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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.
A Victory Party A Victory Celebration A Victory Parade. -- [Gathering of Eagles]
Who Gets To Decide?
When we’ve won, I mean. Who gets to say it?
Who needs to say it to make it true, or believable, or justified?
My guess would be the people who actually did the heavy-lifting. The men and women who got their boots muddy, their hands dirty. The ones who sacrificed everything to get where we are today.
This past November, Zombietime came up with an idea that took off like wildfire.
A Declaration of Victory in Iraq, and named 22 November as V-I Day.
Thousands Return to Eastern Baghdad, Reclaim Homes -- [MNF-I]
The Iraqi government reports that nearly 2100 Iraqi families who fled their homes in the Rusafa, Karadah and 9 Nissan districts of eastern Baghdad, have returned in 2008 because of increased safety.
According to the Baghdad-2 embedded Provincial Reconstruction Deputy Team Leader LT COL Eric Holliday, the return of Iraqi families “is a measure of effectiveness telling us we are doing our job right” and that “these people feel safe enough to return to those areas and they don’t think there is going to be further violence.”
Leaders Meet, Discuss Upcoming Elections -- [MNF-I]
Leaders from Independent High Electoral Commission – Iraq joined Coalition and Iraqi representatives at Camp Dhi Qar to discuss important issues regarding the upcoming elections, Dec. 18.
"The Iraqi Security Forces are prepared and ready to secure the elections," said Lt. Col. Nathan Cook, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's executive officer.
ISAF Christmas with the Allauddin Orphanage
The day after Christmas more than 30 ISAF troops distribute bags of goodies to orphans at the Allauddin Orphanage.
Christmas -- [Wings Over Iraq - in Iraq]
We hit up a number of bases on our trip today. I need to be the first to say that I really have no right to complain about my living conditions. For us, life sucks because the Internet is too slow to really browse Youtube effectively looking for videos of World of Warcraft characters dancing (don't judge). For the thousands of Soldiers who live in Combat Outposts on the outskirts of cities, built during the height of the Surge of 2007, life sucks because they don't have anywhere near the luxuries we have (i.e., coffee shop, large post exchange), nor the essentials, like toilets that actually work. As ghetto-fabulous as my living conditions might seem, they're a five-star hotel in comparison to how the conditions the Soldiers may live in as they work among the Iraqi people.
Holidays in Al-Hillah -- [HILLAS' HISTORIES]
We had an unexpected visitor to the Al-Hillah Regional Embassy Offices, where the PRT is located. At 8:30am I was informed that MNF-I Commanding General Odierno had arrived and after a brief ceremony with the military unit that is our neighbor, wanted to meet the PRT within 15 minutes.
Imam Sadiq School Opening
The opening of a school that marks the beginning of a new regime and democratic process in Husseiniyah Iraq
Echo Co., 949th BSB Arrives -- [Newsblaze]
...All of the Soldiers are excited to finally be in Iraq and are fully prepared for the tough road ahead.
Request Denied. -- [Tragically Famous - in Iraq]
I am coming home.
------------------Nothing Follows------------------
We Wait -- [Zen Traveler - in Iraq]
Our Iraqi staff member was diagnosed with having an acute myocardial infarction, aka a "heart attack". The degree of blockage within his coronary arteries and subsequent damage to his heart could not be ascertained by the Army surgical hospital as it was not set up with a catheterization lab nor equipped to do an angiogram. The cardiologist therefor recommended transferring the patient to an appropriate Iraqi facility where he could get further definitive treatment.
Now is where the fun begins.
Terrorist Kills 14 Children in Khowst Province -- [Battlefield Tourist]
A suicide bomb attack on a district center in Khowst Province, Afghanistan has left 16 people dead, including 14 children and two security personnel.
Dueling Information Operations -- [John of Argghhh!!!]
The fact that CJTF-101 PAO put the story out so quickly was clearly intended to get out in front of the story, and to try to shape the story before the bad guys did, because of the murder of the children that was involved
You can see in the release below that CJTF -101 made a good call in getting the story out quickly.
The bad guys are trying (and will succeed in many arenas) to spin the story their way, trying to avoid the torn and shattered children.
Americans Preparing to Take Control of Kandahar -- [Battlefield Tourist]
According to Reuters, on December 11 at Kandahar Airfield, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told US troops, during a “town hall” meeting, that he hoped the increase in troop strength would be in place by late spring. The man in charge of this American escalation in the region is Brigadier General John Nicholson who will be filling a new position called Deputy Commanding General for Stability of Regional Command South.
Plans for Base Illustrate Afghanistan Effort in Microcosm -- [WaPo]
The complexity of the military undertaking in Afghanistan, and the United States' approach to it, can be seen in miniature in the Army Corps of Engineers' plans to build a forward operating base next year in western Afghanistan.
International Crisis Group Report On The ANP -- [Bill and Bob's Excellent Afghan Adventure - in Afghanistan]
This is the second report from the International Crisis Group that I have read, and comparing it to last year's, there are but a few changes in the overall picture. Some of those changes are due to recommendations that have been implemented (although those changes were not necessarily implemented due to the ICG report.)
News From The ARSIC-South -- [Bill and Bob's Excellent Afghan Adventure - in Afghanistan]
First things first;
Camp Falcon, the American camp on the British FOB at Lashkar Gah, has been formally renamed Camp Dimond, after CPL Scott Dimond, the ANP mentor who died in the ambush immortalized by Nick Meo in his self-serving article about... let me see... oh, yeah; himself. Well, the warrior whose life was taken in defense of freedom that night has been recognized with the naming of a camp in his honor.
Everyone Plays The Taliban -- [Strategy Page]
December 28, 2008: U.S. plans to increase its Afghan troop strength are in flux. The most recent plans are to basically double U.S. strength there (from 32,000 to 60-65,000.) This would mean five or six combat brigades, an aviation brigade and lots more intelligence and Special Forces troops. This would mean about a dozen more battalions of U.S. infantry, as the new brigade structure has reduced the number of battalions from three to two. But ..
Marine Leadership on the Afgan-Pak border -- [The Military Observer]
FOB Joyce. Part of being a Marine officer is looking after one's Marines, and in last last few weeks in-country, Col Jeff Haynes has been out in the boonies doing just that.
Talking to the Taliban -- [Radio Netherlands Worldwide]
For the first time, a Dutch journalist has managed to interview Taliban fighters in the restive Afghan province of Uruzgan, where several hundred soldiers from the Netherlands are based.
Afghanistan -- [Strategy Page]
December 27, 2008: Afghanistan is in the process of expanding its army to 134,000, hopefully by 2011. The government wants a force of 200,000, but first foreign allies must be convinced to donate enough money and trainers. The current army has just completed its training, for a force of 68,000.
Marked changes in world's political, economic landscape -- [Xinhua]
BEIJING, Dec. 28 -- The world has undergone remarkable changes this year, but international security situation on the whole remained stable with "peace" and "development" prevailing as the themes of the times.
Congress Hacked Again -- [Strategy Page]
December 28, 2008: Recently, another successful hacker penetration of government networks in the United States was revealed. This time it was members of Congress who found that their office PCs and networks were infested with hidden software that was monitoring PC use and sending files back to the hackers.
Another Senior Iranian Military Official Defects -- [PJM - Meir Javedanfar]
The second high-profile defection in two years has taken place. PJM is the first to tell the story in English.
Hamas Legalizes Crucifixion Of Christians -- [Jawa Report]
Hamas declared this earlier in the week. They must think they are a "legal organization".
Meanwhile, they are getting their asses pounded heavily by the IDF. Leaves little time for crucifying doesn't it Hamas. teh...
Georgia, US to sign strategic accord Jan 4: Tbilisi -- [AFP]
Months after Georgia fought a short, nasty war with its northern neighbor, the United States is moving to shore up security ties with the former Soviet Republic.
The War on Terror Has Not Gone Away -- [WSJ - THANE ROSENBAUM]
Despite economic woes, this is no time to let our guard down.
Islamist Websites Call to Attack American, Israeli Interests -- [MEMRI Blog]
In response to the Gaza offensive, Islamist websites have posted many messages calling to attack Israeli and American interests worldwide.
Random Thoughts on Irregular Warfare and Security Assistance -- [Small Wars Journal Op-Ed
Colonel David Maxwell]
As we continue the debate on how we are going to organize our forces for operations in the Irregular Warfare and we think about enabling other forces would like to think a couple of things before we chase new "shiny things" as in new "designer organizations."
First we need to look at ourselves critically and ask if we have been able to develop effective strategies and campaign plans and then support and execute them, respectively.
Al-Qaida-Linked U.S. Citizen Addresses Shabaab al-Muhajideen; Shabaab Responds -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The NEFA Foundation has obtained a statement issued by Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al-Qaida-linked U.S. citizen, addressed to the Shabaab al-Mujahideen, as well as a communiqué Shabaab issued in response. On December 21st, al-Awlaki released a message titled "Salutations to al-Shabab of Somalia”, in which he stated, "We are following your recent news and it fills our hearts with immense joy. We would like to congratulate you for your victories and achievements.
Meet Jason Harrington... -- [John of Argghhh!!!]
He's just like any other Joe living in your neighborhood. Except for that brand-new Silver Star he got yesterday.
Ward 69 -- [The War on Big Tobacco - in Iraq]
Fisher House is supported by donations, and RangerUp has graciously designed a t-shirt to help support Fisher House through Big Tobacco.
So here is the question: RangerUp has to justify the cost of doing this. Would you buy the t-shirt below? What would you do to change the design? Note that I won’t see a dime of this money. All profits from the sale of the t-shirt will go directly to Fisher House.
Take a look at the t-shirt and tell me what you think with a comment. The t-shirt will cost $20 and only 144 shirts will be made, so this is a limited time offer and these shirts will probably go fast.
Troop Support… -- [The Gun Line - in Iraq]
You see, Soldier’s Angels was started as a grassroot support the troops movement by Patti Patton-Bader, who, you may recall, won a recent competition in the military division of “America’s Favorite Mom”, and she used her winnings to fund care packages to the deployed troops.
Well, here’s the fun and ironic twist…
I’m the company mail-dude, and ...
Eagle Scout candidate assists Landstuhl patients -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Over the course of the years, Soldiers' Angels has had the opportunity to work with many Eagle Scout candidates who have volunteered to support wounded and ill Soldiers as part of their community service projects. Soldiers' Angels Germany has been at the receiving end of a few of these efforts, coordinated by my colleague Roger who is SA's POC for Eagle Scout projects.
Godspeed John P. Pryor, Surgeon and Soldier -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
John P. Pryor, 42, of Moorestown, the dedicated leader of the University of Pennsylvania's trauma team and a decorated major in the Army Reserve who wrote eloquently about the painful parallels between battlefield deaths and urban homicides, was killed on Christmas by enemy fire in Iraq while serving as a combat surgeon
Back -- [Fobbits need ice cream too - home from Iraq]
Got some normal gripe posts covering the time between Kuwait and home, but I got home yesterday afternoon. They put our bags on a civilian plane to a different country so I will be spending the holidays in ACUs as they are the only clothes I have for now.
That's All Folks! -- [Something on the staff - home from Iraq]
Well, I'm back in the good old U S of A.
We handed over the mission to the new team, and they managed to burn down the mess hall within 3 hours of taking over. The quality of our food acutally improved after that. We trucked in meals instead of eating what our chemically mellowed cook would have made. Even Emeril can't cook on Prozac.
I left my unit, and am now en route to my new assignment; learning French. I'm not kidding.
Quoted, but Not Noted -- [Outside the Wire]
I do not know why Mr. Mulshine did not give my name. If he had, it would undercut many of his statements. A news man of his esteem would have surely googled me and found that I was doing exactly what he says bloggers are not doing and nearly beating a major Hollywood director and billionaire .
(Or perhaps he did google me and for some reason thought I was not the type to read the Wall Street Journal.)
The hear-say quote, and this particular usage by Mr. Mulshine, is one of the reasons why blogs have succeeded–the core news consumer does not like hear-say quotes and does not want bland executive summaries for the “casual reader.” The core news consumer wants hard news without bias and expert opinion.
BREITBART: Triangulating Scarlett Johansson -- [WaTimes]
This was the year Hollywood finally realized that it couldn't sell an anti-Iraq war film. It also was the year the mainstream media discovered it couldn't report that the war on terror had failed.
Countless prime-time hours and untold acres of celluloid and newsprint were wasted demeaning the American mission. Yet, in the end, the heroic warriors destroyed their media adversaries by defeating our true enemies on the battlefield.
Media redeploying over the event horizon from Iraq -- [Hot Air - Ed Morrissey]
Send to a Friend | Share on Facebook | printer-friendly If nothing else tells you that the Iraq War has been won, the exodus of American television media should confirm it. The broadcast and cable news agencies have stopped staffing regular correspondents in Baghdad, apparently convinced that victory is no news at all
Laura Bush Says the Liberal Media Is "Absolutely Not" Fair
PAUL MULSHINE BLOWS IT -- [Instapundit]
it’s certainly true that bloggers as a class are more competition for careless pundits like Mulshine than for go-getter reporters who find out things that people don’t know, and report them truthfully. It’s also true that those go-getter reporters who put the truth first are pretty scarce in the world of Big Media reporting, and that management shows no sign of wanting more of them, and many signs of wanting attitude-mongers like, well, Mulshine. This is, as I’ve noted before, a dumb business strategy, which explains in part why newspapers are doing so badly. For more on that, see this thoughtful piece by Evan Coyne Maloney. Also, these thoughts from Jay Rosen. And here’s my diagnosis from 2002:
Rockers to Press Obama on Music Torture -- [Danger Room]
Reprieve, a British human rights law group that represents over 30 Guantanamo Bay detainees, is planning to work with musicians to lobby President-elect Barack Obama to end the practice of sonic torture by military interrogators.
Earlier this month, Reprieve and the U.K. Musicians Union launched Zero dB, a "silent protest" over the use of music in interrogations.
Obama Visits Marine Corps Base for Christmas -- [ABC News]
President-elect Obama stopped by the Marine Corps base in Hawaii Kaneche Bay where servicemen and -women were eating Christmas dinner in Kailua Thursday evening.
“Just wanted to say hi, hey guys,” Obama said as he walked into the Anderson dining hall which was decked out in Christmas decorations.
...As Obama entered the room, it was absent of the regular fanfare of cheering and clapping. The diners were polite, staying seated at their respective tables and waited for the president-elect to come to them to stand up.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
