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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 various 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.
Is Iraq's enigmatic Sadr headed for a comeback? -- [Reuters]
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose fiery anti-American message mobilized millions of poor Shi'ites after the 2003 invasion, has faded from the public eye since he embraced religious studies in Iran two years ago.
Now he may be seeking a new, less militant image designed to win him wider support across Iraq's sectarian spectrum.
Border Conflicts Test Kurdish Tightrope Act -- [Institute for War and Peace Reporting]
American support seen as crucial to helping Iraqi Kurds resolve rebel conflicts with Turkey and Iran.
Road trips -- [Bad Dogs and Such - in Iraq]
The Bossman was recently out of town (yet again), hanging out in a much nicer and more Kurdish area, doing...well, field grade stuff (naps and PowerPoint).
...We packed our assault packs, loaded the radios, stuck SGT B in the turret, SSG C in the driver's seat and Yours Truly in what I like to refer to as the "aircraft commander" seat. Trading an open seat in the back for a spot in an outbound convoy, we hit the road.
War Artist Arabella Dorman: Paintings From The Front Line In Iraq
Britain's first official war artist Arabella Dorman has put together a collection of works painted on the front line in Iraq.
The weather is here. I wish it were beautiful... -- [Castra Praetoria - in Iraq]
Soon enough the oppressive heat will make a mere walk to the chow hall seem down right volcanic. If you want to know how hot it is here turn on your oven all the way and then stick you head in. To experience Iraqi summer temperatures at home simply climb into an asbestos sleeping bag, have someone ram a flamethrower in one end and let her rip.
There are other interesting weather phenomena occurring at this time as well.
Afghan and US forces battle Taliban in northern Helmand stronghold -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The district of Nad Ali hosts Taliban command and control centers and a narcotics hub as well as al Qaeda camps used to train the Shadow Army.
Patrols in the Korengal (PHOTOS) -- [Rapport Press]
IED kills and we’re back to medical training -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
I took another picture of one of the camp vehicles that was engaged in a fire fight with the enemy yesterday. Once again the armor and protective glass did their jobs and nobody was injured. However, there is one less bad guy to deal with ...On a tragic note, the Air Force lost a female Lieutenant to a roadside bomb along with the life of a government contractor yesterday. Ironically we traveled this same road a few days ago.
God Speed 1LT. Roslyn L. Schulte -- [You Served]
From my friend~a Navy Lt serving in Afghanistan:
Yesterday, my closest friend for the last couple months, Roslyn Schulte, was killed in a roadside bombing halfway between here and Bagram. She is one of the most incredible people I have ever known, and I want to tell you about her. I had only known her about three months, but she was assigned to my unit, and so, she and I being the only two junior officers in the group, she had the unfortunate pleasure of having to hangout with me. I can probably count on one hand the number of times we did not eat at least one meal of the day together since she arrived here in early March.
Uzbeen Valley Part 3 The Shura
French and American Soldiers meet with Afghan Force in former Taliban stronghold
Taliban agrees to pull out from some parts of Lower Dir in NWFP | Pak Army -- [Big News Network]
The Taliban has agreed to move out of the Asbanr and Gulabad areas of the Lower Dir region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) within the next two days.
New Strategy Treats Afghanistan, Pakistan as Integrated Theater -- [Defense Link]
The new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan treats the area as an integrated theater of operations, the Defense Department’s policy chief said today.
Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, spoke of the Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy, dangers from Iran and detainees during a wide-ranging interview with the Defense Writers’ Group.
“We have to regard Pakistan and Afghanistan together, because each affects the other so profoundly,” Flournoy said. “That said, the strategy calls for different but integrated approaches in either country. In Afghanistan, we are pursuing -- really for the first time -- a fully resourced counterinsurgency strategy with military on the ground and civilian experts as well.”
US troop surge in Afghanistan 'could push Taliban into Pakistan' -- [Guardian]
The buildup of US troops in Afghanistan could force more Taliban fighters into neighbouring Pakistan, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff conceded last night.
Admiral Mike Mullen told the US Senate's foreign relations committee: "We can't deny that our success may only push them [the Taliban] deeper into Pakistan."
U.S. Envoy To Afghanistan Has Seen War Up Close -- [NPR]
The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan is a retired Army general who used to be the top military commander in that country. Karl Eikenberry, a soldier turned diplomat, took over earlier this month at the heavily fortified American embassy in Kabul at a critical moment:
SWAT Analysis: Rah-e-Rast, Desperate Taliban and Divided Elites -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
Pakistan’s military offensive against Taliban in Swat and Malakand division in Northwest part of the country has entered into a crucial phase. After almost 25 days of skirmish, the Pakistan army and political elites are struggling to cope with the realties of war. While the military fears that it could be losing public support if Swat offensive persists for long, the political leadership seems divided on prevailing situation in Swat and Malakand. Clamoring for troop withdrawal, Political parties like Jamaat-i-Islami, and Tehrik-i-Insaaf have clearly rejected the Army operation at the recently concluded all party conference at Prime Minster’s house. Many smaller parties even threatened to walk out from the APC on the military action clause, quite contrary to what President Asif Ali Zardari believes about the unity of his entire nation behind the ongoing operation against Taliban militants. (Govt ‘lying’ about unanimous APC resolution: JI, 19 May, 2009)
Firefight with Taliban in Helmand, Afghanistan (8/20/2008)
INTENSE Firefight with Taliban in Helmand, Afghanistan. After numerous mortars being launched at the enemy position, enemy fire was still being received so they decide to fire A M97 LAW at them.
Closures after Taliban Threats: German Army Can’t Protect Afghan Girls’ Schools -- [RAWA News]
Six schools in the northern region of Kunduz closed following Taliban threats in recent weeks. The German army says it can't protect them. The schools received letters threatening acid and gas attacks, and teachers and pupils responded by staying home. The Afghan authorities finally decided to shut the schools altogether. The affected district of Chahar Darreh in the province of Kunduz is largely under the Taliban's control.
Biden Holds Talks with Lebanese President -- [VOA< News]
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in Lebanon Friday during a short visit to show support for that country's Western-backed government ahead of parliamentary elections.
Clinton: Middle East May Start Arms Race If Iran Gets Nukes -- [VOA News]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told senators Wednesday that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapons capability, it would trigger an arms race in the Middle East and beyond. She said the Obama administration is pursuing a diplomatic track on the issue with Iran but within a specific time-frame.
Clinton said the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran has created what amounts to an "alliance" among Israel and many Arab states, and she is hoping the shared interests will give impetus not only to diplomacy with Iran but also a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Obama: Still Opposed to Truth Commission -- [TIME]
Plans for a truth commission, originally proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy, had seemed doomed by Obama's initial thumb's-down. But they gained some traction in recent weeks, thanks to fresh controversies over the CIA's detention and interrogation policies under Bush. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has repeated claims that the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects helped save thousands of American lives.
Caucasus jihad: Terror tactics back on the horizon? -- [LWJ - Benjamin Shapiro]
The leader of the Emirate has said this year will be the "offensive year." With it, suicide bombings and more radicalized tactics may be returning to the scene.
Clinton-era hard drive missing from archives -- [The Hill]
A massive amount of sensitive, national security-related information from the Clinton administration has gone missing from the national archives.
The Inspector General of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) told congressional committee staffers Tuesday that a hard drive containing over a terabyte of information -- the equivalent of millions of books--went missing from the NARA facility in College Park, Md., sometime between October 2008 and March 2009.
Tom’s Medevac Journey: The rest of the story -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
The photo above is quite well known. I've even used it here myself. But I never knew the rest of the story until I recently found this archived page
...“My main thing was to not let (Tom) see what was happening, if he was awake enough to see it,” Altman said. “He didn’t know (two of his friends had been killed), but even if he did know, you don’t want him to see the caskets. It’s better that way. I didn’t want (Tom) to start thinking ‘why wasn’t I killed? Why couldn’t it have been me instead of one of my buddies?’ He needed to be thinking about himself and getting better.”
United Airlines earn coveted A+ Weaver award -- [Desert bound - heading to Afghanistan]
She took my name, but it didn’t sound promising. Five minutes before we boarded, my nervousness was washed away with relief when I heard my name and the three others in our party called over the loud speaker. It seems they had worked it out and in two minutes our coach seats were switched to business. They then thanked us for our service to our country and wished us a safe trip.
Army Delays in Body Armor Testing -- [The Captain’s Journal]
...It is, after all, the Army. To expect that the Army would keep people in their employ who were technical experts in all areas of application is unreasonable. Also, this report doesn’t say that the Army did not perform adequate testing. But the efficiency with which it is done calls into question the propriety of having this function done in-house.
Shots fired in re the Defense Budget. -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
The Army pretty much rolls over on FCS (which is instructive, really). The Air Force sends out the proxies. Over at National Review, retired AF Major General Bently Rayburn weighs in.
Army Terminators Walk Like Men -- [Danger Room]
Round four of mankind’s epic battle against the walking, talking, killer machines starts tonight with the opening of Terminator Salvation. But humanoid robots aren’t confined to the movies. Turns out the U.S. military is backing research into robots that act like people, as well.
Why Embeds are Important -- [Outside the Wire - JD Johannes]
In a previous post I mentioned how embeds can enhance operations in the media battlespace by providing fact from the ground. Today's Wall Street Journal shows a classic scenario.
If an embed had been with the unit in question, a lot of the back-and-forth would have ended immediately.
But now we have Taliban sympathizers putting bodies on display and the military offering a 'report.'
The military report is likely 100% correct, but in the media battlespace imagery wins.
Western Media Continues to Ignore Mass Graves In Iraq -- [Gateway Pundit]
...Nibras Kazimi wrote today at the Hudson Institute about the hundreds of mass graves that have been discovered in Iraq and the apathy of the Western media to report this news
Why journalists deserve low pay -- [Christian Science Monitor]
Journalists like to think of their work in moral or even sacred terms. With each new layoff or paper closing, they tell themselves that no business model could adequately compensate the holy work of enriching democratic society, speaking truth to power, and comforting the afflicted.
Actually, journalists deserve low pay.
Wages are compensation for value creation. And journalists simply aren't creating much value these days.
History Is (Re)Written By The Winners -- [Redstate]
Highly inflammatory, as well as disputable, and clearly anti-American. I immediately started looking into the story to find out why, or even if, the History Channel would actually run such vile ads, and why Ogilvy & Mather would create them. While I was researching, the story changed.
Less than a day after I read it, the article was updated with the following information:
THE UNBEARABLE VAGUENESS OF DRAPER -- [Greyhawk]
Once at the link you'll need to scroll down a bit to find the 'unbearable vagueness' header; I urge you to do so. All too often pundits on any side of an issue are quick to latch on to "news" that supports their position. The author of this piece recognizes that the practice says less about the subject (or the issue) and more about the credibility of his critics. Providing a detailed examination of the technique used (especially since it's often used) is a service worthy of praise.
The HuffPo's Lonely Planet Foreign Policy -- [Michael Totten]
Roger Cohen seems to have invented a genre. At the very least he has imitators. Olivia Sterns just published a piece at the Huffington Post decrying Syria’s “misrepresentation” in the media and arguing that President Barack Obama “embrace” Damascus’s tyrant Bashar Assad as a peace partner because the locals were nice to her when she visited Syria on vacation.
Obama v. Cheney -- [Neptunus Lex]
The president says that the US went badly off course in its conduct of the GWOT, the former Vice President disagrees. All the usual lines are drawn in the sand, nothing new to learn and few, if any, minds to change.
Except these lines jump out at me:
Pelosi: I Stand By My Comment
Outrage! Obama To Apologize For "American" War Crimes at D-Day Ceremonies? (Updated) -- [Gateway Pundit]
Barack Obama is going to visit Dresden, Germany during D-Day ceremonies this year. For Germans, Dresden is the symbol bar none of German suffering at the hands of the Allies. It was already reported that Obama would recognize German suffering during the anniversary ceremonies. Obama will likely apologize for "American war crimes" during his Dresden stop.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
