A Bitter Man

Most of us MilBloggers are proud -- justifiably, in my humble opinion -- of the positive reviews BLACKFIVE's just-released book "The Blog of War" (to which many of us contributed) has been receiving from both the MSM and our fellow bloggers.

But not everyone is happy.

One of our Majors is missing

Via OPFOR, Maj. Jill Metzger, a personnel officer at our airbase in Kyrgyzstan, went shopping with her liberty crew in Bishkek and is gone. For some reason, she broke off from her group and is now missing. Tic. Tic. Tic.

The Right Solution

Whether you like it, or not.

Jay Nordlinger, writing Impromptu at National Review Online, offers a pointed though humorous rejoinder to that breed of liberal who object to calling our enemies any kind of “fascist.”

The specific object of Jay’s criticism was Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, and a piece that appeared over the “holiday” weekend. (Work free perhaps, but I’m not sure I know what the holiday commemorates unless it’s “work” itself. “Let’s celebrate the honest value of work, here’s a day off.”)

Robinson, in objecting to use of the word fascist and depiction of our current struggle against Islamic terrorism as in any way akin to our struggles against fascism or communism, made the following claim:

Nobody wants to appease terrorists. But some people have a different idea of how to fight them. The president is right when he says this conflict is unlike other wars, but he seems to miss the essential difference: It has to be fought in a way that doesn't create two new terrorists for each one who is killed.

That’s what they always say: that, if you go after the terrorists, you are merely creating more terrorists. Even some of the best of us have said it (e.g., Naguib Mahfouz). This way, civilization’s hands are always tied — you can never act. Because if you strike at them, you are only multiplying them, you see.

Stop by the Castle today...

If you are a Project Valour-IT donor, come by and read my review of Blood Brothers, by Mike Weisskopf, in case you missed Dadmanly's review or it didn't convince you. If you aren't a donor - read the review to see why you should be...

Next, If this statement below makes you go, "Huh? What's he talking about?"...

I suspect most Americans would not reflexively rate Canada, Bulgaria, and the pusillanimous Spanish as their greatest allies after Britain. I do wish they'd start.

Lastly, if you remember the horror and anger generated by the brutal murder/mutilation of Specialist Babineau and Privates Tucker and Menchaca - there is an update in which the Army investigators have cleared the dead soldiers of any involvement in the rape and murders in Mahmudiyah, for which they were apparently the victims of revenge. And you can get an update on the trial of the soldiers accused of the crimes. Just by clicking here.

U2 Food

Is worse than VMI mess hall food, from the looks of it.

Two Russian Sub Sailors Killed In Fire

A fire last night aboard the Victor-III class boat Daniil Moskovsky (K-414) reportedly killed two submariners:

"Most probably it was a short circuit [in the electrical compartment]," Russian Navy Commander Vladimir Masorin said.
Masorin said two sailors involved in extinguishing the fire died because they did not put on gas masks immediately. The other sailor was affected by carbon monoxide after his gas mask ran out of oxygen, but his life is out of danger already.
The crewmen were still alive when they were recovered from the compartment, but died before a helicopter arrived to take them to hospital, the commander said.
Masorin said the submarine, commissioned in 1991, missed its repair deadline, but its service life was extended as it was in good condition.