Fighting From the Homefront

President Bush met with troop support organizations and military family members today. He was in very good company.

Our very own Becky Davis, President of Military Families Voice of Victory was present. You may remember that Becky was on the family panel at the MilBlog Conference.

Also present was Sgt. Mark Seavey, the same Mark Seavey who eloquently took Murtha and Moran to task at a town hall meeting:

And, our old friend Eric Egland was part of today's meeting.

A lot of talented folks flanked President Bush today.

United We Stand...

ok, we're going to set the rules for a neighborhood protection association between competing factions. Here are the rules everyone is asked to agree to live by:

1) Protect your community...
2) Accept peaceful Catholics, Muslims, Protestants and others.
3) Protect only in your neighborhood...
4) Take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution...
5) Register with local government security forces
6) Wear a standard uniform and markings
7) Receive hiring preference for Police and Army....

There's also an Oath you'd have to take to be an accepted member of the local neighborhood watch...

Well, except that the people sitting around discussing and negotiating these rules and the Oath are Coalition soldiers, Iraqi security and local insurgents... and Michael Yon as a witness.

Yon concludes,

And today in that meeting... and in that moment I knew that Iraq could make it.

Another fascinating and thought-provoking piece from Michael Yon "7 Rules, 1 Oath"

Badger 6 Television Interview

HT: Soldiers Angel Germany

Must-see TV interview with Badger 6 from Iraq and Mrs. Badger 6 from home on their local TV station.

Click here to watch.

He says, "We have made such progress that instead of being a lost cause, al Anbar is talked about as the model for what Iraq could be." ... The progress Coulson sees goes hand in hand with the frustration he feels. He dislikes the political infighting, the all-nighter on Capitol Hill, and those he feels are making uninformed decisions.

Battle Buddies

I for one would like to know whether "Scott Thomas" and his buddies are the sick little pieces of shit described in The New Republic or simply figments of some other sick little piece of shit's imagination.

UPDATE: Black Five has some Updates on his post from those that have chimed in on this article

My suspicion is this was written by a Soldier in Iraq who wanted to see just how outrageous a story he could write and actually get it published. The problem is it will never be disproved and even if "Scott Thomas" comes forward and admits it to be a fabrication many will read it and it will form their impression of US Army Soldiers regardless of the veracity of the story.

UPDATE II: Bader 6, in Theater, says this story doesn't pass the smell test.

If someone as severely injured as described was there, she surely returned to Iraq of her own accord. Do we think someone, and particularly a woman with the mettle to just be in the world of an Army in combat, to have suffered such grievous wounds, and the return to theater to continue on would be run out of the Dining Facility by a bunch of snot nosed punks? Does that pass the smell test? To me it rings hollow.

UPDATE III: TF Boggs who recently has returned home from Iraq has this to say:

...For starters I believe the entire New Republic story to be a fake, no soldier would ever be able to get away with the things that the author says he did. Not even taking into consideration that most of what he said is basically impossible i.e. running over dogs in a Bradley (a Bradley cannot maneuver quick enough to run over a moving dog), a soldier wearing a human skull on his head (how exactly does a human skull fit like a hat?), and making fun of a woman scarred by an IED (a soldier who said something like that would get his ass kicked by anyone in the vicinity, including me).
...If the “soldier” who “told” TNR these stories is real, his stories are not. Sure there have been some unfortunate occurrences in Iraq but nothing like what the author of the article talks about. A story like this one will only do harm to the reputation of American soldiers abroad, and could quite possibly cause physical harm to them as well.

UPDATE IV: Dadmanly's thoughts:

And I’d add the following circumstantial evidence. Commenters note a similarity between some of what’s described here and events depicted in the (anti-war) movie Jarhead. I’d add that one of the New Republic’s other published story from this poseur describes dogs feeding on corpses. I just watched The War Tapes, in which one of the documentary’s subjects describes taking footage of such, and being told by his superiors to destroy the footage and try to prevent that kind of event in future. The soldier in question says, he’s not really bothered by that. That he figures the suicide bomber deserved no better, why not let the dog fill his belly.

UPDATE V: Eighty Deuce On The Loose in Iraq emails his thoughts:

After reading a few of the accounts, I find it simply disturbing; whether or not these stories are true. The thing is I do not think that what the author of these stories is saying is actually truthful. I find it shameful that this person would even discuss in a non-truthful, joking manner, the things he discusses, especially the story concerning the IED victim. I wonder if this guy has any idea of the negative repurcussions from his actions. I would imagine so if he submitted the stories to be published. Makes me wonder what his motives were to do such a thing.
In the end though, I cannot believe that these stories are truthful.
For 1, the IED story would NEVER happen. I dont care who you are or where you are at, if someone were to do something like that in a chowhall withone someone as injured from an IED as that, there would be either a) a sever ass whooping and/or b) actions taken against the individual from their or others chain of command. Theres no way that this would go on under the watch of everyone else in the chowhall.
The mass grave story is just flat out ridiculous. The story of finding such a thing, where a COP was being built, not saying anything about it, and then the actions of the private and the lack of action of EVERY other soldier. Again, although there may be soldiers that are so deprave, theres no way that all of them would stand by to all these actions.
Finally the Bradely story is another obsurd story. Driving eratic is one thing, but to be utterly destroying things in the wake would not be accepted. If that vechicles TC did nothing surely another would say something.
In the end I find it ridiculous that someone would feel the need to fabricate such a story, but I think there is some motive for this individual. Maybe they were left witha bad taste of the Army or something. Either way it is disgusting and dispicable. I wish such an individual would show up at my unit for just a day... I just hope
Americans believe in the greater good of the American soldiers.

UPDATE VI: Michael Yon emails his thoughts to Michael Goldfarb:

That story about American soldiers at FOB Falcon sounds like complete garbage. I spent time with them this year, and in fact keep them on the front page of my site. 1-4 CAV is an excellent unit. I emailed the commander, LTC James Crider, about the story.
Please put that horrible reporting into context of something accurate. I humbly submit this: Desires of the Human Heart, Part One
V/r
Michael Yon
Baqubah, Iraq

UPDATE VII: Ray Robinson from American Thinker has some interesting conclusions:

"Scott Thomas's" real name is Clifton Hicks
...The evidence that links these two identities is strong but not conclusive. Clifton Hicks was quoted in a Newsweek article, Probing a Bloodbath, which focused primarily on the "Haditha massacre". Of great interest is the name of the Newsweek reporters: Evan Thomas and Scott Johnson. Keep in mind that our TNR writer took the pseudonym "Scott Thomas". Is this a coincidence?

UPDATE VIII: The New Republic responds:

NOTE TO READERS:
Several conservative blogs have raised questions about the Diarist "Shock Troops," written by a soldier in Iraq using the pseudonym Scott Thomas. Whenever anybody levels serious accusations against a piece published in our magazine, we take those charges seriously. Indeed, we're in the process of investigating them. I've spoken extensively with the author of the piece and have communicated with other soldiers who witnessed the events described in the diarist. Thus far, these conversations have done nothing to undermine--and much to corroborate--the author's descriptions. I will let you know more after we complete our investigation.
--Franklin Foer