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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.
Troop Levels Are Still Focus of Debate - [New York Times]
Divisions over how to respond to the upsurge in violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan were reflected Sunday in a spectrum of voices heard on the morning talk shows, including more emphatic arguments that a failure in Afghanistan would destabilize Pakistan. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said there were other ways of showing resolve in Afghanistan than just augmenting the numbers of combat troops. Gen. General Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently urged President Obama to add another 40,000 troops on top of the 68,000 Americans already deployed there. But Senator Levin made a distinction between combat troops, whose deployment he questioned, and trainers, who he said would work with the Afghan army to improve its effectiveness.
Obama WH falsely downplaying risks of retreat in Afghanistan: Military, intel sources -- [Hot Air]
Sources within both the intelligence and military communities tell McClatchy that Barack Obama's White House has not been honest about the risks of moving away from a robust strategy of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Obama and his advisers have begun publicly discussing the Taliban as a moderate alternative to al-Qaeda in terms of enemies, but the latest intelligence shows just the opposite. Taliban leadership and AQ have integrated even more tightly than ever since 9/11 and act in concert on strategy and tactics:
What Failure in Afghanistan? -- [Washington Post]
At the heart of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for a major surge in troops is the assumption that we are failing in Afghanistan. But are we really? The United States has had one central objective: to deny al-Qaeda the means to reconstitute, to train and to plan major terrorist attacks. This mission has been largely successful for the past eight years. Al-Qaeda is dispersed, on the run and unable to direct attacks of the kind it planned and executed routinely in the 1990s. Fourteen of the top 20 leaders of the group have been killed ...
Othello in Afghanistan -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
This week's Newsweek profile of Vice President Joe Biden is titled "An Inconvenient Truth Teller." Reporters Holly Bailey and Evan Thomas portray the Vice President as a man whose goofy charisma and public bluntness -- although sometimes political liabilities for the President -- spring from his authenticity. If Biden is trouble, the piece suggests, then he is trouble of the best kind: the niggling, skeptical conscience of the administration's deliberations on Afghanistan.
In other words, the Vice President is the mirror image of his would-be rival in the current media drama, General Stanley McChrystal.
Taliban 'daisy chain' kingpin captured in Afghanistan dawn raid -- [Times]
The two point men failed to spot the booby trap hidden beneath the water as they waded along an irrigation canal. Then the shouting started.
"Get the f*** back now. We've gone over a tripwire," bellowed Sergeant Lee Slater, the 17-stone section commander as he turned and splashed back towards the rest of his men. "We need to get the f*** out of here now."
Pandemonium broke out as the soldiers clawed their way up a mudbank and out of the knee-high water. But just as they thought they had reached safety, one of the men spotted a second bomb 15 metres from the first.
"It's a warhead. We're f***in' gonna step on an IED
Elite unit fight off Taliban ambush - and survive -- [People.co.uk]
One hundred elite British soldiers beat off the Taliban in one of the most ferocious firefights of the Afghan war - and ALL survived.
Our exclusive pictures show the hand-picked reconnaissance force troops in action after they were trapped in an ambush deep in hostile territory.
AfPak Daily Brief -- [Foreign Policy Blog]
Strange bedfellows?
...U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are working with former mujahideen guerrillas who fought against the Soviet Union with tactics now being used by Taliban militants in the country, because they understand the extremists' techniques of roadside bombs and suicide attacks (Wall Street Journal). Coalition forces stormed an al Qaeda camp in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend, killing more than a dozen militants, while U.S. Marines are sweeping villages across the country to reduce the threat of IEDs (AP, AFP).
The battle of COP Keating: an earwitness account -- [Tom Ricks]
Here, passed along by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, is an account of the recent battle in Nuristan in which eight American soldiers were killed.
Weapons failed US troops during Afghan firefight -- [AP]
It was chaos during the early morning assault last year on a remote U.S. outpost in Afghanistan and Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine had quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either.
Troops Mentor Afghan National Police Officers at Baraki Rajan -- [ISAF]
"Stop the bright-red bleeding," instructed a Soldier from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division.
My Rant of the Day: the Over-Use of "Under-Resourcing" -- [OPFOR - Lt Col P - in Afghanistan]
OK, while we wait [drums fingers on table] I might as well unload. (And I must add, none of this has anything to do with the boys on the ground, who are doing everything they can, day in and day out. Nope, this has to do with leadership.)
We often hear that the war effort in Afghanistan has been "under-resourced" for too long. Undoubtedly, it took a back seat to Iraq for several years. But I'm beginning to get more than just a nagging suspicion that the "under-resourcing" line doesn't tell the whole story.
What other enduring campaigns in history have been under-resourced? There's the Pacific Theater in WW2-- by definition under-resourced versus the European Theater. That didn't stop MacArthur and Nimitz from doing the best with what they had
Afghanistan: UN-backed fraud panel member resigns -- [AP]
A member of a U.N.-backed panel set up to investigate fraud complaints in Afghanistan's presidential election resigned Monday, blaming what he called "the interference of foreigners" and dealing another blow to a vote already mired in controversy. The fraud panel is expected to decide this week whether to throw out enough votes to force a runoff between President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Troops get non-combat role in Afghanistan after 2011 -- [CBC News]
The Conservative government intends to keep some Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in a non-combat role beyond Parliament's 2011 end-date for the military mission, CBC News has learned.
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, told CBC News there will be Canadian troops in Afghanistan after 2011, though "exponentially fewer."
"I would caution you against saying dozens or hundreds or a thousand, there will be exponentially fewer," Soudas said. "Whether there's 20 or 60 or 80 or 100, they will not be conducting combat operations."
Marines Light It Up As Sun Sets On Insurgents In Afghanistan -- [USFOR]
Helmand province, Afghanistan - The expression "goat rope" usually refers to something unorganized, but service members here helped local farmers with their roped goats, sheep and cows with free medical treatment.
..."The people are feeling happy," said local fabric dealer Sheer Mohammad through an interpreter. Mohammad spread news of the one-day clinic to some of his friends who, in turn, brought their animals for treatment. "It's a good thing you're doing this."
Mohammad added he was surprised to see a foreign military giving free medicine for livestock. He couldn't recall any previous foreigners providing this type of service for the community.
Helo mission - Part 1-- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
Instead of driving our armored vehicles, the Captain and I would be transported by helicopter to visit one of our supported FOBs.
Another week of mentoring complete... -- [3rd Time, New Country - in Afghanistan]
...Thursday, started out as a regular day of mentoring. After I completed the Nurses Morning Meeting, I went outside to receive the surgical masks. That's when a SVBIED exploded near the Indian Embassy and the Afghan Ministry of Interior. We made preparations at NMH for a mass causality, but we didn't receive any patients. The explosion was several miles from NMH (near NDS hospital) and the wounded went to local hospitals in the area.
A tough earth yields life -- [Afghan Journal - in Afghanistan]
Kabul -- I spent much of the two weeks exploring the irrigated farm lands and villages of the Arghandab Valley in southern Afghanistan on foot patrols with Army soldiers from Fort Lewis, Wa. This was a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of a way of life that is rooted in centuries of tradition, and makes an amazing use of the dun-colored earth that covers this land.
This is not a soil that I would want in my backyard. It often dries to a tough hardpan that in some fields resembles a kind of pale dried clay that appears hostile to plant life.
Then, when water is added, this soil turns into an unstable muck.
But on these foot patrols, over and over again, I was impressed by all the ways this earth supports the people who live here.
Down Town Asadabad 11 Oct 09 -- [PRT-Kunar]
U.S. Army SSG Raymond Barquin from Las Vegas, Nev. and assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team-Kunar security forces, Camp Wright, Afghanistan, maintains a security posture while local children cautiously make conversation just outside the village of Dam Kalay, Oct 11, 2009. The security team, along with Civil Affairs members from the PRT, walked several areas talking to locals about current living conditions and villagers basic needs.
IVAW: October is Afghanistan Awareness Month -- [This ain't Hell,...]
I really don't know what their point is, but the IVAW has named October Afghanistan Awareness Month. Their stated goal;
11 Oct 09 -- [Dude in the Desert - in Afghanistan]
I am in country and starting another deployment... Afghanistan again...it smells just as bad, looks just as trashy, and is a little more dangerous...I have been keeping track of my travels and adventures up to now, just haven't had time to sit down and write very much...I am currently in a transient hut and have to walk to a morale hut to connect to the rest of the world, but as soon as I get into my permanent living quarters I will have internet connection and I will sit and tell you all about everything up to this point...as for now
Series of car bombs kills 19 in western Iraq -- [AP]
A spate of car bombings killed 19 people Sunday in Iraq's western Anbar province, once a hotbed of insurgency that later become a showcase for restoring peace.
The province was the scene of some of the most intense fighting by U.S. troops during the insurgency. Violence tapered off significantly after local tribes decided to align themselves with U.S. forces instead of al-Qaida in what is widely considered to be one of the key turning points of the Iraq war.
Violence in Iraq now political, Jacoby says -- [FOB Tacoma]
..."Numbers of attacks are not quite as relevant as targets of attacks," he said. "What we're really seeing right now is that almost everything in Iraq now - from insurgent activity to economic activity to political activity to the things we see impacting from outside of Iraq - are all shaped by the upcoming election. It is truly an election-year mentality. The remaining insurgents are trying to make political statements as much as they are military progress."
It begins... -- [Wings Over Iraq - heading home Iraq]
I've done well being just a tad cynical.
When I first arrived in Iraq, I heard a lot of senior officers and NCOs scoff at me when I expressed my belief that our presence in Iraq wasn't permanently sustainable, even after the US and Iraqi governments signed a Status of Forces Agreement was signed in November of last year. They would always look at me, laugh at my apparent naivety and say, "This place is the new Korea. We'll be here for fifty years".
If I had a nickel for all the bad military advice I've received...
Anyway, looks like I may have been right,
Plus ça change, plus - ça change! -- [Castle Argghhh! - Bill T - in Iraq]
...What's changed about this particular graduation ceremony, and why is it important?
Simple enough -- the rotary wing students completed their training in August. Their fixed wing classmates were plagued with aircraft availability problems and weather requirements that didn't apply to helicopters (we fly in weather that makes fixed-wingers shudder and go back to the coffee pot). These are the first new Iraqi rotary wing pilots in over six years, and they are the first Iraqi *Air Force* rotary wing pilots ever. The MoD considered it such a milestone that they insisted on a single formal graduation ceremony for both sections.
Blogger's Roundtable with Brigadier General Ed Cardon -- [BlackFive - Grim]
We were honored to have the occasion to speak with a general officer I've had the opportunity to see in action in the field, BG Ed Cardon. Currently the deputy commander of the Command and General Staff College, he was previously the DCG/S for the 3rd Infantry Division during its last deployment to Iraq. In that role, he was a key part of the Surge that brought a new peace to the southern Baghdad belts and tamed the Triangle of Death.
The "Female Element" in the Iraqi military -- [Inside Iraq - McClatchy]
"We want to protect our women - not have them protect us," the head of military training for all of Iraq said with a wide grin. I suppose that was the bottom line.
The symposium I attended was held by the Iraqi Center of Ethics and Military Principles inside the Green Zone, at a place called "The Crossed Swords."
In our society, as in many societies around the world, it is the sacred duty of the man to protect the women and young. It's the highest expression of manhood. And his failure to do so is shameful. It is not easy to reconcile this deep-rooted human feeling with training women to do the "protecting."
ExxonMobil Submits New Proposal to Develop Iraq's Zubair Oil Field -- [MEMRI Blog]
Iraq's Oil Ministry is considering a revised offer by the giant U.S. petroleum company ExxonMobil to develop the Zubair oil field [south of the southern city of Basra and close to the Kuwaiti border.]
The ministry is also considering a revised offer by the U.S. company Chevron and the French company Total to develop the oil field in west Qurna [at the point of confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers].
Both fields have reserves in the billions of barrels of crude.
Iraq Seeks to Develop Nuclear Program for Peaceful Purposes -- [MEMRI Blog]
Iraqi Minister for Science and Technology Ra'id Jahid Fahmi has told the Iraqi press agency that his ministry is seeking to develop a program for the use of nuclear program for peaceful purposes, in cooperation with the International Nuclear Energy Agency.
Iraq Threats To Call for International Tribunal Reduce Syrian Terrorism by 75% -- [MEMRI Blog]
A diplomat in the Iraqi foreign ministry said that terrorist activities in Iraq have declined by 75 percent following a threat by the Iraqi government to call for the establishment of international tribunal to investigate the bombings of key ministries in Baghdad last August.
View from the Window -- [In Iraq Now (at 56) - in Iraq]
I sat behind the left door gunner on the Blackhawk I rode on yesterday. Here's some of the view I had.
It's R&R Time! -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq]
FINALLY! I'm heading home in the morning! It's been six months since I've seen my wife and children (the two dogs). But tomorrow morning, I'm going over to the airport, and then sometime later (hey, it's military air: there are no schedules), I'll fly to Kuwait. And on Sunday I'll land in Asheville. HOME!
Clinton: US Confident in Pakistan's Control Over Nuclear Weapons -- [Washington Post]
Top US and British officials said Sunday they believed that Pakistan's nuclear weapons were secure, after a stunning insurgent attack on the South Asian country's army headquarters. "We have confidence in the Pakistani government and military's control over nuclear weapons," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said after a meeting with her British counterpart, David Miliband. The leading suspects in the weekend attack in Rawalpindi are Pakistani insurgents allied with the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Report: North Korea fires 5 short-range missiles -- [AP]
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea fired five short-range missiles off its east coast on Monday, a news report said, even as South Korea proposed working-level talks with its communist neighbor. Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said the North test-fired the missiles on Monday afternoon from its eastern coastal launch pad.
Just Say No -- [New York Times]
Indian nuclear scientists are trying to bully their government into testing a nuclear weapon. That would be a huge setback - for India's relations with Washington, for the battle against terrorists, and for global efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is resisting. He must continue to resist. If India tests, the United States is bound by a 2008 agreement to cut off all sales of nuclear fuel and technology. That would be
Pan Am hijacker surrenders after 41 years -- [Times]
Luis Armando Pena Soltren flies into JFK airport, from where he took off 41 years ago and demanded to be flown to Cuba
German and American Militants Training for Terror in Pakistan -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new video from the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) showing a group of alleged German nationals receiving instruction at an IJU terrorist training camp in northwest Pakistan. The video also includes footage of a balding Caucasian male identified as a U.S. national fighting alongside the IJU, "Abu Ibrahim al-Amriki." The IJU has claimed responsibility for a failed terrorist plot in 2007 targeting airports and other critical infrastructure in Germany - including Ramstein Air Base.
UAE jails man for 'terror links' -- [BBC News]
A court in the United Arab Emirates has convicted a US citizen of Lebanese origin on terrorism-related charges and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
A nuclear scientist that worked on the Large Hadron Collider has been arrested after being linked to terrorist group Al Qaeda. -- [Tom's Guide]
When scientists flicked the 'on' switch on CERN's Large Hadron Collider, there was an alarming amount of people who swore the world would end. When it didn't, they were all looking at their watches saying stuff along the lines of, "Any minute now..." Well, in the unlikely event that the machine's breakdown has given that whole crowd a chance to catch their breath, one of the scientists has been arrested for associating with Al Qaeda.
The Daily Mail late last week reported that armed police in France had arrested Dr. Adlene Hicheur, 32, for supposed connections to Al Qaeda and today the paper reports that the scientist has since admitted to plotting a terrorist attack.
Make a difference - adopt a service member today! -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
A note from the field to SA:
I wanted to write and thank you for your continued support of my team. Also, I wanted to share a quick story with you about the impact your organization makes in our lives. A couple of weeks ago, I was at Combat Outpost Zerok in the province of Paktika.
Those Soldiers have been there for 7 months and live in the most dire conditions. They do not have running water, fresh vegetables are rare...
In a place like that, it doesn't take a lot to make a BIG difference. Find out more about adopting a service member at Soldiers' Angels.
Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels adds: "We are getting flooded with basic requests from Afghanistan and have packages ready to go. Unfortunately donations are low and the postage bill is high. PLEASE consider spreading the word, sending money and praying we can do what is needed to help this heroes."
Progress with treatment of traumatic brain injuries -- [Soldiers Angels Germany]
Here's some encouraging news. Due to early screening as well as an ever-developing program of psychological and medical treatments, more soldiers are successfully recovering from TBI.
McConaughey Gets It: Rom-Com Star Supports Veterans -- [Big Hollywood]
Matthew McConaughey won't be in the mix for any Oscar nominations this year, and probably not in 2010 or 2011, for that matter. But the routinely shirtless actor has one up on some of his A-list peers.
At a time when many celebrities risk alienating their fan base by voicing political views, McConaughey is opting to speak out on behalf of our men and women in uniform.The "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" star will appear in a new public service announcement that encourages giving back to veterans, politics be darned.
"It's our duty to serve veterans and military families who serve their country in the most difficult ways imaginable," McConaughey says in the spot, set to benefit the Major League Baseball-launched and supported Welcome Back Veterans.
UD lacrosse players support troops -- [Delaware County Daily Times]
"Gerry is from the same outfit, but didn't get the welcome home these guys got," Niagara said. Woods contacted the students to help in their fundraising
White House: Don't Ask About "Don't Ask" -- [CBS News]
Thousands of gay rights supporters marched from the White House to the nation's Capitol Sunday demanding more effort to end discrimination.
I Didn't Tell. It Didn't Matter. -- [Washington Post]
I chose to put service above my personal life. My understanding of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was that if I kept quiet about my sexuality and didn't break any rules, I would face no punishment. I was wrong.
"I didn't tell. It didn't matter" -- [This ain't Hell,...]
I spent twenty years in the infantry, and although we played a lot of tricks on people, mostly of a sexual nature, I don't think I ever saw anything that comes even close to the antics described in this morning's Washington Post by Joseph Roche. Based on absolutely nothing but a gut feeling I'm calling Bullshit.
Highest military court to hear Abu Ghraib appeal -- [AP]
WASHINGTON -- The US military's highest court is scheduled to hear the appeal of a former Army dog handler convicted in the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib
Crowds gather to welcome home Birmingham's brave TA medics -- [BirminghamMail.net]
Members of the 202 Midland Field Hospital, based in Kings Heath, Birmingham, spent four months treating wounded troops at the Camp Bastion field hospital in ...
More Fort Drum soldiers come home today -- [The Post-Standard]
The soldiers are returning from a 12-month deployment to Iraq. Welcome home ceremonies are being held at Wheeler Sack Army Airfield.
East Texas soldier comes home -- [KLTV]
To celebrate Wells' East Texas return, Welcome Home Soldiers, family, and friends threw a block party celebration. "I feel like all of Longview has been ...
NBC Reporter Waves the White Flag: 'Time to Start Leaving' Afghanistan -- [NewsBusters]
In 2006, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz found that NBC correspondent Richard Engel had strong political feelings: "I think war should be illegal...I'm basically a pacifist." That pacifist opinion is still surfacing, Kurtz reported Monday, although he didn't recall the sentence from 2006: ...
Pres. Obama: Accept Nobel Peace Prize for All America's Military Families ... -- [Huffington Post]
In that spirit, I believe President Obama should accept his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of ALL America's Military Families -- including our LBGT
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