combat commanders are giving some surprising answers.
Iraq football final before sellout crowd -- [AP]
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Tens of thousands of Baghdad football fans cheered on their club in the top league's final game, the largest sports crowd the city has seen since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003....
Iraq PM Wants Changes to U.S. Military Deal: Ally -- [Defense News]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is demanding changes to a draft deal on the status of U.S. forces beyond this year, a key Shiite ally in the governing coalition said on August 24.
"There are points in the agreement that are still pending and they can't be approved without changes in order to preserve the complete sovereignty of Iraq," the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) quoted Maliki as telling fellow Shiite politicians at a meeting on Saturday.
Talabani Watch II -- [The Corner - Michael Rubin]
Talabani still has not been seen in public since August 2, when he flew to the Mayo Clinic. Reuters reported almost two weeks ago that he had had emergency heart surgery. Three days ago, Agence France Presse had reported that Talabani had yet to return to Iraq. Today was the day that initial reports were to have Talabani in Iran, but he is not there, and the Iranian foreign ministry now says that the visit will only happen in the 'future.' No recent photos of Talabani have appeared in his own party's newspaper,
Maliki To Sunni Fighters: You're Done, Thanks -- [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Iraq's government is grateful to U.S.-allied Sunni fighters, but won't allow them to keep their weapons indefinitely, the prime minister said yesterday, hinting at a more intense crackdown on the Sunni groups.
In recent weeks, the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has gone after Sunni fighters despite their alliances with the Americans. Some leaders have been arrested, while scores of others have been disarmed and banned from manning checkpoints except alongside security forces.
Maliki's government has mixed feelings about Sunni tribes that rose up against al-Qaeda in Iraq, starting in 2007, and joined the Americans in the fight against the terror network.
Black and white in a grey land -- [Armed and Curious - in Iraq]
I am often amazed at how we like to see the world in black and white here in the United States. There is good and evil, sweet and sour, right and wrong. We tend to too easily categorize people and we do it in short sighted ways. You see much of the world is grey and Iraq is a place of many shades of grey. Often the bad guys are really bad and the good guys aren’t perfectly good. We have to figure out those distinctions to do business the right way there but often those distinctions are much blurrier than our American minds can see.
Female suicide bomber detained in Baqubah -- [MNF-I]
An unwilling female suicide bomber was detained in Baqubah Aug. 24 by Iraqi Police.
The unwilling suicide bomber surrendered to the IPs rather than detonating herself and potentially killing or wounding bystanders. After identifying the suicide vest on the 13-year-old female, IPs requested Iraqi and Coalition force Explosive Ordnance Disposal units to remove the vest.
After her detainment, the girl led IPs to a second suicide vest. The IPs secured the vest and detained the girl.
Officials reopen refurbished Jadriya Lake Park in Karadah -- [MNF-I]
An estimated 2,250 Iraqi citizens witnessed a step toward normalcy as local officials reopened Jadriya Lake Park in the Karadah district of eastern Baghdad Aug. 22. Joining those citizens at the reopening were the government officials, security force leaders, contractors and Soldiers who worked together to restore the lake and surrounding grounds.
Security Scene -- [VFF' Back to Iraq - Erik Swabb - in Iraq]
It was easy to be skeptical when Brig. Gen. Raheem, a Shia police chief in Baghdad, declared that his district was welcoming back Sunnis driven from their homes during the previous sectarian strife. Reconciliation between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq was supposedly nonexistent. When I pointed out to the general that it seemed easier to maintain security in one-sect districts, he dismissed the suggestion. If the original residents again lived in the neighborhood, he explained, they could identify any strangers and terrorists entering the area.
Bridge re-opens over Thar Thar Canal -- [Fearless 1st Marines’ blog] - in Iraq]
Iraqi Army soldiers operating in an area shared by Regimental Combat Team 1, escorted local sheiks and tribal leaders across a newly constructed bridge in the Bagharra region of Iraq, Aug. 19. The passage marked the re-opening of the Salem Bridge, an important link in connecting local citizens with cities on the other side of the Thar Thar Canal. Insurgents had demolished the original bridge with improvised explosive devices more than a year ago, forcing locals to travel nearly five hours to cross the canal. “Before this bridge opened, the people were suffering,” said 2nd Lt. Nasser Kazzoy, scout platoon commander with the Iraqi Army. “Now that the bridge is open, people can cross the bridge and get to the other side in five minutes.”
Rocks in a Hard Place Episode 6 (Mature)
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...
Three senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders captured in Baghdad -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
A senior al Qaeda adviser, a district commander, and an adviser to Obu Omar al Baghdadi were captured during raids over the past two weeks. Both played a crucial part in al Qaeda's terror campaign in 2007.
Oil windfall, so why can't Iraq shoulder its own reconstruction burden? -- [IN-Iraq - Jim Foley - in Iraq]
Sunni tribesmen are being paid to not blow up critical northern pipelines. The Basrah oil fields in the south aren't being siphoned nearly as often. So now that Iraq is flush in oil profits, why can't it cover the full costs of its own reconstruction?
Rocks in a Hard Place Episode 7
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.
Muntheria -- [Up Country Iraq - in Iraq]
As part of my ongoing collection effort, I spent some time out east on the Iraq-Iran border gathering information on Port of Entry Transition Teams (POETT). Closely related, but not quite the same, is the Border Transition Team (BTT). The BTT works with the Iraqi version of our Border Patrol, and the POETT works with the customs, passport, and immigration people at the (legal) border crossings (as my wife asked, "Do they really have people immigrating to Iraq?). The Port of Entry (POE) which I visited is called the Muntheria POE, which sits near a city called Khanaqin.
Command And Staff -- [THIS WE'LL DEFEND - in Iraq]
Well on to WHAT I DID TODAY. Right now I am sitting on the back ramp of an MRAP (I told you to look it up) in the parking lot of a National Police Battalion headquarters somewhere in Baghdad. Our team chief, the Major is trying real hard to get the Iraqi battalion leadership to be as excited about his project, adviser wise, as he is. His idea is that they hold a "Command and Staff" meeting once a week. Now this is a grand tradition in our Army, because we have learned over two centuries of mostly kicking ass that the way to do it more effectively is by having a bunch of officers locked in a room together,...
...what? -- [Somethign on the Staff - in Iraq]
Every so often I have these “…what?” moments with the Iraqi Army. Case in point, I went to find an Iraqi officer who was supposed to meet me for dinner. I sat down in his office and used my rudimentary Arabic on one of his brother officers. Then an Iraqi lieutenant colonel walks in and they talk amongst themselves. The first officer proceeds to whip out a tazer, and turn it on for his boss. It sparked and made a series of unfriendly cracking noises. I’ve never had a normal conversation that ended with someone whipping out a tazer. So there’s my first “…what?” moment of the day. I don’t speak that much Arabic, but I’m pretty sure the LTC said “Dude, that totally reeks of awesomeness, let me try.” The LTC grabs the tazer, turns it on and jokingly jabs the active tazer at his buddy. Ha ha! What fun.
My Long War -- [New York Times - Dexter Filkins]
I pulled on my running shoes and stepped into the sweltering streets. It was a Thursday in July 2003, twilight, and well over 100 degrees. I was feeling a little reckless. If this ended badly, the only thing anyone would remember was how stupid I was.
We had set up the New York Times office on Abu Nawas Street. We lived and worked there: an Ottoman-style house with a gated yard and a veranda on the second floor that looked out on a boulevard that tracked the eastern bank of the Tigris River. In those first days, we didn’t fortify the place; no razor wire or blast walls, no watchtowers or machine guns mounted on the roof. Cars motored past our front yard on their way to the Jumhuriya Bridge a couple of miles up the road.
In the beginning, Baghdad wasn’t that threatening.
Ironic -- [Playing in the Sandbox - in Iraq]
Whenever we do foot patrols around towns and I attract my usual entourage of Iraqi kids, the most common question they ask is whether or not I'm married and if I have a baby. Their method of inquiry transcends any possible language barrier - they point at my ring finger (or theirs) and say, "Madame? You, madame? Baby?" and then smile upwards at me with an irrational sense of hope and wonder in their eyes. At first I thought maybe they had picked up a few other English words besides "Give me" and "MisTAR!" and were able to get a reaction out of many soldiers who in fact do have wives and children and are likely more than happy to show off pictures of their families back home. But this happens everywhere I go. Everywhere
Birds Eye View -- [Another Adventure - in Iraq]
Here are a few pictures from the Med Evac. I took them in June. I had forgotten I had them.
We are the lead helicopter. The crumpled up baggy on the right of the picture is what we wrap patients in for transport. It's called a burrito wrap. Nothing like Taco Bell...
No News is Good News -- [Soldier's Mom]
No news lately - which to me is good news as I am sure it is to everyone else. Things are quiet as they are nearing the end of their deployment - it appears that they have made great strides in Diyala Province - something to be so proud of. It has been a long, long year for all of us at home, waiting, worrying and a lot of praying. I can't even begin to fathom how hard it has been on our soldiers and others to be so far from home and their loved ones. I do believe I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel though the prayers and the worrying will not stop until they all come home safely.
Too Much Time On Their Hands -- [Miserable Donuts - in Iraq]
That is what someone must have. Well, that and access to a whole bunch of stickers from their daughter or such.
Pakistan Bans Taliban -- [ROA]
Pakistan Bans Taliban
After a series of deadly suicide attacks by the taliban last week, the Pakistani government has banned the terrorist group. The ban will allow the Pakistani government to freeze the taliban's bank accounts and assests.
The last kiss, a Canadian wife shares her thoughts HT: SpouseBuzz
I found this a few months ago, and I really need to share it.
Govt rejects Taliban truce offer in Bajaur -- [TIN]
The government on Sunday rejected the offer of the Bajaur chapter of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan to unilaterally cease fire in the agency where fierce fighting between the security forces and militants has been raging for over two weeks, claiming scores of lives.
1-6 FA Patrols Nuristan Province (Mature)
U.S. Army Soldiers patrolling villages in the Nuristan Province. Scenes include Soldiers meeting with village leaders and administering aid to locals.
Sacrifices at home appreciated -- [Afghanistan Unfiltered - in Afghanistan]
The past couple of days have been pretty hard mentally. My mind is finally starting to grasp the severity of my situation. I am realizing exactly how long a year can seem when you are gone from your home.
I have spent a lot of time filtering through the memories that my wife and I have shared together. It seems like she has been the one monopolizing my thoughts.
Report From a Forgotten War: Third in a Series -- [Oliver North]
In Khost, 400 miles east of here, near the border with Pakistan, Taliban terrorists observed the anniversary by killing 11 of their countrymen in a suicide car bomb attack against a U.S. base and followed up with a human wave of suicide bombers unsuccessfully storming Camp Salerno.
Taliban Threat 'Underestimated' -- [Financial Times]
A senior French general in Afghanistan has admitted that the international security force has underestimated the threat posed by the resurgent Taliban.
Creating a $table Afghan future to bank on -- [Combined Joint Task Force - 101 - in Afghanistan]
U.S. forces here will now utilize commercial Afghan banking services, which will bolster Afghanistan’s economy by putting approximately $100 million worth of monthly-business transactions into private banks’ hands.
Omar Abdel Rahman Mans Anti-Aircraft Gun -- [Jawa Report]
Or: Why the Taliban are such shitty shots.
Yeah, that's Omar Abdel-Rahman the mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing. Aka, the Blind Sheikh. And FYI: he lost his sight in childhood.
Mission 1 -- [The Left Captain - in Afghanistan]
On a sudden mission, so my posting may be sparse until I get back to my "home". I'm at a small outpost about 10 miles from Pakistan (no worries, a quiet location in 2008). I'll take some photos. It is VERY small. I was asked to visit this location to see a few soldiers who have been blown up by IEDs over the past two months. Going to assess their current status and make a treatment reccommendation which may include leaving here. At such a small location I need to be sure, because every person counts.
Rohullah Nekpa, the first ever Afghan Olympic medal winner -- [Deedenow Cinema Production - Afghan blog]
Congratulations to Rohullah Nikpa for his winning a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympic games on Wednesday. Rohullah beat the current world champion in the Tae Kwon Do martial arts contest, which made him the first Afghan ever to win an Olympic Medal. President Karzai phoned him with congratulations and offered him a free house in Kabul. Afghan Wireless awarded him a cash prize.
In an interview after the award ceremony, it is reported that Rohullah hoped above all that bringing a bronze medal back to Kabul will help guide his country to a peaceful future
Another Trip to Kabul and WHO is FREEDOM -- [Two Brothers, Two Countries, One Army - in Afghanistan]
I finally go to take another trip to Kabul. I was really excited to go again. It was a last minute trip. I had been trying to find someone to support us so we get down there and get some medals picked up and the guys that I usually ride with came through for me on Wed. We left later in the day than I am used to leaving. It ended up being an easy ride to get there. We took the normal route to get there. Once I was there I made contact with my guy down there to let him know I was there would meet him at the warehouse when it opened to get the medals. That became a problem real quick. It was my third trip down there and you would think I would know where the heck the warehouse is.
Meanwhile, half a world away...
U.S. servicemembers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command arrive on the flight line in Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 18, 2008. The 21st is part of European Command's Joint Humanitarian Assistance Assessment Team which works closely with other elements of the federal government, international governments, aid agencies and Georgia to alleviate the suffering of the Georgian people affected by the conflict.
Raw: Another US vessel passes through Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait
Military Exercises Spur Warning -- [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
North Korea claimed Sunday that joint military exercises by South Korea and the U.S. last week were a rehearsal for an attack against it and warned it would repel any aggression and “mercilessly wipe out the aggressors to the last man.”
President Assad Wants a Cold War -- [PJM - Meir Javedanfar]
The guns have barely fallen silent in the conflict between Georgia and Russia. The two sides are still squabbling over the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Yet that didn’t stop President Bashar Al Assad of Syria from becoming the first head of state to visit Russia, where he declared his unyielding support for Moscow’s position regarding Georgia. “We understand Russia’s stance regarding the breakaway regions and understand that it came in retaliation to Georgian provocation,” he said.
VFW-Veteran's for Welfare? -- [A Soldier's Perspective - Roman General ]
I was reading an article on the website VA Watchdog dot org, where it's founder Larry Scott slams an unknown supposedly "active duty military officer with multiple Iraq deployments and continuing active duty career." The anonymous author of the posting goes on to trash our veterans benefits, specifically the new Web GI Bill.
Here is the comment:
I am an active duty military officer with multiple Iraq deployments and continuing an active duty career.
It is time for veterans to be intellectually and philosophically honest and oppose this new brand of federal welfare sweeping through Congress in the name of patriotism and “serving those who have served” and all the other platitudes that are greasing the skids of the rapidly expanding welfare state.
A Film Guides War Widows on the Hard Road Ahead - [NYTimes]
When your husband dies at war, the things he carried show up in six black boxes.
Each pair of socks, each T-shirt, each love letter is inventoried on 20 sheets of paper. Everything has been washed, so when you breathe in the scent of a shirt, it doesn’t smell like him.
When a soldier dies, grief is followed by immersion in the somber routines and protocols of a military death.
African American Representation in Officer Corps Declines. -- [John of Argghhh!!!]
EXSUM: This report finds that:
1. U.S. military service disproportionately attracts enlisted personnel and officers who do not come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Previous Heritage Foundation research demonstrated that the quality of enlisted troops has increased since the start of the Iraq war. This report demonstrates that the same is true of the officer corps.
A Day in the Life of a Guard at Guantanamo Bay -- [Villianous Co]
Courtesy of Brig. Gen. Gregory Zanetti, deputy commander of the Joint Task Force-GTMO. His summary of a typical daily brief
Blackwater -- [WOC - Armed Liberal]
Was just part of a junket which culminated in a meeting with the president of Blackwater (yes, that Blackwater...). I'm still digesting a lot of it, and will have more comments. But one thing he said really hit me - that with 300 of his troops (the news story says 250, but his comment was for 300) and 600 elite troops they would pick and mentor from the AU forces, they could shut down the genocide in Darfur.
I didn't ask what he charges for his forces, but imagine that it's $50,000/month/pair of boots.
I'M HOME -- [One Marine's View - home from Iraq]
After a long trip I’m home. Beginning on the 8th, we departed our company out post and headed south. Traveling from northern Iraq, to Baghdad, to Kuwait, then to Ireland, then to Maine in the US then to California and finally back across to the east coast.
Farewell to an American hero -- [Joseph L. Galloway - McClatchy Newspapers]
Their story was told in a book my buddy Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and I wrote 15 years ago titled "We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young" and in the Mel Gibson movie, "We Were Soldiers," released in the spring of 2002. Too Tall and Old Snake were ably portrayed in the movie.
Their argument over which of them is the Best Pilot in the Whole World sadly came to an end this week when our friend and comrade-in-arms Maj. Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman slipped the surly bonds of earth and headed off to Fiddler’s Green, where the souls of departed cavalrymen gather by dispensation of God Himself.
Too Tall Ed was 80 years old when he died in a hospital in Boise, Idaho, after long being ill with Parkinson’s disease. He turned down a full dress hero’s funeral in Arlington National Cemetery in favor of a hometown service and burial in the National Cemetery in Boise, close to the rivers he loved to fish and the mountains he flew through in his second career flying for the U.S. Forest Service.
Mystery surrounds Medal of Honor recipient -- [Vets for Politics - Mike (Beetle) Bailey]
"There's nothing named after him (in Farmington), which is really unfortunate. Most Medal of Honor recipients have highways or buildings named in honor of them, but there was no public dedication made in honor of him," Barrett said
Any Nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure... -- [BlackFive - The Wolf ]
Since the Congressional Medal of Honor Society is having its annual convention here in Denver next month, they are kicking off the tour here in conjunction with it. They expect over 60 recipients to attend this year; if the information
Military Friends versus Civilians -- [SpouseBuzz]
Last year, my sister innocently asked, "So what do you get out of this blogging thing, anyway?"
I explained to her that blogging and connecting with other bloggers makes me feel like I'm understood; most of the people that read my site are other military wives, which means I don't have to explain a lot of the details that I think seem obvious. Other military wives understand the daily grind of having a husband in the military. They don't say, "What a shame," when they find out my husband is deployed.
Milblogs in the News: German Military Concerned About Soldier Blogs -- [Milblogging.com]
(Deutsche Welle) Weblogs have become very popular among soldiers, but military strategists worry that the Internet diaries won't just damage the troops' reputation. They're also concerned that they might threaten soldiers' lives.
The view from the front lines -- [Hampton Roads]
Two years ago, Doonesbury.com added a military blog to its site on Slate. Called The Sandbox, its editors sought, collected and lightly edited dispatches from men and women serving overseas and their friends and family back home.
New Pentagon Media Agency Seeks to Fill Top Job -- [WaPo]
The Defense Department is looking for an "energetic and imaginative executive" to run its newly formed Defense Media Activity, according to an advertisement on the agency's Web site.
The executive would earn as much as $172,200 a year overseeing DMA, which since its establishment in January combines formerly separate Pentagon media organizations, such as the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, the Stars and Stripes newspaper, and the Pentagon Channel on television. It also includes the DefenseLink Web site and the military services' Web sites, the Bloggers Roundtable, and the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine magazines.
Fox Reporter Assaulted By Anti-war Protestors In Denver -- [NewsBusters]
The Democratic National Convention hasn't even begun, and the protestors are out trying to Recreate 68.
For those unfamiliar, the group "was created for all the grassroots people who are tired of being sold out by the Democratic Party," and are gathering in Denver to "resist a two-party system that allows imperialism and racism to continue unrestrained."
F*ck Fox News
Lou Dobbs: 'My Colleagues in the Media Are Absolutely Biased' -- [NewsBusters]
An astonishing thing happened on CNN Sunday evening: Lou Dobbs told his guests, "My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity," and they agreed.
Images of War -- [Powerline]
This is a post that I meant to do several weeks ago, when the Public Editor of the New York Times, Clark Hoyt, wrote a column titled "The Painful Images of War". The column addressed the issue of whether news outlets like the Times should publish pictures of dead or wounded American soldiers, even over the objections of the military and the soldiers' families. Hoyt quoted a Times photographer whose graphic images of a dead U.S. serviceman were controversial:
Biden on Haditha -- [David Harsanyi's Blog]
In June 2006, straight-talking Joe Biden went on Meet the Press and demanded accountability from the administration for the so-called Haditha massacre. Biden spoke about the incident as if the accused marines were guilty (before a trial) and called on the administration to proceed — and to be treated — as if there were a cover-up at the highest levels of government.
Loving the Troops, Hating Their Mission -- [NRO - Pete Hegseth]
Obama wants to have it both ways on Iraq.
Denver — Yesterday, I once again watched Speaker Nancy Pelosi stubbornly deny the success of the surge. Under questioning from Tom Brokaw on Meet the Press, Pelosi insisted that — despite dramatic improvements on the ground — the surge has not been successful because “the Iraqi government has not stepped up to the plate. . . . ” Her opposition, in the interview and elsewhere, is built on naming three pieces of stalled Iraqi legislation. (Hmm, can you name three pieces of stalled U.S. legislation?)
This remains the only anti-surge talking point on the Left. One problem, though: it’s no longer true
Calling Jack Murtha -- [J. D. Pendry] HT : CJ
The Russians invaded the sovereign nation of Georgia, a free country with a democratically elected government. Where in the hell are Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Congress and 99 percent of Hollywood? Code Pink is probably still standing on the streets in front of Walter Reed Army Medical Center harassing wounded American Warriors and their families. The remainder is probably too busy admiring the great show put on by the communist Chinese.
GIVE US TROOPS A VOTE THAT COUNTS. -- [NY Post Newsletter-- JOHN P. AVLON]
Overseas soldiers' November votes often don't get counted - and they can't vote in the caucuses that often decide the nominees. SHOULD the political parties' rules prohibit US
You Can Die for Your Country But Don't Drink in My Bar -- [Abu Muqawama]
Kip has watched recently the emerging debate over whether the 21-Year-Old drinking age in the USA causes binge drinking on college campuses with interest.
...Kips not even asking for a wholesale change in drinking laws, just an addition that says 21 unless you present a valid military ID.
But then my namesake said it much better than I:
The Story the MSM is Missing -- [Media Blog - Greg Pollowitz]
The Obama-Biden ticket is the first one I can think of in modern memory where neither candidate has any military experience, and I have yet to hear one of the MSM talking heads mention this.
It certainly was an issue in 2000 and 2004 when President Bush's National Guard service was disparaged on a nightly basis, but this year, nothing.
Fundraising, Part Deux. This time, you get more than a Thank You. -- [Chris Muir]
You all know I have continued DBD through some tough times, but I cannot escape economics. And to be honest, I am glad to be doing DBD fulltime for you, however grimly arrived at. But a fulltime DBD requires that other $15,336 be found somewhere (DBD is at 8 months right now).
You didn't sign on to this. You met what was asked for in 24 hours flat. You met a goal that I said would carry DBD for a year. And now, not only do I have to ask again, but there must be a Fundraiser every year. In a time of free content, DBD will live or die by its value to its readers every day, every month, every year.
1031 people came through in the last Fundraiser; according to 'The Long Tail' theory of internet readers, there's usually a core 1% that come through for internet publishers. All donations are critical, and I also ask again of that '1000'. Look what Leonidas did with the 300-except I don't have a 6-pack, I'm not a leader, and the thought of all of you in G-strings frankly worries me a bit.
But we share the same beliefs, I think.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
