Happy New Year

Here's to a great '07. See you there.

Jihad '06

Bill Roggio, via email:

One of the reasons I started this venture because I believe an education about the nature of the fight is our greatest weakness. Many often look at this war as a fight in Afghanistan, sometimes Pakistan, Iraq if we're lucky. I provided an update on the major theaters in the Long War, and in some minor theaters were are often not familiar with. I called the post "The State of Jihad." It is a one to two paragraph roundup of developments in the theaters over the past year.

Information War And Global COIN

Pencil Roving reminded me to go look again at a New Yorker article that's long but useful in explaining concepts I've been trying to push for a while.

My reaction here.

A Snap

Saddam reaches the end of his rope - Jawa has the video. (No, it's not the CNN version).

The striking thing about this is the room. A dark little chamber somewhere in Baghdad, a fitting doorway to sheol for a man whose entry was long overdue.

Below the fold, a still clip received via email. I debated a few moments with myself over whether I'd share all this, but a lot of folks here went to considerable effort to make this happen.

Sic Semper tyrannis? If only that were true. This will certainly do for a start.

All done!

Canadian Resolve: Troops Reenlist for Afghanistan

Consistent with the observation made by Michael Yon on Christmas in Kuwait that one "never hear[s] soldiers worried about their own morale sagging," Canadian Soldiers Reenlist for Afghanistan.

HOWZ-E MADAD, Afghanistan -- Sweltering heat in the summer, frigid cold in the winter, sleeping in the desert and the ever-present threat of Taliban attacks doesn't seem to be a downside for some Canadian soldiers serving here.

As a matter of fact, with the end of this rotation coming up in February, a number are already talking about coming back for another tour of duty.

Forty-four Canadian soldiers have died in this war-torn country since 2002 and 2006 has been the bloodiest year for our troops since the Korean War.

But individuals like Cpl. Mark Ejdrygiewicz, 22, of Lethbridge, Alta., believe a six-month tour isn't long enough to get the job done.

"On this six month tour we did a lot. There was a lot of progress made: Op Medusa and down in Panjwaii and the districts there opening up the schools and building highways," said Ejdrygiewicz, known as "Edge" to his patrol mates, as he rode in the back of a light armoured vehicle near Howz-e Madad.

"We're doing what we can but we know the Taliban are going to come back. Winter's here and they've gone back to Pakistan," he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "We've got a foothold on the ground in the area but in the back of your mind you know they will be coming back and it will be another threat."

And Ejdrygiewicz takes his job very seriously. Written in felt pen on the cover of his helmet in Pashtu is "Taliban Relocation Service," a tribute to fallen comrade Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, who was killed by an accidental rifle discharge last summer.

O' Canada. Displaying the resolve of the Poles.

Re: Re: Tim Blair and Fake Soldiers

The Jessie MacBeths of the world have always been with us. Visit any local bar and one will find an array of individuals who blather on endlessly about experiences they never had.

The greater question is why are they elevated to 'Hero" status?

Voltair(a pretty smart guy) said, "If God didn't exist we would have to invent him."

In general people who have a God have an omnipotent power to put their faith in, a framework of good and evil, and a mechanism for accepting things that have no clear explanation..I.E. God's Will.

The most decorated ship

Of more than 20 major actions in the Pacific during World War II, she was there for all but two. She was bombed, hit by Kamikazes and fought on and on, for a time as the lone operational carrier in the Pacific.

She became the most decorated ship of the war.

Sailors know who she was, but you can find more here.

Re: Tim Blair

Blair himself also recently caught another one in the act - a small timer, perhaps, but I don't mind shining a little extra light on any of these cockroaches.

That one inspired this response from Iraq vet Diggs at 4 Mile Creek.

Regarding the question Diggs asks, the desire to pretend to be a real GI Joe isn't always a political ploy (gaining a few bucks in unearned VA benefits is probably the prime motivator for most, a desire to simply con folks or a desperate need for acclaim probably accounts for much of the rest), but those who do pose for purely political reasons tend to be lefty, anti-war extremists. Maybe that's just part of the pose? It's possible that since these folks don't really know much about the military they've been duped into believing the Hollywood/media fiction of the recalcitrant soldier. MacBeth might fit this category (I've provided a link to the definition in case he wanders by and wants to see if he's been insulted or not), but Micah Wright and this Mike Hudson clown? Not so much.

But the left is absolutely vulnerable to these types because they desperately "want to believe" (que X-Files theme). Witness the real clowns in the Jesse MacBeth story - his "battle buddies" in the IVAW and the chump that made him a video star.

But it should also be noted that the sharper lefties are now avoiding the "stolen valor" problem by planting their own "instant heroes." (More recent news on that story here and here, for those who may have missed the updates.)

Here's a stolen valor round-up from the P.O.W. Network.

Tim Blair Calls It

He sez "FAKE RANGER IN REAL JAIL".