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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.Refresh for updates.
War is Hell--but Dinner is Good -- [In Iraq Now (at 56) - in Iraq]
If you say the Sunday Patriot-News article on the brigade I serve with, you might want to go back again and look at the comments with the article: 42 and counting. The writers of these anonymous comments are quite upset about the article, which portrays us as living in a Five-Star resort, in a very hot climate. One guy wrote 500 ALL CAPS WORDS complaining about, well, everything. Others complained that the article was not about them, their job, their difficulties.
US Faults Iraq Raid that Left Iran Dissidents Dead -- [Los Angeles Times]
The Obama administration criticized Iraqi security forces this week, saying they botched an attempt last month to establish a police station in a refugee settlement for Iranian dissidents, resulting in clashes that claimed the lives of at least eight of the refugees.
Why Iraq Bombings are Spiking -- [Christian Science Monitor]
Iraqi and US officials believe that a recent spike in high-profile attacks is probably aimed at decreasing public confidence in the Iraqi security forces ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for January. "We have to be very worried and concerned about this escalation," says Barham Saleh, Iraq's deputy prime minister, speaking by phone from Sulaimaniya. "Many of us are concerned that this is aimed at disrupting the forthcoming elections. We have to recognize that there are political tensions that allow the terrorists to take advantage of fault-lines, either sectarian or ethnic, as a way of deepening the ethnic divide," says Dr. Saleh, who is expected to become prime minister of the Kurdish Regional Government following Kurdish elections in July. On Thursday, at least 20 people were killed and 31 injured in a suicide bombing near Mosul,...
Don't Tell Me How This Ends -- [Michael Totten]
There's a lot of talk right now among opinion writers and policy analysts about how Iraq may be slouching toward civil war again. It's understandable. Suicide- and car-bomb attacks make headlines every week. After a recent devastating assault on a Shia village, a woman standing amid rubble looked into a television camera and yelled at Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: "Look Prime Minister," she shouted, "look Minister of Interior, where's the security you're talking about?"
A Different View of Iraq -- [Down Range 46 - in Iraq]
...Yesterday I joined one of my soldiers, SSG Mark Burrell, on a mission out to some of the more rural areas of Baghdad. While there, I captured a few images of the men, women and children we met.
For the most part these folks were friendly and talkative. I don't mind telling you that there is some reticence for soldiers to totally buy into the friendliness exhibited since there have been occasions in this conflict when once-friendly greetings turned to soured relationships. That said, the families we met yesterday were cordial, pleasant and there were enough smiles to go around for everyone.
We visited two small villages and were greeted promptly by the family elder, ...
DVIDS Soccer Ball and Toy Distribution in Choyoul Iraq -- [Sour Swinger - in Iraq]
These pictures are from a donation distribution mission. We had a ton of donated items to hand out that day. Everything from soccer balls from Kick For Nick to toys and clothing from family back up. We hit two towns that day, one of which was Choyoul. The other I have no idea how to spell. For some reason Combat Camera just labeled all the pics from Choyoul.
The Army has been occasionally embedding Combat Camera in our missions....
AAR: How Are Things Over There..? -- [The Gun Line]
...I saw every indication that it is gettiong close to the time for us to hand Iraq fully back over to the Iraqis. The "insurgents" are treated as criminals, and everyday another force of Iraqis steps up to the plate to replace a CF unit walking the streets of the major towns. I can't tell you that they will be entirely successful, but I can say that I think that we are seeing the end of this, and it's on a good note. America can be proud of what we have done here. I may not agree with all of the decisions made during the course of this, but, all in all, we have done good things, and I am proud to have been a part of it.
Desire Will Get You Killed -- [Strategy Page]
The country faces two rebellions. The Sunni Arab terrorists are still active. Although the number of Sunni Arab terror attacks continues to decline (from 42 attacks a week in June, to about 29 a week now), the Sunni Arab strategy has shifted. Now the Sunni Arab terrorists appear to be trying to anger the Shia Arab majority to the point where retaliatory attacks on Sunni Arabs will begin again.
Blood and Bravery on the Table: Inside Military Hospital Camp Bastion -- [The Times]
Beneath the warmth of the early morning summer sky a familiar routine begins at Camp Bastion's hospital. The bodies of three British soldiers, brought in by a Chinook medical emergency response team shortly after 6am, are already lying in the mortuary. Two were killed in action, the third died of wounds before he could be operated on. A fourth British soldier, an additional morning arrival, lay sedated in intensive care, with a leg blown off. A team of medics and two chaplains were waiting at the main hospital entrance for the next helicopter to touch down. "We're in the middle of a s*** morning and it's getting worse," remarked Captain Cat Kemeny, the hospital's adjutant. "We've got four more UK casualties coming in from three incidents. The next we're expecting is a double amputee." She had barely finished speaking when a Chinook landed near by and unloaded the newest casualty. On the stretcher lay a beautiful young man in bloody uniform, his face unmarked by the terrible injuries that had ended one of his legs above the knee and stripped the second to little more than bone. "Welcome to Helmand," Colonel Tim Hodgetts, the hospital's medical director, murmured beside me.
Les Boys at 'Ground Zero' of Afghan struggle -- [Ottawa Citizen]
Les Boys," who man this strongpoint in what Canadian commanders sometimes call the Wild West, have probably seen more combat in recent months than any other troops in Kandahar. And if the eight soldiers from Quebec and New Brunswick, who mentor about 50 Afghan soldiers at Howz-E-Madad are not at the epicentre of Canada's war in Afghanistan, fellow Canadian instructors from an operational mentoring liaison team based only three kilometres away at Lakhokel can stake a strong claim.
"This is Ground Zero. We're probably No. 1 for contact with the enemy.
Atlantic reporter hangs with the OMLT -- [Flit]
Graeme Wood's been hanging with the guys who replaced my team in the Canadian OMLT this week. I greatly respected his last New Yorker article, which was in large part about our OMLT predecessors and their Afghans, and in retrospect was the most honest piece of journalism written about the war in Kandahar Province for several months in either direction. I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that he stayed away during my tour.
Assembled thoughts below the fold.
A healthy debate -- [FlightLines - Air Force Times blog - in Afghanistan]
I understand that my most recent blog post -- specifically the photo of an airman standing in blood -- is generating some buzz among Air Force leaders and public affairs types in theater.
...There's a bit of irony here. Senior Air Force leaders are forever bemoaning the fact that the Air Force gets no attention for being in the fight over here. Then I publish a photo making it clear that this airman is in the fight, and some people are unhappy about the unpleasant aspects of it. This fight is dirty and bloody and rarely pretty. Good photos of war -- and I have no illusions that this one is extraordinary -- should make us recoil a bit. Publishing only photos of airmen standing next to pretty jets glosses over the reality of what is going on over here, and what many soldiers and plenty of airmen experience on a daily basis.
Back Off Jack Keane Wannabees -- [SWJ - Dave Dilegge]
Okay, everyone who's anyone - and many who think they're someone - inside and outside the beltway - has chimed in - did I miss anyone? Speak now or forever hold your peace.
The Afghanistan affair is quite complicated; we know that, we also can study it to death and comment until the cows come home. How about a novel approach at this particular point in time - give the Commander in Chief, the National Command Authority, State... and most importantly, the Commanding General and his staff in Afghanistan some efing breathing room to sort this out? The guys on the ground - get it?
On Afghanistan and Strategy -- [Zen Pundit]
Most of you have followed the series on the Afghanistan strategy debate at Abu Muqawama that was prompted by the Andrew Bacevich article or read the exchange I had with Dr. Bernard Finel or at the many other defense blogs talking Afghanistan. So many at once, that Dave Dilegge of SWJ asked everyone to chill out and lower the "noise". Dilegge later explained on Dr. James Joyner's OTB Radio program that he wasn't trying to stifle debate so much as point out that the staff working for Gen. McChrystal that are trying to put together a strategic plan were feeling overwhelmed by the blizzard of contradictory expert and not-so-expert advice that was suddenly flying furiously in the blogosphere.
"Now is the Time" -- [Greyhawk]
Wish I had a dollar for every article I've read (via think tanks, blogs, or major media outlets) that started with (expressed or implied) "now is the time to debate Af/Pak strategy" (or even whether or not we should be there in the first place).
Respectfully, no. Operational and tactical tweaks are forthcoming (best handled by those in or near the the trenches),
We've gone too far... -- [Wings Over Iraq - in Iraq]
...the milblog community is kind of funny in how interconnected we really are. Last week, the military blogosphere was filled with stories and calls to action about the military's senior leadership and Web 2.0 sites--sort of self-perpetuating series of stories linked to and fed by milbloggers. This week, the hot item among the milbloggers is the debate over Afghanistan's strategic importance.
...It's not limited to simply the military blogosphere, either, as the mainstream media--New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy Online--have also been weighing in on the various debates. Whether the milbloggers are taking cues from the mainstream media or whether the mainstream media is taking its cues from the milbloggers is anyone's guess, although I'd say it's a little bit of both.
The Fallacy Of Fixing Afghanistan -- [Strategy Page]
While many talk of "fixing Afghanistan," the sad fact is that there was never much there that worked well or for long. It's not for nothing that Afghanistan is the poorest nation in Eurasia, and has been virtually ungoverned for centuries. What passes for a central government was established a few hundred years ago mainly to deal with foreigners (and keep them out), and occasionally help mediate tribal disputes.
Gates: No Troop Request In Afghanistan Review -- [Washington Post]
The US commander in Afghanistan will not make a specific request for more troops when he submits a review of the situation there in the coming weeks, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday. Instead, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal will assess conditions on the ground and make recommendations based on whether the mix and number of forces he has been allotted - 68,000 by the end of the year - is sufficient to execute US strategy there, Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing held with Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright. "We've made clear to General McChrystal that he is free to ask for what he needs," Gates said. But "any future resource request will be considered separately and subsequent to his assessment of the security situation."
Kapisa Revisted -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
...Kapisa is a part of me, and I am a tiny part of it. I am still there, the light of recognition in the eyes of ANP officers and soldiers who recognized me revealing that my time there is still a part of the individual histories of these men's lives. They greeted me with enthusiasm, there being no doubt that the sign of deep friendship, the handshake followed by the hug with cheeks pressed, was to be exchanged. As others who did not know me looked on curiously, the ANP would explain that I had been in many fights with them. I recognized Dari words in the rapid explanations, "jang" (fight), "Afghanya," "Tag Ab," "Ala Say," "bisyar khoobas" (very good.) I knew the general drift before our interpreter told me in English what the full interpretation was. I felt a deep sense of pride in having reached that level with the Afghan soldiers who I had mentored and operated with. I recall wondering if I would earn such respect from such men; men for whom the stripes on my uniform and the patch on my sleeve matter less than my actions on the dusty ground in the obscure valleys where Afghan life and death are to be found. They judge me on actions that few, if any, Americans were there to witness.
Kapisa Teeters -- [Registan]
This NGO friend reports that Kohistan, Mahmud Raqi, and Kohband districts, all of which were Jamiat and almost all Tajik, have become targetted zones of interest for the insurgency. Because they are close enough to Kabul, the militants count attacks there as attacks in Kabul--surely not good for the purposes of propaganda. "Our team sees a lot of movement of weapons and people from Pakistan with only a few intercepted by the security forces," he says, "and there's active insurgent surveillance along major roads where previously you'd never have seen them."
That's not good. As it stands now,...
Logar Road -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Back before I went to Dubai for the board meeting, I took a quick day-trip down to Logar Province. The purpose of the trip was a site visit to a US Army FOB* which is contracting out their perimeter security to locals.
Logar is the province immediately south of Kabul, but the destination was about two hours drive, well outside the security blanket that exists in the capital. We did pass a couple of forlorn looking ANP checkpoints, and actually got stopped and searched once, but other than that there wasn't much evidence of local security forces. That is, until ...
Danger Room in Afghanistan: The Perils of Armed Social Work -- [Danger Room - in Afghanistan]
...I recently spent a day with Capt. Booker Wilson and soldiers of Bravo Company, 82nd Division Special Troops Battalion, in this village not far from Bagram Airfield, the key logistics and support hub for Afghanistan operations. The village had been tagged as a point of origin for a recent rocket attack on the base, and the company was trying to get a better grip on the situation in their backyard.
The day before, ...
Meet Afghanistan's Biggest Blogger -- [Foreign Policy Blog]
On his groundbreaking blog, Afghan Lord, Fekrat hopes to tell that to the world. Writing in Farsi as well as self-taught English, he has taken it upon himself to show Afghanistan's softer, more genuine face. Until recently, he feels, this face was nearly impossible to find.
Learning Online Journalism and Writing Blogs in Helmand Province -- [Afghan Lord - Afghani blog]
Introduction: A surprising number of Afghans blog on the Internet and even more want to learn how. Nasim Fekrat has been at the forefront of helping Afghans use modern technology to communicate with each other and the rest of the world - but it can be a dangerous business. America.gov's Jane Morse talked with him earlier this year while he was in United States on a fellowship (see: Eager to Learn About the World, Tech Savy Afghans Turn to Blogs.) In a new guest post, Nasim talks about his latest efforts to teach blogging in Helmand province, the largest in Afghanistan and the world's top opium-producing region.
200 -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
...The enemies of Afghanistan want us to believe that they can continue the violence forever, that the nations united to secure and stabilize this country can never succeed. That is not the case. The alternative that insurgents offer to the Afghan people is far worse than the future they can enjoy under a government that can grow in strength and credibility with our help. We must be willing to work hard. We must be willing to accept risks. We must be willing to suffer some additional losses in the months ahead. That is hard, it is painful, but it can be done.
Britain has taught us that the few can stand up for the many. The Afghan people deserve a chance to determine their own fate. The world needs a stable Afghanistan.
Afghan police- the problem and the answer -- [A World of Problems - in Afghanistan]
...The men met in darkness with Lt. John Holland who's squad often spends the night outdoors with the Afghans to show their support.
He's formed a relationship and trusts these men when they say they've patrolled an area. "I see motivation. They'll volunteer five guys when I ask for four. I know in some areas when they say they go out, in more dangerous areas, I'm not quite sure. I've seen their trucks get blown up. But if I say I'm going to a place they'll always go," Lt. Holland said.
Combat scuba diving in Helmand -- [Helmand Blog - Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
The desert may not be the first location you think of when it comes to scuba-diving, but a specialist Army team has recently been put to good work during Operation PANTHER'S CLAW in Afghanistan.
Back to JBad -- [Outside the Wire - in Afghanistan]
One of the most peculiar aspects of embedding with coalition forces is how often one find themselves hitch hiking or trying to hop on a helicopter.
...The Blackhawk I jumped on wasn't going to FOB Fenty, but they were going close enough that they gave me a ride.
Once back in the TF Mountain Warrior PAO office, I had a quick end of embed chat and made arrangements to come back out again in the fall.
I'm disembedding early to work with a friend of mine on an election project. The Provincial and Presidential elections are on the 20th.
I'll be make a lightning fast tour of the country on this project, meeting candidates. parties and election observers.
But before I embarked on the project, I hooked up with my friend Shem who does logistics work in Eastern Afghanistan.
US Boots On Congo Ground -- [Washington Post]
... Yet how can the US military, so overstretched in strategically crucial wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, spare any troops for this type of primarily humanitarian venture? The dilemma is similar to that faced in recent years in Darfur, where we wanted to do something but did not have the forces.
Admittedly, there may not be a solution tomorrow. But by tapping into President Obama's call for a new spirit of volunteerism and national service, there may be a way to make a difference sometime in 2010. The idea involves a new type of military unit that the Pentagon should propose during its ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review.
Iran inmates 'tortured to death' -- [BBC]
One of Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidates has said some protesters held after July's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison. -- The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped.
Lockerbie Families, US Protest Possible Release -- [Wall Street Journal]
The possibility that Scotland could release the terminally ill Libyan agent convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was denounced by both victims' families and the US government.
Authorities ask for help in finding terrorism suspect -- [CNN]
Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding an eighth suspect accused of being a member of a North Carolina group that allegedly plotted "violent jihad" overseas.
Chicago man charged with terrorism hoax -- [Chicago Tribune]
Prosecutors say the FBI-led Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the reports exhaustively and found they were a hoax.
Terrorism Trials May Be at New Va. Court -- [Washington Post]
A new, high-security courthouse in Newport News, Va., could be the site of terrorism trials for some Guantanamo Bay inmates, including the
The needs of the one.. -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
In late July, a British Soldier deployed in Afghanistan sustained life-threatening wounds to the abdomen and chest. I alluded to him in this post, but his identity has not yet been made public.
The article quoted below describes the extraordinary (and to my knowledge unprecedented) efforts made to save his life. It is a testimony to the advancements made in the technological, logistical, and medical fields. But most of all, it is a testimony to the commitment of the many to care for the needs of the one.
Petition to remove "Soldiers are not heroes" from facebook
There is a sick group on facebook called "Soldiers are not heroes".
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8456292284
Our brave troops fighting for our freedom do not deserve this kind of abuse. Anybody who doesn't support them should be removed from this country and facebook.
Case In Point -- [Jules Crittenden]
While the Boston Globe is busy bashing veterans, its corporate overlord, the New York Times, weighs in with some news on what the presumed unhinged babykillers have been up to while earning their veterans' civil service preference, in an informative article on the military's adaption to Taliban tactics and finetuning of the counterinsurgency. Sounds like the Army expects a pretty high degree of sophistication from its enlisted men and field commanders:
Giving Thanks -- [Chiefly Musing - in Iraq]
I appreciate all those who thank me for my service. I really do. But I feel a little bit embarrassed.
It's a job.
Now, it's a job I'm very proud of. There are lots of things that suck about being in the military, and I'm proud that I can endure them.
...But I'll be honest with you: I made some good choices, delayed some gratification, and I will retire fairly comfortably. I also don't have any real fear during this economic downturn. That counts for a helluva lot. In fact, the only way I lose is if I die, or am crippled in an enemy attack.
But I wouldn't be here if I didn't realize that possibility, and accepted it. Thanks or no thanks from anyone.
It's the right thing to do, for me. It's not the right thing for everyone.
However, an anecdote, and a plea:
On the way over here, a lady thanked me for my service. I thanked her back, and we continued chatting. It turns out, her husband had retired last year from a 20+ year career in the Army.
I told her, "And you thanked me?!? If your husband was in for more than 20 years, you were the one who sacrificed!"
To Those Left Behind (To the Wives) -- [Soldiering On - in Iraq]
One of the under-appreciated heroes of any Deployment are the wives (and husbands) left behind.
I know I have missed a number of momentous events so far (births of friends first kids, a number of weddings, and ordinary married life).
There are certainly a lot of sacrifices with being over here, but as my Commander and I discussed one morning, those same sacrifices (and sometimes greater) are made on the home-front.
Federal Jobs for Spouses -- [Spouse Buzz - Love My Tanker]
Spouses get federal job boost next month
A rule that could help military spouses get jobs in the federal government quicker will take effect Sept. 11.
The final regulations published in today's Federal Register implement a Sept. 25, 2008, executive order allowing federal managers to hire qualified military spouses without putting them through the normal competitive hiring process.
Those eligible include spouses who relocated with their service members because of permanent change-of-station orders, unremarried widows or widowers of service members killed on active duty, and spouses of service members who are 100 percent disabled as a result of active duty.
Long-lost pilot's remains return home to Florida -- [Bay News / AP ]
The remains of Navy pilot Michael Scott Speicher returned to his Florida home on Thursday, 18 years after his FA-18 Hornet was shot down on the first night of the 1991 Gulf War.
Speicher's remains arrived at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station around 3 p.m It was to remain at the All Saints Chapel on the base overnight.
National Guard Soldiers Set To Return Home -- [WSIL TV]
The troops are part of the largest overseas deployment of the Illinois National Guard since World War II. The welcome home ceremony is scheduled for Friday
VA National Guardsmen Coming Home -- [WHSV]
A team of 16 Soldiers from the Virginia National Guard returned to the United States August 9 after serving on federal active duty since August 15, 2008 with the mission of mentoring battalion-level Afghanistan security forces.
Phib, why did you start blogg'n? -- [CDR Salamander]
In a classic case of a pompous a55 just not getting it at all - check out Loren B. Thompson's rant pi55ing all over the Milblog world, one that he is very late joining.
...We all recognize what the main problem is with blogs. The barriers to entry are so low that almost anyone with a laptop can start one, and it's hard to sort out the good ones from tendentious nonsense. For every interesting, competent effort like DoD Buzz, there are dozens of ill-mannered rants masquerading as insight. To say that blogs have lowered the standards of public discourse on policy matters is an under-statement -- there are no standards. Anybody can say anything, with extra points for verbosity.
Defense Industry Consultant Launches Blog, Insults Bloggers -- [War is Boring]
Loren Thompson, pictured, a defense industry analyst with the conservative Lexington Institute, has launched a new blog, Early Warning. His goal, Thompson wrote in his inaugural post, is to be "long on facts -- especially little known, useful facts -- and short on opinions."
Iraq vs. Afghanistan: Which war gets more U.S. news coverage? -- [The AfPak Channel]
In an FP piece Monday, Morton Abramowitz argued that the U.S. media have been too soft in covering the shift in policy toward the war in Afghanistan, and that the war in general has received too little scrutiny.
The article made me wonder if there had been an increase in coverage of Afghanistan since the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, given his professed focus not to lose there and his changes in policy.
Fortunately, the Pew Research Center's Project on Excellence in Journalism [PEJ] keeps weekly tallies of which topics are covered in the U.S. media
Social Media Allows the Public to Participate in TRADOC Senior Leader Talks -- [SWJ]
What is it?
During the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) semi-annual Senior Leaders Conference (TSLC) TRADOC leaders discuss emerging issues and chart the way ahead. Now for the first time, TRADOC will make the conference transparent and seek public interaction by allowing anyone to follow the conversation, contribute comments and ask questions via a Small Wars Journal (SWJ) discussion board. At the August 18 to 20 conference, two editors and a moderator from SWJ will blog live, providing readers observations and ongoing commentary about the proceedings.
What has the Army done?
The VIP Flight Goes To War -- [Strategy Page]
The U.S. Congress recently tried to sneak an order for eight VIP (Very Important People, like members of Congress) air transports into the current defense budget. These aircraft would cost $550 million. The media jumped on this and the order was, for the moment, withdrawn. Congress tried to work out a compromise, by cutting the order in half (to a Gulfstream V and three Boeing 737s) for VIP work. But the media storm continued to grow, and the entire order was withdrawn.
Pentagon Secret Budget Tops $35 Billion -- [Danger Room]
The Defense Department will spend $35.8 billion on secret technologies in 2010, according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. That represents the "second highest level of funding provided for classified acquisition programs since FY 1987," CSBA claims.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
