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Site contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com
...and no, I am not talking about the
"Sir, you can't leave the aircraft except by the bus." "But it isn't here, and the terminal is only 50 yards over there and I need to make a phone call."No, no, no. This is better than trying to find the non-red line on the deck at night in a snow storm so some AirFarce guy won't pull a gun on you..
The Air Force plans to cut 30 generals from its rolls as part of a new force-shaping plan, according to the service’s top civilian leader.Of all the empty piers and the lack of shadows on the deck – I have yet to see the number Flags go anywhere. There is a downside of this for the AirFarce; who is going to measure the depth of the grass on base housing?
...
“We are cutting the force from top to bottom, in fact, leading with 30 general officers,” Wynne said. “The officer field and the enlisted field are imbalanced, so it is a working process to make sure that we have force balance across the spectrum.”
...
“We’re going to operate more efficiently,” he said.
A nation at war must either be better at propaganda than their enemy or ignore the media and win the battles on the ground. In either event, it's no place for half measures. See here:
The Israelis are losing this war because their government is fighting indecisively on one battlefield and not at all on the other. Because the Israelis aren't fighting the media war, the press is slashing at the Israelis hourly in a manner previously reserved for President Bush. Like the president, the Israelis are losing politically because the enemy is fully engaged on both fronts.Hezbollah is playing the media like a fine instrument, and despite Israel's post-event explanations, videos of dead babies trump videos of rockets being launched from the building housing the children.
In a weird way, one of the factors that hurts Israel is that its people are protected from the unguided rocket attacks by their civil defense preparation- bomb shelters and safe rooms, anti-missile defenses. If Israel had lost 50 kids when a rocket had hit a school early in this skirmish, the world might be more sympathetic to Israel. But....when the rule is "if it bleeds, it leads" then the reprehensible tactics of Hezbollah in using human shields work.
Pictures are better than a thousand word babble. Video will gain you 2,000. Last night I had a very hard time explaining to a civilian friend why Israel is bombing in residential areas, and will continue to. With some people, Israel can do nothing right, then again; Israeli Derangement Syndrome has been around longer than Bush Derangement Syndrome. For some video, new video, of what Israel is going up against, I have two here.
I met Medea Benjamin and Gael Murphy on Friday, outside Walter Reed.
A report and some speculation here.
Thoughts by submariners?
How did Cindy Sheehan acquire her new property in Crawford, Texas?
On the Gold Star Families For Peace website, Sheehan explained how Central Texas had grown on her. She now wants a permanent place where she and fellow protestors can go to demonstrate against President Bush.Peace Supporter, Gerry Fonseca, says he purchased the 5-acre parcel, which cost more than $52,000. It was bought with the money frome [sic] her son, Casey's, life insurance policy.
"I doubt they would have sold her the property if she tried to buy it herself," said Foncseca.
"I feel deceived," said Celia Ramsey, who sold the land to Cindy Sheehan through a third party. She talked to News Channel 25 exclusively on the matter. "I would have never sold it to Sheehan. Nobody wants them here."
The Ramsey's claim Fonseca told them he was an evacuee from Hurricane Katrina.
As is always the case with this crowd, the ends justify the means.
Rules?
Terence Mann: I'm going to beat you with a crowbar until you leave.Ray Kinsella: You can't do that.
Terence Mann: There are rules here? No, there are no rules here. [advances with crowbar]
Ray Kinsella: You're a pacifist!
Terence Mann: [stops] Shit.
[from Field of Dreams (1989)]
Has anyone else noticed that we seem to be the only ones that play by the rules any more?
Just ranting (again)... at Some Soldier's Mom
That's the percentage of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines this Washington Post smear job represents. They could have run a profile from any one of the incredible 2.4 million men and women of our Armed Forces, but they don't. No, those folks aren't worth the ink and space; they don't fit the script. Instead, it's the obligatory "military turns troubled youth into murderer and rapist" schtick.
Best of all, they get a former Stars and Stripes writer to do their dirty work. As every conservative writer knows, the easiest way to get a byline with these guys is to sell your soul to the MSM devil by writing copy that allows them to say, "See, it's not us saying it. Even conservatives feel this way..."
So they get this former military newspaper writer to pull the trigger for them by running a lengthy profile of .000000416 of the U.S. military chock full of eye-popping quotes from an obviously troubled individual in order to trash the other 2,399,999 members who serve with distinction. The writer walks away with a WaPo clip to add to his resume, WaPo scores a direct hit against the military with no fingerprints on the weapon, and the anti-military forces (Murtha et.al.) get anecdotal talking points grist for the MSM mill ("Yeah, Anderson, you're right. I mean, just the other day the WaPo featured a story about a raping murdering service member written by a former Stars & Stripes writer....")
It's loathsome, but that's the way the big boys play the game.
USS Benewah (APB-35), a Sunday Ship History salute here.
231 years and counting.
General George Washington founded the U.S. Army JAG Corps on July 29th, 1775. Since then, the JAG Corps has played a key role in the events that shape our nation and our world while becoming one of our country's largest law firms, with more than 3,400 full- and part-time Attorneys. With such a rich history, it is no surprise that Army JAG Corps Attorneys have been prosecuting the "trials of the century" for centuries.
Posted at 1316Z | Comments (3)
ok, Capt B and Taco... You guys have anything to do with this?? (Yes, you did!)
This September, Senator John McCain's youngest son, Jimmy, 18, will report to a U.S. Marine Corps depot near Camp Pendleton in San Diego. After three months of boot camp and a month of specialized training, he will be ready to deploy. Depending on the unit he joins, he could be in Iraq as early as this time next year, and his chances of seeing combat at some point are high. Of the 178,000 active-duty Marines in the world, some 80,000 have seen a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, and there are 25,000 bearing the brunt of some of the worst fighting in Iraq now. About 6,000 Marines have been wounded there, and about 650 have been killed. "I'm obviously very proud of my son," says the elder McCain, "but also understandably a little nervous."
McCain says he doesn't read much into Jimmy's decision. "I know that he's aware of his family's service background," he says, "but I think the main motivator was, he had friends who were in the Marine Corps, and he'd known Marines, and he'd read about them, and he just wanted to join up."
Couldn't agree more with Senator McCain here:
McCain says his son's service won't change his position on the war; he claims it won't even affect how he feels about it. "Like every parent who has a son or daughter serving that way, you will have great concern, but you'll also have great pride," McCain says.
Like his father before the Senator, I wouldn't want to be him...
But it will be hard to ignore. If Republicans retain control of the Senate after November's midterm elections, McCain is due to ascend to the chairmanship of the Armed Services Committee in January, a position he has long aimed for. There he will have day-to-day responsibility for the oversight of the war.
Oorah, James. Oorah. (and keep in mind that McCain has a 20 yr old son about to start his 2nd year at the Naval Academy...)
Read the whole TIME Mag story HERE
No wonder Ahmadinejad is taking so long to reject the nuke proposal ... He's busy in the "reading room"...
From FOXNews...
Iranian Leader: 'Pizza' to Be Called 'Elastic Loaves' in Foreign Word Ban Saturday, July 29, 2006
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered government and cultural bodies to use modified Persian words to replace foreign words that have crept into the language, such as "pizzas" which will now be known as "elastic loaves," state media reported Saturday.The presidential decree, issued earlier this week, orders all governmental agencies, newspapers and publications to use words deemed more appropriate by the official language watchdog, the Farhangestan Zaban e Farsi, or Persian Academy, the Irna official news agency reported.
The academy has introduced more than 2,000 words as alternatives for some of the foreign words that have become commonly used in Iran, mostly from Western languages. The government is less sensitive about Arabic words, because the Koran is written in Arabic.
Among other changes, a "chat" will become a "short talk" and a "cabin" will be renamed a "small room," according to official Web site of the academy.
The headline reads: Army Dismisses Gay Arabic Linguist. As with most of these stories that make it into the news, the charge is that the soldier was "outed" by "anonymous sources" and it was these anonymous sources that formed the basis of his discharge.
Andrew Stuttaford of NRO opines that this is part of a "Sept 10th mentality" on the part of the Army.
Yet again, the policy on homosexuals in the military is reported on by those who haven't read it.
Tonight (Saturday) and Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, CNN will air a special report on the October 23, 1983, bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 service men and women.
I can tell you firsthand that this event pained Cap to his core; he was never really able to move beyond it.
He always felt that his strong, almost strident, warnings to the President should have somehow been even stronger.
As he wrote in his autobiography, In the Arena:
Our mission would be nebulous at best, with no way to tell when it was completed. Although I made these arguments repeatedly and forcefully, the president, unfortunately, concluded otherwise....I have never overcome the feeling that I somehow should have been more persuasive in urging the president not to engage in such a failed policy. The whole episode ingrained even more deeply in me the conviction that we should never commit troops into situations where the goals we give them are not clear and where the equipment we give them is not sufficient at least for self-defense.
As President Reagan later wrote in his autobiography, An American Life, "Every day since the death of those boys, I have prayed for them and their loved ones."
Then as now, sage counsel from both men.
This is a sad story. Good to remember that when it is all said and done, that guy that seems to win it all, have it all, and everything he touches turns to gold - in the end - just may want to trade places with you. What a loss for his kids, family and nation.
Now that the 172nd SBCT has been held in Iraq(Not the 10th or 101st) could the Grand Planners at the Pentagon finally admit that up-armoring Humvees is penny wise and pound foolish, and just spend the extra money for Strykers?
Excellent report on seaborne threats to Israel by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. Video here.
Cross posted.
SEATTLE, July 28 (Reuters) - A woman was killed and five other women were wounded on Friday when a gunman opened fire at a Jewish organization in downtown Seattle that last weekend organized a rally in support of Israel.Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Vice President Amy Wasser-Simpson told the Seattle Times in a story on its Web site that a man got through security at the building and shouted, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," then began shooting.
A tae kwon do match instead of a soccer game has broken out down under:
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will today investigate ugly scenes involving North Korean players after they lost their Women's Asian Cup semi-final in Adelaide last night. Trouble erupted deep in stoppage time when North Korean players thought they had equalised against China but the goal was disallowed for an off-side infringement.Play continued but at the final whistle, and as the Chinese started to celebrate their 1-0 win, frustrations among the North Koreans boiled over with four or five surrounding Italian referee Anna De Toni and one appearing to push her. Television footage also showed a player seemingly aiming a kick which missed De Toni as she and her assistants were escorted from the ground by security guards. Korean players were also seen throwing plastic bottles which had been thrown onto the ground.
You can check out the video of the fight by clicking here. Well I guess I would be upset too, if losing meant the possibility of being entered into a forced labor camp.
Wretchard of The Belmont Club speculates on what how the current fight in Lebanon came out, Israel’s information operation and what may be the deception plan at its core, and similar fascinating insights. His initial post here, and a postscript http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/07/postscript-to-pulp-fiction.html.
Here’s a taste, but go read the whole thing:
From this observation I'm going to say that despite the received wisdom of the newspapers to the contrary, the fighting at Maroun al-Ras and Bint Jbeil have been and continue to be an unmitigated defeat for the Hezbollah. The Hezbollah are doing the single most stupid thing imaginable for a guerilla organization. They are fighting to keep territory. Oh, I know that this will be justified in terms of "inflicting casualties" on the Israelis. But the Hez are probably losing 10 for every Israeli lost. A bad bargain for Israel you say? No. A bad bargain for Hezbollah to trade their terrorist elite for highly trained but nevertheless conventional infantry. Guerillas should trade 1 for 10, not 10 for 1.Wretchard makes many more fine points, but go read his initial post here, and a postscript here.Reduced to its essentials, the IDF strategy may be ridiculously simple: fix the Hezbollah force in Southern Lebanon while detaching its command structure from the field by simultaneously striking Beirut. One of the great mysteries, upon which newpaper accounts shed no light, is why the IDF should so furiously pulverize Hezbollah's enclaves in southern Beirut, blockade the port and disable the airport. The object isn't to shut down Lebanon. It is to momentarily disorient the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, so that in a moment of absentmindedness, the Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon will do what comes most naturally: commit themselves against the IDF.
(H/T Rich Lowry at The Corner, Cross-posted at Dadmanly)
I'll be the guest of Pundit Review Radio --WRKO Boston--, this sunday at 9:20pm EST.
I'll be on right after Blackfive, who is an impossibly tough act to follow.
You can listen live here.
My article on academics vs. ROTC is up at National Review.
WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - Coalition Forces struck a blow to the insurgency recently, capturing 21 insurgents during a counterinsurgency operation in southwestern Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
The July 18 operation, a combined effort between U.S. Navy SEALs and Marines between the cities of Ramadi and Rutbah in Al Anbar Province, led to the most detainees netted by U.S. forces in this region since March, Marine leaders here say.
The operation took place near a gas station located between the two cities – a slab of desert sprinkled with a few small villages, connected by one of the province’s few major roads.
Marine leaders with the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, the U.S. military unit assigned to provide security to this region of Iraq, say the capture is a blow to the insurgency’s supply chain.
“Most of the guys we nabbed are enablers – they hijack goods to provide for the terrorists operating in Ramadi and Hit,” said 2nd Lt. Court Rape, a 24-year-old platoon commander with the battalion’s Company D, which spearheaded the recent counterinsurgency operation. “All of them are known terrorists. Two are very substantial targets linked to executions of truck drivers.”
Ralph has turned the nob to 11 again, and came up with one of the worse Courses of Action I have seen in print by a sober person.
We should be drawing up contingency plans to move a reinforced division and adequate airpower to the Kurdish provinces in the north, to withdraw the remainder of our forces to the south, and then to let Iraq's Sunni Arabs and Shias go at it.I like his COA 1 better; but all he did was ruin by breakfast.
I've had a tough "technical" evening. For starters, I published the post below instead of saving a working draft, so you may have seen the draft version. Good thing Mrs. G is otherwise occupied, or she would be assigning push-ups. Yikes. I'll try not to embarass the milblog family in the future.
So, to lighten things up a bit.... Yesterday, I stumbled across the blog of a soldier who is about to finish his tour of duty in Iraq. He lists a few things he's going to miss about the place. Being an Army wife, this one caught my eye:
Knowing that if the (bleep) hit the fan, every US Army soldier and Marine here would protect every Air Force and Navy schmuck.
Admit it - you laughed. But come to think of it, now I'm in jeopardy of being assigned push-ups by Greyhawk, being Air Force and all. I think I'll just get off of the computer now. I've done enough damage this evening...
1:09 a.m. - Challenges continue. While trying to update the post that originally appeared below, I wiped out most of the extended entry portion. I will reconstruct and republish, if my password isn't yanked. For now, I really am leaving the computer...
For those of you interested in following this series of fortuitous events, we are at the Mexican Navy base at Lazaro Cardenas, and we have met our Pretty Woman.
Ain't she sweet? First picture of the Rodgers from dockside this century...
.... I think Mama Sheehan qualifies as a stalker.
1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas
Regimental Combat Team 2, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Regimental Combat Team 6, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia has been placed in a prepare-to-deploy status for possible deployment later this year.
extend the deployment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team operating in Iraq for up to 120 additional days
However, Claudia Rosett should earn an award for her complete and utter dissassembling of the UN's pathetic leadership right here. Hammer time on Kofi, Jan "Stingy" Egeland, and others of the self-important set that has overseen scandal after scandal (as in Oil for Food - the reportage of the corruption of which should have earned Ms. Rosett every journalism award) and other instances of corruption (Congo rape and UN pederasts) and, yet, presume to pass judgment on others.
Read it.
Two excellent reads, over at Winds of Change:
Donald Sensing on ground fighting in Lebanon
A Link from Michael Totten, with full coverage at his site.
Totten is a singularly insightful commentator into the Middle East, and a brave and dedicated journalist as well. He was an early observer and advocate for the Lebanese Spring, the emergence of nascent democracy even as Syrian occupiers were hounded out. He is greatly dismayed by current events, and had refrained from public comment other than a few bleak and angry comments about Israel and the tragedy this represents for the Lebanese people.
They have grown dear to Totten, and I think he needed the distance and space of time that a prescheduled commitment gave him, to refrain from blogging at his site. He breaks that silence with this very pessimistic piece, an assessment as accurate as it is dark:
Disarming Hezbollah through persuasion and consensus was not possible in the first year of Lebanon’s independence. Disarming Hezbollah by force wasn’t possible either. The Lebanese people have been called irresponsible and cowardly by some of their friends in America for refusing to resume the civil war. Unlike Hezbollah, though, most Lebanese know better than to start unwinnable wars. This is wisdom, not cowardice, and it's sadly rare in the Arab world now. They are being punished entirely too much for what they have done and for what they can't do.This speaks a greater truth, not just for the Middle East, but for all of civilization. To realize any of the fruits of Democracy, people need to first be free in their physical safety and security. The freedom to die or be taken into captivity is no freedom at all.Israel and Lebanon (especially Lebanon) will continue to burn as long as Hezbollah exists as a terror miltia freed from the leash of the state. The punishment for taking on Hezbollah is war. The punishment for not taking on Hezbollah is war. Lebanese were doomed to suffer war no matter what. Their liberal democratic project could not withstand the threat from within and the assaults from the east, and it could not stave off another assault from the south. War, as it turned out, was inevitable even if the actual shape of it wasn’t. Peace was not in the cards for Lebanon. Its democracy turned out to be neither a strength nor a weakness. It was irrelevant.
First things first, after all. If the strongman and the gunman and the executioner are allowed “free” reign, no other freedoms have any real meaning. This is the poverty of options that Michael so laments for the Lebanese.
In the end, the very principles of Democracy and Freedom remain irrelevant in the face of terrorist violence and brutal aggression. That is why we fight. (Reason #99)
(Cross-posted at Dadmanly)
Real Clear Politics published a translated text of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s remarks before Congress Wednesday, July 26th.
The speech is terrific, as several have said, as good as or even better than US Presidential speeches, and far beyond anything the war’s opponents have been able to muster. He knows who the enemy is, and knows that same enemy attacked America on 9/11, and Iraq since its liberation from the brutality of Saddam Hussein.
PM Maliki sounds like a man of deep religious convictions, and stands as proof that one can be a committed Muslim and still honor and desire freedom and democratic principles. He and his fellow free Iraqis risk their very lives on that premise.
Read the whole thing. Excerpts and more commentary over at Dadmanly.
GHARMAH, Iraq (July 27, 2006) -- The search for Army Sgt. Keith M. Maupin continued in Regimental Combat Team 5’s area of operations recently.
A team of Marines, U.S. Army and British soldiers fanned out across several sites to search for the remains of the soldier missing for more than two years. The team searched in two separate locations in this town north of Fallujah. Marines from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment assisted in the search.
FUHUYLAT, Iraq (July 24, 2006) -- Marines from 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment rescued three hostages and uncovered a large weapons cache, including a fully-assembled suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, during Operation Spotlight.
The intelligence-driven operation was conducted alongside Iraqi Army soldiers from 2nd and 4th Brigades, 1st Iraqi Army Division recently. The three hostages were personal assistants of Dr. Rafa Hayid Chiad Al-Isawi, an Iraqi government official in Baghdad. They were held by al-Qaeda insurgents for 27 days.
Along the same lines as Lex below (great, or at least satisfactory Navy minds think alike) The China Option for Lebanon is being discussed a lot here and there. You know things are bad when people, including myself, who should know better, start to think about it. Executive Summary: Bad idea.
The official DoD directive governing active duty participation in political activities can be found here. Note that these restrictions explicitly do not apply to retired, guard, or reserves, except when they are recalled to active duty.
Note also that this instruction was updated in 2004, and clarifies some issues that were previously considered "gray area," such as displaying of partisan bumper stickers on POVs (allowed), and calling in to radio or TV talk shows to advocate for or against a partisan candidate or cause (prohibited).
Of specific interest is Enclosure 3, which gives examples of permissible and prohibited activities:
EXAMPLES AND ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTSE3.1. PURPOSE
This enclosure provides examples of permissible and prohibited political activities and other requirements for implementing this Directive.
E3.2. EXAMPLES OF PERMISSIBLE POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
A member on active duty may:
E3.2.1. Register, vote, and express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but not as a representative of the Armed Forces.
E3.2.2. Promote and encourage other military members to exercise their voting franchise, if such promotion does not constitute an attempt to influence or interfere with the outcome of an election.
E3.2.3. Join a political club and attend its meetings when not in uniform. See Directive 1334.1 (reference (f)).
E3.2.4. Serve as an election official, if such service is not as a representative of a partisan political party, does not interfere with military duties, is performed when not in uniform, and has the prior approval of the Secretary concerned or the Secretary's designee.
E3.2.5. Sign a petition for specific legislative action or a petition to place a candidate's name on an official election ballot, if the signing does not obligate the member to engage in partisan political activity and is done as a private citizen and not as a representative of the Armed Forces.
E3.2.6. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing the member's personal views on public issues or political candidates, if such action is not part of an organized letter-writing campaign or a solicitation of votes for or against a political party or partisan political cause or candidate.
E3.2.7. Make monetary contributions to a political organization, party, or committee favoring a particular candidate or slate of candidates, subject to the limitations under 2 U.S.C. 441a, 18 U.S.C. 607 (references (g) and (h)), and other applicable law.
E3.2.8. Display a political sticker on the member's private vehicle.
E3.2.9. Attend partisan and nonpartisan political meetings or rallies as a spectator when not in uniform.
I think Army Lawyer covered this a while back... and this says AF... I assume it's standard across the services??
The November 2006 elections are fast approaching. Political activity rules are listed in Air Force Instruction 51-902. Violators of this instruction can be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Examples of prohibited activities listed in the instruction include attending a political event in uniform, using official authority to interfere with an election and affect its course or outcome, and using contemptuous words against officials in public office. Military members are allowed to attend political events in civilian clothes but only as a spectator. Speaking publicly at these events is not allowed in or out of uniform. Contact your local legal office for more information about the instruction.
Military.com has an Election Center that has some very good links to Candidate Blogs, Veterans running for office, absentee ballot rules, etc.
Turns out that New York Congressman Owens gave the tickets to Medea "what's the definition of sedition again?" Benjamin.
(h/t Carl)
How about China?
(W)ho has a large enough force, just sort of sitting around, not doing anything? Well…The Peoples’ Republic of China does. They’ve been spending a lot of money modernizing recently, haven’t really had the chance to practice any of their military doctrine since getting thumped by the PAVN back in 1979 - I don’t count crushing unarmed protesters under tank treads. Furthermore, they’re looking to be taken seriously as players on the world stage, a station worthy of their huge population and growing economic status. Even better, as charter members of the non-aligned movement, they haven’t ever been on anyone’s side but their own and so no one could accuse them of playing favorites. Sure, they’ve taken some heat for repressing their Islamic Uighur minority, but I doubt that many in the Hezbollah rank and file can pronounce Uighur, far less find their “Autonomous Region” on a map, and in any case, a bit of alien culture even-handedness combined with a keep-all-sides-guessing reputation for gloves-off brutality might be just the ticket.
If it all works out for the best, China emerges with a burnished reputation as a serious and mature player on the world stage, and the rest of us will owe her one. Things go quickly south, and who knows, maybe those cross-straits saber-rattlers get a wake up call. Me, I’d like to get a look at their running, shooting and passing game. For reasons of my own.
The Wall Street Journal profiles MilBlogs.
The gals of Code Pink have drawn the ire of some bloggers today.
Michelle Malkin tells us that Medea Benjamin, chief Pinko, disrupted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s speech to a joint session of Congress today. Classy.
SMASH has already posted his encounter with the Pink ladies and their I.V.A.W. buddy.
This morning, I published a post about Code Pink getting smacked down by Walter Reed security.
This group of aging hippies pride themselves on their radical, attention-getting methods. While they do get their fair share of attention, the more the public knows about them, the less harmless they appear, which is one reason I'm going to be keeping my eye on Code Pink, and those who cozy up to them.
See if you can answer this one.
Some concern raised in the WaPo about a "real missile threat" posed by missile-capable merchant ships here:
If a country was serious about wanting to attack the United States with nuclear fire in a manner that would ensure surprise, leave no fingerprints and guarantee success, there's a much easier, better and cheaper way. It's one that could avoid the challenge of smuggling weapons into U.S. ports under the eyes of law enforcement, intelligence, customs officials and the Coast Guard: Put the missile on a ship disguised as a commercial freighter or private craft, sail near American waters and fire.Some background and earlier discussion on this topic here and at the links provided (at no additonal charge) therein.
From CENTCOM:
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – A Coalition patrol killed seven extremists on July 25 after they attacked Coalition forces in the Garmser District of Helmand Province.There were no Coalition casualties in the fight. The Coalition unit received small arms, rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and sniper fire from a group of extremists. The Coalition force returned fire, killing five insurgents.
Later in the same area, insurgents fired small arms at an Afghan National Army mortar team, with a Coalition embedded tactical training team attached. The combined unit responded with machine gun fire and killed the remaining two insurgents.
“If enemy extremists fire upon Coalition forces, we will respond with deadly accuracy,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force -76 spokesman. “If they attack Afghan civilians, we will respond just as forcefully. We remain committed to engaging any threats to the peaceful future of the Afghan people.”
Afghan National Security forces continue to maintain a strong presence in the area of Garmser and provide security that will enable reconstruction and humanitarian aid projects to be delivered that will improve the lives of the Afghan people.
Deadly accuracy indeed. Good to see the Afghan National Security forces hard at work defending their own.
I just love it when a good plan comes together:
Baghdad Death Squad Taken Down
The AP also notes that it is unclear whether the 'punishment committee' yanked off the streets was Sunni or Shi'ite. While clearly an important factor to US & Iraqi troops on the ground fighting the good fight, upon further review, it matters little from this distant perspective. One more down, lots to go. Good news for Iraqi civilians, one way or the other.
You know, maybe it's because he glows in the dark or something, but Bubblehead has some unusual correspondents.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EQUALITY OF TREATMENT AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE ARMED SERVICES
WHEREAS it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country's defense:
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, and as Commander in Chief of the armed services, it is hereby ordered as follows:
1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.
A USS Ronald Reagan sailor has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis. The entire ship's crew, air wing, and anyone embarked at any point during the latest deployment has been ordered to be tested for exposure. So far, the tests have returned a positive result in 34 of 776 cases, or 4.4 percent. The expanded test should net a lower percentage of positives, because it will include many people who had little to no direct contact with the sailor with active TB.
This has happened many times before in the Navy, and protocols are in place to prevent the spread of the disease throughout the crew and into the community. A positive test does not indicate active TB, but that the person is a likely carrier of the bacteria which causes the disease. Carriers of TB are typically not contagious unless they develop full-blown cases. Preventative treatment with heavy doses of antibiotics is highly effective at stopping these carriers from developing active tuberculosis.
Unfortunately, those who take the antibiotics must also abstain from drinking alcohol for the course of the treatment (usually six months) to avoid causing liver damage. That's got to be rough on a sailor just home from six months at sea.
I run across an "Iraq Veteran Against the War" protesting outside the White House.
The results are predictable.
Master Chief Carl Brashear, the African-American Navy diver who was the inspiration for the movie "Men of Honor", passed away Tuesday at age 75. He truly lived life to the fullest, and is an inspiration to all who honor those who strive to excel.
Sailor, Rest Your Oar...
It is becoming more and more obvious that the end may be near for United States Forces Korea:
An Asia specialist with the U.S. Congressional Research Service has presented a report to Congress suggesting the U.S. Defense Department is pushing to change the military command structure as a means to drastically reduce the role of the U.S. Forces Korea. Larry Niksch drew up the 16-page report after North Korea's volley of missile launches earlier this month, saying part of the plans is thought to be putting the U.S. Forces Korea under the U.S. Army First Corps whose headquarter is to move from Washington State to Camp Zama in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo.That would also mean lowering the rank of the USFK commander and changes in the UN Command in Korea, which have taken orders from a four-star general since the Korean War.
Niksch's analysis could mean that moves to downgrade the military relationship with South Korea reportedly instigated by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are well underway. A former high-ranking official in the Bush administration told Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin last week that Rumsfeld wanted to bring the Korea-U.S. alliance down to a level similar to Washington’s relationships with the Philippines or Thailand.
So what is the Korean President Roh Moo-hyun doing while the US contemplates moving out of Korea? Well bashing America of course!:
According to our friendly Wikipedia:
The 10 main troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations as of Februrary 2006 were Bangladesh (10,172), Pakistan (9,630), India (8,996), Jordan, Nepal, Ethiopia, Uruguay, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.[2]Which strong, well-equipped and well-trained military would like to step up to the plate to get in between Israel and Hezbollah?
About 4.5% of the troops and civilian police deployed in UN peacekeeping missions come from the European Union and less than one per cent from the United States (USA). The biggest contributor from a western country is Poland with 707 peacekeepers, in 21st place. The USA ranks 31st with 393 peacekeepers. The EU combined have 4,421 peacekeepers.
Come on, who has 12,000 to15,000 troops ready to put into the field? With tanks, equipment, food, weapons and sustainment goodies?
And who's ready to take anyone who violates the separation zone with violence if necessary?
Anyone? Anyone?
By the way, the article does note that the U.S. provides 26% of the UN Peacekeeping 2006 budget.
I don't see the Russians, North Korean, Iranians or the Chinese on the Peacekeeper list.
But I could be wrong.
UPDATE: I was wrong. According to the June 2006 stats available here (pdf), China has contributed 1663 Peacekeepers, Russia has contributed 315 Peacekeepers and Iran has contributed 2.
I've posted a map of Iraqi Civilian Casualty Density as provided by MNF-I
here.
Carter-era CIA director Admiral Stansfield Turner has an article in the July Proceedings (not online) asking, "Do We Need Carriers?" - a subject touched upon by this article in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.
Turner argues that other, cheaper ships, equipped with large stocks of computer and satellite-guided missiles, could deliver as much combat power as a carrier without risk to pilots and other airmen.“All weapons systems have their day and we move on,” Turner said in an interview. He worries that “military people have a tendency to stay with what’s tried, true and proven” without fully studying alternatives, he added.
Totally off the subject of war and whatever else is on the agenda
So riddle me this....
WTF is this Airman doing???
If you guessed "airborne field sobriety test," good try.
Answer plus punch & pie below the fold.
I'm musing and doing a bit of ranting...
I also sit stunned at the sheer number of missiles and the weaponry available -- via Syria and Iran -- and the COST. I ponder this with respect to Hamas as well, and it compels me to ask: How many hospitals could have been built with the money? How many schools? Roads? Homes? Clinics? How many infant deaths could have been prevented with a Women-Infants-Children’s nutrition and pre‑natal care program? How many businesses could have been started with the money? How many factories and manufacturing facilities could have been built -- places to make things and be the linchpins of a sustainable economy? How many Palestinian or Lebanese youth could have been sent to college? How many could now be teachers? Doctors? Lawyers? Statesmen and diplomats?
The rest over at Some Soldier's Mom
While Lex is standing up for Miss Australia, I've got a bit of Navy history to share here.
I think it's work safe, but some people may have other opinions.
So, what do Jonah Goldberg, torpedoes, Destroyers, Mexico, and I have in common?
The Armorer goes adventuring!
I'm also shilling for links to the posts documenting the return of the Rodgers. Mr. Ward Brewer, the leader of our merry band, wants this story to be spread by the blogosphere, and is eschewing the MSM (we are bringing a documentary film crew).
If you'd like to be on the distro list for the posts related to this project, drop me a line at johnbethd*at*yahoo.com and I'll add you to the distro. Anyone - not just milbloggers!
I'm also looking for bloggers near Mobile, Alabama who would be able to be there 15-18 August when the Rodgers is expected to arrive. You could score a trip out on the Coast Guard cutter with her former crew members who are going out to meet her when she arrives.
Here's one for the water-borne MILBLOGGERS...
Austin Bay posts some expert military analysis on the recent attack on the Israeli corvette, INS Ahi-Hanit, enlisting Kirk Spencer and Trent Telenko, who’s analysis Bay compiles in this report. Here’s a summary of the discussion.
