COIN: The Gravity Well

Over at BlackFive, I posted a model for understanding COIN Theory.

This came out of a discussion with a fellow at PACOM who was trying to explain all the various systems analysis/emergent theory/organic models that various genuises have come up with over the last few years. I think it captures what each of these has to say, but puts it into a single metaphor that you can visualize. That's what he needed, and it's probably useful for the rest of us also.

The Story of Jessica Lynch

OPFOR's distinguished guest-blogger, Richard S. Lowry, does a little debunking in the Weekly Standard:

TODAY, THE HOUSE Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chaired by Henry Waxman (D-CA) conducted a hearing into "misleading military statements" that followed the death of Pat Tillman and the ordeal of Jessica Lynch. I cannot speak of the Pat Tillman incident, but I can speak to the story of Jessica Lynch.

I spent more than two years of my life studying the battle of An Nasiriyah. I read thousands of pages of government reports and personally interviewed nearly one-hundred of the participants of the battle, including four survivors of the 507th Maintenance Company's ambush, several Marines who came upon the scene of the ambush, a young Marine who worked in the regimental intelligence shop and was responsible for the safekeeping of Jessica's personal effects, and several of the soldiers, sailors, and Marines who were actually involved in her rescue. The results of my research were published last year in Marines in the Garden of Eden.

Following her rescue, unsubstantiated reports abounded, the media made a variety of assertions: Jessica Lynch was a pretty teenage girl who had been subjected to the ravages of an unjust war. She had been sent into battle with inadequate equipment and protection. After taking a wrong turn, Iraqis feigning surrender had ambushed her unit. Yet, she bravely fought off the enemy until she could resist no longer. Because of the incompetence of the leadership in Washington, D.C., she had been taken prisoner by evil Iraqis who did unspeakable things to her.

This was the type of story that had "legs." Every news producer in America salivated when they read the first copy. They knew that their ratings would skyrocket when the story of this fragile American girl was told. This was the type of story that would go down in history.

There was only one problem--most of the story wasn't true.

Read it all.

A New Direction or DejaVu

via NY Times

“On Iraq, the American people want a new direction, and we are providing it,” said Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington

MURTHA: Well, the Marines in Okinawa -- remember in Somalia

Hundreds of people have died in the week of artillery duels and gun battles between allied Somali-Ethiopian forces and rebels frustrating the government's bid to restore central rule in the Horn of Africa country for the first time in 16 years.

Senator Murray - Somehow I doubt the American people want to create another Somalia...of course there is someone who would like another SomaliaParagraph #274 9/11 Commission Report

In August 1996, Bin Ladin had issued his own self-styled fatwa calling on Muslims to drive American soldiers out of Saudi Arabia...... It praised the 1983 suicide bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. Marines, the 1992 bombing in Aden, and especially the 1993 firefight in Somalia after which the United States “left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you

Another Soldier speaks out from Iraq

...at Op For.

Update:

And another

And another

And another

And another

And another

And another

And another...

And damned if it doesn't seem like my first post from my first trip to Iraq is still valid today. (Back then, the talking points were that we had lost, and that there was no way we could hold elections in Iraq.)

Meet Kelly Bruno

Off the war topic: Meet Kelly Bruno.

The Ranger Up guys (and girls) rock.

More Begging in Washington

From The Hill:

President of Iraqi relief organization calls on Dems to rethink withdrawals

The president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, the only relief organization operating in Iraq, is calling on the Democratic-led Congress to rethink its troop withdrawal strategy and recognize that Iraq suffers from a worsening humanitarian crisis.
<...>
In Washington for a series of advocacy meetings in Congress, Said Hakki, the president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, expressed concern that by setting a withdrawal timetable, the U.S. would abandon Iraq at the height of a humanitarian crisis.

“It is important that Congress identifies that there is a humanitarian crisis in Iraq,” Hakki said in an interview with The Hill. “If they agree there’s a crisis, let’s not have America be a problem but the solution.”

The Iraqi Red Crescent Society or Organization, as it is often referred to, is an auxiliary arm of the Iraqi government and is a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Insisting that he is not a politician, Hakki — a U.S. citizen who spends most of his time in Iraq’s red zones — is pushing for a time-out in what he calls the “partisan squabble” over the U.S. troop withdrawal timetable.

“Let’s not talk about differences, but about what we can agree upon,” Hakki said. If Congress agrees that there is a humanitarian crisis, he asked, “is it justified to set a timetable and leave all those people in a dire position, worse than they were [before 2003]?”

Re: Lynch-ing

Well said, Chap. And a good point from Legion in the comments, too.

Stories of real heroism have been lost in the hype of the Lynch story and the Cindy Sheehan story. (We should note that in Pvt Lynch's case this is through no fault or action of her own.)

Casey Sheehan's story here.

Here's a name most people haven't heard either:

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester fought her way through an enemy ambush south of Baghdad, killing three insurgents with her M-4 rifle to save fellow soldiers' lives -- and yesterday became the first woman since World War II to win the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.

The 23-year-old retail store manager from Bowling Green, Ky., won the award for skillfully leading her team of military police soldiers in a counterattack after about 50 insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were guarding near Salman Pak on March 20.

Suicide Squad Wanted

Anyone who believes the Democrats have a workable plan for Iraq should probably read the fine print on their surrender bill:

Negotiators Agree on War-Funding Package

House-Senate Bill, Which Sets Timetable for Troop Withdrawal, Likely to Face Veto

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement yesterday on war-funding legislation that would begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq as early as July, setting a goal of ending U.S. combat operations by no later than March.
<...>
After combat forces are withdrawn, some troops could remain to protect U.S. facilities and diplomats, pursue terrorist organizations and train and equip Iraqi security forces.

No details as to how few troops would be left to perform this mission - or how the lucky bastards would be chosen.

(But I'll bet Harry Reid knows a bunch from Nevada he'd like to offer...)

Harry Reid, Please Phone Home

As Harry Reid declares the effort "lost", soldier's in his home state are preparing for Iraq :

Las Vegas reserves disagree with Reid

"We're not losing this war."

That's how a Las Vegas Army Reserve sergeant and Iraq war veteran who is heading out again for Operation Iraqi Freedom reacted Friday to Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's assessment that the war in Iraq is "lost."

"I don't believe the war is lost," Sgt. George Turkovich, 24, said as he stood with other soldiers near a shipping container that had been packed for their deployment to Kuwait.

The soldiers leave today for a six-week training stint at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before heading overseas to run a camp in support of the war effort. It is uncertain if their yearlong tour will take them to Iraq.

"Unfortunately, politics has taken a huge role in this war affecting our rules of engagement," said Turkovich, a 2001 Palo Verde High School graduate. "This is a guerrilla war that we're fighting, and they're going to tie our hands.

"So it does make it a lot harder for us to fight the enemy, but we're not losing this war," he said.

For the most part, the 50-plus soldiers from a detachment of the Army Reserve's 314th Combat Service Support Battalion expressed similar views about Reid's war-is-lost comments this week. They respectfully disagreed with the Democrat.

All volunteers, they were upbeat and excited about the deployment. Some said they were nervous and were trying not to dwell on leaving their families for a year.

Spc. Marvin Castillo, 31, said he hoped to be back next year in time for his son's second birthday in June.

"It's very hard," he said. "The best thing to do is not think about it."

Pfc. Joshua Nance, 18, said he feels Las Vegas supports the troops going to Iraq. "As far as everybody I've ever run into, yes, they support us. Absolutely."
<...>
While the soldiers discussed their views on the war at the Army Reserve facility on East Sahara Avenue, Reid, the senate majority leader, delivered a speech on the Senate floor, responding to criticism from Bush.

"The partisans who launched attacks on my comments are the same ones who continue to support a failed strategy that hurts our troops," Reid said.

Related:

Once again - Scott Ott satire becomes reality.

If you're an active duty troop, now might be a good time to sign the Appeal for Courage.

Michelle Malkin has been collecting responses from the troops.

Several milbloggers have responded from Iraq, too - you'll find them here and here.

And I'll be there soon enough myself. Will keep you posted.

Re: Lynch-ing

I'm seeing in some of the comments a little more bad intent assumed for the PVT Lynch story than perhaps is warranted. One of the primary reasons this story went down the way it did back in '03 was the heroism of SGT Donald Walters.

Initial reports are always wrong and always believed. In this case, as is apparently customary, information was leaked to the press--but the spectacular fighting and untimely death of SGT Walters (who was captured, fought as a wounded lion, and finally shot in the back) got the wrong attribution initially. At that point the "attractive blonde in trouble" alarm, which forces all networks to change their programming exclusively to the ABiT until the next one comes along, went off.

Please remember SGT Walters, a cook in a convoy who did what he should not have had to do.

The sick, smarmy bias of the AP

In case you didn't know, the latest causalities from Iraq came through the wire.

Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 20 wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing against a patrol base northeast of the capital in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting, the military said.

The attack came on a day when insurgents struck across Iraq, carrying out seven other bombings that killed at least 48 people.

Of the 20 wounded in the attack on Task Force Lightning in Diyala, 15 soldiers were treated and returned to duty while five others were evacuated to a medical facility for further care, the military said. An Iraqi civilian was also wounded.

Identities were not released pending notification of relatives.

Know this, the pictures that go with stories are carefully picked from a broad and deep selection - and approved by an editor. There are few mistakes. In case you missed it, in addition to unrelated pictures taken by stringers of a Iraqi mourner - there is only one picture of an American in the article - U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. This is a larger picture of the one they chose for him to represent the US side of the death of 9 soldiers.

Disgusting smarmy a55hats at the AP. In case they change it later, here is the screen cap. Why do they think no one will notice? Why do they think it is funny? I think I know why - and it makes me sick.

Cross posted at CDR Salamander.

Re: Lynch-ing

Here's the original story:

Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rescued Tuesday from an Iraqi hospital, fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, U.S. officials said yesterday.

Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting March 23, one official said. The ambush took place after a 507th convoy, supporting the advancing 3rd Infantry Division, took a wrong turn near the southern city of Nasiriyah.

Several officials cautioned that the precise sequence of events is still being determined, and that further information will emerge as Lynch is debriefed. Reports thus far are based on battlefield intelligence, they said, which comes from monitored communications and from Iraqi sources in Nasiriyah whose reliability has yet to be assessed. Pentagon officials said they had heard "rumors" of Lynch's heroics but had no confirmation.