Who done it?

News quiz!

What terrorist organization's attack on a helicopter resulted in minor wounds to the ambassadors of Italy and the U.S. and to the U.N. resident coordinator?

Check your answer here.

Second question.

What is going to be done about it?

Damage Control at Walter Reed.

Things are moving forward at Walter Reed, but it would appear there's an element of "two steps forward, one back" in evidence, as well.

The Army Times is reporting this two steps forward:

The soldiers said they were also told their first sergeant has been relieved of duty, and that all of their platoon sergeants have been moved to other positions at Walter Reed. And 120 permanent-duty soldiers are expected to arrive by mid-March to take control of the Medical Hold Unit, the soldiers said.

Then there's this - which I actually put mostly into a step forward.

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m.,

Many of the troops undoubtedly think of this an punishment for those who spoke to the press. There may, indeed, be an element of that in there, in that the command is trying to regain control of the message (hold on, more to follow on that thought). However - I suspect this is also the jump-start of a return to a firmer discipline than that seemingly lax form of discipline that led to the environment at Walter Reed.

One of the things the service learned (and apparently forgot) between how it handled casualties in WWI vice WWII, especially psychiatric casualties - is that the maintenance of military discipline - not fanatical ala Gunnery Sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket but simply firm discipline designed to enforce basic standards of cleanliness, appearance, demeanor - and to keep people usefully occupied with relevant tasks. The key to all that is, of course, good leadership, a quality abundantly absent at WRAMC. Getting those troops back into a routine will be good for them, and for the installation. Of course, the follow-on is that the command must also find a way to break through the logjam of paperwork and find ways to usefully employ those soldiers. And if they can't - it may actually make sense to break them out to less full facilities where they can be given useful duties for those times when they aren't busy trying to fight their way through the paperwork.

Now for one step back. Heck, possibly more, if at least in a different direction. That is the clamp-down on media contact - both by the soldiers themselves, and in more official ways.

The Army Times is reporting that the Pentagon has also shut down media coverage of any and all Defense Department medical facilities. This includes suspending planned projects by CNN and the Discovery Channel. The Army Times quotes a PAO email where the Army's official position is “It will be in most cases not appropriate to engage the media while this review takes place.” This apparently in reference to the panel being convened by DoD to investigate issues at Walter Reed.

I completely disagree. A buddy of mine sums it up nicely:

When will the Army learn that transparency in non-OPSEC issues is a disarming approach? Cover-ups do not work and do not speak well of our REMFs – and I do mean REMFs. This burns my ass…… ML

Gezackly. Better to throw open the doors, than simply ensure that the press will now push harder, and the disaffected soldiery will slip around the corners to talk to them - and you will have completely lost control of the message. And it will be the Army's own damn fault.

Lastly, accountability.

- The 1st Sergeant was relieved.
- The Platoon Sergeants were reassigned.

It may just be an oversight in the reporting by Army Times - but... where is my officer scalp? I *always* want an officer scalp, publicly taken, when things like this happen. Not scapegoat scalps, I want the people who forgot their most basic responsibility to pay the price.

Was the med hold company commander relieved? If not, it must only be because he or she just assumed command and was essentially blameless - in which case there ought to be an amended OER making the rounds for the commander's predecessor. Followed with a show cause for retention letter. And the OER of the rating official who let that company commander get his command to this state should be in receipt of, or pending receipt of, an OER that will guarantee they never command beyond their current level.

There is no way that you relieve a 1SG and reassign all the platoon sergeants and the primary blame doesn't lay squarely on the shoulders of the officer commanding.

Appropriate action may have been taken - and if it was, well, someone ought to report it. I don't have to have the name - I just want to know that officer careers imploded as thoroughly (actually moreso) as the NCO careers did. From where I sit, as a commissioned officer of the United States Army, currently without assignment, there is a disturbing lack of commissioned scalps hanging from the pike at the gate.

And if that is in fact true - it is a failure of leadership at the higher levels at WRAMC. REMFs, indeed.

Sad that an organization that in the balance is full of hard-working, dedicated people who just want to do right by the wounded is being let down by it's commissioned leadership - and if that's not the case, then the PAO needs a new job.

Regardless, more officer scalps please.

Cross posted at my place.

War on Terror Comes Home to South Korea

The Republic of Korea (ROK) Army deployed troops to Afghanistan immediately upon a US request in 2002 as well as deploying 3,000 soldiers to support the US mission in Iraq. The ROK Army due to the South Korean government's risk adverse policy, has been limited to humanitarian and reconstruction missions in both countries. The ROK Army may not be conducting combat missions, but this week served as a reminder to the citizens of Korea that even reconstruction missions carry an element of danger in Iraq or Afghanistan when South Korea had their first soldier killed by hostile action during the War on Terror when 27 year old, SGT Yoon, Jang-ho was killed by a terrorist bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Re: Intelligence Failures

Oh, to be able to respond to that post.

Suffice it to say that combat is a way to learn things, and that CENTCOM's not been the only organization that's been screaming for linguists for years, and that Peters was Army.

Like an intel captain told me once with a wry smile, "with the operators it's always an operational success or an intelligence failure".

Analytic Challenge

At the risk of getting a reputation as a statistics geek, I came across some data on Jihadi terrorism as massaged and reported by Peter Bergen at Mother Jones, and thought readers and contributors here might want to weigh in.

It seems like there’s an awful lot of analysis out there – note I didn’t say a lot of awful analysis – that warrants a lot of serious, statistical or logical challenge.

I have been tracking an ongoing conversation that springs from new reporting from Mother Jones, of all places, journalism-wise. As part of a series “Iraq 101,” Mother Jones hosts a piece written by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, entitled The Iraq Effect - The War in Iraq and Its Impact on the War on Terrorism.

Bergen is as reliable an anti-war critic as can be found, but he strenuously attempts to do so with evidence and data he marshals to achieve that end. He serves his purpose well, to the adoring and enduring gratitude of audiences for media such as The New York Times and Mother Jones. Preaches to the choir, he does, and thus his analysis predictably follows the liberal hymnal.

(Actual data and in depth analysis back at Dadmanly.)

Congratulations to the 2006 Milbloggie Winners!

Blatantly reaquired from Milblogging.com and JP

Remember, the Milbloggies are NOT a popularity contest. The purpose each year is to recognize military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year. Make sure to check out each winning milblog below, and you’ll see why they won this year’s Milbloggie Award.

Now, I’d normally write up an eloquent piece about the Milbloggies and each of the winners (which I will get around to), but I’ve been online all day monitoring the website and at this point, I’m not really making sense. Earlier this evening I took a quick break to rock my 10-month old son to sleep, and it turns out I was holding a Mr. Potato Head.

Intelligence Failures

Intel channels are buzzing today over Ralph Peters’ searing indictment of their community in this NY Post editorial.

He starts his critique with an anecdote of questionable import, describing how American troops “mistakenly” detained, searched and “jerked around” Amar al-Hakim, the son of the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), presumed to be a cooperative Shia partner to the US and Coalition efforts in Iraq.

Peters relates that he reacted first with annoyance, then with indulgence, about what he perceives as an apparent lapse in tracking such an important personage. Why annoyance?

MOH: Bruce Crandall (II)

"ICON" is a new series from the Pentagon Channel. Here's the debut episode.

More video (and other info on Lt Col Crandall) at the official MOH web page.

Bomb at Bagram

I have a few brief thoughts (and pictures!) regarding the bomb at the front gate of BAF. Bottom line up front - the bomber hit an area that you are most likely to kill kids and truck drivers, and where the VP was, I doubt you could have even heard the bomb, much less been hurt by it. But the press needs a hook, so there it is.

UPDATE: I guess the VP did hear the boom. Just wasn't in danger from it, fortunately.

A growing victory in the Long War

Not a small front, there is more and more good news from The Philippines.

"Five years ago, when U.S. troops were first sent to Basilan, many predicted 'a new Afghanistan.' Instead, the security environment there has been transformed."

Fourth generation warfare

...a brief explanation of the enemy's application thereof - from a U.S. congressman. (Deeper background here; as one of that original paper's authors says, "Our troops reportedly found copies of the article in the caves at Tora Bora".)

Because I'm all about equal time, here's something from the other side of the aisle.

It's sadly uncommon these days to see elected officials explaining their positions on issues to the American public, rather than simply confirming their support for whatever opinion the latest polls declare in vogue.

MOH: Bruce Crandall

For actions in the battle of Ia Drang.

What the President didn't say: "Snake Shit" - because he flew lower than that.

Garry Owen!

Update: As soon as I saw this news, I knew this guy would be there. But formal invitations - who knew?

Giddy Up!

Crossed the one-million hits threshold today. Isss a good feelin'. Thanks to all of you who sent traffic to our quaint, dorky little milblog. And since I'm in the thanking people mood this morning, thanks to Greyhawk for 1) setting up this awesome blog and 2) actually letting me post on it. :)

Another Friday at Walter Reed

"SUPPORT THE TROOPS." For some people, it's second nature. For others, it's just an empty political slogan.

On Friday, Tantor and I went to Walter Reed to visit some friends. But first, we stopped in front of the main gate to visit the seven remaining members of the Code Pink "vigil" that has been gathering on Georgia Avenue every Friday evening for the past eighteen months.

SMASH: Can I ask you guys a question?

WOMAN: Yeah, sure.

SMASH: Can any of you name three soldiers being treated at this hospital?

Check 60

Looks like Appeal for Redress will get a big boost tonight when 60 Minutes covers the group.

Don't expect much investigative journalism from this piece - the online intro includes this:

"I'm not anti-war. I'm not a pacifist. I'm not opposed to protecting our country and defending our principles," says Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Hutto, an Iraq war veteran who, along with another veteran, initiated the petition.

The irony is that 60 Minutes missed a golden opportunity to do what once upon a time a long time ago they supposedly existed for - expose these sorts of frauds perpetrated on unsuspecting people.

Update: The story at the link has already been re-written, eliminating the claim that Hutto is an Iraq war veteran.

But in her "Reporters Notebook" video (at the link) Lara Logan describes Appeal for redress: "It's basically a grass roots movement amongst active duty, serving members of the U.S. military." And "We were very careful to look thoroughly at the group, and to look into their military backgrounds, and to make sure that this wasn't... people with something hidden in their past or some reason that wasn't the stated reason to be involved in this."

Wrong. I guess CBS isn't just guilty of bad reporting, they're actually helping perpetrate the fraud.

A fatuous promise

Michael Fumento doesn't like a plank of a political platform. The "Four Truths" are mentioned. I comment about it at my place.

At one point I was a darn good bus driver for SEALs. Today I do staff work that SEALs don't want to be doing (trust me on this one, eh?). At one point in the future I'm going to be a good potential support cadre for SEALs doing something else. At no time would anyone ever mistake me for a SEAL. Lowering the bar to make a guy like me supposedly finish BUD/S would be farcial, and that's the kind of thing you'd be forced into when saying you're going to rapidly double their numbers. Proposing such means either you've found a way around the SOF truths, which is not bloody likely, or you are talking out of your hat.

These Children Need a Little Christmas...

How about some more Christmas? I know of a place that needs a little Christmas... now.

Well, if you watch the news, you know we have guys deployed. 3ID is deployed and deploying... Some of our guys are already in Ramadi. When one of the wives asked her husband what could she send him... what did HE need? His response was that he needed nothing for himself, but he could use all the children's clothing and shoes he could get... he was distraught at the level of poverty these children experience.

So here's my challenge:

Please get out one (or two... or three) of your US Postal Services Flat Rate boxes... take it to your local Kmart or WalMart or Target or wherever... and buy as much children's clothing and shoes and socks (a small toy, too) as you can fit in that box (boxes!) You can also send gently used clothing and shoes -- any size... send it all!

So I told this wonderful and caring wife to tell that wonderful and caring soldier that I'd be delighted to do what I could... and I am asking all of you to do what you can. Support our troops and their mission... and their big old hearts...

Mail your box (don't forget that dang customs form!!) to:

Sgt. Dinkins, Charles
TF 5/7 CAV A Co 3/69AR
1st PLT C Co 2/7IN
APO AE 09346

Please email this info to all your friends & family... ask your church or civic group to help... and feel free to post it up on blogs and forums. "Our Guys" are asking for some help... let's be sure they can feel our love!

x-posted at Some Soldier's Mom

Helo Down, IRGC Killed

...IRGC are the more fanatic and nasty Iranian guys. Rantburg has the description. Gateway Pundit has a roundup.

It would be interesting to say that this is a subtle tit-for-tat vis-a-vis the US and Iran, but my guess is more that there's light to heavy fighting in the Kurdish and Azeri parts of Iran. Last year we had several mysterious downings of aircraft with senior IRGC (and journalists, in the case of the Teheran crash into the apartment building) aboard. Connections? Who knows...

Which is also interesting.

Appeal For Redress--Kind of Illegal

While I discussed here how the Appeal for Redress douchers are permitted to petition Congress based on DODD 1344.10, there's a bit of a wrinkle that makes their efforts less than...uhhh....lawful.

First, DOD 1344.10 does not allow an active duty member to:

E3.3.5. Solicit or receive a contribution from another member of the Armed Forces or a civilian officer or employee of the United States for the purpose of promoting a political objective or cause, including a political campaign.

And from the AFR's site?

The Appeal for Redress is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members.

And what's right up there on the AFR site? A link to where you can "Donate."

As Mel Allen used to say, "How 'bout that!"

ACLU Stands Its Ground, On the Other Side

ACLU: US can't bar terrorism supporters

NEW YORK - A civil rights group asked a judge Friday to find it unconstitutional for the federal government to exclude a prominent Muslim scholar or anyone else from the United States on the grounds that they may have endorsed or espoused terrorism.

The ACLU said schools and organizations who want to invite Ramadan and others into the United States are concerned about what is known as the ideological exclusion provision.
...
The group said the provision violates the First Amendment and has resulted since 2001 in the exclusion from the United States of numerous foreign scholars, human rights activists and writers, barred "not for legitimate security reasons but rather because the government disfavors their politics."

The ACLU said some foreign scholars and writers are now reluctant to accept invitations to the United States because they will be subjected to ideological scrutiny and possibly denied entry.

THe heart bleeds. Of course, so do those that are victims of these scholars curious form of "politics."

Cowboys and Indians, Iraqi Edition

Iraqi kids play make-believe war games

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Toting menacing looking toy guns, young boys swarm around an abandoned car, chanting battle cries of a Shiite militia and pointing their play weapons at the "terrorist" in the driver's seat. Outnumbered, the boy playing a would-be suicide bomber surrenders.
...
"You coward! I will kill you," shouted 6-year-old Haidar Faraj, who played a Shiite militiaman from the Shiite Mahdi Army militia on a recent afternoon in Hurriyah. His younger brother Abbas was the Sunni "terrorist."

Abu Ali, 40, who sells toys in Baghdad's Shorja market, said most of the children who visit his store are looking for the "biggest and most harmful toy guns."

"About 95 percent of the toys I sell are guns," said Abu Ali, who refused to give his full name for security reasons.
...
Kids who can't afford toy weapons simply use their imagination. Take a wooden stick, tie on an empty water bottle with a black sock and presto — a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Boys dart behind parked cars or sprawl on the ground and pretend to fire them.

The names of the games vary depending on the neighborhood.

In Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of the Mahdi Army, the "bad guys" are "Wahabbis," or Sunni religious extremists. Sometimes the game becomes "Sadr City vs Azamiyah," referring to a nearby Sunni neighborhood.

Now if we can just get their older brothers to stop playing...

My Son Has PTSD

A hazard of war. Considering that DoD estimates that approximately a quarter of a million soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen who have served in OEF and OIF have it to a degree that requires treatment, the fact that my son has it may not be big news to some folks. The news might be that we are talking about it openly.

After Noah was well on his way to physical recovery, it was apparent to us that the person we had raised and known -- the bright, witty upbeat spirit with that generally cheery personality and always optimistic outlook -- was not the person that returned from Iraq. Of course, we know that if war did not affect a person, they wouldn't be human; but as my girlfriend S. might say, "if it wasn't the same face and the same name, I'd swear on a stack of Bibles that this isn't my son."

Noah was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder shortly after he was wounded; at the time, however, the treatment of his physical wounds took precedence. And the deaths of so many in his unit while he recovered -- especially the deaths of five of his squad in a single attack -- seemed to numb him for a while. We recognized the short temper and his quick anger as signs of PTSD... and he admitted that sleep was hard to come by and interrupted by thrashing and nightmares when it did come. We encouraged him to seek treatment...

I write about his hospitalization and his continued treatment... and that his PTSD will keep him from deploying with his unit when they leave next month for their third (his second) tour to Iraq... all of it at Some Soldier's Mom

D'jever...

...do a CPX while simultaneously doing weapons qual, CLS, CIF, and RFI while also learning about the approved ROE for the AO and various other issues though your departure date and destination are still not confirmed but half your stuff has to be ready to roll and you also need it for the aforementioned CPX?

Yeah, that's what a "surge" is. I glanced at my watch yesterday to check the time and was surprised to learn it was Thursday. (Date matters, day of week is TMI.)

I love it. God forgive me, I actually enjoy this.

How Did He Run So Fast With The Wheelbarrow?

Because he must need a wheelbarrow to carry certain parts around if he does something like this.

US Vets - always serving

In a way - this has to make you proud.

A tour bus of U.S. senior citizens defended themselves against a group of alleged muggers, sending two of them fleeing and killing a third in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said on Thursday.

One of the tourists, a retired member of the U.S. military aged about 70, put assailant Warner Segura in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday,

The Milbloggies.

Okay, due to an extreme lack of participation, Castle Argghhh! didn't make it to the top 5 for the US Veteran category in the Milbloggies, thusly saving us from having to do any more non-participation in online popularity contests that we never win anyway.

Or so I thought.

Turns out that Fuzzybear Lioness *did* make the top 5 in her category, Military Supporter. At the moment of this posting, she's leading - but only by one vote.

So, click here - register if you have to, and vote for her. It'll make you feel all... Fuzzy inside. Yeah, that's it! And if you need a reason to vote for her - the category is Military Supporter, and...

Fuzzybear is the Heart of Project Valour-IT, whereby we give voice-activated laptops to wounded warriors whose injuries prevent them from using computers in the normal fashion. You know, like you are, right this second. And we just gave our 1000th, that's One Thousandth, laptop, this week. No, she didn't do it alone. Of course not. Many of us helped. But it was her dream and her drive that have helped two battalions, 2/3s of a Brigade's combat strength worth of profoundly wounded warriors stay connected in ways that all of you reading this post simply take for granted.

BUT SHE GOT IT STARTED AND MADE IT HAPPEN.

I know. I was there. I was one of the people she mercilessly browbeat to help her get it started. And I'm damn glad she did. So, go vote for her. Even if you aren't registered - go register for the sole purpose of casting your vote for her. Not because I told you to - but because there are simply damn few of us out here in our little community who have done as much as she has. Because it's easy to jump on a bandwagon. It's a lot harder to conceive of a bandwagon, then build it, so that people have something to jump on.

And that's what she did.

You can access all the Milbloggies categories here.

And, as a reward for getting to the end of this post - the next installment of Bill's Vietnam Serial War Story is up.

News of Afghanistan...again

"Time for the News, already?"

Albright Blathers

via Reuters

ATLANTA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on Thursday the war in Iraq would go down in history as the worst disaster in U.S. foreign policy.

President George W. Bush has squandered the moral authority established by former President Jimmy Carter

The Iran-Iraq war started during the Carter Administration, as well as the Soviet-Aghan war. What moral authority does more than a million dead in wars that started on ones watch create? What moral authority does Presidential National Security Directive 63, withs it wording that it would be the foreign policy of the United States to keep the price of oil cheap moderate create?

Have You Signed Yet?

The Appeal for Courage:

As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.

Authorized by DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6.

As of 0320Z Friday, 845 military members have signed the Appeal.

Have you?

Michael Yon has a new mystery weapon for us...

Fox News Story here.

First cut look at Castle Argghhh! is here. C'mon over and throw your analytical skills and experience at the question.

Bill's serial thriller and some more obscene amenities...

Over at the Castle, Bill continues his saga of Dai-uy Tuttle and the 500 bicycles, in Occam's Punji Stake.

We've simply got to get the man to write a book.

And I have another obscene amenity, and a bleg for all y'all to send in pics of your obscene amenities.

I'm Back Up

Blog's on line again and it might be time for new web hosting, since this is not the first time I disappeared for a couple of days...

Update: Aw, crud. Back down again.

Unit Cohesion

I watched the Baghdad briefing today. The commander of CPATT was repeatedly grilled on how the National Police Re-training program could possibly make a difference. The journalist asking the question didn't understand the answers.

I am pretty certain that the average Joe in the street, and by extension, the average Journalist doesn't understand "Unit Cohesion".

A simple mans versions is that 12 guys with guns all doing there own thing isn't a very effective force. 12 guys that have trained together, and have learned to trust that each has an interdepent role in protecting the other and projecting force is. I'm not the best 'splainer either.

Updated - The Pentagon Channel should be more careful about the dates of briefings. Todays 21 Feb Baghdad Briefing is actually from the 7th.

While "Unit Cohesion" is common knowledge to anyone who has every served in the military, it isn't something that is tought at Journalism School. Virtually all journalists function pretty much independently. They don't know the basics of why a squad arranges itself in a certain pattern. They don't understand what every Private in the Army understands, if one member of the squad is out of position, then the whole squad is at risk.

If the reporter to the left of the reporter asking the question doesn't do his job, it doesn't personnally effect the reporter asking his question, or might possibly make the reporter who is asking the questions job easier.

Some advice to the good General who was trying to 'splain himself. You need to put together a plain english background paper for journalists on unit cohesion. I would also recommend putting together a 60 second verbal explanation that one repeats everytime the question of training comes up.

Making the War Winnable

Most Americans want to win.

Our Iraqi allies want us there.

Jack Murtha and al Qaeda want us to lose.

Making the War Unwinnable

Rich Lowry draws the same conclusion from Congressman Murtha’s “slow bleed” anti-war strategy as I did, not that I can claim any great insight, as it’s the only conclusion possible. Lowry describes Murtha’s deceits in National Review Online.

Rep. Murtha, who cannot seem to help himself any more in matters of subtle politics, than he can keep himself or his friends from slurping loudly at the public till, let slip his ulterior motives in a webcast for MoveCongress.org. His Grand Plan involves making a phony show of support for the troops, pretending to continue to let the military fight, but by every means possible to strip away any capability for the military to actually conduct the fight.

Murtha believes – or wants us to believe – that there’s “no military solution in Iraq,” because there’s no real terrorist threat in Iraq. If we leave, Al Qaeda disappears. This would sound pretty astonishing, coming from a government representative, but from the same man who thought we could base a Middle East “quick reaction force” in Okinawa, it’s all of a stripe. He defines “beclowning.”

“It must fail so that it can end.” So the Democrats believe. So that they can “win,” though America must lose. It’s a sacrifice they’re prepared to have us all make on their behalf.

Making the war unwinnable. That’s the Democrat intent.

Support the troops. Let them win.

(Extended Commentary, with excerpts from NRO, over at Dadmanly.)

Death and Politics

Jonah Goldberg, posting at The Corner (here and here), highlights the factual basis behind what a lot of military people know intuitively, and goes virtually unrecognized by the media and the public whose trust they so willfully neglect.

We lose no more soldiers in Iraq than we would lose, on average, through training accidents, other accidents, and other causes. In other words, soldiers are no less safe (or no more in danger) in Iraq than they are anywhere else.

Sound incredible? It shouldn’t.

Because our soldiers are in Iraq, they are a target for terrorist attack, just as they are virtually anywhere in the world, and have been for two to three decades. Just as are diplomats, business people, and journalists.

The original impetus for Jonah’s post is what he describes as “a powerful op-ed,” written by Alicia Colon in the NY Sun. More on that article later. Jonah updates his original post, passing on feedback from a reader, providing detail to back up the assertion that more soldiers died from 1993-1996 than have died during the equivalent period from 2003 to present.

(Cross-posted at Dadmanly, with more in the Extended Entry.)

The Danger Room

Noah Shachtman, editor of Defense Tech and 2007 Milblog conference panelist, has moved to new digs with Wired Magazine. His blog, heh...X-Men fans bite your knuckles, The Danger Room, will cover a military techno-wizardry spectrum similiar to what we saw with Defense Tech. Only now it's with Wired. In Noah's own words:

We'll be talking about what's next in law enforcement, homeland security, and the military here. Not just the gear -- although you'll get more than your fair share of killer drones, electronic weapons, and nuclear threats, don't worry. We'll look at new strategies, new thinking, and new tactics in national security, as well. And we'll follow the personalities and politics surrounding these developments. Because within a military-industrial complex that chews up a trillion dollars a year, there are plenty of power struggles, both behind the scenes, and in front of the cameras.

Noah has been a great friend to the milblogging community over the years (that's why he got invited to be a panelist...duh), so let's return the favor and help him get his new blog off the ground.

Re: Military Commissions Act

And to add to the fun it's military commission month (more specifically, Love For LCDR Swift month) at Vanity Fair and Esquire.

Does the Military Commissions Act Apply to Foreign Detainees?

DC Circuit: No. From the opinion:

Everyone who has followed the interaction between Congress and the Supreme Court knows full well that one of the primary purposes of the MCA was to overrule Hamdan.

Everyone, that is, except the detainees. Their cases, they argue, are not covered. The arguments are creative but not cogent. To
accept them would be to defy the will of Congress. Section 7(b) could not be clearer. It states that “the amendment made by subsection (a)” – which repeals habeas jurisdiction – applies to “all cases, without exception” relating to any aspect of detention. It is almost as if the proponents of these words were slamming their fists on the table shouting “When we say ‘all,’
we mean all – without exception!”

Emphasis in original. Yup, the DC circuit just threw in some boldface type for the hell of it. That's awesome.

As to whether the denial of jurisdiction violates the Suspension Clause of the Constitution:

The Supreme Court has stated the Suspension Clause protects the writ “as it existed in 1789,” when the first Judiciary Act created the federal courts and granted jurisdiction to issue writs of habeas corpus.
...
We are aware of no case prior to 1789 going the detainees’ way, and we are convinced that the writ in 1789 would not have been available to aliens held at an overseas military base leased from a foreign government.

The detainees encounter another difficulty with their Suspension Clause claim. Precedent in this court and the Supreme Court holds that the Constitution does not confer rights on aliens without property or presence within the United States.

Of course, that the DC Circuit is bound by the MCA doesn't mean much considering how unwilling the Supreme Court has been to entertain the notion that it doesn't have jurisdiction over a particular case.

OMG - Britain Drawing Down in Iraq

(note I'm practicing being a MSM headline writer)

lBlair to announce Withdrawl

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce on Wednesday a new timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, with 1,500 to return home in several weeks, the BBC reported.

Many will have missed "Yesterdays" news -via UK Defence News

The Iraqi Army division based in Basra has transferred from Coalition command, and is now – for the first time – taking its orders direct from an Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad.

A Request

If you live in one of the states below:

Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Wyoming

You can help a Gold Star Mother. Here's how.

Building 18.

So, Bldg 18 is to be fixed - and quickly. H/t, WaPo and Andi.

The facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, said Army staff members inspected each of the 54 rooms at the building and discovered that outstanding repair orders for half the rooms had not been completed. He said that mold removal had begun on several rooms and that holes in ceilings, stained carpets and leaking faucets were being fixed.

One can't help but feel, General, that there is *still* a problem with how your organization does business if it took the Washington Post to help you discover those "outstanding repair orders" had not been completed.

Better late than never - but one hopes there are a few efficiency reports and counseling statements that will fill their own little niche of "outstanding repair orders" and if any medals are awarded for this sudden burst of efficiency, they don't go to someone who fixed a problem of their own creation. Unless, of course, it is metaphorically equivalent to this case...

Whew! (waves away the miasma of post titling snarkitude...)

We interrupt this snarkfest and Iraq News Now for Part II of Conservative@War, starring Bill the Rotorhead.

The tease continues.

Iraq '06

Video: The Pentagon Channel reviews Baghdad operations in 2006.

A pdf report on 2006 in Iraq here.

Confession: I'm linking without having read the document myself. I did run the video. Don't watch it if you're looking for a self-congratulatory exercise in back-patting.

The Momentum Has Shifted...

...Did you feel it?

I'd Say "Heh" But It Ain't So Funny

Who wrote this article and what's he doing now?

And what of these elites who misread not only a war but also their own countrymen? Where are they now, other than in the White House? On this vital historical issue that defined our generation, they now keep a low profile, and well they should.

What an eerie feeling it must have been for those who staked the journey of their youth on the idea that their own country was an evil force, to have watched their naiveté unravel in the years following 1975. How sobering it must have been for those who allowed themselves to move beyond their natural denial, to observe the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese fleeing the "pure flame of the revolution" on rickety boats that gave them a 50 percent chance of death at sea, or to see television pictures of thousands of Cambodian skulls lying in open fields, part of the millions killed by Communist "liberators." How hollow the memories of drug-drenched and sex-enshrined antiwar rallies must be; how false the music that beatified their supposedly noble dissent.

Indeed, let’s be frank. How secretly humiliating to stare into the face of a disabled veteran, or to watch the valedictory speech of the latest Vietnamese-American kid whose late father fought alongside the Americans in a cause they openly mocked, derided, and despised. And what a shame that the system of government that allowed that student to be so quickly successful here is not in place in the country of her origin.

New York Times: Then and Now

The NYT on 19 FEB 2007: Making Martial Law Easier

A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law.
...
The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”

Now I seem to remember a LOT of caterwauling around the time of Hurricane Katrina about the slow federal response and why National Guard troops weren't more quickly utilized (even though they did outstanding work while there). And lo and behold:

The New York Times on 3 SEP 2005: Katrina's Assault on Washington

There are dozens of questions Americans will demand to have answered once this emergency has passed. If the Homeland Security Department was so ill prepared for a natural disaster that everyone knew was coming, how is it equipped to handle other kinds of crises? Has the war in Iraq drained the nation of resources that it needs for things like flood prevention? Is the National Guard ready to handle a disaster that might be even worse, like a biological or nuclear attack?

Ok, the provision the NYT is talking about is 10 USC 333.

A Post With A Title So That Our Good Friend The Army Lawyer (The Guy Who Admits To Carrying Around At Least One Lace Glove) Can Read It And Not Stumble In His Reading Of These Posts And Hurt His Lips

Heh.

One Banner, Under War

Clinton Objects to Confederate Flag

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from its Statehouse grounds, in part because the nation should unite under one banner while at war.

Here is a picture of the proposed banner we should all unite under:

[/snark]

Baghdad Security Plan - Whats different this time

via Defenselink - Maj Gen Thurmond - June 16th, 2006

On the number of troops right now assigned to the Multinational Division Baghdad, I've got just a little under 30,000 of U.S. coalition. Of course I have some coalition units that are assigned to us inside that. And we've got roughly 31,000 Iraqi army and Iraqi national police units that are assigned to us. Also, there's a total of over 22,000 Iraqi police

via Defenselink - Maj Gen Fil - 16 Feb 2007

P.C. Run Amok?

Not talking about computers - I'm talking about this

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The wealthy Arab man, sporting a foreign accent, has just given an Iraqi teenager some cash and a bomb when police burst in and arrest him. "You come here from abroad and want to make this young man kill his Iraqi brothers?" an officer asks.

The television ad, widely aired across Iraq in recent weeks and meant to encourage Iraqis to report suspicious behavior to police, is a startling example of a new strain of anger and discrimination against foreign Arabs in this Arab-majority country.

It even includes this quote:

Suspicion toward foreign Arabs stems, in part, from the fact that the Sunni-led insurgency has included many foreign fighters, most of them Arabs, who are blamed for deadly attacks that have claimed thousands of Iraqi lives.

But really, there are some reasons for suspicion.

Re: the Beast

On another area of group blog ettiquette, I hate to RE: my own post, but this added thought doesn't fit the original, but is tangential to this:

She seems to be writing as if the event described is well known, a failure perhaps shared by many with an over-developed ego.

This is compounded by juniors who fear being thought ignorant if they actually request clarification.

This somehow fits into "Greyhawk's rule of job security" - which is actually a universal truth about communication and language - and something I was discussing with Soldier's Dad in comments here.

On the other hand, the fun thing about "re" posts and group blogs in general is that the reader can find out what the heck you're talking about just by scrolling around. (And can even join the discussion.)

When I can't think...

...of a title I just use the first few words of my post for the title, and add those three dots.

Sometimes, I can even break it off to where the resulting title is kind of witty. Other times not so much.

(But we ain't got no rules here.)

Thank you sir, may I have another?

Friday:

But now that congress has done their bit for al Qaeda and other killers in Iraq, it's time for them to return the favor. Expect their next best attempt at a Tet-like offensive soon...