Someone MSNBC Knows

[Steve Schippert]

Finally. Without gratuitous self-promotion or accompanying body-count commentary, someone in the major media has begun to recognize heroes from the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters as simply that: Heroic Americans honored as such.

MSNBC has released the first of what we hope will be many video segments honoring those who've fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first segment is on Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith, posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions.

At ThreatsWatch, we will be building a page to host all of the vignettes in one place for archiving in our Faces of Courage section.

Perhaps we could send MSNBC an annotated link to BlackFive's Someone You Should Know. Please, encourage your readers to let them know that doing the right thing is greatly appreciated and that there is a need for more. Many, many more. Tell them by name.

Encourage MSNBC to produce and release more of these by emailing MSNBC at heroes (at) msnbc (dot) com.

Key Judgments

[Dadmanly]

The Corner tips us off to the posting of the key judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), portions of which were leaked in distorted partisan hit pieces this week.

I just finished listening to NPR’s National Security reporter basically making the lame assessment that, with only the key judgments available (vice the entire NIE), it wasn’t possible to conclude whether or not the media reporting the leaks as “Iraq has created more terrorism” is impossible.

Contrary to NPR, I think the conclusion is pretty obvious. I can’t get to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) site, they’re obviously overwhelmed, but based on the findings read in the NPR report, you can see the way in which anti-Iraqi war media would “connect the dots.”

These are paraphrased from memory:

Al Qaeda and their sympathizers are using events in Iraq to exploit rage among disaffected Muslim youth, and using the war in Iraq for recruiting efforts. A new generation of Jihadists are training themselves in terrorist techniques in Iraq.

Since true believers know that George W. Bush has created the anti-US animus and turned the world, Muslims especially, against us, by doctrine that means any new terrorists were created by our war in Iraq. Since we don’t get any credit for killing terrorists or disrupting their operations – heck, we can’t even get credit for likely kills like OBL – logically that means Iraq has meant more terrorists and terrorism.

Foolish little men drive these issues, including the same disaffected Generals that the DNC has trotted out again this week to call Secretary Rumsfeld “incompetent.” By pretense or studied ignorance, they refuse to acknowledge that the Jihadis want to fight us all out, and they will grasp whatever symbol of offense that is at hand to motivate their followers. So it was for Carter, so it was for Reagan, so it was for Bush 41, so it was for Clinton, and so it is for Bush 43.

(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)

The Litttle Helicopter that Could --Maybe

[Eagle1]

Breaking Bread with My Brothers

[SMASH]

On Friday, I had dinner with some wounded troops from Walter Reed.

Best way to intercept a 530MPH jet is with...

[CDR Salamander]

A Coast Guard Helo doing 135MPH? Where is our Homeland Security expert? This just doesn't look right.

The U.S. Coast Guard officially assumed responsibility for air intercept operations ... Coast Guard HH-65C helicopters and crews will be responsible for intercepting unauthorized aircraft which fly into an air defense identification zone surrounding Washington.

How to create terrorists

[Eagle1]

Thanks to Castle Argghhh!!! for the link to Thomas P.M. Barnett's precise smack down on the partially released NIE report here, for it contains the thoughts of many of us who have had to deal with intel estimates:

This analysis is typical intell stuff: obvious, useless, and playing into a do-nothing mind-set that here says, "Do nothing to piss off the terrorists!"

Hey, intel weenies and followers of the revelations of the NIE by the NYT and others- even the Pope can get the "terrorists" upset with a few choice words.

What really tees these bad guys up is that we exist. And are free. And are happy.

Stick that in your next report.

And read Barnett.

UPDATE: Spook86 has some thoughts here, here and here.