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Site contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com
I cannot keep the smile off my face... and I would be searching high and low for all the assets these squirrels have squirreled away....
The father of a fallen Marine was awarded nearly $11 million Wednesday in damages by a jury that found leaders of a fundamentalist church had invaded the family's privacy and inflicted emotional distress when they picketed the Marine's funeral.The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress to the Marine's father, Albert Snyder of York, Pa.
Snyder sued the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified monetary damages after members staged a demonstration at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
The defense said it planned to appeal and one of the church's leaders, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said the members would continue their pickets of military funerals.
Church members believe that U.S. deaths in the war in Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
Before the jury began deliberating the size of punitive damages, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted the size of the compensatory award "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants," according to financial statements filed with the court.
Snyder sobbed when he heard the first verdict, while members of the church greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.
Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."
A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries, but the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.
Read the whole story.... HERE at FoxNews
Professor Bainbridge has some interesting comments here re the politicization of the military.
It would hardly be surprising if some folks in the military started wondering whether it was really worth risking their lives to protect the freedoms of people who seem to hate them and the cultural milieu out of which the soldiers came. Especially those who have been exposed to the fever swamp of the comment section of some leading left-liberal blogs.
Something worth discussing.
You can also check out something I wrote last year on the same issue.
Check out my thoughts here based on at least one recent event.
The youngsters in the orange GITMO jumpsuits are particularly charming.
via McClatchy
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Iraqi governments have failed to take advantage of a dramatic drop in violence in Iraq, according to a report issued Tuesday by a U.S. watchdog agency
I guess various Senators will have to "suspend disbelief".
Buck Sgt. writes about a mother who wrote what it is like in her world to have a son at war... I have written about that at length myself.
I wondered as I read Ms. Reed's article why she was so focused on -- as she puts it -- "the worst case scenario"... not once does she ever mention or even consider that her son may make many Iraqi friends... that he will be bringing security to Iraqis... that he will probably help open any number of schools and medical centers or clinics... that he will actually SAVE the innocent sons of Iraqi mothers... Not once does she even consider that her son is working to establish peace for Iraq... and we hope help bring peace to the Middle East. It was all about her and what her friends think.
It's eerily coincidental that I just posted on the very same topic - although the source material was different.
So, Dear Rochelle, I know how you feel... I have felt the fear... but I have also felt immeasurable pride in my soldier -- something I am very sorry that you apparently do not share. And I will tell Ms Reed what I told the (anonymous) Military Mom on my blog: It's Not About You
Patrick Lasswell and I were discussing this particular issue somewhere in comments here recently. It seems we weren't the only ones...
Air Force, Army Clash Again On Unmanned Aerial VehiclesThe Air Force and Army are again clashing over the control of high-flying drones, despite a Pentagon decision last month that no single service would own and operate those aircraft.
Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, and his cadre of legislative officers have been urging lawmakers to give the Air Force control of all medium- and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a move strongly opposed by the Army, Marine Corps and Navy. In particular, the Air Force has been pressing lawmakers recently to reject a provision in the Senate defense appropriations bill added by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) that would prohibit the transfer of research and development, acquisition or program authority of tactical UAVs from the Army, according to Pentagon and congressional sources.
Shelby’s language would also ensure that the Army would retain operational control over and responsibility for the Extended Range Multi-Purpose UAV. That drone is known as the Sky Warrior, a system that is still in development and has been in the Air Force’s crosshairs. The Air Force flies and favors the Predator UAV.
Both drones are built by General Atomics. While similar in capability, the Army contends the Sky Warrior is better suited for the service’s mission. The Air Force contends that, as the executive agency, it would ensure the UAVs operate compatible command and control systems.
The Air Force has been pushing to become the executive agency for all drones flying above 3,500 feet since 2005, but brought its fight to Capitol Hill earlier this year.
A North Korea freighter's crew, captured by Somali pirates seems to have been emboldened by the arrival of a U.S. Navy destroyer and retakes their ship, leaving a couple of dead pirates in their wake.
Story unfolding here.
Good on the Norks.
And go get 'em, Navy!
via CS Montor
By Jerry Lanson - Boston - Coordinated antiwar protests in at least 11 American cities this weekend raised anew an interesting question about the nature of news coverage: Are the media ignoring rallies against the Iraq war because of their low turnout or is the turnout dampened by the lack of news coverage? I find it unsettling that I even have to consider the question.
Well Jerry...if you actually had been paying attention to the war...rather than whining about lack of news coverage of your protests you might...just might... come to the conclusion that the Iraq War is going to end. Not because of any protests...but because of the hard work and sacrifices of the 160+ thousand US Military in co-ordination with 370+ thousand Iraqi Security Forces and 67+ thousand Concerned Iraqi Citizens.
The story of the 600+ thousand people in Iraq courageously working 24/7 to end the war is a lot more compelling than what a handful of people who think they can stop the killing in Iraq by just wishing it away.
Let me be the first to go ahead and blame Bush. He hates brown people, remember?
Actually, this faulty dam is a pretty good metaphor for everything that is/has been wrong with Iraq since we got there. We didn't break it; Iraqi society had been fundamentally broken for a very long time. But at times it seems to have only gotten worse. We're trying to fix it, but likely getting tangled up in a combination of Iraqi red tape, laziness, and incompetence. But in the end, if we don't solve the problem and thar she blows, the blame will come down squarely on you know who.
Locals will ruminate why we didn't just use our giant American bottle of Gorilla Glue. Truthers will claim Blackwater set C4 charges at the base. Sunnis will pin the blam! of the dam on the JAM. Spike Lee will put out another 17-disc HBO documentary that no one will watch. Anderson Cooper may finally figure out where in the wide, wide world of sports Mosul actually is. And Bin Laden will take credit for all of it, praise be to Allah.
But you gotta love the final paragraph:
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the debate over the dam has gone on largely behind the scenes so as not to cause public panic or attract the interest of insurgents.
Hear that? Shhh... don't tell anyone.
Consul-At-Arms takes me to task for my post Whom Shall I Send?
I wrote
Now frankly I was surprised the State Department even asked people about where they want to be assigned.
Consul-at-Arms answers
In the military they call them "dream sheets," IIRC.
That's absolutely fair. I should have been more clear. The military does have you put together a "dream sheet." Of course when you list Europe, Hawaii, and Fort Carson - you may very well end up at Fort Drum. You are directed the needs of the Army. The articles I cited indicated it had been since Vietnam since State Department assignments were directed.
I wrote
Foreign Service Officers. My perception of most them is thus: Ivy Leaguers who so enjoyed their junior year abroad they want to make a career of it. They seek to spend a make a career out of moving from Paris to Rome to London; hardship posts are the capitals of Eastern Europe.The remaining Foreign Service Officers appear to be professional Peace Corps volunteers. Noble efforts, but in the macro scheme of things, not a very significant part of how US foreign policy is conducted.
Consul-At-Arms responds
There's perception and then there's a reality. The map is not the territory and you need to know when to get a new map. You need a new map, badger 6. The Foreign Service you're conjuring out of old stereotypes hasn't existed in at least a generation.
I thought my post invited that. Consul says I need a new map, but he offers no evidence that my map is wrong. The WaPo article certainly reinforces my map and Consul offers no evidence to counter it other than, well I should have a different map.
I wrote
"Foreign Service Officers have a union?
Consul-At-Arms responds
It's called the American Foreign Service Association. It's not as if we'd ever go on strike, but it's a professional association nonetheless.
So it is a professional association and not a union. Good to know.
Maybe the WaPo greatly misrepresented the issues with the Foreign Service; we in the military certainly know what it is like to be misrepresented. if that is what is going on Consul-At-Arms issue is with the WaPo, not my post.
When I read that there are 400 volunteers on a list for 200 positions, or something similar, I will think that my position on Foreign Service Officers is wrong. I hope Consul-At-Arms can dispel my notion that is a "generation old."
Or: "How many media reports on the failure of the media to report the horrors of Iraq will we need to see before realizing the magnitude of their failure?"
Stray thought. A quote from a recent WaPo piece:
"This is a dangerous place," said Capt. Lee Showman, 28, a senior officer in the battalion. "People are killed here every day, and you don't hear about it. People are kidnapped here every day, and you don't hear about it."I've discussed the broader implications of the piece elsewhere, but wanted to point out something specific (and specifically annoying to me) here. Whenever the media takes a break from broadcasting the horror/quagmire/failure/mistake/death toll that is Iraq and instead publishes a quote from a GI that they will insist supports their view of Iraq as horror/quagmire/failure/etc., the story will invariably include a quote from said GI to the effect that the media doesn't ever report what a horror/quagmire/failure Iraq is. This may even be in the stylebook. If not, it's an unwritten but inviolable rule*. And apparently there's no limit to the number of times some people can hear/read that without catching on.
<...>
The American people don't fully realize what's going on, said Staff Sgt. Richard McClary, 27, a section leader from Buffalo."They just know back there what the higher-ups here tell them."
While reasonable people can argue the degree to which Iraq is any of those things, it's absurd to argue Americans are ignorant of the issue due to some failure of the media - an absurdity compounded when included in the latest in a long line of stories arguing an extreme view. One is entitled to his or her opinion, but not to his or her own facts.
*Greyhawk's rule of media reports from Iraq: Whenever using a GI quote to support the view that Iraq is every bit the disaster we say it is, always include a quote implying that said GI resents the media failure to report it as such.
We do a lot of talk about taking care of our POW/MIA and recovering the remains of those lost. Sometimes though, we don't walk the walk. It is way past time to bring the rest of "George One" home.
While the 6 survivors of the crash were able to make it to the coast for pick up by a sea plane, those three men killed in the crash were left behind, their bodies buried in what was meant to be a temporary grave were buried beneath a specific and well-marked area under the starboard leading-edge of the large PBM-5 wing by their fellow crewmen. Weather precluded the Navy from recovering their bodies at the tail end of Operation Highjump. Its always been the wish of these fellow crewmen, the Navy rescuers and the families to have their loved ones returned to US soil.That was 1946. We have the team ready to go - we have the location - we have the technology. What we don't have is the funding and the leadership's decision to make it happen.
It is time to bring them home.
First, Somali pirates grabbed a Japanese owned tanker (the crew seems to be a mix of nationalities) and then USS Porter (DDG-78) went into action.
A couple of sunken pirate skiffs followed.
Surface action port!
John Cole and Glenn Greenwald, I think, are starting to wonder what color that helicopter circling their house is.
The right wing is sowing the seeds for Dolchstoßlegende even while claiming victory or progress or positive trends or however we are euphemizing it today, and there appears to be a significant portion of the Officer Corps who are willing to go along with it. The arrogance of Boylan is not only a symptom of this problem, it is one of the intended outcomes.Read it all. A funny read from one end to the other.
...
the Army's behavior in the Beauchamp case is exactly what one would expect from an increasingly politicized, Republican-controlled division of the right-wing noise machine.
Greyhawk, it would be great if you could get a moment in the chow line with Col. Boylan. I am not sure if we should take Cole and Greenwald to Gitmo or our secret prison in Bulgaria after we pick them up. If you could ask him, that would be great.
Cracked pot of the week: (h/t: WSJ Best of the Web)
When I tell people that Evan has joined the Army, their reactions are almost always the same: their faces freeze, they pause way too long, and then they say, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry for you." I hang my head and look mournful, accepting their sympathy for the worry that lives in me.
Now I must accept that the son I raised to be a gentle, caring soul is somewhere in the Iraq desert, a loaded M3 [sic] in his arms. At this very moment, he could be exalting with his buddies that he killed the enemy, ending the life of another mother's son. If, God forbid, another mother's son kills Evan, will I share the same empathy "he was only doing his job" that I'm willing to extend to my own flesh and blood?
"Another mother's son... only doing his job."
Yup, that's precisely what I thought to myself whenever drug-crazed jihadists drove VBIEDs into crowded marketplaces or fired armor-piercing bullets into the skulls of my friends. Those son's of mothers were just doing their jobs. Deep down they're really just like us.
Is it too late to get California scrubbed from my birth certificate? I'd at least give her son credit except that it sounds like he's got "budding TNR diarist" written all over him. 1-2-3-4, what the hell are we fightin' Foer!
On Saturday, Iraq was page one news, with a headline quote from a sergeant in Baghdad: 'I Don't Think This Place Is Worth Another Soldier's Life'.
On Sunday, the Iraq news returned to page 17:
Sunni Violence In Baghdad Called DisruptedPetraeus Says Al-Qaeda in Iraq Strongholds Are Cleared, but Insurgents Remain 'Lethal'
BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said Saturday that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq has been disrupted and no longer operates in large numbers in any neighborhood of the capital.
"In general, we think that there are no al-Qaeda strongholds at this point," Petraeus said. He added: "They remain very lethal, very dangerous, capable at any point in time, if you will, of coming back off the canvas and landing a big punch, and we have to be aware of that."
This guy:
And a brief case "borrowing" naval officer whose dead reckoning happened to be dead on.
As set out here.
Greyhawk, you forgot the to mention the best part! The video at the end, perhaps a later update. To quote the young'uns - IAVA's Adam Kokesh gets PWNED! You have to watch to the end - and I think you will get a kick out of who he supports for President. That and his do-rag wearing friend just makes the day complete.
Foreign Service Officers need to answer: "Send Me!"
Foreign Service Officers. My perception of most them is thus: Ivy Leaguers who so enjoyed their junior year abroad they want to make a career of it. They seek to spend a make a career out of moving from Paris to Rome to London; hardship posts are the capitals of Eastern Europe.
The remaining Foreign Service Officers appear to be professional Peace Corps volunteers. Noble efforts, but in the macro scheme of things, not a very significant part of how US foreign policy is conducted.
If you, a loved one, or a good friend is a Foreign Service Officer and are offended or put off by the above, I urge you to pause before you hit the comment button and ask yourself why such a perception exists.
It seems the State Department may have to direct Foreign Service Officers to the Baghdad Embassy. The largest United States Embassy in history, confronting the most challenging Foreign Policy of our day and our Foreign Service is AWOL.
The Washington Post and ABC News have stories here and here regarding the difficultly of finding Foreign Service Officers willing to come to Iraq.
Of the 11,500 Foreign Service Officers in the US State Department, slightly over 1200 have served in Iraq. The tours are a year and they are allowed five trips home for a period of 60 days; four times what a Soldier facing combat receives. They can also receive up to 90% of their salary in additional pay, tax free for the tour. In contrast a service member receives 15 days leave once for a one-year tour and receives approximately $500 per month in various types of special duty pay in addition to the tax-free status.
The union representing U.S. diplomats has officially objected to the Iraq call-up. "We believe, and we have told the secretary of state, that directing unarmed civilians who are untrained for combat into a war zone should be done on a voluntary basis," said Steve Kashkett, vice president of the American Foreign Service Association. "Directed assignments, we fear, can be detrimental to the individual, to the post, and to the Foreign Service as a whole." Kashkett said the association had contended in meetings with Rice and Thomas that a diplomatic draft is unnecessary and that "thousands" of diplomats have volunteered for Iraq over the past five years. "We're not weenies, we're not cowards, we're not cookie pushers in Europe," he said. "This has never been necessary in a generation."
Foreign Service Officers have a union?
Read Mr. Kashkett’s quote again - "We're not weenies, we're not cowards, we're not cookie pushers in Europe." Words are easy to produce Mr. Kashkett, but actions speak louder than words. If the Foreign Service is not full of “weenies, cowards, and cookie pushers” then prove it.
Now frankly I was surprised the State Department even asked people about where they want to be assigned. But if you are a Foreign Service Officer and you are not on that list of volunteers then you have given lie to Mr. Kashkett’s disclaimer. If your name is not on that list of volunteers and you have not served here I would suggest you are one of the three.
And yes, if your are green suiter and look down on your right shoulder and don’t have a patch that was earned in Iraq or Afghanistan, then you too need to be really questioning what you are doing in this organization.
For those of you who need a primer on why Foreign Service Officers are so critical to this fight I would recommend this article from the Economist.
(h/t Blackfive)
There is a place.
It is a place specifically to honor those of the Third Infantry Division killed in Iraq. A tree for each soldier lost… a living monument to those who gave all. A place that families and friends and comrades come to remember… to reflect… to pay respects. It is a place that provides comfort… and for some, peace.
It is Warriors' Walk at Fort Stewart, Georgia. There are now 373 trees. Four were added October 19... and two of those new trees were for soldiers in my son's battalion/regiment. There are hopes that these will be the last to be added to the Walk; with at least eight more months in this deployment, it is a wish prayed with fervency and many promises attached.
Many family members and friends regularly leave mementos for fallen 3ID soldiers: pictures with family members, sports teams' memorabilia, plaques, toy motorcycles and even the occasional bottle of a soldier's favorite beer. Last December, as family members of the Third Infantry Division were preparing for their loved ones’ deployments -- some for the third time -- they paid homage by decorating the Warriors' Walk trees of family and friends. But the wife of the (now) Command Sgt. Major and others noticed that many trees had no decorations and she vowed to do something about it.
And you can help dress the place for the Holidays.
Details at Some Soldier's Mom
via ABC
Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: "Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die" or "Drop Tuition Not Bombs." The streets were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to Dolores Park.
GEN. PHILLIPS:But what really touched me was on the 23rd of October, this past Tuesday, I went out to Ramadi. The Iraqis came up with a concept of a Unity Day parade. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think Ramadi would host a parade which would be led with a band playing and then also young Iraqi Boy Scouts marching with flags, young Iraqi Girl Scouts marching with flags, followed by the fire department, the National Police, the regular police, ambulances.
I'm pretty sure I know which parade the 70% of Americans who want the war to end would prefer marching in. Unfortunately, Ramadi,Iraq is a long way to go for a victory parade.
...at veteran's cemeteries. "...the 13-fold recital is not part of the U.S. Flag Code and is not government-approved", says spokesman.
A spokesman in Washington said the complaint originated from someone who witnessed the ceremony at Riverside National but would provide no other details and declined to release the directive banning the flag-folding recital, saying it was "an internal working document not meant for public distribution."Vets are a bit perturbed...
"That the actions of one disgruntled, whining, narcissistic and intolerant individual is preventing veterans from getting the honors they deserve is truly an outrage," said Rees Lloyd, 59, a Vietnam-era veteran and Memorial Honor Detail volunteer. "This is another attempt by secularist fanatics to cleanse any reference to God."It gets even worse...World War II Navy sailor Bobby Castillo, 85, another member of Memorial Honor Detail 12, called the federal decision "a slap in the face to every veteran."
"When we got back from the war, we didn't ask for a whole lot," said Castillo, who was wounded in 1944 as he supported the Allied landings in France. "We just want to give our veterans the respect they deserve. No one has ever complained to us about it. I just don't understand."
The pair, part of a team that has performed military honors at more than 1,400 services, said they were preparing to read the flag-folding remarks when workers in a staff car came up to them and stopped them.
...the flag-folding narrative can be read but only if families make arrangements on their own and do not use cemetery workers, which include volunteers,.News flash for anyone who thinks they can take a piss on combat veterans alive or dead:
Charlie Waters, parliamentarian for the American Legion of California, said he's advising memorial honor details to ignore the edict, even if it means being kicked out of cemeteries."This is nuts," Waters, a Korean War veteran, said in a telephone interview from Fresno. "There are 26 million veterans in this country and they're not going to take us all to prison."
Okay, this isn't satire either. But from the USAF search for meaning to the California fires, it connects a lot of threads we've got going here.
Air Force Spy Plane To Fly Over Fire ZoneOh yeah, it adds a "domestic surveillance" angle, too. I blame Bush.The Air Force launched one of its Global Hawk spy planes Thursday to capture images of the Southern California fires -- the first domestic surveillance mission for the unmanned drone.
Anyhow, unfortunately, the USAF came in second again:
The Air Force drone is the second unmanned craft in the skies over the Southern California wildfires. On Wednesday, NASA launched its Ikhana unmanned system. The Ikhana, a version of the military's Predator modified for civilian research missions, also captures thermal images while flying at a lower altitude than the Global Hawk. Both can fly 20 hours or more without refueling.Ouch.
Here's why:
Air Force officials decided to offer the Global Hawk on Tuesday. But the plane was not launched earlier, military officials said, because they were awaiting formal requests from local officials. Such requests are required before military equipment can be used inside the U.S.Now someone needs to call Randi Rhodes on this one, because it sounds like while the USAF is contained, NASA is free to spy on Americans!!!!
Can you imagine being A NEW FATHER, BRINGING A CHILD INTO A WORLD LIKE THIS?
In our last episode:
...from your troops in Iraq. This result was found as graffiti on a porta potty wall, so some may challenge the accuracy of the results.Since then, however, yet another write-in candidate has since been added to the grid. And with 25 votes, Chuck Norris is running away with the election.Several candidates were named, along with complex instructions ("Vote"). Votes were in the form of hash marks under each candidate's name.
Results:
Clinton: 3 (Will assume Hillary)
Obama: 16
Giuliani: 0
Thompson: 0
Bush part 3: 15Someone added Nader to the list, he got one vote.
Conspicuously absent: John McCain. Less so: Ron Paul, who no one ever heard of.
Disclaimer: I had nothing to do with this whatsoever, and didn't even vote. Just relating what I saw.
Unfortunately, this isn't satire either:
As wildfires were charging across Southern California, nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two massive cargo planes sat idly by, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy.How much the aircraft would have helped will never be known, but their inability to provide quick assistance raises troubling questions about California’s preparations for a fire season that was widely expected to be among the worst on record.
It took as long as a day for Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters to get clearance early this week, in part because state rules require all firefighting choppers to be accompanied by state forestry “fire spotters” who coordinate water or retardant drops.
...is bring warm clothes, gang, winter's coming, and it does get cold:
WASHINGTON -- In the largest call-up of U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War, the State Department is planning to order some of its personnel to serve at the American Embassy in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers.Those designated "prime candidates" _ from 200 to 300 diplomats _ will be notified Monday that they have been selected for one-year postings to fill the 40 to 50 vacancies expected next year.
They will have 10 days to accept or reject the position. If not enough say yes, some will be ordered to go to Iraq and face dismissal if they refuse, Harry Thomas, director general of the Foreign Service, said Friday.
<...>
The U.S. military has quietly but repeatedly complained that its forces and other Defense Department personnel have been pressed into service in jobs that should have been filled by State Department personnel.In particular, Defense Department employees and service members were forced to fill spots on provincial reconstruction teams for months because the State Department could not get personnel there.
Military officials have complained that other federal agencies _ including State, Commerce and Agriculture _ aren't moving quickly enough to fill critical needs in Iraq. Those agencies, they argue, have the expertise to help Iraqi business people and farmers get back to their jobs and improve the economy.
Sadly, this is not satire:
I started just doing Google searches to try and figure out. You know, arson, arson, it was like crazy trying to figure out why is that being downplayed? Why is that, you know, just a small part of the story? And you know, every time I look for it what comes up, believe it or not, is that Blackwater wants to move to San Diego and build this giant complex in San Diego right where most of the evacuations are taking place and you know.You just know wherever there is fire, this administration will be out there doing what it does best and that is fanning the flames, you know. It just spooks me, I can’t explain to you how creepy this whole thing is that you know, you’ve got these fires. Some of them are thought to be the work of arsonists and in the same breath you’ve got a community that’s on fire that just recently protested Blackwater West. Just recently said no to Blackwater and apparently you don’t do that.
I mean, I don’t even know what to think. You know, nobody is saying Blackwater set the fires, that is nobody that doesn’t want their house burned down. Nobody is saying that, but it is all so bizarre that this is America and you have to sort of sit there and wonder … arson, same place Blackwater West wants to be, people protesting. And then you find out that some of the guys that used to work for Blackwater are now in Schwarzenegger’s administration.
It’s all so creepy.
Holy cow Buck, some times the oblique approach just ain't right...
Ladies and Gentlemen, Buck Sargent is a proud new poppa of a bouncing baby boy.
Congratulations to the whole family!
Hahaha, I participated in an email round table discussing Robert's article... along with a couple of folks from Danger Room and Mike Goldfarb from the Weekly Standard. It should be out this week.
Not as absurd as you think. Although I did argue against rolling the AF into the Army.... just because I hate standing in formation.
In case you are one of the two people on Earth that do not read Blackfive, Laughing Wolf posted a link to this outrageously satirical piece that is a MUST read... just don't be drinking anything when you read it -- or the comments (which are an integral part of the humor).
Just in case you need a chuckle or an outright laugh today.
Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldier's Angels, has been nominated as a finalist in the first annual "Above and Beyond" awards, presented by Microsoft and in partnership with the USO. The awards were created to recognize the contributions of the military community - the friends, family, and other individuals who help brighten the lives of U.S. troops throughout the world.According to Microsoft, the "Above and Beyond Awards is our way of publicly honoring and thanking the outstanding commitment, exceptional service, sacrifice and achievements of individuals who have shown extraordinary dedication in brightening the lives of our troops over the past year."
Patti has been nominated for the Effort Award, which recognizes an individual who:
* Offers outstanding support and comfort to our troops.
* Helps enhance morale and personal welfare of our troops.
* Through their mentorship, inspires other groups/individuals to create new and unique ways to show their support of the troops.
* Has impacted the lives of many through their leadership and guidance.Please take a minute and vote here.
Congratulations on the nomination, and good luck Patti!
Thanks MaryAnn
Robert Redford, on the war on terror:
The problem is not with the people that started this. The problem's with us.We've discussed this Fall's spate of Hollywood anti-war movies here - and are heartened by their failure to attract a significant number of viewers. Still, in years to come, those movies will be seen as "defining" the conflict in Iraq.
There are counters to this message. While lacking Hollywood money or perspective, others have taken it upon themselves to actually travel to Iraq and document the real story of the war.
Want to help preserve that story? Take the money you aren't going to spend on Redford's latest and make it happen. Click here.
Fed up with unnecessary gold-plated fighter jet programs, the service’s impatience with counter-insurgency and its anti-China rhetoric, back in August I proposed the disbanding of the U.S. Air Force. The air service’s missions could be folded into the Army, Navy and Marine Corps without any loss in national power -- and we’d benefit from cuts to Pentagon overhead.Don't be confused by my link, I'm not a participant in that exercise, just acknowledging it's existence. (In fact, I'll go a step farther and acknowledge it's absurdity.)Now Robert Farley over at The American Prospect has taken up the cause in a new piece, “Abolish the Air Force.” To complement the piece, Farley has solicited input from a number of bloggers, including yours truly.
“Does the United States Air Force fit into the post–September 11 world, a world in which the military mission of U.S. forces focuses more on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency?”
But while likewise probably unaware of TAPs efforts, Joe Galloway offers a hint of counterpoint:
One of America's more thoughtful military strategists, retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, a veteran of ground combat in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf region, says that our "defense strategy is unbalanced, incoherent and underfunded."I refer to Galloway's piece as a "hint of counterpoint" because I've seen that 6-page document (it's unclassified) and can't help but notice that he avoids acknowledging that it's actually a trip report on General McCaffrey's visit to Nellis and Scott AFB. In short, it's a document devoted to espousing the USAF position on various issues, the most serious being the ChiCom threat to our precious bodily fluids:McCaffrey made his comments and recommendations in a six-page analysis addressed to professors at West Point, where he's an adjunct professor of international relations.
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"The U.S. Air Force is our primary national strategic force . . . yet it is too small, has inadequate numbers of aging aircraft, has been marginalized in the current strategic debate and has mortgaged its modernization program to allow diversion of funds to prosecute" underfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The looming challenge to US national security and foreign policy sovereignty issues in the coming 15 years will be posed by the legitimate and certain emergence of the People’s Republic of China as a global economic and political power with the military muscle to challenge and neutralize the deterrence capacity of the US Navy and Air Force in the broad reaches of the Pacific maritime frontier. China will indeed soon have the military capacity in less than one generation to pose a national survival threat to US defensive capabilities and to challenge our ability to project power along the Pacific littoral.Which we ignore because of Iraq:
US defense strategy is unbalanced, incoherent, and under-funded--- does not focus on the next generation deterrence and war-fighting missions--- and is distorted by the drain of US defense modernization dollars and manpower resources being funneled into the ground combat meat-grinder of the civil war in Iraq.And how do we counter the Rumsfeldian "focus on the magic of technology"? McCaffrey offers:
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The debate over the disaster of the war in Iraq may soon be replaced by a greatly diminished defense budget as a tired, cynical and exhausted joint military force winds down our combat presence in the coming 36 months. We may swing from the eerie immaturity of the Rumsfeld era focus on the magic of technology as the sole determinant of national security--- to an equally disastrous concentration of building a ground combat force which could have won Iraq from the start--- absent the bad judgment of the Rumsfeld Pentagon and compliant Generals.
SEVEN IMPERATIVES FOR US GLOBAL AIR POWER:Much of which I find as disturbing as I do the previous argument absurd. It's unfortunate in that there are valid arguments presented in the General's report . The Defense budget - while bloated by unnecessary add-ons and pork projects, is nonetheless modest given our current threat level. But to wrap a valid argument in cold war-era paranoia and sprinkle it with personal opinions presented as established fact (or even consensus opinion) is to hand an opponent the ammunition he needs to blast you out of the sky. (It is, in fact, exactly the "impatience with counter-insurgency and its anti-China rhetoric" that Axe cites as his reason for questioning the Air Force's existence in the first place.)
1st -- The F-22A Raptor.
• There is no single greater priority for the coming 10 years for the US Air Force than funding, deploying, and maintaining three-hundred and fifty (350+) F-22A Raptor aircraft to ensure air-to-air total dominance of battlefield air space in future contested areas. The Air Force has been forced to trade away their modernization budget because the aircraft has minimal value in low-intensity ground-air combat operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. (The current 91 aircraft are simply inadequate for anything but special missions).
• This combat aircraft is sheer magic.
Phil Carter: Nickel and Diming California's Veterans.
(Written before the fires.)
Well, we see how foreign courts work vs. the Predator/Reaper.
Yemen has set free one of the Al Qaeda masterminds of the bombing that killed 17 American sailors aboard the destroyer Cole in 2000, a senior security official said Thursday.Jamal Mohammed Ahmad Ali Badawi, who is wanted by the FBI, was convicted in 2004 of plotting, preparing and helping carry out the Cole bombing in the Yemeni port of Aden. He received a death sentence that was commuted to 15 years in prison.
He and 22 others, mostly Al Qaeda fighters, escaped from prison last year. But Badawi was granted his freedom after turning himself in 15 days ago and pledging loyalty to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Witnesses said Badawi was receiving well-wishers at his home in Aden.
Someone yesterday leaked documents of interviews between “Shock Troops” diarist Scott Thomas Beauchamp, editorial and legal representatives of The New Republic (TNR), as well as excerpts from the official Army investigation into Beauchamp’s conduct in publishing his “stories” at TNR.
As soon as these leaked documents appeared at the Drudge Report, conservative bloggers with long-time interest in the controversy and scandal jumped all over the story. Many bloggers on the right echoed Matt Drudge’s claim – apparently since retracted – that the documents constituted evidence of a complete retraction by Beauchamp, and included an admission by Beauchamp that he had fabricated the hoariest details of his discredited accounts.
Left leaning bloggers, either supportive of TNR or highly suspicious that MILBLOGGER and other objections to the original diary entries were unfounded or politically motivated, likewise either assailed the new leak of documents or dismissed them as either forgeries or not containing what Drudge and other critics claimed.
No and yes, yes and no. From both sides of the argument.
I do a full analysis over at Dadmanly, but here are my conclusions:
What the documents do show is that the Army investigation gathered a rather full and incriminating collection of evidence that Beauchamp fabricated the warp and woof of his accounts. He spun elaborate war stories out of shreds of experience, and manufactured the grittier and more outrageous elements of his accounts – in particular, the ones that have so infuriated his critics in and of the military.The interviews in particular reveal some clues that may explain why this scandal occurred, and why it continues to play out the way it has. Beauchamp’s Squad Leader sits in on the interview with Foer and Scoblic. Rather than intimidating Beauchamp, as Juan Cole and others are suggesting, it seems a lot more likely that Beauchamp really is trying to make amends for his fable-telling, following his Commander’s instructions to seek approval from his immediate supervisor, and just trying to concentrate on doing his job.
For one thing, Foer and Scoblic give Beauchamp all kinds of opportunity to throw them a bone and back up his stories, which he refuses to do. They also put a lot of pressure on him to give them cover, and even use the emotional (and perhaps financial) pressure implied in suggesting that Beauchamp’s wife, still a TNR employee, really wants him to back TNR up.
By my admittedly jaundiced reading, I think Foer and Scoblic are a lot more intimidating in these interviews than Beauchamp’s squad leader (only a Staff Sergeant E-6) and a Specialist from the PAO. If Beauchamp’s unit wanted intimidation, Beauchamp’s Command Sergeant Major (CSM), First Sergeant, or at least Platoon Sergeant would be there, along with the actual PAO, a Major or thereabouts, not a junior enlisted soldier. (Was he the one who would later scribe the interview?)
I think Beauchamp, being a kid with dreams beyond his (at least current) capabilities, screwed up in something he thought he could play at, not reaizing the immediate and explosive effect it would have on his immediate unit and fellow soldiers. I think he knows now. I think he sincerely wants to get away from the whole mess, salvage what honor and respect he can from his comrades by concentrating on the job at hand. Oh, and staying away from the media, or any attempt to revisit his daydreams of being a writer.
Audiences Reject Iraq War — At The Box Office:
It doesn't matter how many Oscar winners are in front of or behind the camera — audiences are proving to be conscientious objectors when it comes to this fall's surge of antiwar and anti-Bush films.Both "In the Valley of Elah" and, more recently, "Rendition" drew minuscule crowds upon their release, which doesn't bode well for the ongoing stream of films critical of the Iraq war and the Bush administration's wider war on terror.
"Rendition," which features three Oscar winners in key roles, grossed $4.1 million over the weekend in 2,250 screens for a ninth-place finish. A re-release of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" beat it, and it's 14 years old.
Bobby Calvan has "disappeared" his entire web site. And the post about harrassing a guard in the green zone might not have been the reason why.
Since the site has gone, I can't comment on the accuracy of what this commenter at LGF says - but apparently Calvan had confessed to shaping stories to fit his own version of events:
...the story that was already being composed in my mind. I was after vivid descriptions that could, if warranted, paint a scene of chaos, anger and grief.More evidence of Calvan's arrogance here.
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Jenan, a Shiite member of our staff of local reporters, went to work to track down witnesses. She spoke to at least two by telephone. But I pressured her for more. I wanted an interview with a doctor. I wanted quotes from some of the injured, maybe even words that captured the anger and grief of the family of the dead.
Update: I agree with Charles :
...even though he’s now pulled the entire thing offline, what it revealed about mainstream media reeporting from Iraq is actually quite important.The fact that he's deleted the whole thing now that he's been "discovered" is the most telling bit of evidence of all.
Watch as 124 (as of this posting) commenters rip a reporter a well-deserved new ass.
By the way, this dork says the Ugandan security troops have "the warmth of armed robots". For the record, Ugandan troops are great. I love those guys. (But then again, I treat them like fellow human beings.)
Update: okay, he made his post go away.
(Yes, I’m obviously new to blogging. Somtimes I share too much. The blogosphere has reacted and pointed out my folly. Yes, I can be pushy. I can also be wrong. I’v'e edited this post — and have shut down the comment feature.)As a GI in Iraq, please let me say "welcome to Baghdad, Bobby. And welcome to the blogosphere, too. Here's your post in full:
