Sen. McCain's Son Joins the Marines

ok, Capt B and Taco... You guys have anything to do with this?? (Yes, you did!)

This September, Senator John McCain's youngest son, Jimmy, 18, will report to a U.S. Marine Corps depot near Camp Pendleton in San Diego. After three months of boot camp and a month of specialized training, he will be ready to deploy. Depending on the unit he joins, he could be in Iraq as early as this time next year, and his chances of seeing combat at some point are high. Of the 178,000 active-duty Marines in the world, some 80,000 have seen a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, and there are 25,000 bearing the brunt of some of the worst fighting in Iraq now. About 6,000 Marines have been wounded there, and about 650 have been killed. "I'm obviously very proud of my son," says the elder McCain, "but also understandably a little nervous."

McCain says he doesn't read much into Jimmy's decision. "I know that he's aware of his family's service background," he says, "but I think the main motivator was, he had friends who were in the Marine Corps, and he'd known Marines, and he'd read about them, and he just wanted to join up."

Couldn't agree more with Senator McCain here:

McCain says his son's service won't change his position on the war; he claims it won't even affect how he feels about it. "Like every parent who has a son or daughter serving that way, you will have great concern, but you'll also have great pride," McCain says.

Like his father before the Senator, I wouldn't want to be him...

But it will be hard to ignore. If Republicans retain control of the Senate after November's midterm elections, McCain is due to ascend to the chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee in January, a position he has long aimed for. There he will have day-to-day responsibility for the oversight of the war.

Oorah, James. Oorah. (and keep in mind that McCain has a 20 yr old son about to start his 2nd year at the Naval Academy...)

Read the whole TIME Mag story HERE

From the "You Must Be Kidding" file

No wonder Ahmadinejad is taking so long to reject the nuke proposal ... He's busy in the "reading room"...

From FOXNews...

Iranian Leader: 'Pizza' to Be Called 'Elastic Loaves' in Foreign Word Ban Saturday, July 29, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered government and cultural bodies to use modified Persian words to replace foreign words that have crept into the language, such as "pizzas" which will now be known as "elastic loaves," state media reported Saturday.

The presidential decree, issued earlier this week, orders all governmental agencies, newspapers and publications to use words deemed more appropriate by the official language watchdog, the Farhangestan Zaban e Farsi, or Persian Academy, the Irna official news agency reported.

The academy has introduced more than 2,000 words as alternatives for some of the foreign words that have become commonly used in Iran, mostly from Western languages. The government is less sensitive about Arabic words, because the Koran is written in Arabic.

Among other changes, a "chat" will become a "short talk" and a "cabin" will be renamed a "small room," according to official Web site of the academy.

Army Dismisses Arabic Linguist Chorus Singer

The headline reads: Army Dismisses Gay Arabic Linguist. As with most of these stories that make it into the news, the charge is that the soldier was "outed" by "anonymous sources" and it was these anonymous sources that formed the basis of his discharge.

Andrew Stuttaford of NRO opines that this is part of a "Sept 10th mentality" on the part of the Army.

Yet again, the policy on homosexuals in the military is reported on by those who haven't read it.

CNN Special Airs Tonight on Beirut Bombing

Tonight (Saturday) and Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, CNN will air a special report on the October 23, 1983, bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 service men and women.

I can tell you firsthand that this event pained Cap to his core; he was never really able to move beyond it.
He always felt that his strong, almost strident, warnings to the President should have somehow been even stronger.

As he wrote in his autobiography, In the Arena:

Our mission would be nebulous at best, with no way to tell when it was completed. Although I made these arguments repeatedly and forcefully, the president, unfortunately, concluded otherwise....I have never overcome the feeling that I somehow should have been more persuasive in urging the president not to engage in such a failed policy. The whole episode ingrained even more deeply in me the conviction that we should never commit troops into situations where the goals we give them are not clear and where the equipment we give them is not sufficient at least for self-defense.

As President Reagan later wrote in his autobiography, An American Life, "Every day since the death of those boys, I have prayed for them and their loved ones."

Then as now, sage counsel from both men.

Navy Astronaut Charles E. Bradey dead at 54

This is a sad story. Good to remember that when it is all said and done, that guy that seems to win it all, have it all, and everything he touches turns to gold - in the end - just may want to trade places with you. What a loss for his kids, family and nation.

Strykers

Now that the 172nd SBCT has been held in Iraq(Not the 10th or 101st) could the Grand Planners at the Pentagon finally admit that up-armoring Humvees is penny wise and pound foolish, and just spend the extra money for Strykers?

Outstanding video of threat to Israel from the sea

Excellent report on seaborne threats to Israel by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. Video here.

Cross posted.

Seattle Jewish Center Shooting

via Reuters

SEATTLE, July 28 (Reuters) - A woman was killed and five other women were wounded on Friday when a gunman opened fire at a Jewish organization in downtown Seattle that last weekend organized a rally in support of Israel.

Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Vice President Amy Wasser-Simpson told the Seattle Times in a story on its Web site that a man got through security at the building and shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting.

Cat Fight Down Under

A tae kwon do match instead of a soccer game has broken out down under:

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will today investigate ugly scenes involving North Korean players after they lost their Women's Asian Cup semi-final in Adelaide last night. Trouble erupted deep in stoppage time when North Korean players thought they had equalised against China but the goal was disallowed for an off-side infringement.

Play continued but at the final whistle, and as the Chinese started to celebrate their 1-0 win, frustrations among the North Koreans boiled over with four or five surrounding Italian referee Anna De Toni and one appearing to push her. Television footage also showed a player seemingly aiming a kick which missed De Toni as she and her assistants were escorted from the ground by security guards. Korean players were also seen throwing plastic bottles which had been thrown onto the ground.

You can check out the video of the fight by clicking here. Well I guess I would be upset too, if losing meant the possibility of being entered into a forced labor camp.

Lebanon Speculation

Wretchard of The Belmont Club speculates on what how the current fight in Lebanon came out, Israel’s information operation and what may be the deception plan at its core, and similar fascinating insights. His initial post here, and a postscript http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/07/postscript-to-pulp-fiction.html.

Here’s a taste, but go read the whole thing:

From this observation I'm going to say that despite the received wisdom of the newspapers to the contrary, the fighting at Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbeil have been and continue to be an unmitigated defeat for the Hezbollah. The Hezbollah are doing the single most stupid thing imaginable for a guerilla organization. They are fighting to keep territory. Oh, I know that this will be justified in terms of "inflicting casualties" on the Israelis. But the Hez are probably losing 10 for every Israeli lost. A bad bargain for Israel you say? No. A bad bargain for Hezbollah to trade their terrorist elite for highly trained but nevertheless conventional infantry. Guerillas should trade 1 for 10, not 10 for 1.

Reduced to its essentials, the IDF strategy may be ridiculously simple: fix the Hezbollah force in Southern Lebanon while detaching its command structure from the field by simultaneously striking Beirut. One of the great mysteries, upon which newpaper accounts shed no light, is why the IDF should so furiously pulverize Hezbollah's enclaves in southern Beirut, blockade the port and disable the airport. The object isn't to shut down Lebanon. It is to momentarily disorient the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, so that in a moment of absentmindedness, the Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon will do what comes most naturally: commit themselves against the IDF.

(H/T Rich Lowry at The Corner, Cross-posted at Dadmanly)

And in Other Shamelessly Self Promoting News

I'll be the guest of Pundit Review Radio --WRKO Boston--, this sunday at 9:20pm EST.

I'll be on right after Blackfive, who is an impossibly tough act to follow.

You can listen live here.

Shameless Self Promotion

My article on academics vs. ROTC is up at National Review.

News of Afghanistan is back

Go read it or else!

All in a night’s work: U.S. Marines, Special Forces capture 21 insurgents

WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - Coalition Forces struck a blow to the insurgency recently, capturing 21 insurgents during a counterinsurgency operation in southwestern Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

The July 18 operation, a combined effort between U.S. Navy SEALs and Marines between the cities of Ramadi and Rutbah in Al Anbar Province, led to the most detainees netted by U.S. forces in this region since March, Marine leaders here say.

The operation took place near a gas station located between the two cities – a slab of desert sprinkled with a few small villages, connected by one of the province’s few major roads.

Marine leaders with the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, the U.S. military unit assigned to provide security to this region of Iraq, say the capture is a blow to the insurgency’s supply chain.

“Most of the guys we nabbed are enablers – they hijack goods to provide for the terrorists operating in Ramadi and Hit,” said 2nd Lt. Court Rape, a 24-year-old platoon commander with the battalion’s Company D, which spearheaded the recent counterinsurgency operation. “All of them are known terrorists. Two are very substantial targets linked to executions of truck drivers.”

Did we just lose Ralph?

Ralph has turned the nob to 11 again, and came up with one of the worse Courses of Action I have seen in print by a sober person.

We should be drawing up contingency plans to move a reinforced division and adequate airpower to the Kurdish provinces in the north, to withdraw the remainder of our forces to the south, and then to let Iraq's Sunni Arabs and Shias go at it.

Tough Night

I've had a tough "technical" evening. For starters, I published the post below instead of saving a working draft, so you may have seen the draft version. Good thing Mrs. G is otherwise occupied, or she would be assigning push-ups. Yikes. I'll try not to embarass the milblog family in the future.

So, to lighten things up a bit.... Yesterday, I stumbled across the blog of a soldier who is about to finish his tour of duty in Iraq. He lists a few things he's going to miss about the place. Being an Army wife, this one caught my eye:

Knowing that if the (bleep) hit the fan, every US Army soldier and Marine here would protect every Air Force and Navy schmuck.

Admit it - you laughed. But come to think of it, now I'm in jeopardy of being assigned push-ups by Greyhawk, being Air Force and all. I think I'll just get off of the computer now. I've done enough damage this evening...

1:09 a.m. - Challenges continue. While trying to update the post that originally appeared below, I wiped out most of the extended entry portion. I will reconstruct and republish, if my password isn't yanked. For now, I really am leaving the computer...

USS John Rodgers/BAM Cúitlahuac

For those of you interested in following this series of fortuitous events, we are at the Mexican Navy base at Lazaro Cardenas, and we have met our Pretty Woman.

Ain't she sweet? First picture of the Rodgers from dockside this century...

At this point....

.... I think Mama Sheehan qualifies as a stalker.

Updated OIF Rotations

July 2006 Announcement

1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Regimental Combat Team 2, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Regimental Combat Team 6, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia has been placed in a prepare-to-deploy status for possible deployment later this year.
extend the deployment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team operating in Iraq for up to 120 additional days

I don't think Claudia Rosett is going to win any UN prizes anytime soon

However, Claudia Rosett should earn an award for her complete and utter dissassembling of the UN's pathetic leadership right here. Hammer time on Kofi, Jan "Stingy" Egeland, and others of the self-important set that has overseen scandal after scandal (as in Oil for Food - the reportage of the corruption of which should have earned Ms. Rosett every journalism award) and other instances of corruption (Congo rape and UN pederasts) and, yet, presume to pass judgment on others.

Read it.

Why We Fight (#99)

Two excellent reads, over at Winds of Change:
Donald Sensing on ground fighting in Lebanon
A Link from Michael Totten, with full coverage at his site.

Totten is a singularly insightful commentator into the Middle East, and a brave and dedicated journalist as well. He was an early observer and advocate for the Lebanese Spring, the emergence of nascent democracy even as Syrian occupiers were hounded out. He is greatly dismayed by current events, and had refrained from public comment other than a few bleak and angry comments about Israel and the tragedy this represents for the Lebanese people.

They have grown dear to Totten, and I think he needed the distance and space of time that a prescheduled commitment gave him, to refrain from blogging at his site. He breaks that silence with this very pessimistic piece, an assessment as accurate as it is dark:

Disarming Hezbollah through persuasion and consensus was not possible in the first year of Lebanon’s independence. Disarming Hezbollah by force wasn’t possible either. The Lebanese people have been called irresponsible and cowardly by some of their friends in America for refusing to resume the civil war. Unlike Hezbollah, though, most Lebanese know better than to start unwinnable wars. This is wisdom, not cowardice, and it's sadly rare in the Arab world now. They are being punished entirely too much for what they have done and for what they can't do.

Israel and Lebanon (especially Lebanon) will continue to burn as long as Hezbollah exists as a terror miltia freed from the leash of the state. The punishment for taking on Hezbollah is war. The punishment for not taking on Hezbollah is war. Lebanese were doomed to suffer war no matter what. Their liberal democratic project could not withstand the threat from within and the assaults from the east, and it could not stave off another assault from the south. War, as it turned out, was inevitable even if the actual shape of it wasn’t. Peace was not in the cards for Lebanon. Its democracy turned out to be neither a strength nor a weakness. It was irrelevant.

First things first, after all. If the strongman and the gunman and the executioner are allowed “free” reign, no other freedoms have any real meaning. This is the poverty of options that Michael so laments for the Lebanese.

In the end, the very principles of Democracy and Freedom remain irrelevant in the face of terrorist violence and brutal aggression. That is why we fight. (Reason #99)

(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)

A Grave for Terrorism

Real Clear Politics published a translated text of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s remarks before Congress Wednesday, July 26th.

The speech is terrific, as several have said, as good as or even better than US Presidential speeches, and far beyond anything the war’s opponents have been able to muster. He knows who the enemy is, and knows that same enemy attacked America on 9/11, and Iraq since its liberation from the brutality of Saddam Hussein.

PM Maliki sounds like a man of deep religious convictions, and stands as proof that one can be a committed Muslim and still honor and desire freedom and democratic principles. He and his fellow free Iraqis risk their very lives on that premise.

Read the whole thing. Excerpts and more commentary over at Dadmanly.

Marines give helping hand in search for Army Sgt. Keith M. Maupin

GHARMAH, Iraq (July 27, 2006) -- The search for Army Sgt. Keith M. Maupin continued in Regimental Combat Team 5’s area of operations recently.

A team of Marines, U.S. Army and British soldiers fanned out across several sites to search for the remains of the soldier missing for more than two years. The team searched in two separate locations in this town north of Fallujah. Marines from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment assisted in the search.

READ MORE HERE

Marines rescue three hostages, uncover weapons cache in Operation Spotlight

FUHUYLAT, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Marines from 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment rescued three hostages and uncovered a large weapons cache, including a fully-assembled suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, during Operation Spotlight.

The intelligence-driven operation was conducted alongside Iraqi Army soldiers from 2nd and 4th Brigades, 1st Iraqi Army Division recently. The three hostages were personal assistants of Dr. Rafa Hayid Chiad Al-Isawi, an Iraqi government official in Baghdad. They were held by al-Qaeda insurgents for 27 days.

Sino scenario south of Sidon

Along the same lines as Lex below (great, or at least satisfactory Navy minds think alike) The China Option for Lebanon is being discussed a lot here and there. You know things are bad when people, including myself, who should know better, start to think about it. Executive Summary: Bad idea.

Re: Rules

The official DoD directive governing active duty participation in political activities can be found here. Note that these restrictions explicitly do not apply to retired, guard, or reserves, except when they are recalled to active duty.

Note also that this instruction was updated in 2004, and clarifies some issues that were previously considered "gray area," such as displaying of partisan bumper stickers on POVs (allowed), and calling in to radio or TV talk shows to advocate for or against a partisan candidate or cause (prohibited).

Of specific interest is Enclosure 3, which gives examples of permissible and prohibited activities:

EXAMPLES AND ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

E3.1. PURPOSE

This enclosure provides examples of permissible and prohibited political activities and other requirements for implementing this Directive.

E3.2. EXAMPLES OF PERMISSIBLE POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

A member on active duty may:

E3.2.1. Register, vote, and express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but not as a representative of the Armed Forces.

E3.2.2. Promote and encourage other military members to exercise their voting franchise, if such promotion does not constitute an attempt to influence or interfere with the outcome of an election.

E3.2.3. Join a political club and attend its meetings when not in uniform. See Directive 1334.1 (reference (f)).

E3.2.4. Serve as an election official, if such service is not as a representative of a partisan political party, does not interfere with military duties, is performed when not in uniform, and has the prior approval of the Secretary concerned or the Secretary's designee.

E3.2.5. Sign a petition for specific legislative action or a petition to place a candidate's name on an official election ballot, if the signing does not obligate the member to engage in partisan political activity and is done as a private citizen and not as a representative of the Armed Forces.

E3.2.6. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing the member's personal views on public issues or political candidates, if such action is not part of an organized letter-writing campaign or a solicitation of votes for or against a political party or partisan political cause or candidate.

E3.2.7. Make monetary contributions to a political organization, party, or committee favoring a particular candidate or slate of candidates, subject to the limitations under 2 U.S.C. 441a, 18 U.S.C. 607 (references (g) and (h)), and other applicable law.

E3.2.8. Display a political sticker on the member's private vehicle.

E3.2.9. Attend partisan and nonpartisan political meetings or rallies as a spectator when not in uniform.

Rules Set for Political Participation

I think Army Lawyer covered this a while back... and this says AF... I assume it's standard across the services??

The November 2006 elections are fast approaching. Political activity rules are listed in Air Force Instruction 51-902. Violators of this instruction can be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Examples of prohibited activities listed in the instruction include attending a political event in uniform, using official authority to interfere with an election and affect its course or outcome, and using contemptuous words against officials in public office. Military members are allowed to attend political events in civilian clothes but only as a spectator. Speaking publicly at these events is not allowed in or out of uniform. Contact your local legal office for more information about the instruction.

Military.com has an Election Center that has some very good links to Candidate Blogs, Veterans running for office, absentee ballot rules, etc.

Re: Pepto

Turns out that New York Congressman Owens gave the tickets to Medea "what's the definition of sedition again?" Benjamin.

(h/t Carl)

Who will keep the peace?

How about China?

(W)ho has a large enough force, just sort of sitting around, not doing anything? Well…

The Peoples’ Republic of China does. They’ve been spending a lot of money modernizing recently, haven’t really had the chance to practice any of their military doctrine since getting thumped by the PAVN back in 1979 - I don’t count crushing unarmed protesters under tank treads. Furthermore, they’re looking to be taken seriously as players on the world stage, a station worthy of their huge population and growing economic status. Even better, as charter members of the non-aligned movement, they haven’t ever been on anyone’s side but their own and so no one could accuse them of playing favorites. Sure, they’ve taken some heat for repressing their Islamic Uighur minority, but I doubt that many in the Hezbollah rank and file can pronounce Uighur, far less find their “Autonomous Region” on a map, and in any case, a bit of alien culture even-handedness combined with a keep-all-sides-guessing reputation for gloves-off brutality might be just the ticket.

If it all works out for the best, China emerges with a burnished reputation as a serious and mature player on the world stage, and the rest of us will owe her one. Things go quickly south, and who knows, maybe those cross-straits saber-rattlers get a wake up call. Me, I’d like to get a look at their running, shooting and passing game. For reasons of my own.

Read the rest?

MilBlogs in Mainstream

The Wall Street Journal profiles MilBlogs.

A Pepto Bismol Kind of Day

The gals of Code Pink have drawn the ire of some bloggers today.

Michelle Malkin tells us that Medea Benjamin, chief Pinko, disrupted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s speech to a joint session of Congress today. Classy.

SMASH has already posted his encounter with the Pink ladies and their I.V.A.W. buddy.

This morning, I published a post about Code Pink getting smacked down by Walter Reed security.

This group of aging hippies pride themselves on their radical, attention-getting methods. While they do get their fair share of attention, the more the public knows about them, the less harmless they appear, which is one reason I'm going to be keeping my eye on Code Pink, and those who cozy up to them.

An Afghan Riddle for you

See if you can answer this one.

Maritime Security: "Merchant" ship launched missiles

Some concern raised in the WaPo about a "real missile threat" posed by missile-capable merchant ships here:

If a country was serious about wanting to attack the United States with nuclear fire in a manner that would ensure surprise, leave no fingerprints and guarantee success, there's a much easier, better and cheaper way. It's one that could avoid the challenge of smuggling weapons into U.S. ports under the eyes of law enforcement, intelligence, customs officials and the Coast Guard: Put the missile on a ship disguised as a commercial freighter or private craft, sail near American waters and fire.

Suicidal Ambush in Afghanistan

From CENTCOM:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – A Coalition patrol killed seven extremists on July 25 after they attacked Coalition forces in the Garmser District of Helmand Province.

There were no Coalition casualties in the fight. The Coalition unit received small arms, rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and sniper fire from a group of extremists. The Coalition force returned fire, killing five insurgents.

Later in the same area, insurgents fired small arms at an Afghan National Army mortar team, with a Coalition embedded tactical training team attached. The combined unit responded with machine gun fire and killed the remaining two insurgents.

“If enemy extremists fire upon Coalition forces, we will respond with deadly accuracy,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force -76 spokesman. “If they attack Afghan civilians, we will respond just as forcefully. We remain committed to engaging any threats to the peaceful future of the Afghan people.”

Afghan National Security forces continue to maintain a strong presence in the area of Garmser and provide security that will enable reconstruction and humanitarian aid projects to be delivered that will improve the lives of the Afghan people.

Deadly accuracy indeed. Good to see the Afghan National Security forces hard at work defending their own.

Baghdad Death Squad is Disappeared

I just love it when a good plan comes together:

Baghdad Death Squad Taken Down

The AP also notes that it is unclear whether the 'punishment committee' yanked off the streets was Sunni or Shi'ite. While clearly an important factor to US & Iraqi troops on the ground fighting the good fight, upon further review, it matters little from this distant perspective. One more down, lots to go. Good news for Iraqi civilians, one way or the other.

Bubblehead gets weird mail

You know, maybe it's because he glows in the dark or something, but Bubblehead has some unusual correspondents.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981

On this day in 1948:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981

ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EQUALITY OF TREATMENT AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE ARMED SERVICES

WHEREAS it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country's defense:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, and as Commander in Chief of the armed services, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

Tuberculosis and the Navy

A USS Ronald Reagan sailor has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis. The entire ship's crew, air wing, and anyone embarked at any point during the latest deployment has been ordered to be tested for exposure. So far, the tests have returned a positive result in 34 of 776 cases, or 4.4 percent. The expanded test should net a lower percentage of positives, because it will include many people who had little to no direct contact with the sailor with active TB.

This has happened many times before in the Navy, and protocols are in place to prevent the spread of the disease throughout the crew and into the community. A positive test does not indicate active TB, but that the person is a likely carrier of the bacteria which causes the disease. Carriers of TB are typically not contagious unless they develop full-blown cases. Preventative treatment with heavy doses of antibiotics is highly effective at stopping these carriers from developing active tuberculosis.

Unfortunately, those who take the antibiotics must also abstain from drinking alcohol for the course of the treatment (usually six months) to avoid causing liver damage. That's got to be rough on a sailor just home from six months at sea.

Disgracing the Uniform

I run across an "Iraq Veteran Against the War" protesting outside the White House.

The results are predictable.

Truly A Man Of Honor

Master Chief Carl Brashear, the African-American Navy diver who was the inspiration for the movie "Men of Honor", passed away Tuesday at age 75. He truly lived life to the fullest, and is an inspiration to all who honor those who strive to excel.

Sailor, Rest Your Oar...

Don't Let The Door Hit You in The Rear...

... on your way out.

The Writing is On the Wall for USFK

It is becoming more and more obvious that the end may be near for United States Forces Korea:

An Asia specialist with the U.S. Congressional Research Service has presented a report to Congress suggesting the U.S. Defense Department is pushing to change the military command structure as a means to drastically reduce the role of the U.S. Forces Korea. Larry Niksch drew up the 16-page report after North Korea's volley of missile launches earlier this month, saying part of the plans is thought to be putting the U.S. Forces Korea under the U.S. Army First Corps whose headquarter is to move from Washington State to Camp Zama in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo.

That would also mean lowering the rank of the USFK commander and changes in the UN Command in Korea, which have taken orders from a four-star general since the Korean War.

Niksch's analysis could mean that moves to downgrade the military relationship with South Korea reportedly instigated by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are well underway. A former high-ranking official in the Bush administration told Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin last week that Rumsfeld wanted to bring the Korea-U.S. alliance down to a level similar to Washington’s relationships with the Philippines or Thailand.

So what is the Korean President Roh Moo-hyun doing while the US contemplates moving out of Korea? Well bashing America of course!:

Where do UN "Peacekeepers" come from?

According to our friendly Wikipedia:

The 10 main troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations as of Februrary 2006 were Bangladesh (10,172), Pakistan (9,630), India (8,996), Jordan, Nepal, Ethiopia, Uruguay, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.[2]
About 4.5% of the troops and civilian police deployed in UN peacekeeping missions come from the European Union and less than one per cent from the United States (USA). The biggest contributor from a western country is Poland with 707 peacekeepers, in 21st place. The USA ranks 31st with 393 peacekeepers. The EU combined have 4,421 peacekeepers.

Come on, who has 12,000 to15,000 troops ready to put into the field? With tanks, equipment, food, weapons and sustainment goodies?

And who's ready to take anyone who violates the separation zone with violence if necessary?

Anyone? Anyone?

By the way, the article does note that the U.S. provides 26% of the UN Peacekeeping 2006 budget.

I don't see the Russians, North Korean, Iranians or the Chinese on the Peacekeeper list.

But I could be wrong.

UPDATE: I was wrong. According to the June 2006 stats available here (pdf), China has contributed 1663 Peacekeepers, Russia has contributed 315 Peacekeepers and Iran has contributed 2.

Iraq Civilian Casualty Density Map

I've posted a map of Iraqi Civilian Casualty Density as provided by MNF-I
here.

Not Gonna Happen

IS AN INTERNATIONAL FORCE the solution for Lebanon?

Don't hold your breath.

No more carriers?

Carter-era CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner has an article in the July Proceedings (not online) asking, "Do We Need Carriers?" - a subject touched upon by this article in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.

Turner argues that other, cheaper ships, equipped with large stocks of computer and satellite-guided missiles, could deliver as much combat power as a carrier without risk to pilots and other airmen.

“All weapons systems have their day and we move on,” Turner said in an interview. He worries that “military people have a tendency to stay with what’s tried, true and proven” without fully studying alternatives, he added.

Me? I respectfully disagree.

Techno geeks out there

Totally off the subject of war and whatever else is on the agenda

Dead Today....

So riddle me this....

WTF is this Airman doing???

If you guessed "airborne field sobriety test," good try.

Answer plus punch & pie below the fold.

Love More Than Hate

I'm musing and doing a bit of ranting...

I also sit stunned at the sheer number of missiles and the weaponry available -- via Syria and Iran -- and the COST. I ponder this with respect to Hamas as well, and it compels me to ask: How many hospitals could have been built with the money? How many schools? Roads? Homes? Clinics? How many infant deaths could have been prevented with a Women-Infants-Children’s nutrition and pre‑natal care program? How many businesses could have been started with the money? How many factories and manufacturing facilities could have been built -- places to make things and be the linchpins of a sustainable economy? How many Palestinian or Lebanese youth could have been sent to college? How many could now be teachers? Doctors? Lawyers? Statesmen and diplomats?

The rest over at Some Soldier's Mom

Some Naval History for Lex

While Lex is standing up for Miss Australia, I've got a bit of Navy history to share here.

I think it's work safe, but some people may have other opinions.

Repatriating the USS John Rodgers (DD-574) to the US.

So, what do Jonah Goldberg, torpedoes, Destroyers, Mexico, and I have in common?

Click here to find out.

The Armorer goes adventuring!

I'm also shilling for links to the posts documenting the return of the Rodgers. Mr. Ward Brewer, the leader of our merry band, wants this story to be spread by the blogosphere, and is eschewing the MSM (we are bringing a documentary film crew).

If you'd like to be on the distro list for the posts related to this project, drop me a line at johnbethd*at*yahoo.com and I'll add you to the distro. Anyone - not just milbloggers!

I'm also looking for bloggers near Mobile, Alabama who would be able to be there 15-18 August when the Rodgers is expected to arrive. You could score a trip out on the Coast Guard cutter with her former crew members who are going out to meet her when she arrives.

A Sophisticated Attack

Here's one for the water-borne MILBLOGGERS...

Austin Bay posts some expert military analysis on the recent attack on the Israeli corvette, INS Ahi-Hanit, enlisting Kirk Spencer and Trent Telenko, who’s analysis Bay compiles in this report. Here’s a summary of the discussion.

Calling all JAGs: campaigning in uniform

I need a read here, because from my ‘lil brain – this isn’t kosher.

1. You were a 3-star, but you were fired by your boss and retired before you had enough time in to retire as a 3-star...therefore, you were retired as a 2-star.

2. Problem 1: You are in a Memorial Day Parade in full uniform wearing 3-stars. (see TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 45 § 772(c).

3. At the same time, you are running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

4. Problem 2: You make a speech after the parade, in uniform.

Questions. Is he out of line 0, 1, or 2 ways….or more? Is he unquestionably in violation of one or more USC, walking the line, or safely inside the lines? From here, at the least, it just looks ugly (..and am I out of line asking a retired Flag Officer if he is out of his mind...rhetorically of course).

Another Rave Review for THE WAR TAPES

This time from CBS and The Weekly Standard....

By Michael Fumento, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and a former paratrooper, embedded twice in the Sunni Triangle:

I've been over there doing my own war taping and he's right. The movie is a desperately-needed antidote to the mainstream media-produced baloney broadcast daily into our homes that rarely includes anything but (1) bombs exploding in Baghdad; (2) bombs exploding in Baghdad; and above all (3) bombs exploding in Baghdad.

The whole review HERE

and while you're on that page, check out the 2 minute video of Lucien Read discussing his time photographing the Marines entitled, "A Marine's Life in Iraq"

CNN's very strange day with Hezbollah

Charlie Moore, a CNN Senior Producer, has a blog entry about a "tour" given to western journalists by Hezbollah... Quite an interesting little story... but no surprise to many who read here at MILBLOGS...

12:50 p.m.: Anderson is doing a few more stand-ups about our story that's quickly become less about Hezbollah and more about their crude propaganda machine when the "family" emerges from the bunker behind us and joins their friends in the street. They're laughing, talking loudly, and gesturing with their hands, mocking anger. I really should learn Arabic. Anderson does another stand-up about the group now standing behind us.

12:55 p.m.: We pile into our van and are now driving out of the Hezbollah-controlled neighborhood. It feels like we've just left a haunted house: Slightly frightening at first, but ridiculous by the end.

You should rad the whole blog entry... HERE

and don't forget to browse the comments left... some are just truly unbelievable...

Redeploy Murtha

Andi over at Andi's World has a great little intro (and links) to the DC Freepers taking on Murtha and the moonbat crowd... Buzz on by...

Let the Wedding Bells Ring

Looks like the "Dear Leader" has new love in his life besides firing missiles:

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il has taken his former private secretary as his new companion, after his purported former wife died of cancer two years ago, reliable sources said yesterday. The marital status of Mr. Kim, who turned 64 in February, has never been officially confirmed, but it has been widely believed that three women have been treated as his wives. "I heard Mr. Kim has lived with a woman named Kim Ok, who served as his secretary, as Ko Yong-hi died two years ago," said a South Korean government source privy to information on the North's ruling family. "She is virtually North Korea's first lady," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Kim Ok, 42, has frequently accompanied the North Korean leader on inspection visits to army bases and industrial complexes, and sat with him when he met visiting foreign dignitaries, the source said. The woman also traveled with the leader when he made a secret visit to China in January, received a cordial reception as the North's first lady and exchanged civilities with Chinese leader Hu Jintao, he said.

All well wishes for a happy marriage for the Dear Leader, if you could possibly have any, can be sent here.

Picking sides is easy

Any old Cold Warrior can tell you. When you see these guys on one side,

..you get on the other. Simple. Allons-y Israel, allons-y!

Story here.

Human Rights Watch Report On "Torture" In Iraq

Human Rights Watch just came out with a report titled "No Blood, No Foul", which they say consists of "Soldiers' Accounts of Detainee Abuse in Iraq". The report seems to consist mostly of interviews with three supposed soldiers, two of which go by pseudonyms: Sergeant "Jeff Perry" and "Nick Forrester", supposedly a Sergeant with the 82nd Airborne. The third is the more-well-known Tony Lagouranis, described as "an Army interrogator at the rank of Specialist with the 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion", who's given out lots of interviews. He's frequently described as "retired" after four years in the Army, but I couldn't find any accounts of how he may have gotten injured to get the early retirement.

The part of the article the initially struck me was the explanation HRW gave for why they seem to be more concerned with "forced exercise" and "sleep deprivation" than things like electric drills used on eyes and joints, beheadings, and mass executions. Here's what they say:

Human Rights Watch is aware that U.S. forces in Iraq are fighting armed groups who themselves have shown little willingness to abide by international humanitarian law. As Human Rights Watch has detailed in previous reports, Iraqi insurgent groups routinely violate international humanitarian law, carrying out abductions and attacks against civilians and humanitarian aid workers, and detonating hundreds of bombs in bazaars, mosques, and other civilian areas. Human Rights Watch has previously stated that those responsible for violations, including the leaders of these groups, should, if captured, be investigated and prosecuted for violations of Iraqi law and the laws of war.
But the activities of these groups are no excuse for U.S. violations. Abuses by one party to a conflict, no matter how egregious, do not justify violations by the other side. This is a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law.

Homage to planners: How about some sealift?

Some long-range planning that can make the short term planner's job easier - Behold the LMSR.

Let's Be Fair...

I can't understand why anyone would dare to question the objective, Pulitzer Prize-winning war reporting
of The Washington Post and the New York Times. I mean, it's not as though their Senior Pentagon correspondents are publishing book-length screeds with titles like FIASCO: The Military Misadventure in Iraq, a book whose front cover has a flag-drapped dead soldier plastered across its face, and whose book description gleefully promises readers "a spellbinding account of an epic disaster."

"Yippie!" scream patchouli-smelling hippies everywhere.

I mean, let's be fair. It's not as if reporters at the New York Times, are writing books that expose our national security secrets.

I support these "journalists'" First Amendment rights to the hilt. But can we please dispense with the banal canard that these so-called Senior Pentagon correspondents are "serious" journalists who "objectively" pursue only the story?

Maybe that's asking too much. Perhaps we should just heed the wisdom of David McCullough and be grateful that this crowd wasn't around during the Revolutionary War.

Over at Castle Argghhh! this morning...

The Top 10 Reasons I Became A Planner.

Cry Me a River

Saddam has been hospitalized on day 17 of his hunger strike.

Doesn't he know about ice cream shakes and Jamba Juice?

So Maybe Me Trying For That ADUSD Job Isn't Such A Good Idea

Hansford T. Johnson, we hardly knew ye. A federal lawsuit's forthcoming for fraud.

I can't wait for the blast from Phibian.

Islamic Militants Protest in Australia

If they love Lebanon and Hezollah so much why don't they go back?

A crowd of approximately 5,000 people marched down the city streets of Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday afternoon to protest against Israel's military action in Lebanon.

The peaceful and well-organized demonstration was made up of members of Melbourne's Lebanese community, socialists, pacifists and concerned citizens waving the flags of Lebanon, Palestine, Hezbollah Australia and other militant Islamic groups.

They Must Be Running Low on Missiles

and need some time to re-arm...

Militant groups in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing missiles at Israel at midnight Saturday, saying they hope Israel will follow suit and stop attacks against them, senior Palestinian officials said.

The unilateral cease-fire is aimed at ending an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that began June 28, three days after militants raided an Israeli army post, killing two soldiers and capturing one, 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the agreement was reached at a closed meeting.

and I see no mention of the return of Cpl. Shalit... that started the "Israeli offensive" (since Hamas struck first, shouldn't that be "Israeli DEfensive"?) Hope Israel says "no" until the Cpl. is returned (but of course, that will be one more "the Israelis are being unreasonable" item.) IMHO, Hamas should not be allowed to dictate the terms of the cease-fire... they should be made to return the soldier AND stop firing missiles... Just sayin'.

More HERE

Whee!

I'm taking next week off for travel to an exotic locale.

This photograph is relevant.

AA Action view from Hornet 14 May 1945 of kamikaze exploding over John Rodgers and is about to splash. NARA 80G331623.

More to follow.

(Eeeep! Did I get the dimensions fixed before Mrs. G caught me?)

Santorum On The War

I've been seeing a minor re-fight of the realist-versus-idealist viewpoint at my place. But Tigerhawk moves that discussion aside for something more important...and it's by Rick Santorum. I must admit I had not expected this speech from Santorum. Excerpts don't do it justice; the whole speech is worth it.

Some people are just obtuse b@st@rds.

Heh. I hate piously sanctimonious field grade officers. Yeah, I know, that means I'm punching myself a lot.

Imagine this.

You are a holder of the Medal of Honor. On the advice of your superiors, you donate your Medal to a Divisional Museum, for safekeeping and preservation.

Over the years, you go visit the museum and you get the Medal and wear it for ceremonial occasions.

Then your age and infirmities put you in a position where you can no longer do that.

You're dying, and you'd like to wear your Medal again before you die.

And some piously sanctimonious field grade a$$hat says:

‘Tulbahadur Pun’s medal has been donated to the museum by his regimental association. We have a duty of care to ensure this medal is available to the public to see and it is secure.’

As if, in the cosmic scheme of things, the "Public" truly gives a flying flip in this regard. My guess is, Major Davies, if you were to poll the public as they filter through the doors, they'd be aghast at your attitude.

I am.

I'm sure there are rules and regulations to be followed. I have no doubt of that. I used to be a US Army paid military historian with staff responsibility for what amounts to a regimental museum here in the US.

And I would have found a way to get that Medal back to the guy whose name is on the back of it. I might have had to do a little fundraising to go to the extreme of actually sending someone with it, to bring it back, but I would have moved heaven and earth to get that Medal (in this case, a Victoria Cross awarded to a Gurkha soldier) back to its named recipient.

In this case, Honorary Lieutenant Tulbahadur Pun, VC, of the 6th Gurkha Rifles.

As the author of this post notes:

It’s a shoddy way for an old, dying man to be treated, after the part he played in our eventual victory. This man is one of only 12 VC winners still alive, so you’d think he’d be granted a little more respect and honour. I have e-mailed the Major at the museum with a link to this article and I will let you all know what his response, if any, is. Whilst I appreciate heritage being preserved, this all smacks of red tape, callous neglect and short memories. I simply can not accept that the logistics of reuniting Mister Pun with his medal one last time are unachievable.

In this country, when Sergeant Alvin York through poverty sold his Medal of Honor, a subscription drive was raised to re-purchase the Medal and restore it to him.

Surely something similar can be done (and I would argue Major Davies should be doing it) to grant Lieutenant Pun a chance to wear the Victoria Cross with his name on it.

Shame, Major Davies, shame for giving such a staff wallah bumf-driven reply.

Should you wish to share your thoughts with the museum on the subject: curator@thegurkhamuseum.co.uk

What If Hizballah Had Merkavas?

Turn on the television and within seconds of the first report on the Israeli-Hizballah fighting, one hears of the civilian toll in Lebanon and the world cries for cease-fire. Civilian losses are heartbreaking. Yet, it must - MUST - be placed within the proper context of an enemy which embeds himself more deeply within his own civilians (as a matter of strategy) than American journalists embed themselves within their own military.

Nasrallah, the cat with nine lives, acknowledged that a Hizballah rocket killed two Muslim children in Nazareth. The difference is that they are "martyrs," as he described in an apology to the family. The difference between Israel (and the West) and the enemy we face (choose a group or theater) is that the enemy Islamists employ civilians for their usefulness - their own as human shields in search of propaganda value in the West's own media, and Israel's as targets (Haifa, Sderot, etc).

Think clearly. The Middle East's most lethal military machine has been relentlessly hammering a relatively large swath of territory from the air and via incessant artillery barrages. Yet, as unfortunate as each one truly is, only 300 civilians in over a week have been lost fighting a ruthless enemy that entangles himself among them for protection.

The alternative is to disengage and thereby subject Israeli civilians to slaughter undefended as the world - without much consideration - effectively seems to value one set of civilians (not intentionally targeted) more so than another set of civilians who undeniably are targeted.

For perspective amid the cries (nay, demands) for Hizballah's preservation (commonly referred to as 'cease-fire'), must ask yourself one simple question:

What If Hizballah Had Merkavas?

From Bad to Worse?

Israel is advising Lebanese to evacuate southern Lebanon hinting (warning?) of a ground invasion? and now reports are that Hezbollah is blocking Lebanese from leaving the southern area -- effectively holding them as hostages (human body armor?) And Hezbollah is promising that they have "surprises" in store giving rise to talk of WMD... longer range missles? a massive attack on Tel Aviv? more kidnapped soldiers? and now Lebanon's government has said that if Israel invades with ground forces that they will have no choice but to commit their military to join with Hezbollah to repel the Israelis....

How far down do you think the spiral goes?

More evacuation vessels

Additional ships to perform NEO as posted here.

Include a Saudi Ro-Ro ferry and an Italian ship.

Oliver Stone goes All-American

A year ago when I heard that Oliver Stone was making a movie about what started it all, 911 and the World Trade Center, well, I about had a cow. I was wrong. Details and video trailer here, but this is a bit from Cal Thomas

I have a long list of favorite patriotic movies, including "Victory at Sea," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Sands of Iwo Jima," but Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" is right up there with the best of them. It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.
...Whatever one thinks of Oliver Stone, the man knows how to make movies. This is one of his best. It deserves an Oscar in so many categories. It also deserves the thanks of a grateful nation. Go and see it beginning Aug. 9 and make him a large profit so he might consider inspiring us again, as his predecessors so often did during Hollywood's Golden Age.

Oops.

"Hey, Viper! Is the bomb release the *white* knob or the *red* knob?"

"Red, why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious."

B-52 mistakenly drops bombs on nearby lake

Associated Press
KANOPOLIS, Kan. - Corey Armstrong and his friends got some company while swimming at Kanopolis Lake on Wednesday - nine practice bombs dropped by accident from a passing B-52 bomber.

"I just saw them, when they hit, it was four splashes pretty much at the same time," said Armstrong, 16, of Salina. "The bomber started flying in circles after that."

Lt. Col. Jeff Jordan, commander of the nearby Smoky Hill National Guard Range, said the bomber dropped the bombs by mistake while on a training mission. He said the plane is based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

Jordan said the bombs, all of which apparently hit the water, were filled with concrete, not explosives, and didn't pose a threat to the public.

He said the base in investigating why the bombs were released.

H/t, Larry K, who lives in the shadow of the Guns of Fort Riley.

Meanwhile, In Iraq...

From CENTCOM:

IRAQI ARMY, MND-N SOLDIERS LAUNCH OPERATION GAUGAMELA

Release Date: 7/20/2006

Release Number: 06-07-02P

Description: KIRKUK, Iraq (July 20, 2006) – Thursday morning, Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and Bastogne Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division simultaneously surrounded and entered the cities of Hawija and Riyadh, just west of Kirkuk, searching for suspected al-Qaeda terrorists as combined Operation Gaugamela (gaw'guh-MEE-luh), gets underway.

The ongoing operation, requested by local Sunni Arab leaders, follows a series of terror attacks in the area, and comes as there are reports indicating the presence of al-Qaeda terror cells in the area. In the past five weeks, 31 Iraqi soldiers have been killed in terrorist attacks in the region and just three days ago six policemen were killed in Hawija.

In Hawija, Bastogne Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces surrounded the city, blocking off escape routes, as another combined force air assaulted into the market in the heart of the city. The units are cordoning off the area and searching for terrorist forces. Meanwhile, Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces surrounded the village of Riyadh, approximately 10 miles away, and are also searching that city.

Operation Gaugamela is named for the battle in which Alexander drove the Persian army from the city of Gaugamela.

They understate it a tad.

Gaugamela:

Alexander:
7,000 cavalry
40,000 infantry

Darius III: Approx. Various estimates are given... The size of Darius's force is not accurately documented - estimates range from 45,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry to 200,000 cavalry and 800,000 infantry with around 200 scythed chariots and 15 war elephants.

Outcome:

Alexander: Around 150 infantry and 1,000 cavalry killed and wounded.

Darius III: Depending on who you read - just about everybody. 300,000 is a figure tossed around a lot (which makes that low estimate of troops for Darius a bit troublesome unless there was some double-counting going on...).

If you want some more detail on the original Gaugamela, try Wikipedia. Be nice if we could split Iran.

You've Got to Hand it to Them...

If the MSM spin any harder they'd screw themselves into the floor.

Incredible.

NEO: America Has Spoken

CNN is all over it:

Despite complaints that the effort to evacuate many of the estimated 25,000 American citizens in Lebanon is moving too slowly, 53 percent of poll respondents said they believed the United States has done a good job evacuating its citizens. Twenty-nine percent said the job was poor, and 18 percent were unsure.

Other interesting results:

The Enemy of My Enemy is NOT My Friend

via NY Sun

CAIRO, Egypt — One of Saudi Arabia's leading Wahhabi sheiks, Abdullah bin Jabreen has issued a strongly worded religious edict, or fatwa, declaring it unlawful to support, join or pray for Hezbollah, the Shiite militias lobbing missiles into northern Israel.

Interesting times.

Moving Americans out of Lebanon

U.S. builds capacity to move people out as noted here. Recurrent press theme: "Why did it take so long?"

Part of the answer:

Responding to criticism that the Pentagon has been slow to organize the evacuation of up to 25,000 Americans compared with the evacuation of Europeans by their governments, Whitman said the emphasis has been on security. American citizens are tempting terrorist targets, and the operation -- which got underway Sunday when the State Department requested the insertion of an 18-man planning team -- takes into account safety "first and foremost," he said.

"The goal here is a safe, orderly organized disciplined evacuation of American citizens," he said.

DoD photo of USS Nashville (LPD-13) by Chief Petty Officer Dave Fitz, U.S. Navy.
(cross posted)

UPDATE: Australia has had some trouble getting its people out:

All Australians will share their relief and hope that the thousands trapped in Lebanon can soon be rescued. Until now, the rescue mission by the Australian Government had been chaotic. A ship that was supposed to be chartered by Australia had been "double-booked". This sequence of events, however, cannot be blamed entirely on the Government. It was after all, as Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said, a war zone. But surely, given that acknowledgement, more could have been done earlier.

The Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says the failure so far to get a chartered ship in shows just how hard it is.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: And it's complicated by a number of factors. First of all, the whole issue of chartering ships is reasonably chaotic, secondly even when you charter a ship it's very hard the ship into the port. And that's partly because the security situation sometimes is bad and the Israelis recommend against using the port at certain times. And secondly the port's facilities have their limitations.

LOUISE YAXLEY: But he's not giving assurances that any of the ships Australia is trying to charter will steam into port.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: We have chartered, we have contracts to charter ships to arrive in Beirut on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and if all of those ships are able to get into Beirut, and that a very big qualification - if they are - we will have enough capacity to take out around 6,000 people. And that will probably be more than we need, but we're not sure that we will get these ships into Beirut.

LOUISE YAXLEY: Mr Downer says he understands the frustrations, but says all nations are facing the same problems.

ALEXANDER DOWNER: Some nationals have got out, but the same controversy, I'm afraid, has erupted in every country. It's just very, very difficult to get people out. I mean, some people have got out, some haven't.

Send in the Marines

Elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Group have landed in Beirut to provide security for noncombatant evacuation operations.

Now we just wait for the complaints from the evacuees that the Marines "took too long to get there," or "were scaring the chlidren with all their guns."

Speaking of the Fairy Godmother Dept...

Simply.amazing.

My bookings were always handled by the Practical Joker Dept. If this is where all that karma went.... good.

Ramadi plus Marines equals progress

RAMADI, Iraq -- Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Musser is just one of many Marines from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment patrolling the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq while wearing 50 plus pounds of armor under a scorching sun.

And he and his comrades are doing it with no complaints.

On June 20, Musser and other Marines with 3rd Platoon, Company L, conducted snap vehicle check points during a patrol in the capital of Al Anbar province. Marines were on the look out for suspicious activity while disrupting insurgent movement through the city.

“We just went out and did some snap VCPs and patrolled the area to get a feel for the local population,” said Musser, a 20-year-old from Manchester, Pa.

During the patrol, Marines were vigilant of each road and the passengers in the vehicles they passed. At a moment’s notice the humvees came to a halt and Marines hopped out of their armored vehicles to search for possible threats.

October 23, 1983

A fateful day in Beirut, Lebanon. One Marine, Clayton Smith, remembers.

I lost a friend LCpl Johnny Copeland on that day in 1983, I retired from the Marine Corps in 2002 and there is seldom a day goes by that I do not think what would have become of Johnny, if he would have retired from the Corps, Who he would have married what he would have named his children. I imagine these feelings are multipied 241 times by friends and family of all those brave men, the Marines, Sailors and Soldiers who lost their lives to the first mass terrorist attact against America, please let's not forget...

There's a way you can help honor the victims of that terrorist attack. Click here for details.

Pay Back

Killer Of 2 U.S. Soldiers Dies In Firefight
Jordanian said to be behind kidnappings at checkpoint
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — The man behind the killing and mutilation of two U.S. soldiers died after a clash with security forces, Iraq's national security adviser said Tuesday.
Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said authorities arrested three leaders of the Omar Brigade, a group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET

With the Freedom Bird en route, I felt it was an apropos moment to unload all my excess verbiage. (It was either that, or torch it all in the burn barrel).

Into single digit territory now. Try not to miss me too much.

The following consists of my unreleased b-sides from over the previous year; the black sheep of my unfinished work that otherwise would have been doomed to the Seventh Circle of Hell otherwise known as deep recesses of my computer hard drive. In a few cases, perhaps there it should have remained. But I made the time to write it; the least you can do is read it -- I don’t think that’s asking a lot. It is in this vein that I submit to you the Best of the Rest of American Citizen Soldier:

Re: Carnival of the Court Martials

I dunno about the other service academies, but there's this one school tucked in the foothills of the Shenandoah, my precious....

.....the Veeerrrrrrrrrry Military Institute!

Or Virginia's Mentally Insane, as Chuck Z calls it.

VMI has become a case study for the proper assimiliation of females into the military academic ranks. I highly recommend Dr. Laura Brodie's account of the process, Breaking Out: VMI & The Coming of Women.

Carnival of Courts Martial Cont.

The unending nightmare at Annapolis goes on. Sad to watch something you love kill itself with at the best case a poison of PC, poor staffing, and wrong ideas; or worse the cancer of moral cowardice. What good is all the shiny stuff, if there is rust at the core? Why happily paint the barn, when your rootstock is rotting? I’m running out of metaphors. Please tell me things are better at West Point? I know USAFA is in the same boat as USNA….any luck at USMA?

About 3:40 a.m., the woman sent a series of badly spelled instant messages from her desktop computer to her boyfriend, asking him to come back and saying she wanted "to cuddle." "But you slapped me," he replied, ... when he walked into a midshipman's room where the woman was present, she asked Whittle whether he wanted a lap dance. When he said no, Whittle testified, she yelled an expletive at him. ... she admitted to "binge drinking" despite being underage, consuming alcohol while using the prescription painkiller Vicodin in Bancroft Hall, and renting an off-campus house - ... The witness also said she would occasionally drink while on guard duty and would be absent from her post for as much as 40 minutes at a time.

The woman said that in exchange for truthful testimony, she had been given immunity by the academy from any judicial or administrative punishment. … The accuser was also given immunity for her testimony.

Leadership, leadership, leadership. Donde esta? Want to know what the Judge has to say? Follow this link or go to the jump.

Hey, boss!

If you had the $160Mil for this:

The Bush administration has decided not to offer free credit monitoring to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel whose personal information was on computer equipment stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst in May.

Rob Portman, the White House budget director, wrote House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) yesterday withdrawing the administration's request for $160.5 million to pay for a year of free credit monitoring and citing the June 28 recovery of the stolen laptop and external hard drive by police. The FBI said it had a "high degree of confidence" that thieves had not accessed the files containing the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of millions of veterans and active-duty military personnel.

"On the basis of the FBI's analysis, the administration has concluded that credit monitoring services and the associated funding will no longer be necessary," Portman wrote.

Cool, I already had free credit monitoring because I reported I might be the victim of identity theft and the credit agencies automatically did it for... free. But that's a different gripe.

How about you give the VA the money anyway? For... oh, I dunno, Veterans Affairs stuff like... health care? Fund that PTSD treatment? Y'know, mission-type stuff. You had $160 million for a CYA clean-up...

Just sayin'.

I know, I know, I'm just a greedy vet.

Read the WashPost article here.

Troop Morale Survey

First off - all the usual caveats about self-selecting surveys (they tend to skew because people who feel strongly one way or the other tend to select, vice the ones who care a lot less).

No huge surprise - the officers and the enlisted have, um, *differing* perceptions of things. I think the most interesting data are those for the junior officers - they have officer attitudes, are closest to the action, and have not yet been fully acculturated to caution.

Seventy-four percent of Stripes military readers in Iraq who responded to a readership survey said fighting the war for America was “very” or “somewhat” worthwhile. About a quarter of the respondents said it was “not very worthwhile” or “not worthwhile at all.”

Here's a little bit about the disconnect:

While half of the respondents between the ranks of E-1 and E-6 said their unit’s morale was somewhat low or very low, 82 percent of the commissioned officers who responded said they believed their unit’s morale was high or very high. The percentage of these officers rating their unit's morale as somewhat low or very low was 15 percent. Seventy-four percent of readers with ranks from E-7 to E-9 plus warrant officers rated their unit’s morale as high or very high.

This is the bit that I think is perhaps most useful - the junior officers, who are closest to the action yet should be invested in victory, so to speak - are not as sanguine about things in Iraq as their bosses are.

At the same time, although they rated their morale high, the junior officers, O-1 through O-3, were less inclined than others to feel that conditions in Iraq had improved compared to when they first arrived. Forty-eight percent of these officers believed conditions in the country had improved; 44 percent felt the conditions were the same or worse. Sixty-seven percent of enlisted believed conditions had improved, while 69 percent of officers O-4, or major, and above believed conditions had improved.

As a pulse check, fodder for further data collection. What say you guys (yer generally smarter'n me and lots of you are still serving)? Not that the self-selection bias won't reflect here, too...

If you can get to it, you can read the whole thing here (oddly enough, from behind the firewall at Fort Leavenworth, you can't *get* to the Stars and Stripes website, while I can from home and the corporate office).

Cross-posted at the Castle.

First In

Israel's got a few initial guys on the ground in Lebanon.

Never Forget!

Missing WWII Airmen Identified
The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that nine servicemen missing in action from World War II have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Blockade!

Israel has a naval blockade of Lebanon goinig on.

What's that mean?

And why are they doing it?

Some thoughts here.

Blockades are an old naval tactic.

Job Security

As opinionated I am on the matter, my present occupation precludes me from talking too much about the efforts by some in my profession to block Wm. Haynes' nomination to the Fourth Circuit.

That being said, Powerline has some thoughts.

What If.....

I don't have to spell it out, you can imagine the possibilities.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Federal agents conducting a sweep aimed at illegal immigrants detained 58 civilian workers Tuesday as they tried to enter Fort Bragg with suspected false or fraudulently obtained identification, officials said.

Almost all of them were construction workers, officials said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, U.S. marshals and FBI agents worked with the military on the sweep, which was conducted between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. when most of the thousands of soldiers and civilian workers who live off the post enter the gates.

How many of you remember the open-post days? Those days are gone forever. Unfortunately, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

More Ships to Lebanon

Here comes the Sixth Fleet:

The Pentagon has ordered five military ships and thousands of Marines and sailors to help transport U.S. citizens out of Lebanon, a move that could sharply speed up the evacuation as fighting continues.

The U.S. Navy said on Tuesday the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit were ordered to head to the area to help evacuate thousands of Americans...

Two other ships were also ordered to join the Iwo Jima -- the amphibious transport dock USS Trenton and a High Speed Vessel Swift, a catamaran with an aluminum hull.

The Swift may turn out to be the secret weapon of this evacuation. It's basically a high-speed catamaran ferry that can probably carry a couple hundred passengers comfortably to Cyprus at a cruising speed of 42 knots (about 48 mph).

She might not be as ritzy as a cruise ship, but at that speed the trip should take only about two and a half hours.

Imitation

The sincerest form of flattery?

Though he's a committed Islamist activist in a movement that denounces the United States for supporting Israel and occupying Iraq, Shorah proudly sports what has become the latest trend in Palestinian street wear: US military apparel. "This is the new fashion in the market," says Shorah. "It's a show of force, because the US army is powerful. It's a symbol of strength and of our refusal to put down arms."

...

The trend is not limited to clothing. At barber shops across the West Bank and Gaza young Palestinians are demanding what's known as a "Marines," meaning a high and tight crew cut, the kind that is mandatory for US Marines.

Similarly, Abu Sim, a rank and file gunman in the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing, has wrapped the barrel of his Kalashnikov with desert camouflage padding, another nod to US military fashion.

"I saw a US Marine sniper on TV doing the same thing," he says. "It's natural to copy the US military because they are powerful and so are we."

Em... Thanks? I guess?

A Bleg.

Anybody out there got any knowledge of customs and courtesies of the Mexican Navy? I'm going to be spending a week with them shortly, and would like to show proper respect - for example, I know what to do when boarding a US man-of-war, but am curious about similar customs with the Mexicans.

Drop me a note via the email on my blog, or leave a comment here with an email contact, please.

Thanks in advance!

As a reward for your input... or no input: Know Your Enemy: Hezbollah.

Iraqi Blogger on Wall Street

Mohammed from Iraq the Model - on the Wall Street Journal's web page:

BAGHDAD--In spite of what we are facing here every day I find myself, just like many others, so attached to following what's going on between Israel and Lebanon and that's mostly because of the close resemblance between the two cases.

In both cases we see a weak government suffering to control a powerful militia that is challenging the will of the rest of the country and engaging in a proxy war making the people suffer the results of regional conflicts that in no way can benefit their country.

The other reason why I'm closely following this ongoing crisis is that the powers involved in this conflict between Lebanon and Israel are closely connected to the powers fighting in Iraq and we here believe that the battle over there will have an impact on the situation here in one way or another.

SSG DAVID BELLAVIA

Others may have posted this during my absence - but even if so, it's worthwhile to post again: NARRATIVE NOMINATING SSG DAVID BELLAVIA FOR THE MEDAL OF HONOR DURING OPERATION PHANTOM FURY.

It includes a cameo by Time magazine's Michael Ware, and carnage beyond belief (just when you think it couldn't get more amazing, the handy Gerber tool appears...)

Bellavia blogs here.

All great heroes have a quote like this one:

“I think it's very difficult to stand here and say I'm a hero when I'm standing on my own legs and I can hug my own wife and pat my son on the head and give him a big hug and kiss with my own arms,” said David. “My son means everything to me, and the men I was privileged and honored to serve in combat are my surrogate kids. When I hear them cry and I hear them scream out in pain it's really difficult to take and it's really hard.”

Bellavia's tour of duty is over and he's home for good, but as far as he's concerned, his responsibility to his men isn't over.

“I'm gonna’ try to help out my brothers at Walter Reed right now with no legs,” said David. “The wives that left their husbands over in Arlington Cemetery and explain to some of these kids when they're old enough what their daddies did that they're patriots and they're heroes, and I miss 'em every day.”

Sound Taps

Mickey Spillane:

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Mickey Spillane, whose Mike Hammer private eye novels generated a post-World War II storm of literary criticism for their level of sex and violence and made Spillane one of the bestselling authors of the 20th century, died today. He was 88.

The day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Mr. Spillane enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces and became a fighter pilot. To his dismay, he was stationed in Florida and Mississippi for the duration of the war, training others to be fighter pilots.

Stolen Valor: What to make of this?

Hmmm.

As reported here:

Three Vietnam War veterans who sued over a documentary about Sen.
John Kerry's anti-war activities have dropped their lawsuits, leaving just one court fight pending over the 2004 film.

Filmmaker Carlton Sherwood says the withdrawal of the lawsuits shows they were frivolous complaints filed by Kerry operatives to try to block the film's release in the final weeks of the presidential race.

"We've always believed that Kerry controlled these lawsuits," Sherwood said Monday.

The 42-minute film, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," charges that Kerry's actions as an anti-war activist after his tour in Vietnam harmed American POWs. It also questions the veracity of reports by some veterans about U.S. atrocities.

Sherwood continues to press his defamation suit against Kerry and campaign aide John Podesta, which charges they conspired to block the film's release by labeling him a "disgraced journalist" and "Bush hack." The Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. canceled plans to air the full documentary on its stations before the November 2004 election.

Lawyers for Kerry and Podesta have asked a judge to toss Sherwood's suit, arguing their actions were protected political speech.

The Work of Angels

America Supports You profiles Project Valour-IT. Thanks to everyone who helped this program become a reality.

Destination Unknown

My heterosexual blog partner Charlie is deploying.

Go wish him the best.

NEO: U.S. charters ship

As posted here the U.S. has chartered the cruise ship "Orient Queen" for NEO. USS Gonzalez (IDDG-66) to escort.

Re: NEO

Given that the number of foreign nationals requiring evacuation will likely reach into the tens of thousands, a cooperative sealift effort involving several nations now appears to be the most likely scenario.

The French ferry initiative is just the tip of the iceberg. Expect the British, Italian and American navies to provide additional sea and airlift, with possible cooperation from other Mediterranean nations.

A little straight talking from the President.

The President of the United States engages in some private (oops, no it wasn't!) straight-talking.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon.

Of course, the writer and editors had their own fun, intentional or not, didn't they?

That noted, the sheepdog in me says the wolf population in that particular neck of the woods could use some thinning. Not that this couldn't bubble over into something larger, but all those Sunni Arab nations aren't going to mind seeing some Shias working for non-Arab Iran get spanked - even by the Israelis. There's been no sleep at CENTCOM this week, and little prospect for any anytime soon, either.

You can read the rest here.

More NEO

This might speed things up:

Seven Canadians, all members of the same Montreal family, were killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon yesterday.

News of the deaths swept quickly through Quebec's 50,000-member Lebanese community as the Canadian government stepped up plans to evacuate tens of thousands of Canadians from the war-torn region.

"It's as if that bomb landed in Montreal-North," said one relative, referring to the city borough with a heavy concentration of Lebanese.

Update: A sobering thought from Soldier's Mom in a comment to Smash's post on this topic: "I do not want to know where this goes if there is even one missle fired at us or the British..."

I think a hostage situation is the more likely crisis (there may even be some willing potential hostages - i.e. Hezbollah sympathizers with foreign citizenship) but who knows. In either event I think the US response would be cautious, and unsatisfying to those who are currently clamoring for the Big War. The US - and the rest of the world - had best stay focused on keeping this war small, and planning for the aftermath. If Hezbollah is effectively eliminated, we can "win" by then eliminating the conditions that let them thrive. Difficult, but not impossible.

Status of Forces

A look at Hezbollah and it's leadership, along with some speculation on the next few days of combat, and the possibilities in the aftermath of Israel's attack.

After the shooting stops someone's going to have to pick up the pieces - it won't be Israel. Syria and Iran will certainly do it if no one else will.

Beirut NEO Update

A military assessment team has arrived at the U.S. embassy in Beirut.

U.S. security teams landed at the American embassy just outside Beirut on Sunday to plan the evacuation of some of the estimated 25,000 U.S. citizens living in war-torn Lebanon.

Witnesses said two helicopters flew in from over the Mediterranean and landed on the embassy grounds, located on a fortified hilltop in the north Beirut suburb of Aukar.

"The arrival of the teams is an important first step in facilitating the safe departure of Americans who want to leave Lebanon," the embassy said in a statement.

This team is not the first wave of an airlift, but likely has beeen sent to assess the situation on the ground, survey likely sites for an evacuation by air or sea, and coordinate with the embassy staff and security detachment.

Also, the British appear to be similar preparations:

The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious was being prepared last night to sail to the coast of Lebanon to rescue British people stranded by Israeli airstrikes.

Des Browne, the defence secretary, ordered preparations for an urgent evacuation. An estimated 10,000 British citizens and up to 15,000 dual nationals are in Lebanon, which has been bombarded for four days in an escalating crisis triggered by the abduction of two Israeli soldiers.

Illustrious was being readied for the mission in Gibraltar and will be joined by HMS Bulwark, an amphibious assault warship.

Given the large number of people likely to require evacuation, I wouldn't rule out a joint British/American NEO task force.

NYT Photog: Collateral Damage?

Uncle Jimbo at BlackFive points out that he's aiding the enemy. My question is -- if a third country national who is aiding and abetting Madhi operations in Iraq is killed, does that constitute collateral damage just because he happens to be a journalist employed by our domestic media? Or is it simply a righteous kill?

Second question: is there any good reason we shouldn't, the moment we encounter him in a non-firefight context, arrest him and extradite him to the Iraqi government, should they wish to consider charges?

C-802 missile strike on Saar 5

I just crawled out of a 96 hr+ info hole (not even a newspaper) and I miss all the fun. If you have not already, read and follow the links by Bubblehead and Eagle1 below. I'll put out more on CDR Salamander tomorrow (today being BlogSabbath and all...I cheat here) (UPDATE: here is the Monday AM quarterbacking....errr...report) but here is the Phibian Executive Summary:
1. This is not a "bolt out of the blue." The C-802 Daddy was the SS-N-2 Styx that took out a Israeli destroyer in '67 and that Israel learned how to defeat 50+ of in '73. The C-802 and its diverse family of variants, builders, and seeker heads are not the cutting edge of Anti-Surface Missiles (ASM). To the contrary, they are deadly (exploding warhead or not) but they are on the "easy" edge of the "hard to easy" world of ASMs. SS-N-22 is hard.
2. The most telling quote in this can be found over at Bubbleheads hovel (can't find the source link, but I can be blind, am in a hurry, and I trust Bubblehead),

Brigadier-General Noam Page of the Navy said in a press conference Saturday that the Navy was unaware that a missile threat existed in the sector, and that the boat's crew had acted accordingly.

Go to the jump for the rest of the ES.

Elsewhere in the Times..

..of London:

Paras storm town to lift siege by Taliban

BRITISH forces yesterday launched their biggest offensive yet in southern Afghanistan to relieve soldiers under siege in the Taliban stronghold of Sangin.

Three hundred members of 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, took part in the dawn raid, which started with Apache helicopter gunships securing a landing area so that five Chinooks could fly in troops.

Early reports suggested that they had taken the town with only minor casualties including one man shot in the shoulder, though fighting was continuing.

There was a great angle that could have been used to turn this story into one of defeat too:

The operation was launched as British soldiers holed up in a mud-walled compound in Sangin for the past three weeks were in danger of being over-run. Last week they spent five days without food because it had become too dangerous for helicopters to fly in.

Paratroopers under siege in the small compound made desperate satellite telephone calls last week to wives and parents, saying they were coming under Taliban attack twice a day and had run so low of supplies that they were “looking for scraps”.

Congressman Y is demanding a full investigation. "The Amercan people whose sons and daughters blah blah blah blah war based on a lie."

We got a Kinder, Gentler Machine Gun in Hand...

The headline on this London Sunday Times story certanly isn't an example of British understatement, but the story is worth noting: Hug An Insurgent: US's New Plan To Win In Iraq

Re: Iranian-made C-802 missile hits Israeli warship?

Over at Eagle1's place, there's lots of discussion on whether or not Iranian Revolutionary Guards were actively involved in firing the C802 missile that hit the Israeli ship (the Eilat-class corvette INS Ahi Hanit). I'm not so sure this is a smoking gun; there's no reason to believe that the Hezbollah terrorists couldn't have launched it themselves with training from the Iranians (especially since one of the two missiles missed, and hit an Egyptian ship further downrange). It looks to me like the Israelis got overconfident, which is why they didn't have their anti-missile systems turned on. Continuing to believe that their enemies don't have the technical sophistication to operate modern weapons could lead, IMHO, to further intelligence failures. I discuss this a little more at my home blog.

The Genevea Conventions Bind Whom?

Only the US and Israel, according to Cassandra -- who makes an excellent point...

Noncombatant Evacuation Operations

I don't have any inside information on this, but there are strong indications that the U.S. government is about to execute plans to evacuate non-essential personnel and other U.S. citizens from Lebanon.

From FOX News:

The United States estimates 25,000 Americans live or work in Lebanon, but officials assume far fewer would choose to leave if they could. The State Department said it was working with the Pentagon on a plan for helping American citizens leave.

From the State Department:

The Department of State continues to work with the Department of Defense on a plan to help American citizens depart Lebanon. As of the morning of July 15, we are looking at how we might transport Americans to Cyprus. Once in Cyprus, Americans can then board commercial aircraft for onward travel. Commercial airlines provide the safest and most efficient repatriation options to final destinations.

The most likely means of evacuation would be by helicopter from a pre-arranged location (the airport, the embassy, or a large athletic field) to ships waiting offshore (most likely the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, currently in the Red Sea), and then further transport by ship or helicopter to Cyprus.

For more information on how Noncombatant Evacuation Operations are planned, organized, and executed, see Joint Warfighting Publication 3-07.5, "Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Noncombatant Evacuation Operations."

Noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs) are conducted to assist the Department of State (DOS) in evacuating noncombatants, nonessential military personnel, selected host-nation citizens, and third country nationals whose lives are in danger from locations in a host foreign nation to an appropriate safe haven and/or the United States. NEOs usually involve swift insertions of a force, temporary occupation of an objective, and a planned withdrawal upon completion of the mission. During NEOs, the US Ambassador is the senior authority for the evacuation and is ultimately responsible for the successful completion of the NEO and the safety of the evacuees. The Ambassador speaks with the authority of the President and serves as direct representative on site.

Evacuation operations are characterized by uncertainty and may be directed without warning; situational awareness and correct appraisal of the changing political and military environment are key factors in noncombatant evacuation planning. Alternative plans should be developed for permissive, uncertain, and hostile environments. The geographic combatant commanders are responsible for planning and conducting NEOs to assist the DOS. Once requested, approved, and directed, the combatant commander will order supporting, assigned, and/or attached forces to conduct evacuation operations. It is imperative that the Ambassador’s evacuation plan and the joint force commander’s (JFC’s) plan for the NEO be supportive, coordinated, and fully integrated.

The military has "canned plans" for NEO from just about every location that you could imagine, but these situations are often fluid and require a great deal of flexibility and improvisation.

Interesting bit of trivia: one of the ships in the Iwo Jima ESG, which would likely provide support for this operation, is the USS Cole.

BBIED

A little fun from a training area at Fort McCoy. Oh, and yes, yes it is very hot here.

View image

Anyone Else Notice This Loser?

Maybe someone already posted this and I missed it, but Bin Laden went and got himself some loser who couldn't cut it in America and is now parading him around in jihadist videos as "Azzam The American".

On a dark weekend underway, this one is worth a good laugh or three if Al-Qaeda is this desperate to take this joker in.

Iranian-made C-802 missile hits Israeli warship?

While the reports are still relatively early (and therefore suspect), the allegations are that a Chinese designed, Iranian-made anitship missile, perhaps a C-802, is what struck an Israeli SAAR-5 corvette.

Some sources in Israel assert that the C-802 almost insures that Iranian forces are involved in Lebanon.

More here, including links in the comments to additional information.

Re: Democracy Project?

GH, Tom Friedman (who i don't ordinarily enjoy because he's annoying beyond belief with his constant need to oversimplify EVERYTHING) is spot on answering that question:

Friedman:

Why don’t the silent majorities punish these elected Islamist parties for working against the real interests of their people? Because those who speak against Hamas or Hezbollah are either delegitimized as “American lackeys’’ or just murdered, like Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.

The world needs to understand what is going on here: the little flowers of democracy that were planted in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories are being crushed by the boots of Syrian-backed Islamist militias who are desperate to keep real democracy from taking hold in this region and Iranian-backed Islamist militias desperate to keep modernism from taking hold.

It may be the skeptics are right: maybe democracy, while it is the most powerful form of legitimate government, simply can’t be implemented everywhere. It certainly is never going to work in the Arab-Muslim world if the U.S. and Britain are alone in pushing it in Iraq, if Europe dithers on the fence, if the moderate Arabs cannot come together and make a fist, and if Islamist parties are allowed to sit in governments and be treated with respect — while maintaining private armies.

The whole democracy experiment in the Arab-Muslim world is at stake here, and right now it’s going up in smoke.

I'm all for Israel taking this war to Syria and even Iran, but punishing Lebanon for being unable (and understandably unwilling) to control Hezbollah is bollocks. Where was NATO or even Egypt or Pakistan to help modernize and train Lebanon's military to one day be able to control the country, including the Hezbollah dominated South?

For the Record (3)

In Iraq, Shiite slumlord Muqtada Sadr condemns the Israeli actions in Lebanon.

But what matters in Shiite Iraq is what Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has to say. Thus far, not much.

Sporting News

Bruce Arena is out. Prediction: Jürgen Klinsmann, the California commuter who just stepped down from coaching the German team, will be the next coach of the US Soccer Team.

Best of luck to both.

SURFIN' U.S.A.

Moving this back up top... If you're depressed about the situation in the Middle East, well here's a way to make yourself feel better by doing something to help wounded soldiers & marines who just want to GO SURFIN'!!

Since my original post I have learned that Derrick was wounded in Fallujah... and he and the guys at Brooke Army Medical are (their words, not mine) "SO STOKED" that they might get to go!!!

Derrick McG learned to surf early and he did it often. Surfed all his life. He loved it. He thought a lot about those big waves and the cold water while serving as a Navy Corpsman in the waterless, hot and dusty sand of Iraq. When he lost his leg in an IED explosion, he couldn’t reconcile that he might never surf again.

When Derrick approached Janis Roznowski, the Director and Founder of Operation Comfort about going surfing, she told him that if he could find someone who could teach amputees how to surf then she and the organization would raise the money to take them. So Derrick did some looking and he found Rodney Roller of the Association of Amputee Surfers -- Ampsurf.

Now Operation Comfort is planning to take 20 amputees to Pismo Beach August 15-20 for a five day surf clinic and for a Thursday stay at a beachfront resort. Two professional surf schools will teach these military hero amputees how to surf!

Of course, they haven't raised enough money yet to take them all, so GO HERE TO MY PLACE TO SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP>

Democracy Project

Andy McCarthy asks "How's That Democracy Project Going?"

Pawning off the Ladies

Reader James asks (in John D's post):

I wonder if there have been any instances of (presumably) grateful Iraqis offering their daughters in marriage to American Marines & soldiers.

I don't know about Iraqis, but an old Sergeant Major I knew from my VMI days was "given" a 14 year old girl while serving in Turkey.

He traded her for a rug though.

Oh and I'm back, btw.

While I'm on vacation in the Pac Northwest...

...I thought I would drop in and leave this little bit on info for Lieutenant Watada (since he's *also* in the area).

Below child molesters are spies and people who take the paycheck and benefits then refuse to deploy to combat situations. Yolanda Hewitt-Vaughn was treated like dirt and everyone looked down on her.

If you'd like to read where that little tidbit came from - drop by Castle Argghhh! and read it here.

More From Lebanon

Froggy rounds up links to Lebanese blogs.

Update: And via Mrs G's extensive blogroll system, here's Amarji - A Heretic's Blog -"the blog haven of Syrian author Ammar Abdulhamid", who says

...the issue ahead of us if that of Hezbollah and Hamas being wielded as instruments of provocation by Syria and Iran to stir up another national liberation conflict and mobilize us all for the march to hell, with many of us applauding all the way. In this regard, the Assads’ success in imposing this new round of conflict upon us all is going to doom us all.

Even more Lebanese bloggers (via Star from Mosul):

The Lebanese Bloggers

From Beirut to the Beltway

And more here.

Still more: an email from an American in Beirut. Yes, the Embassy will be overwhelmed during such a crisis. And yes, there are plans to evacuate American citizens in such events, but apparently the person he spoke to was unaware. I'm speaking of noncombatant evacuation operations - AKA "NEO" - which generally involve the US Marines or SOF guys. It's telling that such an op hasn't been ordered for Beirut, but no doubt somebody somewhere is "standing by."

Here's the instruction manual.

From Lebanon

Cries for help

History of Yongsan Garrison

Anyone who has been stationed in Korea and especially Yongsan should really go and check out this photograph of Yongsan in the 1940's. Pretty amazing picture when compared to today. Additionally read this great link about the history of foreign occupation of Yongsan Garrison in Seoul:

The headquarters of the ``Chosun (Korean) military command’’ were located in the Yongsan area on the grounds now occupied by the 8th U.S. Army. The Yongsan area attracted the attention of the Japanese military as early as 1894 _ perhaps because of its proximity to the Han River, which provided the easiest medium of communication in that pre-railway age. When a Japanese brigade arrived in Korea in May 1894, it camped at Yongsan, laying foundation for the long tradition of a foreign military presence in the area. From the 1910s, Yongsan already housed barracks, military installations, and officers’ accommodation. Incidentally, Yongsan was also the place from which the first airplane ventured into Korean skies. In 1913, Lt. Narahara of the Japanese Navy designed and tested an experimental airplane. The test flights took place at the training grounds of the Japanese forces in Yongsan.

Here is a sobering stat if you are a Korean, from 1884 until today there hasn't been a year when Korea hasn't had a sizable foreign military presence on their soil.

For the Record (2)

Comments from Israeli officials, as reported in the New York Times (emphasis added):

...Israeli officials said there would be a long campaign to restore the country’s security, both along its southern border with Gaza and its northern one with Lebanon. The Israelis want to restore their military credibility with the Palestinian militants and the Hamas government in Gaza and with Hezbollah, and say they intend to make the current campaign painful for both sets of antagonists.
<...>
The Israelis say they want the message to get across to Syria and Iran, the countries widely considered to be the main sponsors of Hezbollah and Palestinian militancy.
<...>
A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, Gideon Meir, told reporters on Thursday that Israel had “concrete evidence that Hezbollah plans to transfer the kidnapped soldiers to Iran,” but he gave no specifics or source for the claim. “As a result,” Mr. Meir said, “Israel views Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran as the main players in the axis of terror and hate that endangers not only Israel, but the entire world.”

Israeli concerns that the soldiers may be moved out of Lebanon are a prime reason for its efforts to blockade the country and prevent air traffic, Mr. Meir said later.

For the Record (1)

In Germany, President Bush and Chancellor Merkel addressed reporters. While the main topic was a response to Iran on nuclear issues, the Israel/Hamas/Hezbollah issue was also discussed. Full text here, portions on Israel below.

RE: Rat-a-tat & Asymmetric Total War

In my view, Iran and Syria are engaged in "all out war" although the form is currently asymmetric war by proxy.

Since the goals for Iran and Syria include the complete destruction of Israel and, at least, the neutering of the United States, I consider them to be seeking "total" victory. I would argue that this includes the removal of any restraint on their ability pursue their national or extranational interests (perhaps in re-establishing the Caliphate?).

And, though their approach is not masses of tanks and waves of aircraft, they are fighting on their schedule and within their capabilities. They are subordinating everything to the war effort. Thus, it is, in my view, "total war." It is not being fought like previous wars. It is being fought on several fronts.

Iran is "continuing politics by other means" through its surrogate actions. Walid Phares has identified four goals Iran wants to gain through this current effort at misdirection (or a feint?):

1. Iran is concerned about the nuclear crisis and wants to deflate the issue away.
2. Syria is concerned about the Hariri murder investigation and wishes to postpone its results.
3. Hizbollah is concerned about the call for disarming its militias and therefore decided to flare up the conflict with Israel.
4. Finally, Hamas was sinking in crisis with Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah. Thus a Jihad against Israel was the solution.

In addition to the attacks on civilians and other indices of total war, the war continues with propaganda, perhaps including tripe like this which asks one part of the Iranian goal, "Imagine a world without Israel."

If your goal is total destruction of another state and you have announced that goal and taken steps to make it come true, then it smells like "all out war" to me. "Death to the United States" is a goal, not just a chant.

What is currently happening may be just a skirmish or it may be the beginning of a bigger battle. But it is part of a larger whole. An "all out" war, in my view.

Re: Rat-a-tat-tat

via Reuters

RIYADH, July 13 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Thursday blamed "elements" inside Lebanon for the violence with Israel, in unusually frank language directed at guerrilla group Hizbollah and its Iranian backers.

Saudi Arabia, home of the Wahhabi's, siding with the Joooooos? I think the worlds terrorists have pretty much undermined any "moral" support they ever had.

Re: Rat-a-tat

Think the US would ever respond as forcefully to the kidnapping of American soldiers?

I doubt we'll see all-out war here, or any significant escalation (beyond whatever level Israel decides to take this) at all. Israeli/Arab wars are generally named by the number of days it takes the Israelis to win, and its neighbors are well aware of that. They switched tactics to prolonged terrorism years ago for just that reason. As for the Persians, while the Mullahs may be mad, they don't want the outright whup-a they know Israel would inflict upon them.

There's been discussion as to how this might impact the situation in Iraq. It will be interesting to see whether the non-Iraqi "insurgents" elect to stay fighting the Crusader or if they head for the hills (of Lebanon or elsewhere) for the latest round of war against the Jew. My guess is they will go with whichever they perceive as the softer opponent, while simultaneously declaring it the greater threat in order to save face. (For the record, I expect that will be us.)

And while many refer to Israel's "two-front war", apparently it's lost on one and all that it is the Jihaddis who are now facing a three-front (Israel-Iraq-Afghanistan) shooting war (albeit low-intensity) against the Crusaders and Jews.

But if their own publications are to be believed, this is exactly the "Savagery" the terrorists want. Those same manuals also indicate that "escalation" will come in the form of more terrorist attacks in locations removed from those current hot spots. It only takes a handful of goons to achieve that.

But all-out war between Israel, Iran, Syria, and whoever? Fugadabowdit.

Bleg

Does anyone have a copy of the PowerPoint slides from the class where they train us military folks to dehumanize the enemy? I've somehow missed that training - but I've only been in a little over 20 years.

J'Accuse? J'Oublie.

The accused is honored. Sorta. A nice speech but no permanent space of honor, of course. I bet they didn't even give him a new sword when they broke it.

Dreyfus might well be remembered in a world where the accusers of Pantano know the warfighting effect...

Hezbollah's Rockets

Some background on the rockets being used by Hezbollah here. Any guesses on the main source?

Did you guess "Iran?"

Help yourself to a cigar.

Reconciliation

News of bombings and murders sells papers - or so the theory goes, so it's no surprise those fill the headlines on any given day. But that's certainly not the full story, and Amir Taheri offers a progress report on Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's reconciliation plan.

Rat-a-tat

The drumming gets louder:

No one should have any lingering doubts about what’s going on in the Middle East. It’s war, and it now runs from Gaza into Israel, through Lebanon and thence to Iraq via Syria. There are different instruments, ranging from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon and on to the multifaceted “insurgency” in Iraq. But there is a common prime mover, and that is the Iranian mullahcracy, the revolutionary Islamic fascist state that declared war on us 27 years ago and has yet to be held accountable.

Re: The Challenge

Heh. Have you read the WaPo coverage of the speech?

On a slightly different topic, Ambassador Khalilzad's speech wasn't just a current State of Iraq message - it was also a road map for forward progress. Reconciliation of now-warring factions is a key element of that plan, and a key element to reconciliation will be amnesty for former combatants. The issue raised a minor firestorm in DC when first mentioned a while back, but given that Khalilzad discussed it at some length at CSIS I'm guessing the offer is very definitely on the table (somewhere)...

Re: McCain

From the department of incredible timing: Glenn Reynolds has an (audio) interview with Senator McCain.

...about a variety of hot button topics: Immigration (which got a pretty lengthy treatment), the Second Amendment, blogs and campaign finance reform, leaks from the CIA and other intelligence agencies and, of course, earmarks and PorkBusters.

Helen also asked him about rumors that he's considering Condi Rice or Jeb Bush as a 2008 running mate, and whether he'd support federal legislation banning gun confiscation of the sort that happened in New Orleans after Katrina.

No Hawks for South Korea

Just another indication that this may be the beginning of the end of the US-ROK alliance:

According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, military authorities requested the U.S. to sell it four Global Hawks in 2008 at last year¿s SCC in Hawaii in order to secure independent surveillance ability on North Korea. Korea requested this several times. However, last June, the U.S. put out a not for sale policy and have rejected Korea's requests.

So why would the US deny this system to our so called "blood allies" the South Koreans? You shouldn't have to think to hard:

Re: McCain

In 2000, I took what was then the unusual step of voting in the Republican Primary (in Georgia, you have to choose one primary or the other on election day) so that I could vote for McCain. I don't think I could easily vote for him again -- only on an occasion when the alternatives were all notably and demonstrably worse -- because of his willingness to impose limits on the freedom of political speech. His remarks on the First Amendment, noted here, are I think a worthy reason to be concerned about his devotion to keeping the President's oath of office:

I know that money corrupts.... I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt.

What does it say about the country that such statements often work?

Re: McCain

The nuts came out back in 2000 during his campaign for that reason. Expect more nuttiness over the next whatever period of time...

McCain Unfit for POTUS--Because He Broke Under Torture?

A diary on Redstate opines that John McCain should not be president because he "has continued his practice of cooperating with the adversary, even to the exclusion of his nominal allies."

The evidence of this: McCain's breaking under torture while a POW.

Seriously.

Israel In Lebanon

This could get ugly quick.

U.S. government has a response I agree with in response to the kidnapping of two Israeli Druze on the Lebanese border.

The United States condemns in the strongest terms this unprovoked act of terrorism, which was timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence. We also hold Syria and Iran, which have provided long-standing support for Hezbollah, responsible for today's violence. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers," reads a statement released by the White House press secretary.

"Hezbollah's actions are not in the interest of the Lebanese people, whose welfare should not be held hostage to the interests of the Syrian and Iranian regimes. We reiterate the international community's insistence that all parties in the region fulfill their obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1680, and cease all support for Hezbollah," the statement continues.

The War with Iran: "Oil Weapon" Strait of Hormuz closure threat

Once again, somebody associated with Iran invokes the "oil weapon" of closing the Strait of Hormuz, as noted here. The best line in the piece? Try this:

...it seems that Iran has actually enough power to block the Strait of Hormuz by sinking several big ships in the main channels of the traffic (although most of the traffic separation lines are in the side of the Strait which are technically, i.e. according to the international law of Seas, part of Oman's Territorial waters.

Is that a war drum beating in the background? Or is it just me?

The Challenge of Our Time

Instapundit and Jimbo at Blackfive linked to The Belmont Club's transcript of a speech delivered by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) July 11, 2006.

Here's an excerpt from Khalilzad's speech:

Whatever anyone may have thought about the decision to topple Saddam - whether one supported it or not - succeeding in Iraq is now essential to the future of the region and the world. Most of the world's security problems emanate from the region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan. Shaping its future is the defining challenge of our time. What happens in Iraq will be decisive in determining how this region evolves. Therefore, the struggle for the future of Iraq is vital to the future of the world.

More excerpts, and commentary, back at home, or better yet, go read the whole speech.

RE: US Reverses Policy

The New York Times slanders the US military, again, in an outrageous editorial, with which it likewise slanders an “administration that tossed aside the Geneva rules years ago.”

I’m in the military that the Times Editors so thoroughly despise and disparage at every opportunity, and I can tell them this: No military on the face of this earth more thoroughly complies with both the letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions, than the US Military.

The Times suggests that the Bush Administration can’t be trusted with abiding by the Geneva Conventions:

The administration has professed its allegiance to the humane treatment of prisoners and to the rule of law before. But repairing the constitutional balance of powers and America’s profoundly damaged global image demand more than lip service.

As proof, they have spent the better part of the last 5 years pointing to one incident or another of supposed violation. All conducted by individuals, reported by superiors (NCOs and officers), investigated by the military, and punished as appropriate. All under a microscope of dedicated propaganda and partisan point-taking by bitter political opponents of the President, and their media enablers such as the Times.

The latest statement by Department of Defense (DoD) officials states that “prisoner policies already generally complied with the Geneva Conventions” because they always have. Soldiers take the Geneva Conventions and similar standards in the Laws of War quite seriously, and orders or directives to violate those standards would create a loud groundswell of rebuke and public insubordination within the military.

There have been some discussions, debate, and reasonable steps taken to expand tools and techniques of interrogation as they apply to a class of enemy combatants that are neither prisoners of war, nor definable by current Convention articles, much less recognizable as signatories or adherents of international treaty.

Outside of some judge advocate corps (JAG) purists who argue on fine points of military legalese, no serious observer questions the difficulties and contradictions in affording criminal or military justice protections to possible terrorists detained in a battle space, not abiding by rules or conventions. The thought of affording these detainees with what may be highly classified evidence against them, information they can use to thwart interdiction efforts against their fellow Hirabah.

Global terrorism is a grave and evil threat to our way of life, to civilization itself all over the world, as recently evidence by the horrible bombings in Mumbai (Bombay).

If anything, the US Military is a peerless exemplar of how to fight such a threat with honor, humanity, civility, and professionalism against a determined enemy that evidences none of those things. The very few exceptions prove the rule.

Not that the Times is paying attention. They’re too busy carrying water for the Hirabah public relations and propaganda effort.

(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)

The Big Red One Comes Home

Casing the Colors:

WÜRZBURG, Germany — After spending most of its storied history in Europe after World War II, the 1st Infantry Division is going home.

The legacy and lasting effects of those years were remembered during a departure ceremony for the division headquarters Thursday at Leighton Barracks.
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The division has been headquartered in Würzburg for the past 10 years, and was also based here right after World War II. Since 1917, when it became the Army’s first division, The Big Red One has played a part in major European conflicts and beyond.

Division soldiers helped turn the tide during World War I, when the French army had been decimated, and the allies were asunder. They spearheaded the World War II assaults in North Africa, Sicily and on the beaches of France on D-Day. Members of the 1st ID fought in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War and embarked on peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo. Finally, the division deployed to Iraq during the current conflict.

The 1st Infantry Division will return to Fort Riley with a ceremony, a Division change of command, and other events scheduled for July 31 and Aug. 1.

Re: US Reverses Policy On Military Detainee Protection--Nothing Happens

In case anyone wants to read the actual memo... it's HERE

Reiterating what Army Lawyer noted so well, the acquaintance that forwarded the link said the following:

The first paragraph of the memo merely repeats the finding of the Supreme Court’s Hamdan decision that Geneva Convention Common Article Three applies to the conflict with al Qaeda, and that the Department’s military commission orders were inconsistent with Common Article Three. The memo then repeats the Department’s understanding that all its existing Department orders, policies, and directives, aside from the military commission procedures, “comply with the standards of Common Article 3.”

Then, the memo directs all recipients of the memo to ensure that all DoD personnel adhere to the standard of treating detainees humanely, and to review all relevant policy directives, regulations, policies, and practices “to ensure that they comply with the standards of Common Article Three.” Contrary to the media reports, there is no order in this memo that the Department reverse its policy and now apply Common Article Three to all detainees. There is no order that detainees will now be treated any differently than they have in the past. This memo is not a change in policy because it already is the policy of the United States to treat detainees humanely and “in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva.”

This policy comes from no less an authority than the President himself. Memo from President to Vice President, et al. regarding Humane Treatment of Al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees ¶ 3 (Feb. 7, 2002). In fact, the Department memo specifically recalls the President’s policy promulgation. As the DOD memo notes, if DOD personnel were to comply with all existing policies, orders, and directives, including directives related to intelligence interrogation, detainee debriefings, and tactical questioning, then their actions would comply with the standards of Common Article 3 because such policy direction already complies with Common Article 3.

I'll note that ¶ 5 of the 2002 memo directs such humane treatment... The President's 2002 memo is HERE

The Tao of Modern War

Okay, Homer I am not, but yes... Buck Sargent is now on record as having written a P-O-E-M.

(My apologies to Russ Vaughn for butchering his AO)

The times they have ‘a change-ed since our granddads were lauded, Their excellence, their fiber, their cause never doubted. Did they know what it was to be disparaged by journalists, Protesters, college kids, Red-diaper activists?

Bygone is the era of the Stars and Stripes raised,
Our flag flown in triumph along V-day parades.
‘Twas a rite placed in stasis lest talking head cases,
Deplored our galling lack of cross-cultural graces.

Whomever says a week of guard duty is boring and completely unproductive is only correct on the first point.

US Reverses Policy On Military Detainee Protection--Nothing Happens

Financial Times

>The Pentagon has decided in a major policy shift that all detainees held in US military custody around the world are entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions, according to two people familiar with the move.

The FT has learned that Gordon England, deputy defence secretary, sent a memo to senior defence officials and military officers last Friday, telling them that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions - which prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners and requires certain basic legal rights at trial - would apply to all detainees held in US military custody.

This memo likely will change nothing as it was already the policy to treat detainees consistent with CA3. What was prohibited before is still prohibited. What was allowed before is still allowed. (At least insofar as treatment goes--the legal process is left to Congress to determine).

Former Military Lawyers To Testify on Gitmo and Geneva

NYT
Oh this should be fun.

Beginning shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the military lawyers warned that the administration's plan for military commissions put the United States on the wrong side of the law and of international standards. Most important, they warned, the arrangements could endanger members of the American military who might someday be captured by an enemy and treated like the detainees at Guantánamo.

But the lawyers' sense of vindication at the Supreme Court's 5-to-3 decision is tempered by growing anxiety over what may happen next. Several military lawyers, most of them retired, have said they are troubled by the possibility that Congress may restore the kind of system they have long argued against.

Donald J. Guter, another retired admiral who succeeded Admiral Hutson as the Navy's top uniformed lawyer, said it would be a mistake for Congress to try to undo the Supreme Court ruling. Admiral Guter was one of several senior military judge advocates general, known as JAG's, who after objecting to the planned military commissions found their advice pointedly unheeded.

Remember where we're at, some lawyers in the military disagreed with other lawyers in the DoD and Administration. (thereby giving rise to ridiculous tactics used against William Haynes, former DoD general counsel and now 4th Circuit nominee) Neither of which, by mere virtue of their positions, are necessarily right. That being said, when the main argument in favor of expanded CA3 protections is reciprocity, you're missing the forest for the trees:

"Our central theme in all this has always been our great concern about reciprocity," General Brahms said in an interview. "We don't want someone saying they've got our folks as captives and we're going to do to them exactly what you've done because we no longer hold any moral high ground."

Our slavish adherence to some hackneyed notion of what Common Article 3 means does not protect our soldiers IN A COMMON ARTICLE 3 CONFLICT. The very nature of a CA3 type conflict (i.e. insurgents, irregulars, terrorists, civil war, etc) negates any attempts to argue for reciprocity since only one side is bound by (by law) to the restrictions of Common Article 3.

CA3 is, and has always been, a one-way obligation meant to impose norms on the only side in the conflict that was a signatory to the Conventions. The other side are not signatories and are under no legal obligation to provide reciprocity. CA3 exists only to enable signatories that are NOT part of the CA3 conflict to impose some obligations on the state that is involved in the CA conflict.

Claiming that not abiding by CA3 means we lose "the moral high ground" means nothing since the people you are fighting in a CA3 conflict are under no obligations anyway. Reciprocity works when you're fighting France, or some other signatory state. (i.e. a Common Article 2 conflict). It doesn't realistically apply outside of that framework. If we start ignoring Common Article 2 and it's attendant protections, then you can make the reciprocity argument. Until then, this is just bad legal analysis that was once in uniform.

Iraqi Tells Gold Star Mothers Their Sacrifice Not in Vain

As a mother, I know this would help me if I had a child who died...

Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi, Iraq's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, served as keynote speaker and thanked the mothers for the sacrifices their sons and daughters have made for his country.

"We were a country without hope," Istrabadi said. "The intervention of the United States in my country has been a lifeline for us. It has restored hope for us that our future will be very different from our past."

Hearing laughter in Iraq's streets again and no longer feeling the need to cringe when admitting their heritage is part of what America's intervention has given back to his country, he said.

"These are not small things. These are things for which this country, and you as individuals and your children, have earned our tremendous gratitude," Istrabadi said. "Words of thanks truly seem to me to be insufficient to convey to you the thanks of a country, a grateful nation, which has lingered too long under tyranny."

Iraq's gratitude to the United States and the families who have sacrificed personally "will be eternal," he said.

Here's MORE...

Re: old guys

While I may be young and pretty, I'm pretty damned old for the business I'm in. But while we're on the subject of real old guys and lessons learned, visit these old guys who are pretty damned interesting.

Accused rapist/murderers may face death penalty

Military authorities have filed capital charges of premeditated rape and murder against four of the five active-duty soldiers accused in an attack on an Iraqi family in March. The four soldiers could face the death penalty if convicted. The main suspect - allegedly the killer of all the victims and one of two actual rapists - had been discharged and is facing federal (not military) charges.

It won't happen, but I'm not opposed to turning this lot over to the Iraqi government for trial. If they can handle the Saddam case they can certainly handle this one too.

Supporting the Military... AND their mission...

Did you know that you can get the inside of your cheek swabbed or give a little tube of blood and actually save someone's life? Go to Blackfive and read more on the drive to save Navy Seal Justin... or perhaps someone else...

And Chaplain Bjertness of the 1/125 Strike (deployed) needs some things for Humanitarian Aid... Go HERE for the list and address...

Recruiting on Target

We've discussed this here before - the Army shuffled its recruiting goals this year, setting lower quotas for the winter (school) months and higher for the summer months this year than last. Some - myself included - expressed concern over whether the summer quotas would be met. (Others, not including your humble scribe or any other author here, thought the exercise was a ploy to generate good looking numbers, percentage-wise, for most of the year.)

But so far, so good.

Military On Pace To Meet Recruiting Goals For This Year

The Army exceeded its recruiting goal for June, staying on track to meet its target of 80,000 new soldiers this year, the Pentagon announced Monday. Active-duty components of the other services — the Air Force, Marines and Navy — also met or topped their monthly goals. All are on pace to meet their goals for the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
<...>
The Army signed up 8,756 recruits in June, 2% above its target of 8,600. "We have made our goal 13 months in a row," said Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command.

Theory Vs. Practice In Iraq

Mark Safranski, the author of the excellent blogZenPundit has a fascinating guest post at Democracy Project that address the problems of theory vs. tactics.

....oftentimes there is a serious disconnect between what is being discussed on TV and the reality of combat as experienced by our troops on the ground in Iraq.

While the nature of modern media coverage is partly to blame for this discrepancy, some of the fault lies with the current upheaval in military thinking. U.S. military doctrine is running far behind the technological, geopolitical and economic shifts wrought by globalization and defense intellectuals have rushed to fill the gap to help the Pentagon make sense of the new world. To outsiders, a bewildering array of terms have been created – OODA Loops, NCW, 4GW, Three Block War, PNM Theory, Global Guerillas, Strategic Corporals, EBO – that seek to provide commanders with insights and combat advantages.

Curious, I wanted to find out what professional soldiers thought of all this intellectual effort on their behalf. The Small Wars Council is a superb discussion board associated with The Small Wars Journal, edited and published by two Marine veterans, Dave Dilegge and Bill Nagle. Most of the participants in discussions are active duty personnel or experienced veterans, though diplomats, journalists, scholars and interested amateurs are also welcome. I posed a question to the board:

“How, if at all, have these theoretical exercises impacted what you do? Do you value these intellectual paradigms relative to your personal experiences?”

There follows some well-thought out responses, proof positive of the rich home of ideas and debate the Small Wars Council has become. Mark closes the post with a call to action:

Bloggers and scholars can help the troops here most by acting as a filter for what is often an unmannageably large mass of open source information and reducing it to concise, clear and accurate messages. Information can only turn into knowledge when communication and comprehension are in play - the troops are not just short on the information they need but time for reflection as well. We at home have the luxury of such time so let's try to assist those who do not.

Re: Best 4th of July Gift Ever

Well, it looks like Soldier's Mom was correct.

Today, the Lansing State Journal ran an article about the MSgt. Javier Camacho
meeting Mrs. Mary Kennedy, the mother of Pfc. Adam Small, for the very first time.

Quoth Mrs. Kennedy:

"It was something that, as a mother, I had to do," Kennedy said. "I had to find that guy and thank him for what he did."

Kill, or capture?

With the middle ground being pulled away, after awhile what used to be discussed in the background is starting to be talked about in the clear. If you don't have other nations taking terrorists seriously enough to put them in jail after we give them over to them, and there is not system in place to keep them off the battlefield for the duration of the conflict - when do you reach the tipping point of, "Well, we could take those guys sleeping in that house prisoner - or we could call a LGB on them and call it even. What do you think?"

Ralph is thinking about it.

Killing terrorists during a conflict isn't barbaric or immoral - or even illegal. We've imposed rules upon ourselves that have no historical or judicial precedent. We haven't been stymied by others, but by ourselves.

The oft-cited, seldom-read Geneva and Hague Conventions define legal combatants as those who visibly identify themselves by wearing uniforms or distinguishing insignia (the latter provision covers honorable partisans - but no badges or armbands, no protection). Those who wear civilian clothes to ambush soldiers or collect intelligence are assassins and spies - beyond the pale of law.

Traditionally, those who masquerade as civilians in order to kill legal combatants have been executed promptly, without trial. Severity, not sloppy leftist pandering, kept warfare within some decent bounds at least part of the time. But we have reached a point at which the rules apply only to us, while our enemies are permitted unrestricted freedom.
...
Isn't it time we gave our critics what they're asking for? Let's solve the "unjust" imprisonment problem, once and for all. No more Guantanamos! Every terrorist mission should be a suicide mission. With our help.

Re: Ahmard Hall

Love this quote from the story:

Determining the best player in Thursday's NFL supplemental draft -- talented but troubled former University of Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks -- hasn't exactly drained the brainpower of NFL scouts.

Neither has the task of identifying the best person in the special summertime lottery -- onetime University of Texas fullback Ahmard Hall.

This quote from Hall is worth noting:

"In meetings with scouts, they ask a lot of questions, but the one area they don't ever bring up is the character thing. I'm proud of that. I think teams know that, if they draft me or they sign me to come to their camp, they aren't going to have to worry about any issues of that sort, you know?"

Protest in New York City

.. aganist the New York Times.

The Management of Savagery - Applied

Insurgents have posted an Internet video showing the desecration of the bodies of two American soldiers in Iraq.

The Jawa Report has an edited (but graphic) version of the video, along with still images. You can read the coverage of the story there without seeing the pictures or video - they are at the bottom of the post following several warnings.

For what its worth, the video does not depict the murder of the soldiers, who I suspect were killed in the initial attack. The fact that the actual killings aren't on the video indicates this is likely - insurgents generally don't miss such an opportunity. That there are four insurgents in view in the video implies there weren't enough to carry off the third victim, whose body was found at the scene of the original attack.

A message with the video says the soldiers were killed out of revenge for the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl in March, a crime allegedly committed by members of the same platoon. I suspect that too is an insurgent lie, they made no such claim when the soldiers were originally taken, and the story was unknown at the time. In fact, US Soldiers first revealed the details of the rape and murders - not the insurgents.

But if you've read The Management of Savagery you'll recognize many of the elements of this story as coming directly from that document. The bad guys were certainly handed a propaganda victory here, but while the alleged acts of the accused soldiers offered a golden opportunity to the enemy their playbook details exactly how well managed it was.

My thoughts on a response are here.

The Human Cost of the North Korean Missile Tests

The North Korean regime is now coming out and demanding that the US unfreeze their assets in a Macau bank as a prerequisite for restarting the six party talks:

The deputy chief of North Korea's mission to the UN on Friday reiterated the North will return to six-party talks on its nuclear program only when the U.S. unfreezes Pyongyang’s assets in a Macau Bank. The U.S. chief negotiator in the talks, Christopher Hill, commented Sunday that if Pyongyang implemented its promise under an accord to dismantle its nuclear program, it would effectively have the same amount -- US$24 million -- in its hands. Hill added the North’s demand makes no sense.

Nothing North Korea does or says makes sense in a way we would comprehend. If the North starts to dismantle its nuclear program under the accord reached in the six-party talks last September, South Korea reciprocates with 2 million kw of free electricity or US$20 million worth of energy week after week, according to Hill’s estimate. But North Korea is adamant it will only talk again when the U.S. lifts sanctions so Pyongyang can get its hands on a paltry $24 million frozen in the Banco Delta Asia. By any standards this is absurd.

The North is estimated to have spent $6 million to make the seven missiles it shot into the sea on Wednesday, initial development costs not included. In other words, the North wasted a quarter of the money it so desperately wants back on the missile test. The World Food Program has earmarked $102 million for food for 1.9 million North Koreans over the next two years. That means the money spent on the test would have fed 200,000 starving North Koreans for a full year. But Pyongyang went ahead with the launch in a harebrained attempt to get the dear leader’s bank account back at the cost of food for its own people.

The problem is that free energy does not fatten the Dear Leader's and his lackey's bank accounts like unfreezing the assets in the Macau bank. This and the human cost of conducting the missile tests tell you all you need to know about the North Korean regime.

Idaho National Guardsman Sets A Record

Now this is impressive:

Every six minutes and 20 seconds for just under 21 hours, Air National Guard Capt. Dan Schilling parachuted 486 feet from the rusted steel of Twin Falls' Perrine Bridge into the depths of the Snake River Gorge.
With a 60-ton crane lifting him from the gorge floor and a team of sleepless parachute packers outfitting him for each jump, Schilling jumped 201 times between 8:10 p.m. Friday and just after 6 p.m. Saturday.
His effort set a new world record for the most BASE jumps in 24 hours. BASE is an acronym for the buildings, antennae, spans and earth used as a platform for daredevils in this extreme sport.
Schilling, who commands the Oregon-based 125th Special Tactics Squadron, took on this challenge to raise $20,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, an organization that awards full college scholarships to the children of special operations soldiers who have died in battle.

More on the story can be found at my home blog.

Meet Ahmard Hall: Texas FB, USMC Sgt., NFL Player?

Let's hope so. The man would be an asset to any club he joins.

The Million Militant March?

Might be a good idea to have that "Most Wanted" list at the ready.

Masculinity.

Blue Star Chronicles takes on Ethan Hawke. BSC wins, hands down, in my book.

How to use old guys

Navy uses Vietnam river rats to train its new Riverine Force as reported here:

Thomas Cutler's combat experience on a patrol boat in Vietnam is more than 30 years old, yet it couldn't be more relevant to today's Navy.

Cutler, 58, is among a group of Vietnam vets informally advising the Navy as it reconstitutes river patrols. The Navy wants to extend its reach into the shallow brown waters of deltas and rivers, often the frontline in the war against terrorists and insurgents. Next spring, the first sailors since the days of the Vietnam-era swift boats will relieve Marines on river patrols protecting Haditha dam in Iraq.

"It is dangerous," says Cutler, an author and former naval officer. "But you don't go into the military to knit socks."

Help a brother out...

...there are times when I will transcend service rivalry - even for graduates of the Severn Yachting Club.

Family, Navy team up to find marrow donor Navy SEAL from Spotswood was recently diagnosed with leukemia BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent SPOTSWOOD - A young man who fought for his country is now battling for his life.

And on July 15, local residents will have the opportunity to help him do just that.

Justin, whose last name is not being disclosed at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense, is a Navy SEAL and former Spotswood resident who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. The Navy is turning to Justin's hometown community to help him find a bone marrow stem cell donor who could save his life.

The whole article is here. If you're in the area and blog - get the word out. If you don't blog, spam your friends with the article. A very little effort on your part by going into the registry (I'm in the DoD Database mentioned, so I've *already* done my bit - and obviously can't help Justin) can make yoiu someone's angel of mercy.

H/t, Dr. Zubov of Banter in Atlanter.

The Management of Savagery

O people! The viciousness of the Russian soldier is twice that of the American soldier. If the Americans suffer one tenth of the casualties the Russians suffered in Afghanistan and Chechnya, they will flee and never look back. That is because the current structure of the American and Western armies is not the same as their structure during the colonial era. They have reached a stage of effeminacy that makes them unable to sustain battles for a long period of time, a weakness they compensate for with a deceptive media halo.

You may want to first read "Stealing Al-Qa’ida’s Playbook" at the same link. If it's after 1000 ET when you read this, a better place to start might be this NPR interview with McCants - but its not available until then.

I've put the translated table of contents in the extended section.

Update: Here's the drect link to the NPR piece, Jihadi Thinker Emphasizes the Media's Importance. That pubic relations angle is just one of the themes of Savagery, there are numerous other topics of note.

James “Bumper Sticker” Rubin

Adopting a line from William M. Arkins on James Rubin's latest "A War the Democrats Can Win." He doesn't like JR's ideas,

The bumper-sticker thin anti-Bush national security policy offered by Rubin is only immediate, only political.

Democrats can justifiably argue their goal is to reverse the Bush administration's premature diversion to Iraq. If nothing else, such a debate would focus attention on the Bush administration's failure to finish the job in Afghanistan.

By marrying good policy with good politics in this way, the Democrats can help win the war on terrorism and help themselves at the same time.

Next time, the Democrats should try a different strategy. Instead of calling for troop cuts in Iraq, they should call for transferring forces and resources from Iraq to Afghanistan.

By forcing a debate on transferring American forces back to Afghanistan, the Democrats can avoid the trap of allowing Republicans to claim they are weak. They can argue that their proposal is not a withdrawal from the front, but rather a deployment to an equally important front where American leadership can make the difference in securing a long-term victory.

Re: Anti-Regime Activities

Given North Korea's affinity for violating agreements and telling the rest of the world to screw off, perhaps Pres. Bush's example ( I loathe Kim Jong Il! ) should inspire us to bring the full bear of our soft power, our moral outrage and our ingenuity in doing everything we can to break his regime down and foster and support resistance in North Korea.

Anti-Regime Activities In North Korea

Contrary to conventional wisdom, a wide spectrum of evidence shows that a significant number of North Koreans are not brainwashed slaves to a nightmarish regime. Joshua, who served as a JAG in USFK from 1998-2002, has a terrific breakdown of anti-regime resistance at the Korea Liberator./

A portion:

Opposition to Kim Jong Il is as old as the regime itself. I’ve met a number of ex-North Koreans, from a soldier who once served on the opposite side of the DMZ while I was an American soldier in South Korea, to a man who had joined other students in Pyongyang to sow anti-Kim Il Sung leaflets in the late 1940s (he left town, one step ahead of Kim Il Sung’s police). During the Korean War, U.S. forces discovered an indengenous, anti-Communist guerrilla movement fighting against Kim Il Sung’s army, near the mouth of the Yalu River. The U.S. supported and advised these “White Tigers,” who grew to a force of 22,000 by war’s end. The U.S. promptly betrayed them on signing the Armistice.

While the options of the US in helping to forment resistance are limited, we can still do far more than we are this point. James Forsyth at FP Passport points out the tragedy inherent in how all of us (Americans, Japanese, Europeans, etc) view North Korea:

If you approached random wonks on Massachusetts Avenue, Washington's think tank row (and home to FP), and asked what concerns them in the world, you'd get a fairly standard response. In some order: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Darfur, AIDS, and climate change. Before July 4th, North Korea wouldn't have instantly sprung to mind for most people, your correspondent included. But forget for a second Kim's nuclear ambitions and just think about what he does to his own people. Here's a regime so barbaric that people are burned at the stake with their own relatives lighting the fire. If that wasn't enough, it also tests chemical weapons on its own citizens detained in concentration camps. ............................................... In a few months, this current crisis will have simmered down and the Hermit Kingdom will return once more to the back of our minds. All of which makes one realize quite how hollow our recitation of the mantra "never again" really is. As Applebaum wrote, sixty years from now "no one will be able to understand how it was possible that we knew of the existence of the gas chambers but failed to act." The real tragedy of North Korea is that we only really think - or care - about it when Kim Jong-Il fires off one of his missiles.

Given North Korea's affinity for violating agreements and telling the rest of the world to screw off, perhaps Pres. Bush's example ( I loathe Kim Jong Il! ) should inspire us to bring the full bear of our soft power, our moral outrage and our ingenuity in doing everything we can to break his regime down and foster and support resistance in North Korea. Its becoming increasingly clear that anything short of this effort makes a terrible mockery of both our national security and the ideals that we strive to live up to.

Any new ideas or proposals to improve our current anti-regime activities (i.e. our successful anti-counterfeiting campaign)? We've got some intrepid thinkers here at MIl Blogs....

Before there was Lex...Merchant Aircraft Carriers

A little ship history here.

And if you flew a Hawker Sea Hurricane off a CAM, you never had to worry about Landing Signal Officers...

Of course, this was a little before Lex started learning how to fly at P-cola. Well, maybe a lot before...

Re: Peace in Our Time

OK: the Philippines gets two separate entries (though really the Moro problem is complicated enough that it arguably deserves to be two or three separate entries on its own).

But what about Thailand? There are zero mentions of Thailand in the summary PDF. There's been a bloody separatist insurgency in Thailand that raged on during 2005, as it did in earlier years and does still. It's got all the usual elements: a separatist ethnic group (ethnic Malay Muslims), a definable homeland (the southern provinces of Thailand, which are majority Malay Muslim whereas the rest of Thailand is majority ethnic Thai Buddhists, with only minority Thai Muslims and ethnic Chinese), ethnic cleansing, accusations of government oppression/overreach, etc.

What's the threshold that the Philippines' conflicts have crossed, but that the Thailand one hasn't?

By the way, Hawk, the problem you mention apparently gets its own Appendix.:

Appendix 2C, by Neil J. Melvin, considers Islam, conflict and terrorism. With the end of the cold war, religion has increasingly been viewed as a key element in many of the world’s conflicts. In recent years, and particularly after the events of 11 September 2001 in the USA, radical Islam has been identified as a source of violence, including terrorism. While some observers have seen in the growth of religious extremism a ‘clash of civilizations’ in which Islamists are taking a leading role, recent research has shown a more complex picture of Muslim societies and their relationship to the rest of the world. From this perspective, internal transformation and conflict within the Muslim world as a result of globalization is promoting the emergence of new, dynamic and, in some circumstances, violent movements that are often opposed to traditional Islam. The diversity of contemporary Islamist movements and the variety of factors that shape the role of Islam within conflict suggest the need for more sophisticated development of security policies intended to prevent and terminate conflict involving individuals and groups linked to the Muslim world.

Re: Peace In Our Time

via SPIRI 2006 Yearbook Summary (PDF)

No interstate conflicts were active in 2005, for the second year running

In recent years, Africa has provided pointed illustrations of the negative impact of weak governance and conflict on economic development—as in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Zimbabwe—and of how strong the turnaround can be when governance problems and conflict are resolved

IMHO The fundamental difference between Iraq, Germany and Japan at the end of the conflict was that the civil governments of Germany and Japan were left intact and Iraq didn't have a functioning civil government.

We have Infantry Brigades, Armor Brigades, Air Wings as deployable modular components. What we need is Brigade sized Civil Affairs "Governments in a Box" if we are ever going to solve the failed state problem.

If we don't solve the failed state problem, we can never solve the non-state actors problem.

Peace in our Time

Most of the world has rarely been more peaceful than it is today, according a report from Sweden's Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The institute's recently released Yearbook 2006, drawing from data maintained by Sweden's Uppsala University, reports that the number of active, major armed conflicts worldwide stood at 17 in 2005, the lowest point in a steep slide from a high of 31 in 1991.

...the face of conflict is changing, they say, and free-for-all violence in such places as the Congo can defy their definitions.

“To say conflict as a whole is in decline, I could not draw that conclusion,” said Caroline Holmqvist of Sweden's Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The linked article provides a list of the world's 17 conflicts. Along with Afghanistan and Iraq, any good Soldier of Fortune should still be able to find gainful employment in Myanmar, Burundi, Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, Colombia, Peru, Turkey, Israel/Palestine, Chechnya, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Nepal, and two insurgencies in the Philippines.

The 17th is "the global U.S. campaign against al-Qaeda".

The article divides these conflicts into the regions where they occur - Asia, South America, Middle East, etc. - and presents various hypotheses for the decline in wars in recent years. Both discussions may be useful, but they're also a great way to ignore the very obvious gorilla in the living room. But I suppose pointing out that Islam is somehow involved in the majority of the world's wars and almost wars would be boorish and thuggish, so I'll refrain too.

Here's to peace in our time.

Oh, Isn't this just too rich?

Ban terrorists from Iraq: Iran By Edmund Blair in Tehran July 09, 2006

IRAN, accused by the United States of stirring up an Iraqi insurgency, said overnight that "terrorist" groups should be stopped from entering Iraq because they created an excuse for foreign troops to stay.

and

"It is necessary to stop the crossing of terrorist groups into Iraq who aim at creating insecurity, hatred and differences, and pave the way for the presence of foreign forces in Iraq," Mr Ahmadinejad told the foreign ministers in Tehran.

He did not say from where or how the groups were entering.

Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up...

From The Australian HERE

Broader Plot Found in Gitmo Suicide Investigation

Evidence of Broader Plot Found in Guantanamo Suicide Investigation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An investigation into three apparent suicides at the Guantanamo Bay prison has found that other detainees may have helped the men hang themselves or were planning to kill themselves too.

The detention center's commander, Navy Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris, said in an affidavit that investigators believe "the suicides may have been part of a larger plan or pact for more suicides that day or in the immediate future."

FOX STORY HERE

Military Science, Gangsta Style

Chuck Z teaches the class on Liberia. All the lessons are beautiful, but especially the one with the feather duster -- and the one with the spring and the blue duct tape.

19 al Queda members acquitted in Yemen

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) -- The trial of 19 alleged al Qaeda members had been designed to showcase how serious Yemen was in the fight against terror. But the Islamic militants, accused of plotting to assassinate Westerners and blow up a hotel frequented by Americans, were all acquitted for lack of proof, the presiding judge ruled Saturday.

Prosecutors had failed to provide "adequate evidence that the defendants were plotting attacks against foreigners or planning to assassinate Americans in Yemen," the verdict said.

Critics say the decision points to the Yemeni president's bid to win the radical Islamic vote ahead of elections in September.

Several of the defendants did confess to having been in Iraq to fight U.S. troops there and had Iraqi stamps on their passport, the court heard. "But this does not violate [Yemeni] law," the judge said.

"Islamic Sharia law permits jihad against occupiers," he said.

Mohammed al-Maqaleh, an expert in Islamist affairs who frequently appears in Yemeni media, described the verdict as a "shock."

"The judiciary is collaborating with the Islamist extremists and this verdict is politicized," al-Maqaleh said on the telephone. He said it was another sign that President Ali Abdullah Saleh was trying to drum up support from Muslim radicals ahead of the coming presidential elections.

Saleh has long-standing ties with Islamic militants, who have stood by the administration since the 1980s. They sided with his northern government in the 1994 civil war and the successful battle against secessionists from the secular south.

CNN HERE and notice al Jazeera considers it an "al Qaeda plot" Does it really need quotes, boys? Not surprisingly, the Reuters story is identical to alJazeera's story... wondering who is parrotting who (or is that whom?)

Hell no! We won't go!

After reading of the gathering of gutless wonders in Canada, I'm suggesting a protest boycott of the event by all Vietnam veterans and those who decided to go to jail for their beliefs.

Others are invited to join in if they desire.

I expect a massive number of boycotters to miss the speeches of the various "luminaries."

Probably won't get much press coverage, though...

Update: Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients listed here (A-L) and here (M-Z). You know, for some stories of real interest.

Update2: Like this citation for SGT Sammy L. Davis:

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Battery C, 2d Battalion, 4th Artillery, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: West of Cai Lay, Republic of Vietnam, 18 November 1967. Entered service at: Indianapolis, Ind. Born: 1 November 1946, Dayton, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Davis (then Pfc.) distinguished himself during the early morning hours while serving as a cannoneer with Battery C, at a remote fire support base. At approximately 0200 hours, the fire support base was under heavy enemy mortar attack. Simultaneously, an estimated reinforced Viet Cong battalion launched a fierce ground assault upon the fire support base. The attacking enemy drove to within 25 meters of the friendly positions. Only a river separated the Viet Cong from the fire support base. Detecting a nearby enemy position, Sgt. Davis seized a machine gun and provided covering fire for his guncrew, as they attempted to bring direct artillery fire on the enemy. Despite his efforts, an enemy recoilless rifle round scored a direct hit upon the artillery piece. The resultant blast hurled the guncrew from their weapon and blew Sgt. Davis into a foxhole. He struggled to his feet and returned to the howitzer, which was burning furiously. Ignoring repeated warnings to seek cover, Sgt. Davis rammed a shell into the gun. Disregarding a withering hail of enemy fire directed against his position, he aimed and fired the howitzer which rolled backward, knocking Sgt. Davis violently to the ground. Undaunted, he returned to the weapon to fire again when an enemy mortar round exploded within 20 meters of his position, injuring him painfully. Nevertheless, Sgt. Davis loaded the artillery piece, aimed and fired. Again he was knocked down by the recoil. In complete disregard for his safety, Sgt. Davis loaded and fired 3 more shells into the enemy. Disregarding his extensive injuries and his inability to swim, Sgt. Davis picked up an air mattress and struck out across the deep river to rescue 3 wounded comrades on the far side. Upon reaching the 3 wounded men, he stood upright and fired into the dense vegetation to prevent the Viet Cong from advancing. While the most seriously wounded soldier was helped across the river, Sgt. Davis protected the 2 remaining casualties until he could pull them across the river to the fire support base. Though suffering from painful wounds, he refused medical attention, joining another howitzer crew which fired at the large Viet Cong force until it broke contact and fled. Sgt. Davis' extraordinary heroism, at the risk of his life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

And, so far, the boycott is working, as tens of thousands of Vietnam and other veterans have not gone to Canada for the draft dodger reunion.

Re: Got weekend plans?

Greyhawk beat me to this by a few minutes...

I can't believe that these people are actually celebrating shirking their duty... and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes in speaking with the families of those that were called in these guys' places... They're calling it "Our Way Home Peace Event and Reunion."

CASTLEGAR, British Columbia -- For Craig Wiester of Minneapolis, fleeing to Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam war meant losing a country, a way of life - and his father.

"He felt it was a man's duty to go when his country called," Wiester said Thursday at the opening of a four-day reunion and peace event to honor U.S. draft resisters who fled to Canada and the Canadians who assisted them.

Wiester, a native of Ohio, said his father, a World War II veteran, despised the Vietnam war but "wouldn't admit to any of his conservative friends ... that he hated it" and was even more upset when his son decided not to report for military service.

Learning that his father had called the FBI and his draft board, he fled north and lived for eight years in Montreal.

This is what he says about attending his first "reunion"

"I decided this was important for me. This was a way of validating that experience," he said. "The question is why are we dishonored still in American society?"

Validate the experience? And you wonder why you are still dishonored in American Society? Well, if he has to ask the question, I figure he wouldn't score high enough on the ASVABs to serve in today's military ...

Speakers and participants include former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, 83, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 who lost to Richard Nixon; former California state Sen. Tom Hayden, an anti-war student activist during the 1960s; and Arun Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma Ghandi.

If you can stomach it, more here, here,

Got Weekend Plans?

If not, it's not too late to head to Castlegar, British Columbia for "a four-day reunion and peace event to honor U.S. draft resisters who fled to Canada and the Canadians who assisted them."

Organizers were expecting hundreds of draft resisters and their Canadian supporters to attend the gathering, which includes workshops and panel discussions at Selkirk College and the nearby Brilliant Cultural Center in this town about 120 miles north of Spokane, Wash.

Speakers and participants include former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, 83, the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972 who lost to Richard Nixon; former California state Sen. Tom Hayden, an anti-war student activist during the 1960s; and Arun Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma Ghandi.

Have I Tweaked GI In Korea Yet This Week?

What would our puldaeggi-munching army comrade think about the new Bruce Cumings/Meredith Woo article in the NY Times this week? (Early Bird readers: It's on Friday's EB.)

How to Make a Liar Sandwich

William C. Horvath, charged with "being a fugitive in possession of firearms or ammunition", told his probabtion officer he had been a Marine, and found himself facing additional charges.

MISSOULA, Mont. - A man who lied to his probation officer about having served in the military was ordered to stand outside the courthouse wearing a sandwich board that says: "I am a liar. I am not a Marine."

William C. Horvath, 35, of Whitefish, pleaded guilty to making false statements, a felony.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy sentenced him to four months of house arrest and four years of probation. He also ordered him to stand outside the courthouse for 50 hours wearing the sandwich board with the message.

On the back, it must read: "I have never served my country. I have dishonored veterans of all wars."

Molloy, a veteran himself, also ordered Horvath to write letters of apology to newspapers, the U.S. Marine Corps, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion in Kalispell. The judge said Horvath must admit in the letters that he lied repeatedly about serving and being wounded.

And this should sound familiar to milblog readers: after the USMC denied he had ever been a member, Horvath furnished his probation officer with evidence (including photographs and decorations) of his "service". But in those photos he was wearing his uniform improperly.

Election year generalship

While digging around for more background in my attempts to understand John Batiste's latest case of Rummy Derangement Syndrome, I came across this bit by Jed Babbin over at RealClearPolitics. It brought up the question: are the Revolting Generals engaged in healthy questioning of what is going on, Monday AM Qtrbacking, flogging a book, or engaging in election year generalship. Now, Jed isn't a neutral in this battle, but he brings up some ugly things going on in the background.

Washington Post reporter Tom Ricks's new book, "Fiasco: The American Adventure in Iraq" will be released in less than three weeks. From the publicity surrounding it we can conclude that Holbrooke did leak a big Dem political op, and that Blankley may have been prescient in thinking to apply the Uniform Code of Military Justice to any active duty officers involved.

Settlement in Navy sonar vs. whale dispute

Reported as Navy, environmental groups settle on sonar:

The settlement prevents the Navy from using the sonar within 25 miles of the newly established Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument during its Rim of the Pacific 2006 exercises, and also imposes a variety of methods to watch for and report the presence of marine mammals.

HEADS THEY WIN, TAILS WE LOSE

Am I correct to be getting frustrated here, or is my perspective of the current atmosphere back in the States as skewed as most libs are about the war?

Overcoming Postbellum Depression

So let’s take stock of where we find ourselves at this point: Saddam’s regime has been toppled, his prodigal sons killed, himself pulled out of a hole in the ground, a new constitution approved by the people, a consensual government installed, an army and police force reconstituted from scratch that has quietly assumed responsibility for most of the country, a new prime minister who has been all but Churchillian in his tenacity to reclaim the high ground against the insurgents who’ve threatened his homeland with perpetual ruin, a people who’ve courageously refused to be goaded into civil war despite the encouragement of every pundit in the world to just go ahead and do so, U.S. losses after three years still less than were vaporized in three hours on Blackened Tuesday…

I should have known we couldn’t possibly win this fight.

Praying Nobody Screwed with the Tunnel

In the "old days" I commuted through tunnels from suburban NY via NJ to NYC... and yes, it was one of my nightmares...

But here's what ticks me off AGAIN

However, from breaking news, it seems that -- once again -- some a$$hat on the inside decided to LEAK the details of this CLASSIFIED investigation to the media before they were ready to close out the home grown cell and some a$$hat newspaper or other media outlet decided to publish the details!!! Grrrrrr...

For more on what it's like to ride in those tunnels, HERE's what it was like for me...

Today is...

...relatively rare rifle day at Castle Argghhh! Come take a gander.

Friday News o' Afghanistan

You would have to be high not to read the news.

UCMJ, Politics, and "unlawful command influence"

The Judge in the Midshipman Owens Courts Martial has effectively put Vice Admiral Rempt on report. Scathing dressing down from The Bench; Commander to Vice Admiral:

Cmdr. John A. Maksym said the e-mails -- written by the academy staff, approved by Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt and sent to faculty, students and alumni -- represent the "appearance of unlawful command influence."

"The reality is some of these are rather damnable e-mails ... "They insinuate guilt. They suggest it. They're simply badly written." ... "I am disturbed by these e-mails," Maksym said. "This is not the way this is supposed to be done." ... "Your primary duty . . . as convening authority is to be completely impartial," ... "This is almost like a trial by . . . public affairs," he said. "He didn't need to send these out." ...

DPRK Missile Range -worst case scenario

This nice graphic is from here. It's part of the "North Korea Advisory Group Report to The Speaker U.S. House of Representatives" from November 1999.

Expandable version of graphic here.

UPDATE: Whole lotta Europe in that outer ring.

DPRK Aimed At Hawaii

So, now that we know the TD2 was pointed at us, can we at least sneer a bit at our enemies? We did rather more than that to Japan for their surprise attack on Hawaii, once upon a time.

CNN is reporting that Calderone has won in Mexico

Conservative Felipe Calderon narrowly wins Mexico presidential election. HERE

But it's a squeeker...

With the 41 million votes counted, Calderon of President Vicente Fox's National Action Party had 35.88 percent, or 14,981,268 votes, to 14,745,262, or 35.31 percent, for Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party. The two were separated by 0.57 percent, or 236,006 votes.

Speaking of Lieutenant Watada...

...over at the Castle, there has been a touch of confusion of 1LT Watada's accomodations should he be convicted.

I clear that up for you here, if there's any doubt. Perhaps I'll be able to score a new desk nameplate or something made by him from the DB Store.

Watching the Southern Flank

The NORK Kabuki dance is fun and all - but everyone needs to watch the Southern Flank. A steady, calm, growing, friendly Mexico is one of the most under-reported POL/MIL national security issues around...IMAO. No great nation does well to have a basket case, as Mexico has been for most of its history, as a neighbor. With the vote going between both camps in a FL 2000 like show, watch it. Close. By 0900-1000EST we should have a better picture. For now, it looks good.

Why mention this on MilBlogs? Ponder the Macro issues of national security if Mexico goes south. Ponder.

Why Did 1LT Watada Betray His Oath?

From the article I linked below:

[Watada's] active-duty obligation was supposed to end in December, but he was extended until next year, when his unit is scheduled to return to Fort Lewis.

1LT Watada Charged

Not lookin' good for the L-T

The Army filed three charges today against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for refusing to deploy with his Stryker Brigade unit to Iraq last month.

Eric Seitz, Watada’s attorney in Honolulu, said if Watada, 28, is convicted at a court-martial of all six charges, he could face a maximum penalty of 7 1/2 years in jail and a dismissal from the Army.

One of the charges Watada faces is “missing the movement” when his Fort Lewis, Wash.-based unit deployed to Iraq on June 22. About 4,000 soldiers from Fort Lewis’ 3rd Stryker Combat Brigade Team deployed to Iraq, its second combat tour in two years.

Seitz said in another charge the Army claims that Watada made contemptuous statements against officials, citing Watada’s statement about President Bush’s justification for the invasion. Watada was quoted in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on June 8 as saying, “At that time, I never imagined that our leader could betray the trust of the people over something as serious as war.”

Seitz said in a third charge the Army alleges that Watada, an artillery officer with Fort Lewis’ 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, made “disloyal statements.”

In those statements Watada said the war was illegal and immoral and that Americans mistreated Iraqis.

It sounds like Watada is facing only four charges but multiple specifications (the military equivalent of multiple counts for the same charge--like 3 counts of armed robbery).

For reference, Article 87 (missing movement) reads in relevant part:

Re: The Military Market...On College Campuses

The article Wynton cited is missing the viewpoint of two important folks: the good people running military education organizations like Navy College Office and DANTES, and the actual, you know, people getting the degree. It's hard to get anywhere near the whole picture without looking at the buyers of the product and the people who enable the military people to use that tuition assistance. I don't know why they didn't think of such.

Well, yeah, I probably do.

I attached some points below.

Thoughts on Korean Missiles

Spook86 at In from the Cold has some relevant thoughts from an intel view:

Over the next few days, the MSM is likely to cast the North Korean missile launchers as something of a propaganda coup. ...

But if Kim's missile spectacular was a "success" in that respect, it was also a colossal failure on other, equally important levels. For almost a decade, Kim Jong-il has wanted a platform that can put a satellite into orbit, or (if used an ICBM), threaten the United States.Today's TD-2 failure reminds everyone that the TD program has been almost a complete bust... North Korea can't afford any more failures on the scale of the 1998 TD-1 launch, or today's failed effort.

That's because ballistic missiles are Pyongyang's most important product--and one of their few viable sources of hard currency... With today's TD-2 failure, those customers are still waiting, and may look to other sources for the technology. Fewer missile sales would represent another blow to North Korea's already-bankrupt economy, and slow the pace of upgrades for Pyongyang's own missile forces.

North Korean Missiles

I thank Steve for his kindness, but I'm not sure why the two approaches -- ridicule, and taking a back seat to Japan/ROK -- are not compatible. Furthermore, I think they mesh well with the approach GIKorea favors.

The DPRK's main interest is in forcing the US into bilateral talks, so that it can make demands on an apparently equal footing, and without having to satisfy Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and South Korean interests as well. None of those nations are entirely happy with the DPRK. China and Russia, normally considered to be "in the DPRK's corner" to some degree, have engaged in a few demonstrations of annoyance during the process: China shut off the DPRK's oil for one whole day, allegedly due to "malfunction"; China and Russia's recent joint exercise featured a massive amphibious landing, which was considered by many a threat to both Taiwan and the DPRK; and China has increased the number of heavy military units on the border.

The DPRK missile launch appears to have intended to force the US to do just what Albright wants -- negotiate directly. We can refuse to do that, and indeed ought to refuse to do so. The six-party talks are in our interest.

The "point and laugh" approach, however, is still highly useful as a part of that approach. If the point is to not let North Korean muscle-flexing extort bribes, it is good to notice verbally how puny those muscles are. A strong shaming of the North Korean government might discourage future such acts, because they will not wish again to look stupid and weak in front of the other nations they have to move.

Nor does it mean putting the US "ahead" of Japan or South Korea. The DPRK wants bilateral talks. A US official can scoff at the attempt to force us into talks of that sort, and point out that the US won't be forced by a nation that can't keep its missiles in the air. A message of ridicule is not one that demands we take the lead. Indeed, insofar as it closes off the possibility of bilateral talks to the DPRK, it leaves them looking to China and South Korea (not so much Japan, but also Japan) as their only hopes of saving face.

US Response to North Korean Missile Tests

I have been following closely the media coverage of today's extra fireworks extravaganza courtesy of the North Korean government and I have found the coverage quite interesting. What I find most interesting is the number of former Clinton era officials out on the news programs trying to rewrite history. I have seen Sandy Berger and Madelline Albright out saying that the Bush administration needs to take a diplomatic approach and engage the North Koreans like they did. Better yet she was telling Larry King we need to get the UN involved. Like that would really scare Kim Jong-il into behaving.

Let's look at this for a minute. The Clinton era government gave into North Korean demands in the early 90's and what did they have to show for it? Well more billigerence. The North Koreans continued secretly with their nuclear program and test fired a Taepodong1 over Japan in 1998, not to mention the mulitiple mini-spy sub incidents that led to the deaths of numerous South Korean civilians and military personnel.

The Military Market...On College Campuses

I'd be interested in reactions to this piece by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Apparently they will be hosting an online colloquy this Thursday, July 6th, at 12 noon Eastern Time. Having some milbloggers join in and mix it up might be interesting and even create some blog-worthy exchanges.

RE: DPRK Missiles

This is one of those rare moments when I must respectfully disagree with Grim.

There is little room for ridicule, at least not in any official manner, though the missile's failure is amusing in light of Kim's very public -and rediculous- chest pounding. More though, it is saddening considering how many meals were squandered in its wake while so many North Koreans quite literally starve.

As mentioned in a comment to an earlier entry by Eagle1, our response should be close to nill. Ignore the extortion attempt and let South Korea and Japan mete out the condemnation. Call it diplomatic solitary confinement of sorts for a regime that wants nothing more than attention and the crisi-driven leverage it lends to extort.

Remember how WH Press Secretary Tony Snow characterized NoKor's threat of nuclear war to a reporter (paraphrasing): "It is a theoretical threat about a hypothetical condition that has not yet happened, if you get my drift." Expect a continuation of this dismissal from the White House.

As far as letting the North Korean people know how little respect, and fear, their government has earned, I doubt seriously that the people we would desire to reach would A) hear or B) fairly give a damn one way or the other. They just survived a NoKor winter and many are concerned no farther than the next meal for them and their children.

With respect to the latest edition of The Adventures of Kim, consider another look at it here:

North Korea is not testing the missile as much as they are testing US and Japanese resolve, fishing for reaction. While North Korea has threatened the US with nuclear war, the United States has essentially dismissed the North Korean threats. This does not serve the extortion-minded communist regime’s strategy well.

As James Na noted in The Seattle Times, North Korea’s entire missile crisis gambit could backfire on them by eroding whatever appeasement exists in both South Korea and Japan. They are likely overplaying a familiar hand of international extortion. For this reason, the United States reaction to today’s Scud missile launches will likely be somewhat muted, keeping in line with the course taken thus far, allowing South Korean and Japanese reaction do the heavy lifting. The next 48 hours will tell just how much North Korea has overplayed its hand, if at all.

Gtimo the Envy of Carlos the Jackal

Remember Carlos the Jackal?

He told the court his human rights were being violated because he never got the full luxurious Gitmo treatment accorded to less-glamorous Taliban-style terrorists. Instead, he was stuck in a French jail with only French accommodations … like his own TV set, two hour daily walks, a hour in the exercise room, twice-weekly visits from a doctor, once-weekly visits from a priest, a window to see daylight, a washstand and his own bed. But it wasn’t good enough compared to what the Zarqawi types got at Gitmo and he wanted more.

And the crazed (and free) lunatics call Gitmo a torture center...go cry to Carlos. But the money quote is right here:

During the 1990s, while Bill Clinton was turning away a Sudanese offer to hand over Osama bin Laden, the French took up them up on their offer to fork over the Jackal, who was hiding in Sudan. The French gendarmes flew in and quelle surprise! hauled The Jackal back to Paris in a sack.

Re: The Best 4th of July Gift Ever

Take it from this Soldier's Mom, no words will be necessary when that mother meets MSGT Camacho... he will know that he has her undying gratitude... It will be all tears and smiles... and hugs. I, for one, want the MSGT to know that Mrs. Kennedy and I are glad that such men as the MSGT serve.

PowerLineBlog Interview

Our friends over at PowerLineBlog kindly asked me to offer some reflections on Home of the Brave.
You can read them here.

The Best 4th of July Gift Ever

I just received the best 4th of July gift ever: a call from MSGT Javier Camacho, a Silver Star recipient whom Cap and I feature in Home of the Brave. MSGT Camacho was calling to let me know that tomorrow he will be meeting the mother of PFC Adam Small, Mrs. Mary Kennedy, for the very first time. MSGT Camacho saved PFC Small's life when he braved tremendous enemy fire to muscle open the jammed hatch of PFC Small's Bradley, even as the vehicle's weapons began to cook off.

"I'm a little nervous about meeting Mrs. Kennedy," he said. "It will probably be an emotional day. I don't know what I should say."

Somehow I don't think MSGT Camacho will need to say much of anything. I think he's said more than any of us ever could.

DPRK Missiles

The main thing I think we need to include in our response is severe ridicule. We should be broadcasting international coverage of how their "most advanced" missile failed a few seconds after launch into North Korea on every wavelength.

The President should make a statement to the effect of, "We had planned to test our missile defense system on their long range missile, but the thing fell down on its own before we could even target it. What a disappointment." That should also be broadcast into North Korea, along with jibes from major military leaders both here and from Japan.

We need to do whatever we can to let the people of North Korea know that their government's "military first" policy, for which they are starving in their millions, has led to utter failure and the sneering disdain of the world. North Korea has a shame-based culture. Let's let them know how little respect, and fear, their government has earned.

North Korea missile update

Updated information here.

Now, what will be the West response? We must not reward this behavior...

3rd missle in the air

early reports say longer range... but probably not ICBM

damn wingnut (as Col. Hunt called him this morning)

UPDATE: Now reports say they tried to launch the long-range missle but the launch failed... and apparently now a 4th missle...

Story building

no 4th missle... but 3rd was apparently long range and failed 40 seconds after launch...

North Korea firing missiles

First reports indicate a couple of short range missiles fired by the North Koreans, apparently surface to air, which have crashed back into the sea.

Breaking.

Happy Fourth!

GO DISCOVERY! GO!!

Our prayers our with the crew for a successful mission.

Scorpions & the Fourth of July

This isn't a day to take anything from anyone. We're Americans. Even our soiree-going editors eat scorpions for fun.

The Spirit Of America

Dwight Eisenhower:

There is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure.

This is the legacy of July 4th, 1776. No challenge we face is too difficult for us not to be able to overcome with our faith and dedication to the ideals millions of our forefathers toiled, fought, suffered and often died for.

Dear Time Magazine.

Screw you and your editorial decisions.

230 years old...

...and still playing the rebellious teenager. Yay us!

H/t to all the "been there, done that, got the t-shirts to prove it types" - and an extra tip of the hat to those of you about to go get your first, or add to the collection!

And for those of you *in* the box - hurry back safe, we're drinkin' all yer beer, *but* we're kicking Jodie's a$$ so s/he'll lay off yer sweetie!

John of Argghhh!

Happy Birthday, America

Yes, Happy Birthday. And if Natalie and people like her don't get it, I sure feel sorry for them.

And thank you to all our military and our veterans.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and God Bless, America.

Happy Fourth!

This should be an easy post to write, but somehow it isn’t. Despite the fact that we’re living in times of prosperity unimaginable even twenty years ago, there’s still a kind of fin de siecle feeling in the air, a feeling filtering down somehow from our elites. Peggy Noonan wrote a dreary piece some months back about how families are taking their children to the mall to buy them one more pair of faded jeans - not that they need any more jeans, mind: It’s just that they’re doing what we can while they can. Getting it while the getting’s good. As though it might soon be over. We’re at war overseas. We seem to be at war with each other. What’s to celebrate?

Come on over to my place, and I'll tell you.

Stay in Formation

A slight bit of gaming workmanship caught my attention this week. While sipping myself to full consciousness with Mrs. Dadmanly one morning this weekend, I came to the following insight.

Little Manly owns a Playstation game, I believe it’s Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. I will remember that title I think, because the Lad polished off the entire game, all levels, within his first two days of summer vacation. Not.his.money’s.worth. But then, as he paid for it himself, who am I to complain?

One of the levels involves flying in a formation of Liberators I believe. (Would that be B-24s, my historically unchallenged friends?)

Among the many added environmental touches in these games are dialog and other atmospherics that add to the realism, or impact.

That morning I overheard a commander in the game sternly instruct my son at the controller, “Don’t take evasive action, don’t break formation.”

(To continue reading, go to Dadmanly's companion site, Gladmanly.)

Re: Re: Qaeda/Mastercard

In 1670, the Welsh privateer Henry Morgan recaptured Old Providence Isle. In the 1620s, Providence had been a haven for privateers raiding the Spanish Main, but the Spanish sent a fleet to capture it, after which it was renamed Santa Catalina. Henry Morgan had participated in its recapture once before -- it made an ideal base for raiding -- but in 1670 he left a garrison to hold it for him. He seems to have intended to establish a free state there, a land for freebooters that owed loyalty to no king. However, he got distracted by the plunder and reward of his sack of Panama, and never got around to reinforcing his claim. Spain recaptured it.

This is the model we face with al Qaeda. They have a notion of what they view as the ideal society -- an Islamic Caliphate. Because they believe it is universal to all mankind, it does not matter where the Caliphate exists. If it perishes for a time in one place, it can be erected in another. If they are driven out of Somalia, they may go to Afghanistan; if driven out of Afghanistan, they may return to Somalia, or go set up shop in southern Thailand, or Indonesia, or Mindanao isle.

There's a lot about that model that is admirable, and genuinely free -- fighting men choosing their own way, and holding it with the strength of their arms. If they would only quit killing innocent women and children, and asserting a right to rule over you and me as well as themselves, they would find me reasonably well disposed to their claims on places like Mindanao (which is a fine place to have a claim upon, if you've a mind). Until they do that, we will find that we have to fight them in every corner of the world. They genuinely do not care whether they hold their Caliphate in Kabul or Africa. Neither do I, in point of fact, so long as they won't try to hold it in Georgia or Tennessee. Until we kill enough of them to force an agreement on that one point that matters, we'll be chasing them around the world. So be it, if it must be so.

RE: AQ as Mastercard

As the subtitle of Bobbitt’s piece suggests, “We haven't absorbed the lessons.”

The lessons unlearned include continuing to view our extra-state enemies as aspiring Nation States.

I think Bobbitt describes the situation perfectly. This rehashes my earlier criticism of Michael Hirsh in Newsweek, whereby flawed and incomplete analytic frameworks lead to inaccurate analysis and misjudgments. I first posted on some of the reasons for this in the context of how our Intelligence Analysts displayed similar or at least analogous patterns of analysis.

Bobbitt alludes to the same illogic that bedevils Hirsh and his sources within the Intelligence community, whereby the absence of attacks are taken as proof that the threat was exaggerated. Is it not rather more likely that the demonstrable examples of broken plots and failed attempts reflect success against an enemy that was all too capable, were we to go back to ignoring the threat?

I use the term “extra-state” at the top of this post to try to isolate this phenomenon of state-support of non-state modern terrorism agents and entities.

Wide Awakes Radio (W.A.R.)

This online radio premiers tomorrow. Looking forward to tuning in ... though Kit & Heidi (from EuphoricReality) are on late... They are fine tuning the tuning today so you can listen to their casual conversations... HERE

A Passel of Alices

I can always count on Mark Steyn to strip away vast layers of pretense, and offer up the core of an issue, and likewise always with wit.

His Sunday Chicago Sun-Times piece more than met my expectations, this time dealing with the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ill-considered Hamdan decision:

There are several ways to fight a war. On the one hand, you can put on a uniform, climb into a tank, rumble across a field and fire on the other fellows' tank. On the other, you can find a 12-year-old girl, persuade her to try on your new suicide-bomber belt and send her waddling off into the nearest pizza parlor.

The Geneva Conventions were designed to encourage the former and discourage the latter. The thinking behind them was that, if one had to have wars, it's best if they're fought by soldiers and armies. In return for having a rank and serial number and dressing the part, you'll be treated as a lawful combatant should you fall into the hands of the other side. There'll always be a bit of skulking around in street garb among civilian populations, but the idea was to ensure that it would not be rewarded --that there would, in fact, be a downside for going that route.

The U.S. Supreme Court has now blown a hole in the animating principle behind the Geneva Conventions by choosing to elevate an enemy that disdains the laws of war in order to facilitate the bombing of civilian targets and the beheading of individuals. The argument made by Justice John Paul Stevens is an Alice-In-Jihadland ruling that stands the Conventions on their head in order to give words the precise opposite of their plain meaning and intent. The same kind of inspired jurisprudence conjuring trick that detected in the emanations of the penumbra how the Framers of the U.S. Constitution cannily anticipated a need for partial-birth abortion and gay marriage has now effectively found a right to jihad -- or, if you're a female suicide bomber about to board an Israeli bus, a woman's right to Jews.

I agree whole-heartedly with those who argue that the US must uphold a higher standard, that our military must fight a civilized fight, that there are vital national interests in preserving the highest ideals in how we fight, and how we operate in a post-9/11 world.

The difference between me and my fellow Milbloggers, and this passel of Alices, is that we Milbloggers know that the US and its military have always have upheld those higher standards, notwithstanding isolated violations by individuals, and only very rarely, those who represent official government policies.

For more commentary, check out the expanded post at Dadmanly.

Al Qaeda as MasterCard

Philip Bobbitt, author of The Shield of Achilles, has a piece in the London Spectator called "We haven't absorbed the lessons." He argues that no one is familiar with al Qaeda, and that European readings of it as being similar to the IRA, ETA, or other earlier terrorist groups are dangerously mistaken. The worst of these, he says, is the reading that says that there is no al Qaeda at all... that, as al Qaeda lacks the old cellular or battalion structure used by earlier nationalist terrorist groups, they must not really exist.

He also notes the degree to which the suicide note of the leader of the 7/7 bombers echo media and academic talking points on the war.

It's a good piece, worth reading today.

Condolences to Doc

Doc just lost a beloved pet.

Go pay your respects.

REVEILLE

NYT and national security

John Hinderaker at Powerline sets of a perfect example of what I think of all this. The answer goes back 40 years to JFK. I am stealing bandwidth with the below, but I don't think Powerline will object (I have an email out to ask for forgiveness as it takes less time for permission). For the whole speech and transcript go here. Otherwise, click the below for the meat of the matter.

Nobody cares about Soldiers?

Pfc. Matthew J. Mongiove assigned to the 10th Mountain 4th Brigade, supporting the 561st Military Police Company, provides security for the Canadian Mobile Training Team (MTT) on May 16, 2006 in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. The Canadian Military Police out of Spin Boldak provides refresher training to the border patrol police who patrol the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. (U.S Army Photo by Sgt. Andre' Reynolds) (Released)

Blue Star Chronicles has up a post about a conversation she had with a US soldier.

Who avers that Nobody Cares About Soldiers. (They should read more milblogs..., but that's a different issue)

Go, read. How 'bout you guys and gals serving? Overstated? Understated? Message mixed?

Re: Hindsight

The ultimate tragedy of the Iraq war was not only that it diverted the U.S. from the knockout blow against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan—the deaths of bin Laden and Zawahiri would likely have persuaded most jihadis it was wiser to focus on the near enemy

Hirsh and others that focus on "Intelligience Failures" are missing the larger strategic question.
What is it that Bin Laden hoped to achieved on 9/11?
If we take Bin Laden at his word, than he wants to establish and Islamic Caliphate.
To get to an Islamic Caliphate, he needs to control Mecca.

New Info on the Camp Pendleton Eight

A Free Republic thread claims to have exclusive information about the Marines and Sailor who are being held in connection with the murder of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya. Some of the information, if true, is good news. Some of it, not so much.

Hindsight Analysis

Newsweek offers the latest in a series of variations on the theme of bad intelligence and exaggerated threat, with Michael Hirsh’s story on The Myth of Al Qaeda.

Hirsh runs through a litany of what he construes as mis-identifications and mischaracterizations, largely based on a few Libyan exiles and Ron Suskind’s new book, "The One Percent Doctrine."

I’ll skip the Jihadi gossip, read Hirsh’s piece for the flavor of it. But here’s how he concludes:

Air Force Funds Blog Study

This is something that we should get in on:

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research recently began funding a new research area that includes a study of blogs. Blog research may provide information analysts and warfighters with invaluable help in fighting the war on terrorism.
Dr. Brian E. Ulicny, senior scientist, and Dr. Mieczyslaw M. Kokar, president, Versatile Information Systems Inc., Framingham, Mass., will receive approximately $450,000 in funding for the 3-year project entitled “Automated Ontologically-Based Link Analysis of International Web Logs for the Timely Discovery of Relevant and Credible Information.”

I say we offer to study weblogs for the next three years for the low, low price of $400K, and see if the Air Force takes us up on it. They'd save money!

Toxic Gas & Brazil-France

We're ashore for a "diplomatic" port call in Otaru, Japan.

Having fallen asleep for a few minutes during Brazil-France (I have to watch the games here in NE Asia in the early morning), 54 of my shipmates and myself in the berthing were kicked out because of the toxic gas leak below decks. Mustering in the workcenter to crowd around the TV for the last 30 odd minutes, wouldn't you know it, between evacuating our berthing and making it up to the shop, we miss Henry's goal that makes the biggest upset of the Cup a reality?

(Thank you to Rupert Murdoch and the other people who helped make it possible for us to watch the games on AFN.)

OBL's back and talking Somalia

Noted here, Osama bin Laden has another audio out, talking about Somalia:

The 19-minute recording calls on all Somalis to back the Council of Islamic Courts militia in its bid to build an Islamic state in Somalia.

"We will fight [US] soldiers on the land of Somalia... and we reserve the right to punish it on its land and anywhere possible," the speaker says.

"We warn all of the countries in the world not to respond to America by sending international troops to Somalia."

In case you missed it...

...a smidge over a year ago, Chuck Ziegenfuss of From My Position - On The Way!, , well, let him tell it in his own words...

Yesterday marked the 1st anniversary of me getting my ass splattered all over the lower al-Abarra province.

Chuck's injuries were the catalyst that launched Fuzzybear Lioness to get Project Valour-IT organized.

Chuck continues:

Navy Riverines have to explain themselves to Congress: It's all about the money

The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command has run into a finance problem and some concerns they are trying to take over a Marine Corps mission area with a revised Navy Riverine force, as reported here (and posted about initially here):

Sports Fans' Paradise

Halftime - England and Portugal are nil-nil.

Of course, with Wimbledon, le Tour de France, and the US Formula 1 Grand Prix underway the average American sports fan/Bud guzzler doesn't give a damn about the World Cup.

World Cup of Beer

Beer is high on the list of things I'll miss about Germany. If you've never had an authentic German beer, you owe yourself at least one.

I imagine a few folks are here for the first time for the World Cup were eager to discover just how well their own homeland brews stood up to the local product. But if they purchased their first in-country sample of grog at one of the world cup venues they probably found themselves wondering what all the fuss is about.

If you're bored...

...and looking for something to obsess on today - and you have an interest in old military technology, drop by the Castle and take a shot at our Whatziss? for the day.

Hamdan's JAG: Possible 2x FOS?

First, just let me say that this isn't a post "attacking" Hamdan's JAG lawyer, LCDR Charles Swift -- his job was to defend his client the best way he knew how, and judging by the fact that he won a Supreme Court case, I'd say he did his duty to the utmost.

Today's Seattle P-I has an article about how LCDR Swift was passed over for promotion last year, and is in danger of having his military career be "essentially over" if he wasn't selected "above zone" in the FY-07 O5 Staff Corps Selection Board. I expect that when the Board results do come out, and if LCDR Swift isn't among the 2% or so of Above Zone officers who do get promoted, we'll see more stories about how he was "punished" for doing his job. As he says, though, the "die was (already) cast some months ago" with respect to this promotion.

LCDR Swift's supervisor had this to say about why he might not have been promoted last time:

I'm probably late on this, especially since I tend to be a...

...World Cup? Oh, that interests me as much as the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals kind of guy - but -

Anti-Americanism Has Reached A New Low by James Dunnigan June 30, 2006

Anti-Americanism has reached a new low. FIFA, the international sports organization for football (soccer to Americans) refused to allow U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (and warships at sea) to view any of the current World Cup games being played in Germany. The U.S. AFN (Armed Forces Network) has no budget for sports programming, and usually gets a free feed for major sporting events, in the same spirit that movie studios and TV networks provide free access to their product for troops in combat zones. FIFA demanded money, and would not budge on that. While soccer is not a major sport in the United States, it's estimated that a quarter or more of the troops are fans, and would enjoy seeing some of the World Cup matches. However, once this situation became known, several wealthy Americans stepped forward to correct the situation. The first one to make a move was media magnate Robert Murdoch, who ordered his Fox Network to make arrangements, and pay whatever FIFA was demanding, to get the soccer games to the troops, as soon as possible. This was accomplished in 24 hours.

BTW - I actually support the FIFA in that it's their product, they can do what they want and we can draw whatever conclusions we wish and modify our behaviors to suit - I would no more compel them to give their product away than I would do so to General Motors.

This is about High Fiving those who *did* make it possible for the troops to catch the games.

H/t Jim Dunnigan of Strategy Page - and Rupert and whatever other wealthy 'Muricans stepped up to the plate.

Oops. Meant to leave the comments open. All better.

More on Hamdan

Around the sphere two themes are rising to the fore out of Hamdan: (1) that the applicability of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is huge and (2) that Congress can fix the problem of the military commissions.

I've discussed the applicability of CA 3 here and here; but I'd add some additional points:

Al Qaeda are NOT POWs. The Court did NOT grant AQ detainees POW status. The Court only said that one single provision of the GC applies, that being Common Article 3. That provision sets a base minimum of protections for all persons detained in applicable conflicts. So, contra Allah, the fact that CA3 applies doesn't make the current interrogation techniques per se unlawful. Oh, I don't doubt that there will be allegations a-plenty attempting to argue that seeing a Specialist's boobies is an "outrage on personal dignity" on par with murder and mutilation. But my own opinion is that such suits won't get anywhere.

The real problem, again, is the court's unwillingness to accept the President's determinations per Article 36 of the UCMJ of how the commissions are structured.