Re: Baghdad ER

as I said in a comment over at Cdr Salamander's place -- Having had a soldier wounded in Iraq (and who will face at least 2 more deployments of said soldier under his current Reg. Army contract), I am certain I will not watch it.

But frankly, except for Automatic Bob (Herbert) who MAKES it anti-war, the HBO crew could film in ERs across the USA and produce just as graphic documentaries: this is what guns do... this is what knives do... this is what meth does... My question is, is the HBO documentary per se crafted as an anti-war piece? THAT would piss me off.

I'm pretty sure most Americans already know how they stand on the war and I don't think this documentary will actually change their minds. The anti-[war] [Bush] [Cheney] crowd will use ANYTHING it can to try to dissuade the American public from the Mission in Iraq. Those of us who can not be dissuaded will see the heroes in the doctors, nurses and the soldiers who choose to fight.

How they feel before viewing this is how they will feel after they view it -- with either side saying, "See! See! What'd I tell you?" The best we can do is to tell people "See -- Heroes all. What'd I tell ya??"

Clearing the Decks

Not much doing around the Great Brown North of Iraq lately. Though it'd be a good opportunity to finish up some old posts that I never quite followed through on.

Here's the latest.

Nevermind

Who needs an emergency backup man-cannon when you've got a rescue rocket?

Ambushing 101

Afghanistan update:

Militants hiding in a vineyard and armed with machine guns ambushed an Afghan army convoy Saturday, shooting dead four soldiers but losing 15 of their own.

Being a zoomie, I'm no expert in squad to company level tactics. But irrespective of service.... if you prepare and execute an ambush, and the enemy kills 15 of your guys while losing only 4 of his own, you do have to wonder who exactly is doing the ambushing.

Profile in Weakness

Guess who will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Monday? (Scroll Down)

Murtha, 73, is to be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston on Monday for his bold pronouncement last November that U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq. The Democratic hawk and retired Marines Reserves colonel surprised the administration and drew the ire of conservatives.

Yeah. Real courageous. My nomination for the Profile in Courage Award can't be narrowed down to one person. I'll start with this group of people, and I'm just getting warmed up.

Kidnapping of US Soldiers in Korea

There are many areas in the world where US soldiers need to be careful of being assaulted at and the streets of Seoul, Korea are no exception. A perfect example of this was the 2002 kidnapping and beating of three US soldiers in Seoul. The three soldiers were on their way home to Camp Red Cloud from a weekend shopping trip to Seoul using the local subway when a known pro-North Korean activist, Mr. Seo and his henchmen approached them and then assaulted the three soldiers which led to a brawl between the soldiers and the activists.

The soldiers fleeing the mob that was assaulting them, fled from the subway and were further chased by the mob outside of the subway. Korean riot police who were stationed near a hospital due to an unrelated protest intervened and rescued two of the soldiers from the mob. The third soldier captured by the mob was taken to a local stadium, beaten and paraded in front of a cheering crowd, and then forced to make coerced statements on national Korean TV with help from the Korean police before being handed over. Video of the mob chase can be seen from this site.

So what happened you may ask after what could easily be called assault and kidnapping? Well the GI's were blamed of course. The activists who assaulted them blamed the soldiers for starting the fight and demanded they be tried and sentenced in Korean court. The media instantly believed and promoted the activists side of the story and demonized the three soldiers in the newspapers blaming them for the assault while not publishing the soldiers' side of the story.

Navy Reserve Deployments

Another drill weekend, and my Navy Reserve unit is losing up to four Sailors.

- One Sailor has volunteered to deploy with another unit to Kuwait (his second OIF deployment).

- Another Sailor is volunteering to go with the same unit, but doesn't yet have orders (his rating is not in high demand for this mission).

- A third Sailor has been involuntarily mobilized to go to Kuwait (for the second time; he confesses to me that he's actually looking forward to it).

- A fourth Sailor is voluntarily transferring to the active duty Army under the "Blue to Green" program.

Since we returned from Kuwait in 2003, such "surges" of attrition has become commonplace whenever another Naval Coastal Warfare detachment is preparing to deploy. Most NCW Sailors have deployed at least once since 2001; many have deployed two or even three times.

The good news (or bad news, depending on your perspective), is that this will likely be the final OIF deployment for a reserve Naval Coastal Warfare detachment, as future deployments will be handled by the recently commissioned active duty NCW squadrons.

This doesn't mean, however, that NCW reservists are off the hook. Individual augmentations will almost certainly continue, and we must remain ready to deploy within 48-72 hours for contingency operations -- but the bulk of the maritime force protection mission will soon shift back to the active duty Navy.

Pass the coffee and donuts.

The View from Leftward UK

Even on this day of Iraqi triumph I couldn't help but note that some the the old guard Socialists in the UK keep "gnawing on old plots."

Today's chew is from Alexander Cockburn in the Independent.

Here's the sublead:

Across central Iraq, there is an exodus of people fleeing for their lives as sectarian assassins and death squads hunt them down. At ground level, Iraq is disintegrating as ethnic cleansing takes hold on a massive scale.

Cockburn tries the same gambit, using anecdotal evidence (one case seemingly) to protray a "mass exodus of the middle class.

I guess they couldn't very well let news of the formation of the new Government go unchallenged by a subjective scare piece from the Old Left. Gnaw away, aging lefties!

RE:Iraq's New Government

Congratulations are due to the Iraqi people, who once again, met another deadline and achieved another milestone on the path to a functional democracy.

Just as an observation, their track record to date puts them in the upper 25 Percentile for the world's nations, don't you think?

Yet we will see another goalpost set, another remark from Friedman about what we need to see in the next 6-9 months or it's all for naught.

The Iraqi people, meanwhile, we quietly continue making progress.

Re Polls:

Polling Report

"Do you personally think the government is listening to your phone conversations?" Yes 30% No 56% Unsure 14%

Something is beyond wrong with either the perceptions of the average American or the Pollng methodology. How can it be that 30% of adults believe the government would bother to listen to their phones calls?

Iraq's New Government: Names

Here's a list of the cabinet so far... from Fox News:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A list of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's 39-member Cabinet. The Cabinet includes two women.

Re For What Little It's Worth

Another Springtime for Hitler???

Hirata believes the current novel, issued in a cover patterned with violets, was written by Saddam and has a melodic clarity to it that suggests it could be adapted to the stage.

"I really think this book should be made into a musical," she said. "And once this is done, it should play in the heart of his enemy's country, on Broadway."

Hooboy... the sad part is that there are probably a few producers who would actualy consider staging this -- WHILE WE'RE STILL AT WAR... and sadder still that there are probably a number of Hollywood types that will be rushing to acquire the rights for the movie...

On a different note, if I had a claim against Saddam, I'd be rushing to file a claim on any profits the book garnered....

May 22 is National Maritime Day

I'm sure you celebrate National Maritime Day every year, right?

A day to honor the Merchant Marine and their proud history as set out here.

While we tend to forget World War II except for big events like Pearl Harbor and D-Day, the Merchant Marine did a lot of dangerous sailing in harm's way and paid a heavy price:

A grim week

In naval history - the USS Stark was struck by an Iraqi Exocet missile in the Arabian Gulf - collateral damage in the "Tanker Wars" between Iraq and Iran.

And an RA-5C Vigilante was shot down by ground fire over Hanoi - although both the pilot and his nav ejected and survived the crash, they did not long survive their captors' tender mercies.

Hanoi Hilton

Chief Washington correspondent Andi with developments in the Fran O'Brien's story.

Every time the Hilton expands their attempts to justify kicking the wounded vets out they just keep looking worse.

New Government in Iraq

Headlines, lead paragraphs from here and there.

New York Times: Iraqis Name Cabinet Today But Security Ministers Later
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Saturday, May 20 — Iraqi political leaders still have not agreed on candidates for the two most important cabinet posts, the Ministries of Interior and Defense, but presentation of a new government on Saturday will go ahead anyway, officials said Friday.

Washington Post: Two Cabinet Posts Yet Undecided
BAGHDAD, May 19 -- Iraq's prime minister-designate was ready to present his cabinet nominees to parliament on Saturday but had not yet decided who would fill the two most important positions, aides and politicians said Friday night.

London Times: Exit Route For Allies After New Iraq Deal
TONY BLAIR and President Bush are preparing to hail the formation of Iraq’s first permanent government since the fall of Saddam Hussein today — a development that should finally allow them to begin withdrawing their 140,000 troops from an ever more hostile country.

Aljazeera: Iraqi parliament approves government
Iraq's parliament has approved the country's new government during a session in Baghdad.
In a show of hands, the 275 members of parliament approved the list of cabinet ministers read out by Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister-designate.
The new ministers then took their oaths in the session, held inside the city's heavily fortified Green Zone and broadcast on Aljazeera Live.

Polls: Can't Help Myself

I know that public opinion polls are pretty useless, but I can't help myself...

Seems people still aren't liking the President's performance... but the good news is that Congressional performance is even lower than that!

By a 2:1 margin people approve of the use of the National Guard on the border and view illegal immigration as a serious problem

A majority of Americans approve (or at least don't mind) that the NSA has phone records

But this set of results of polls on the War on Terrorism might be the coolest (ok, maybe the most interesting) because it has the source of the questions (CBS, Fox, USAToday, etc.) and some questions asked over time have trending info...

I said I couldn't help myself...

Bill Roggio Counters "The Inaccurate Taliban Offensive"

Over at the Counterterrorism Blog, Bill Roggio sorts through the hash the MSM has made of reports on a Taliban offensive. Reported here:

The news reports of a major Taliban offensive in southeastern Afghanistan are inaccurate, as Coalition offensives and Taliban attacks have been lumped together to give the impression of a coordinated Taliban assault in multiple provinces. A reading of the various reports indicates that while the Taliban has launched a major strike on a police station and government center in Helmand province and a small scale attack on a police patrol in Ghazni, as well as two suicide attacks against U.S. contractors in Herat and an Afghan army base in Ghazni, the fighting in Kandahar was initiated by Afghan and Coalition security forces during planned operations.

A very worthwhile read.

For what little it is worth

Saddam's Book of Last Minute Fairy Tales is out in Japan. Make sure to order your copy. All proceeds benefit future delusional tyrants.

Mexico to Protest US Border Plan

So Mexico plans to protest the US border plan. They're angry with US for wanting to secure OUR border... and because we won't make it easier for Mexican citizens to become US citizens? I think it is all about the US$20 BILLION that flows to Mexico annually. Heaven forbid Mexico or any other country has to fix the problems THERE so that their people don't want/have to come here. Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up....

Mexico to Protest U.S. Border Plan By REUTERS Published: May 19, 2006

MEXICO CITY, May 18 — Mexico will formally complain to the United States about plans to build security fences and deploy National Guard troops on the border to curb illegal immigration, Mexico's foreign minister, Luis Ernesto Derbez, said Thursday.

"There are 12 million Mexicans on the other side, 12 million people who live every day in anguish about the need for a reform to let them live peacefully," Mr. Derbez said. He said Mexico would send a diplomatic note to the United States about American plans for the border.

Such notes are often sent as a form of protest when nations are at odds with each other.

Mexico wants the United States to make it easier for immigrants to attain legal status, and supports a guest-worker program rather than a tightening of the border.

The status of illegal immigrants in the United States is a major political issue in Mexico. Opponents have criticized President Vicente Fox as not protesting strenuously enough against American efforts to tighten the porous frontier. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the leftist candidate in the presidential election, which will be held in July, accused Mr. Fox on Wednesday of being "a plaything, a puppet of foreign governments."

And note: they're not protesting that the Mexican President or goverment did nothing to help poor Mexicans in Mexico -- they're protesting because the American government is trying to help Americans in America. No, sometimes you just can't make this stuff up.

International Day of Protest

Communist organization A.N.S.W.E.R. will be celebrating their special day by marching on the White House....again. This year's demand? "Hands off Venezuela and Cuba!"

A.N.S.W.E.R. wrote on their website:

the May 20 Hands Off Venezuela and Cuba Coalition - is organizing a demonstration in Washington, DC to demand the U.S. cease all threats and campaigns against the sovereign countries of Cuba and Venezuela. This demonstration comes at a critical time as the Bush administration is moving aggressively to overthrow the democratically elected government of Venezuela, while it initiates new provocations against the people of Cuba.

If there was a top-ten list of Stupid Dictator Tricks, drumming up fears of an imaginary American invasion would be number one. Favorite of Castro, Stalin, Kim Jong-Il, Chavez, and other dictatorial all-stars. Hell Castro's been crying "Marines!" for 50 years now and A.N.S.W.E.R. is still falling for it.

It's sad to see naive American kids falling for used-car salesman lines like "Hands off Cuba and Venezuela," and it's even worse to see them acting as mouthpieces for clowns like Fidel Castro and Hugh Chavez.

Battle of the Hump in Korea

Currently in South Korea a battle continues to rage over the Camp Humphreys expansion. Camp Humphreys is being expanded in order to consolidate Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division units located near the DMZ all in one hub which gives 8th Army strategic flexibility in order to deploy forces from the peninsula while simultaneously reducing the USFK footprint in the country.

However, to expand the camp the small farming village of Daechu-ri had to be annexed by the Korean government. The farmers were offered a compensation package and 70% of the farmers took the compensation and left. However, the remaining farmers are refusing to move and the typical anti-US groups backed by North Korea moved into the village and have used the village to spread their anti-US hate messages. Off and on violence has escalated over the past year until a couple of weeks ago when the Korean police and military moved in to remove the anti-US groups from Daechu-ri once and for all and the "Lord of the Ringesque" battle captured on video can be seen here.

Headlines You Didn't See From 1945

"League of Nations urges US to release all German prisoners"
Opponents of the Roosevelt administration, still upset over the massive intelligence failure that led to last months tragic "Battle of the Bulge", joined calls from the League of Nations to shut down American POW camps for Germans. "Some of these prisoners have been held for more than three years, without a trial, and without any access to lawyers", a famous Hollywood starlet complained. "Germany wasn't even involved in the so-called 'sneak attack' on Pearl Harbor".

The Afghan Warrior

Waheed, a translator for Afghani forces, is still blogging away in English. He's trying his darndest, and updates with an article every week or two. He's worth a look. Omar he ain't but then again neither am I!

LA produces anti-suicide bombing ad for Iraq

via Alertnet

Los Angeles-based commercial filmmaker 900 Frames will film and produce the staged suicide bombing, showing viewers the time just before, during and after the explosion, in an effort to capture the impact of the act.

A group of scholars, businessmen and activists in Iraq and abroad put up the $1 million in production costs, which includes hiring over 200 mostly local actors.

One would think the Hollywood peace lovers would produce such a film for free.

Mo Gitmo

You want reports on Guantanamo? We got reports on Guantanamo. The first 4 are from this week:

'Not enough interrogators' at Guantanamo
Only about one-quarter of the prisoners held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay are interrogated regularly, because there are not enough translators and interrogators to question them all, the US admiral in charge said.

U.S. To Turn Over 16 Saudis From Guantanamo To Riyadh
The United States plans to turn over 16 Saudis suspected of terrorist activities and held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Saudi Arabian authorities, the Saudi foreign minister and American officials said Wednesday.

Eight Pakistanis To Leave Guantanamo
The US will soon release eight of the 29 Pakistanis held at the US military's Guantanamo Bay prison, interior minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said Tuesday.

Freed From Guantanamo, 5 Face Danger In Albania
Five Chinese Muslims recently released from the Guantanamo Bay prison are living under increasingly dangerous conditions in Albania, the only country to let them in after the United States determined they were not ''enemy combatants," according to their lawyer.

And finally, this blast from the past:

FSOs In Iraq

New Sisyphus reports on former Marine and current Foreign Service Officer in Iraq.

Re: Ride

If you haven't met Soldier's Dad, who is no relation to Soldier's Mom, let me just say by way of brief introduction that no one can match his ability to find additional interesting facts about a story.

Re: Is it Safe

Edited(worse meant fewer homicides, better would be a better term)
Comparing murders rates for countries is a valid comparison. Iraq is better(#5) than Venezula which ranks #4 for most homicides per capita, followed by Russia and Mexico.

Comparing a country to a city is a statistical slight of hand. Violence tends to concentrate in cities. For Baghdad to be equivalent to Washington DC then it would be experiencing no more than 8 murders per day.(The NYC Murder rate pre-Guiliani). Estimates vary widely as to the post-Sammara Bombing homicide rate in Baghdad. I believe 16-20 to be "consensus".

Cool Headline of the Day

Raytheon works to fix heat-ray in time for Iraq test next year .

Or since it's a heat ray, maybe cool is the wrong word.