VP Biden celebrates July 4 with US troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, a day after warning Iraqi leaders that U.S. assistance will be jeopardized if the country reverts to ethnic and sectarian violence.

Biden began Independence Day by greeting more than 200 U.S. soldiers who were becoming American citizens at a naturalization ceremony in a marble domed hall at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces at Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad.

He then had lunch with the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade from Delaware to which his son, Beau, belongs. Beau Biden stood in the back as his father greeted the troops. The vice president, who's known for his often colorful language, told the brigade about the naturalization ceremony.

"We did it in Saddam's palace," he said. "That S.O.B. is rolling over in his grave right now."

"It may sound corny," Biden told the assembled troops, "but damn I'm proud to be an American. Thanks for choosing us."

Hey, no need to apologize, Joe. You're among friends.

Video highlights of the event:

Update: Another slightly different version of the AP story begins with this paragraph:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden spent the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, while the Iraqi government spokesman publicly rejected the American's offer to help with national reconciliation, saying it's an internal affair.

Previously: It didn't generate much media coverage, but last July 4th saw the largest re-enlistment ceremony in history (1200 troops) held in Baghdad.

Ride along with the first Special Forces team to enter Afghanistan in November, 2001. The words are Stanton's, the voice and formatting are mine - the pictures and video were found all over the web and in most cases serve only as a reasonable facsimile, and not images of the actual individuals involved. Hopefully altogether they convey some of the sense of what it's like to fly a few hundred feet above the ground in a combat zone.

Jut push play...

And if you haven't bought the book yet, you can do so here.

Stealing Scott Ott's line from Facebook message: "Sarah Palin Steps Down as Governor to Spend More Time with Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric"

Update: Now that line's a ScrappleFace story.
]]> http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032330.html http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032330.html Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:53:00 -0500 For those who keep a few MREs stashed at home, Stars and Stripes alerts to a recall:

A militarywide recall has been issued for Dairyshake powders found in Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs) and Unitized Group Rations-Express (UGR-Es).

Plainview Milk Products Cooperative in Minnesota issued the voluntary recall after a Food and Drug Administration inspection found salmonella contamination on some of the facility's equipment, according to an FDA news release dated June 29. Plainview sells its products to distributors and manufacturers who may then use them in their own products, and not to the general public, according to the release.

The dairy cooperative might have shipped nonfat dry milk, fruit stabilizers, whey protein, and gum products contaminated with the bacteria between June 2007 and June 2009, according to the Defense Supply Center.

People should not consume the Dairyshake powder rations and should destroy any Dairyshake powders contained in the meals.

The products affected by the recall are the vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and strawberry-banana flavors of the Dairyshake powder.

"The remainder of the MRE/UGR-E menu is consumable and should not be discarded/destroyed," a DSC news release said.

No illnesses have been reported from consuming the powder, and an investigation to determine the source of the contamination continues, the FDA said.

George Stephanopoulos updates from "just outside" of Baghdad*:

Biden spent a couple of hours this morning getting briefed by the Commanding General here in Iraq, Ray Odierno, and the new Ambassador, Chris Hill.

After the meeting he told me the reports were more optimistic than he expected.

*In keeping with the SOFA, Victory Base Complex will no longer be reported as "Baghdad".

Previous entry here.

On Monday, July 20, join NBC News for a groundbreaking television event when it sets forth on an international hunt for an accused terrorist with "The Wanted" at 10 PM ET.

"The Wanted" brings together an elite team with backgrounds in intelligence, unconventional warfare and investigative journalism. The show focuses on real operators, in search of real targets -- all in an effort to see individuals brought to justice.

"We hope this program sheds light on an overlooked story," said David Corvo, executive producer at NBC News. "It is surprising how many people with serious accusations against them are living openly and avoiding any sort of judicial process."
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"'The Wanted' is about seeking justice for the many victims of terrorism and atrocity around the world," said Crane. "It will start a national conversation, an important dialog about war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and international terrorism, as well as the indifference and political cynicism that hampers international criminal law and the quest for justice. 'The Wanted' drives home the point that the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of the gun."

Need some help spreading the word on this. Below is a bit of info on the Gun Blogger Rendezvous IV, which is kinda like the milblogcon, but with gun bloggers. I went to GBR II, and spoke for a few minutes about valour-it, and the various bloggers all held a raffle and raised close to $2100 for valour-it. Last year they decided to make valour-it their dedicated charity, and raised over $2k again, both times from their own pockets. (When I was there, they numbered less that 25 bloggers.) This year GBR IV, and they are trying to do an internet raffle.

On a more personal note, I met Joe and Barb Huffman while I was there. Their nephew was at WRAMC while I was there, and it was the second time I'd met them, Their nephew, unfortunately, did not make it. Joe writes the View from North Central Idaho, and is a must read for 2A information and constitutional rights in general.

Here's where to go next.

George Stephanopoulos:

Hello from Camp Victory just outside of Baghdad. I landed about an hour ago on Vice President Biden's C-17 for what will be the most extensive visit to Iraq by a president or vice president since the war began in 2003.

Before we landed Biden called a few of us traveling with him into his aluminum sided airstream trailer strapped to the floor of the C-17.

"This is the moment," he told us, "we have to make sure the Iraqis don't take their eyes off the ultimate prize."

He then explained the latest job President Obama has given him. A few weeks ago he was talking to the president about the challenges Iraq would face after US troops began to withdraw from Iraqi cities on June 30th and what the US needed to do about it. The president got right the point, Biden said, "Quote: Joe, go do it."

Do what exactly?

"Help the Iraqis resolve what they have to resolve."

"He was greeted upon landing by Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general of Multi-National Forces in Iraq" - Chris Hill (U.S. Ambassador to Iraq) does not appear in this story.

Previous entry here.

I'm adding quotes from news reports as they become available below. As you read, bear in mind that first reports are always wrong. Rumors and scuttlebutt are frequently passed on as news - they may or may not turn out to be completely (rare) or partly (often) true. I'll add only that a soldier can't just accidentally wander off a military installation in Afghanistan or Iraq. In fact, one shouldn't be able to exit without authorization for a specific mission. Determination or duress could overcome that obstacle. But any speculation as to how one apparently did get "outside the wire" in this case is just that - purely speculation at this point. I can confirm only that a soldier is missing, his family has been notified, and a massive manhunt is underway. Please keep that soldier and his family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend.

Brief (as of now) AP report here:

KABUL -- Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.

"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

Here's the U.S. Forces Afghanistan statement (via their Facebook page):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 2, 2009

Release Number 20090207-01

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Soldier, who has been missing since June 30th from his assigned unit, is now believed to have been captured by militant forces. We are exhausting all available resources to ascertain his whereabouts and provide for his safe return.

We are not providing any further details at this time in order to protect the welfare of the Soldier.

I was in Iraq for a similar event - the rescue effort was unprecedented in intensity and number of people involved. I expect the same is happening in Afghanistan now.

CNN reports that the soldier's family has been informed. (They also pass along a rather dubious Taliban claim. (Made by a target of a recent high-profile drone strike.)

CBS report:

(CBS) A Taliban commander told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai Thursday that militants had captured one U.S. soldier and three Afghan nationals in Paktika province, near the Pakistani border.
<...>
The Taliban commander, who spoke to Yousafzai via satellite telephone from the region, said a group of militants cornered the American soldier and his Afghan counterparts near a U.S. military base and took them hostage.

He said the captives' fate would be decided by Taliban leaders, but that the Islamic extremist group "would not mind an exchange of prisoners in this case."

The BBC and other British news sources are reporting "The US has just begun a major operation against the Taliban in the southern Helmand province, but the captured soldier was not involved in this."

MSNBC says "enlisted soldier".

Washington Post:

Military officials in Afghanistan, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation, said the missing soldier appears to have walked off his base into an unsecured area.

A U.S. official in Afghanistan said the soldier's absence was discovered when he did not show up for morning formation. It is highly unusual for a U.S. soldier to leave a military base unaccompanied by other American troops.
<...>
"Our leaders have not decided on the fate of this soldier." the AFP quoted the Haqqani commander, identified only as Bahram, as saying. "They will decide on his fate and soon we will present video tapes of the coalition soldier and our demand to media."

While the AFP report quoted the Haqqani commander as saying that the soldier was captured with three Afghan "guards," the U.S. official said the Afghanis who reportedly were seized do not appear to have been soldiers.

From Afghanistan, Vampire 6: "we are conducting operations in an attempt to locate the missing soldier."

Stars and Stripes:

U.S. forces from the region have been diverted to the area where the soldier went missing. The region borders the South Waziristan tribal areas , where the Pakistani military has launched an offensive to capture top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Maj. Jose Aymat, the executive officer at Camp Clark, said reports from Paktika indicate that the soldier was captured by two individuals in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. He said battalions deployed across eastern Afghanistan have each committed one or two platoons to join the search effort and they have cordoned off the area where they think the soldier is being held.

"All the roads (in and out of the area) are pretty much under the control of U.S. forces and the ANA (Afghan National Army)," Aymat said. "All activities in the region other than force protection have ceased because the effort now is to find our soldier."

Information heard over radio communciations indicate that the Taliban is considering whether to negotiate a deal or ransom in exchange for the soldier's release, Aymat said.

At Clark, there was a sense of frustration at the situation created by the soldier's capture. Troops wondered not only why a soldier would take such a risk, if his disappearance happened as reported, but also whether he'd indicated to his fellow soldiers his plans. Many questioned why the soldier's leadership was not aware that he was in distress.

Other soldiers said they were concerned that the concerted effort to find the soldier was putting so many forces at risk, while leaving other areas with less forces to carry out their own missions. Several missions were canceled because so much air power was diverted to Paktika.

More from Bill Roggio: "Late last year, the Haqqani Network kidnapped a reporter for the New York Times and brought him to North Waziristan in Pakistan. The reporter escaped from the compound last month."