Something to Ponder

Most milbloggers will get it right away, others might miss the story in the story:

KABUL, Afghanistan: A transport plane shipping frozen food and other goods to the main U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan ran off the runway after touching down Monday at the military airfield, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The five-man Russian crew of the twin-engined Antonov AN-26 turboprop transport plane was not injured in the accident at the Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province, the U.S. coalition said in a statement.

"There was absolutely no hostile forces or enemy activity involved in the accident," Air Force spokesman Maj. Gary Mathis said.

Mathis said an investigation has been launched to determine if the accident was caused by mechanical failure, pilot error or a combination of both.

High Five

...to Mohammed:

Now excuse me, it's Thursday and I have barbeque and cold beers waiting for me.

Back later, after I grab a cold one.

Rooms Are Going, Going...

...almost gone. Booked your room for the MilBlog Conference yet? Lots of people have, so there are only two rooms left at the special group rate for May 4. Better get busy.

PS

Greyhawk, with all these Air Force budget cuts, are we going to have to start raising money to send you to Iraq?

Re: Re: Redstate to Iraq

Because, 'Hawk...they're going to tell you what's REALLY going on over there. And I quote:

The military will take Victoria and Jeff around Iraq and they'll get the word out to all of us on what's really going on over there.

Also, I guess some of the anti-war blogs have already seized on the opportunity to make that point...you all know it...that pinnacle of advanced philosophical thought and knowledge...the chickenhawk meme.

Only one of the dudes, Jeff, is former Air Force Special Forces. Served in Iraq and I *believe* Afghanistan. I love Red State's updated caveat at the end of the post:

UPDATE: Attention Lefty Morons: Jeff actually did enlist and fight in Iraq.

A little brusque, sure. But it certainly did drive the point home.

Re: Red State to Iraq

Why?

Feinstein Resigns

SEN. Dianne Feinstein has resigned from the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. As previously and extensively reviewed in these pages, Feinstein was chairperson and ranking member of MILCON for six years, during which time she had a conflict of interest due to her husband Richard C. Blum's ownership of two major defense contractors, who were awarded billions of dollars for military construction projects approved by Feinstein.

As MILCON leader, Feinstein relished the details of military construction, even micromanaging one project at the level of its sewer design. She regularly took junkets to military bases around the world to inspect construction projects, some of which were contracted to her husband's companies, Perini Corp. and URS Corp.
<...>
The MILCON subcommittee is not only in charge of supervising military construction, it also oversees "quality of life" issues for veterans, which includes building housing for military families and operating hospitals and clinics for wounded soldiers. Perhaps Feinstein is trying to disassociate herself from MILCON's incredible failure to provide decent medical care for wounded soldiers.

Send Red State to Iraq

Help send Red State to Iraq:

In a nutshell, RedState has been invited by the Pentagon to go to Iraq. We want to send Jeff and AcademicElephant, who henceforth insists on being known by her real name, Victoria Coates. They'll leave during the last part of April. But, we need your help to make it possible.

To send RedState to Iraq, we need to raise $7500.00. This presents a challenge to us now, one that it did not present last year. As you probably know, RedState is now owned by Eagle Publishing, Inc. A lot of you are probably asking why they don't just fork over the money. Well, frankly, there just isn't money budgeted for something like this right now, but the experience presents such an invaluable opportunity, we really want to do it. We need your help. Eagle is going to commit the first $2500.00 to the trip, which, given all the data the Pentagon has given us, will cost $10,000.00 total.

Donate here.

The Pinnacle of Left Wing Insanity

Via Reuters

We all 'know' that the whole Soviet/American cold war conflict was just a baseless accustion of Right WIng Western Capitalist Imperialist Pigs.

(New York, March 29, 2007) � Former Guantanamo detainees who were sent home to Russia in 2004 experienced torture and other abuse despite Moscow's pledge to the US government that they would be treated humanely, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The Russian prisoners' experience illustrates why the United States should stop relying on "diplomatic assurances" of fair treatment to justify sending prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to countries where they are at risk of torture.

Whaddya Mean the "Evil Empire" is actually evil? Thats not what I 'Workers Daily'told me.

Dire AAR

General (Ret) Barry R McCaffrey's After Action Report from his visit to Iraq (document here) offers a wide variety of quotes ripe for misuse, abuse, and ripping out of context.

The first paragraph of Thomas Ricks WaPo review gets things started:

An influential retired Army general released a dire assessment of the situation in Iraq, based on a recent round of meetings there with Gen. David H. Petraeus and 16 other senior U.S. commanders.

Gen McCaffrey also says "Since the arrival of General David Petraeus in command of Multi-National Force Iraq--- the situation on the ground has clearly and measurably improved". So much so, in fact, that unlike Petraeus McCaffrey doesn't even actually use the word "dire".

Like "fiasco", it's a Ricksism.

McCain v Ware

Where? There.

The Islamic State of Iraq

Teflon Don reports from Iraq:

Since the start of the year, Al-Qaeda In Iraq has attempted 11 chlorine VBIEDs, 9 in Al-Anbar, 1 in Tadji, and one in Baghdad. Of those, 9 have detonated with varying degrees of success, and 2 were found and disabled in Ramadi. The most recent attacks were early this morning in downtown Falluja, outside the government center. Iraqi troops engaged two trucks just after 0630, causing both to explode just short of the base.

Taken together, the string of chlorine bombings have killed 32 Iraqis and wounded over 600, most of them civilians. One US soldier was wounded in an attack on an Iraqi Police checkpoint, as well as possibly more today in Falluja. These attacks have overwhelmingly been targeted towards Iraqi forces, and the leaders and people of the tribes who have begun to oppose Al-Qaeda In Iraq.

There are thirty-one major tribes int the Al-Anbar province. Of those thirty-one, twenty-five support the Anbar Awakening effort of the Anbar Salvation Council- the social and political gathering of sheiks and former insurgents who oppose terroism in Al-Anbar. Of the six remaining tribes, the Iraqi government, Coalition Forces and the Anbar Salvation Council are attempting to split two off from the Al-Qaeda umbrella organization Islamic State of Iraq. Those two tribes are the Al-bu Issa and the Al-Zuba'a. Both have started to fight against Al-Qaeda, and are beginning to pay for it dearly.