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.