October 2006 Archives
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Team Air Force Soaring!
By John
We're doing great Zoomies! Strong second place as of this evening, and our team is growing almost hourly.
To help with the cause, Richard S. Lowry has donated two of his most excellent books on the Gulf Wars (Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles) to Valour-IT. Team Air Force member Coinside has placed the two items up for auction on Ebay, here are the links:
Marines in the Garden of Eden Auction
Gulf War Chronicles Auction
Richard will personalize each book for the winning bidder, all proceeds go to Valour-IT. This isn't Team Air Force specific, so I encourage our Swabbie, Jarhead, and Doggie brethren to join us in publicizing both auctions.
**Update** Richard will be on Andrea Shea King's radio program this afternoon at 4pm EST. You can listen live here.
As for Team Air Force....
We'll teach you a thing or two about acquisitions.
Continue the mission!
History Repeats Itself
By John
Mike Yon's famous photograph has been ripped off. Again.
Mike said of his shot:
Many people say this is the most important photograph of the Iraq war. The image most completely embodies my experience throughout Iraq.
There's a purity to this photo, a pellucid aura that inspires at levels far above our petty bickering over the war in Iraq. To see a candidate illegally and unjustly pollute such a symbol to satisfy a political end is, simply put, disgusting.
Valour-IT Update
By John
**Update** If you have an Ebay sellers account, please email me. I need some help with a Valour-IT online auction. Requirement filled. Special thanks to Team Zoomie member Coinside for donating both his maverick Ebay skills AND the sellers fees to the cause.
Uh oh. We were dipping in and out of second place last night, but when I woke up this morning we were bringing up the rear. We can do better Airmen! Remember our creed:
Donate now!
NPR Features OPFOR, Blackfive, Defense Tech
By John
You can listen NPR's report on milbloggers here.
I was in good company, Blackfive and Noah Shachtman of Defense Tech also weighed in. You never know what you're going to get when doing these MSM spots. In this case, milbloggers got a fair shake. I was most satisfied with the final product.
Xeni Jardin even cut some of our podcast into the bit, which I thought was pretty cool. Charlie will be interested to hear that he was on NPR, if I can ever get in touch with the guy.
Active Servicemembers Petitioning?
By Slab
I found my copy of Marine Times (AKA the Marine Enquirer) in the mailbox when I got home from work today. There, on the cover, was the pronouncement, "Active Troops Call For Pullout". Now, my fellow subscribers might remember a certain Seaman Jonathan W. Hutto that originally announced the "Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq" in last week's issue of the Marine Times. Sounds pretty serious at first glance - troops on active duty signing a petition to pull out of Iraq? But when you look inside, the news isn't quite so bad. The Appeal for Redress has, as of 26 Oct, around 200 active-duty signers. It's impossible to tell from the site where they stand at the moment.
I'm slightly torn on this issue. I have always been in favor of allowing servicemembers to express their opinions, as long as they do so in a manner befitting the professionalism of the U.S. military. However, I have some serious heartburn with the idea of active duty troops stepping out against our duly-elected leaders. The authors of the Appeal say that it is patriotic and respectful. If you read Seaman Hutto's letter in the 30 Oct issue of Marine Times, I think you will find that their language is still accusatory, albeit a little more subtly so than some other anti-war organizations.
Furthermore, Hutto's letter talks about troops refusing to do their duty in the latter years of the Vietnam War, using it as a positive example of servicemembers stepping out and forcing a policy change. In my opinion, even suggesting this course of action is unconscionable. If you read Col Robert D. Heinl, Jr's article "The Collapse of the Armed Forces" (Armed Forces Journal, 7 June, 1971), it seems clear that the tactics of "combat refusal" played a major part in bringing the US Armed Services to their lowest point in the entire history of this great nation. We can ill afford such a weakening of our Armed Forces at a time like this, when the Visigoths are all around and growing in number.
Like it or not, the President was elected in the process established by the Constitution and our Founding Fathers, and he committed us to this course with the blessings of Congress. At some point, we volunteered to serve in the Armed Forces, with the knowledge that our elected leadership could send us off to fight in a foreign land. Talk of reneging on that commitment while our fellow warriors continue to fight and die disgusts me.
That said, if one of my Marines approached me and asked about his right to sign such a petition, I would do my best to educate him on the protections such as the ones listed on Hutto's site. You see, I believe in fulfilling my commitments, especially as a leader. That includes educating those in my charge on their rights to express opinions that may not necessarily agree with my own. Fortunately, I don't see it being an issue, since the last time one of my Marines approached me it was to tell me that he has decided to re-enlist in order to deploy to Iraq with the company next year.
Note: apologies to our Air Force brethren for the Team Marines button. Out of respect for OPFOR's position as lead site for the Air Force team, I have removed it.
Project Valour-IT Drive Kicks Off
By John
Folks, starting today bloggers from around the country will be uniting to help support the worthiest of the worthy military causes, Project Valour-IT.
Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, provides voice-controlled laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. The experience of CPT Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered severe hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important this voice-controlled software can be to a wounded servicemember's recovery.
This year's goal is ambitious, $45,000 per team. Ambitious, but not impossible.
Here's how we're going to do it. Participating bloggers are broken down into four teams: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. As any servicemember will tell you, nothing motivates folks like interservice rivalry. Each team features a cast of bloggers who have volunteered to support this two week drive.
I glady accepted the invite from Soldiers' Angels to head up Team Air Force. And I'm even more excited to introduce Team Air Force's powerhouse ensemble of bloggers:
Euphoric Reality
Murdoc Online
Mary Katharine Ham
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller
Gateway Pundit
Fix4RSO
Radio Patriots
Stop the ALCU
Defense Tech
ThirdWave Dave
Hot Air
Cold Fury
Vodkapundit
Threats Watch
Day by Day
You can donate directly by clicking the "Donate" button below. I'll be posting updates throughout the two week period, along with a few special events (we'll have an auction that you will definitely want to check out). Simply put, Valour-IT is one of the finest causes in the nation, one most deserving of your generousity. On behalf of all of us at OPFOR, and all of us on Team Air Force, many thanks in advance for your kindness. Let's buy some laptops!
Milbloggers in the News
By John
Standby for link-fest.
Milblogging has been all over the mainstream media these last few days. Partly due to The Blog of War release, partly due to news that the Pentagon has dedicated a National Guard unit towards monitoring miblogs for OPSEC violations.
Noah Shachtman, Blackfive, and I did an interview with Wired magazine, already up on their main site. You can also hear the three of us on National Public Radio's Day to Day segment on Monday (not sure when exactly, but I've been promised the mp3 version when it airs).
Additionally, the AP ran a story earlier today on the new Pentagon milblog monitoring team. As did the Stars & Stripes. Both have the usual suspects, JP from Milblogging.com and Matt from Blackfive.
And yes, there's more. USA Today blogged the Pentagon story on Wednesday, with a completely inaccurate "Pentagon Moves Against Milbloggers" title, I might add. That's not what's happening.
Marc Danziger's Examiner piece, focused exclusively on The Blog of War, was somewhat less contentious. Not to mention one of the better BOW reviews that I've read.
And finally, The Salt Lake Tribune wrote a nice Sunday piece on the excellent miblog Wordsmith at War.
There seems to be a perfect storm forming around the milblogging movement, with the bloggers, the media, and the Pentagon merging to affect some sort of major change on the community. The exact change is -as they say- in the tea leaves. Let's hope it is a positive one.
Welcome Home, Marines, and Good Work!
By Lt Col P
I just returned from taking Son & Heir to see the official welcome home for a Marine reserve artillery battery in Richmond, Virginia. Battery H, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines returned stateside some weeks ago but got back home only about ten days ago. Today is the big gathering for family, friends and supporters, and today they will be released from active duty.
They served about eight months on the ground in Iraq, not as cannon cockers but as provisional military police. By all accounts they acquitted themselves very well indeed. They did suffer some casualties. More than a few, who no longer had any obligation whatsoever, gave up very good jobs to rejoin just for this deployment. Again-- they rejoined to go to war, rather than stay safe at home and avoid it.
I went down there because I spent a long time in that battery-- I joined as a first lieutenant and left as a major-- and many of the Marines, both young and old, are good friends and comrades. Their CO and I were lieutenants and captains together there; this was his third trip overseas as a reservist. I went down to welcome them home safe and sound, and to congratulate them on a job well done.
Since my time with them is past, and the privilege of serving with them overseas was not granted to me, I won't relate the details of their deployment. That's not my place. I will say this, for them and for all who are reading this, that they did their bit, when they were called upon to do it, to the best of their considerable abilities and in keeping with the highest standards of the Corps and the great history of their unit. In a war of nine steps backward and ten steps forward, their deployment was one of the forward steps. I'm proud to know them.
Update: their article in the Rchmond Times-Dispatch.
Pentagon Defangs Times
By John
Defense Link: New York Times Involved in Mythmaking --
Oct. 24, 2006 —The Pentagon today asked the New York Times to correct an editorial, which claimed that “There have never been enough troops, the result of Mr. Rumsfeld’s negligent decision to use Iraq as a proving ground for his pet military theories, rather than listen to his generals.” Whether the Times believes there were (or are) enough troops in Iraq, it is demonstrably untrue that troop levels in Iraq are the result of Secretary Rumsfeld’s “not listening to his generals.”Generals involved in troop-level decisions have been very clear on this matter, making numerous statements that are not new—or difficult—to find, such as extensive commentary in General Franks’s book, American Soldier. The implication is that the New York Times either believes these generals are not being truthful, or that they are too intimidated to tell the truth. The Pentagon would vigorously dispute both characterizations.
Read what generals themselves have to say about the subject, in a Pentagon letter to the editor.
UPDATE: The New York Times has declined the Pentagon’s request to correct its editorial.
If the facts don't fit your narrative, make em fit!
Update: Newsweek is also under the gun, so to speak.
Read More »
Early Snow in West Virginia
By Lt Col P
For something totally off the subject, I invite all of you cross country skiers, especially in the DC area, to (as the Greaseman might say), TAKE A LOOK AT THISSSSS!!!
John Says: Ah, I hate to brag but.....check out Vail.
Love and War
By Lt Col P
A good friend of mine, fellow Marine artilleryman and author of Team Med-Fah, just told me he had heard that Eric Newby had died. I did a quick search, and indeed this remarkable author has passed.
Newby was a British travel author, and a real master of the art. I have read several of his books, and can re-read them again with every bit as much pleasure and anticipation as when I first picked them up. My little eulogy to him belongs here, on a milblog, because his best book by far is Love and War in the Apennines, an account of his own experiences as an escaped prisoner of war on the loose in northern Italy. I remember parts of it like I read them yesterday, especially-- VMI grads will appreciate this-- his careful desciption of, (how shall I put this?), covert autoeroticism in a barracks-like POW camp where privacy was nonexistent, drawing upon lessons learned in all-male educational settings. "The more vigorous among us," he wrote, "soon revived these ancient skills." His descriptions of the hardy and kind mountain peasantry of the country are matchless, as are his renderings of their speech patterns.
I would also recommend A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, and The Last Grain Race. (The ship on which he sailed in that book, "Moshulu," is now a floating restaurant in Philadelphia, easily visible from I-95; that little bit of knowledge made an otherwise vile trip bearable, as I drove past it on drill weekends with HQ Battery 3/14.)
Godspeed, Mr Newby, you make me laugh out loud.
Faces of Courage: William Thomas Payne
By John
The next installment of Faces of Courage is up, this one on Silver Star recipient William Thomas Payne.
Beautifully done by the MSNBC team.
The Blog of War
By John
Two weeks ago, I told Matt that I'd have a review of The Blog of War up that evening. If I failed to do so, I said that he could "punch me in the face."
Looks like I'm going to have a sore jaw at the next milblogging conference, heh.
Obviously -as a milblogger- I loved the book. I knew I'd love it before I even received my copy in the mail.
What I failed to understand though was the level to which I would appreciate Matt's creation. As someone who has read milbogs, communicated with many of the authors, and listened to their amazing stories, I thought that my skin would be tough enough to soak in The Blog of War's harrowing first-person narrations.
I was wrong. The stories, from both lifesavers and lifetakers alike, crawl under your skin and stay there for days. Some tales life spirits, some break them. Some make you laugh in the middle of telling a gorey tale about shooting an insurgent in the face, like one of my favorite excerpts, from Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss:
The first man that I killed disturbed me. Not so much for the loss of human life of the whole killing is wrong concept. Not because I wasn't well within my right to do so (self-defense) or because (as any 5-year old will tell you), "he started it."The first man that I killed I looked in the eye when I shot him. Right dead in the eye. It was acutally my aiming point, but that's beside the point. I did not see the fire of martyrdom. I did not see rage. I saw neither honor vengeance. I saw a look, an emotion that can only be summed up as "Oh Shit!"
The man brought a gun to a gunfight. I brought thirty.
And the sums up the entire complexity of the book in two paragraphs.
Trying my best to shed the natural pro-Blog of War bias that a milblogger is damn near compelled to feel, I honestly think that this was the single most important war book that has been released since The Long War kicked off in September of 01. I don't want you to buy the book simply because I'd like to see it do well. I want you to read it because every American needs to understand the agonies, the sacrifices, the glories, and the bonds of war.
Pro-war, anti-war, neutral...it doesn't matter. The Blog War forces you to shut up, sit down, and listen. Read it. Not matter what your ideology is, these milbloggers will shake it to the core.
A What-If on the Future of America
By Lt Col P
Submitted for your consideration, by way of the 10-8 Forums of which I am a frequent reader.
An excerpt: "By Christmas, the American economy had imploded. Inflation soared, unemployment soared, businesses closed, cities that had suffered direct hits became ghost towns. Tax revenues evaporated, leaving state governments without funds to pay unemployment benefits or teachers' salaries. With the New York Stock Exchange gone, stock trading ended, and values plummeted. Retirement assets and pension funds disappeared in a wink. Nobody knew what to expect. Real estate crashed, and major banks filed for bankruptcy. With the collapse of the American economy, the largest on earth, the most productive country on earth, with just 5% of the global population producing one third of the global economic output, the rest of the global economy fell into chaos. Oil shipments stopped, food shipments stopped, and in that winter millions of people in third world countries starved to death.
The America era was over."
Amid bouts of hawkish pessimism, I think hard on matters like this.
"A Burning Sense of Patriotism"
By Lt Col P
A very moving profile of a young Marine from Maryland, killed in action recently in Iraq.
"He was very proud and very adamant about being an American . . ." Words to live by.
Godspeed to you, Lance Corporal Herzberg, and Semper Fidelis.
On the Nightstand
By John
Currently reading:
11 pages in so far and I'm glued. More when I'm done.
Creative Bitching
By Slab
I apologize for my absence of late. My reintroduction to the real world has taken up most of my time. For now, in lieu of a profound or introspective post, I offer this little anecdote.
I met a friend for dinner in Jacksonville tonight. Since I live on the other side of Camp Lejeune from the great metropolis of J-action-ville, I cut through the base in the unlikely event that I actually have a reason to visit the jewel of Onslow County.
On the way home, I discovered that the MPs were doing a more detailed inspection of military ID cards and base registration stickers, which resulted in a backlog of vehicles at the main gate. As I spent 10 minutes in line working my way towards the gate, I cursed the Marine Corps, the Camp Lejeune Provost Marshall's Office, and Jeep for making the clutch on the Wrangler so stiff.
I planned to give the gate guard an earful of my righteous indignity until I actually got close to the gate, and common sense reminded me that the Marine on the gate was not at fault and certainly didn't deserve any abuse from me.
So I pulled up, and after he said, "Good evening," I responded with a hearty, "How are you doing tonight?" I did my best to sound cheerful, realizing by this point that the Marines on the gate had probably been dealing with pissed off Marines and dependents for at least an hour by this point. The Marine, without missing a beat, came back with the upbeat reply, "Well, sir, it would be counter-productive to complain, so I'm doing great."
I laughed the whole way home.
Some people wonder, after hearing me complain bitterly about the Marine Corps, why I chose to continue doing this job. Others even wonder why I am willing to endure the hardships and dangers of multiple combat deployments. If, after reading that, you still ask these questions, you may want to consider just giving up. You will probably never understand what it means when I say that the Corps drives me nuts, but I love the Marines.
Grenada & Beirut
By Lt Col P
(Pardon me for filing this a day late, I've been busy securing gainful civilian employment.)
23 October 1983: a date with dual signifcance.
The Beirut barracks bombing took the lives of 241 Americans. (Another blast on the same day killed almost 60 French paratroopers.) Informed opinion then and now pointed to Hezbollah, Syria and Iran as the culprits and instigators. The act remains unavenged. Visit the memorial site here.
US forces invaded and seized Grenada to prevent it from becoming the third point in a Soviet-Cuban triangle in the Caribbean. Looking at Cuba today, we forget what an activist menace it was in the 80s. Thousands of Cuban soldiers were exporting their revolution in Angola; Cuban influence was heavy in Nicaragua, and stoking the insurgency in El Salvador. Operation Urgent Fury gave Castro a good solid check.
Military Spouses, Listen Up!
By John
Military.com's newest blogging team, the ladies (and man) of Spouse Buzz, are hosting a spouse symposium in Ft. Hood, Texas on 28 October. If you're in the area, you better be there!
Details follow:
Military Spouses in the Fort Hood area are invited to attend a free event, SpouseBUZZ Live!, on Oct. 28, 2006. The event -- in connection with the new spouse blog SpouseBUZZ.com -- will feature panels discussing the joys and challenges of military life, deployment preparation and what to expect when a spouse returns from deployment. The event is free and will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more about SpouseBUZZ Live and to get free tickets, go to www.military.com/tickets.
If you're the member of a base spouses' club, I'd strongly consider sending a representative to attend. I can tell you from experience, Military.com opens doors. Take advantage of this free event.
Picture of the Day: Reds in F16s
By John
Nice refueling shot of one of the Air Force's aggressor aircraft. Check out the pilot's helmet. Apparently these guys have clung to the old red star, hammer, and sickle of the Soviet Union. Nice, comrade. I'm all about the Cold War throwbacks.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 64th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., approaches the boom on a KC-135 Stratotanker to refuel Oct. 19 during Red Flag 07-1. Red Flag tests aircrew warfighting skills in realistic combat situations. The aircraft fly missions at the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range where they simulate an air war.
Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force
To Stand or Fall in Baghdad
By John
We talk frequently about the media battlespace here at OPFOR, and how important it is to use the press to our advantage.
With the noose is tightening around milbloggers and embedded journalists existing at .0001% of their Operation Iraqi Freedom strength, the importance of a new media strategy has become abundantly clear. Otherwise we'll continue to be subjected to stories like this one, from the New York Times.
BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 — After three years of trying to thwart a potent insurgency and tamp down the deadly violence in Iraq, the American military is playing its last hand: the Baghdad security plan. The plan will be tweaked, adjusted and modified in the weeks ahead, as American commanders try to reverse the dismaying increase in murders, drive-by shootings and bombings.
Its last hand? That's a bit dramatic, even from a paper who purposefully compromises high-value intelligence gathering platforms to satisfy a political end. If you read the whole story, you will notice that none of the interviewed officers express even the slightest bit of defeatism that the Times' lead indicated. Realism, yes. Hopelessness? Not even close.
This article sums up everything that we can do better on the media front. We need to get reporters back into the fight and enable them to do their jobs. Research, report, and deliver an accurate story (this one isn't) to the American people.
Monday A.M. Prep Fires, 23 Oct 06
By Lt Col P
The War, as always, occupies our thoughts, and especially the campaign in Iraq. From the reports coming out of the country it would appear that the operation is stalled, with the two main religious factions locked in their increasingly rapid downward spiral of violence and reaction. For those who grasp the strategy and its goals, this is disheartening. The stakes remain the same: an Iraq, occupying the central position in the Middle East, that is living under a functioning representative government, extends basic guarantees of civil liberties to its various peoples, poses no threat to its neighbors, and is a productive and welcome member of the international community. If the Iraqis seem not to be accepting choice being given them, it does not alter the strategic imperative.
On the home front the American electorate is ready to go to the polls, and the result will have a profound effect on the conduct of the campaign in Iraq. Our time horizon is notoriously short. What will we choose?
Finally, I found a very interesting article on National Review, courtesy of MilBlogs, describing the stark lack of interest in serious military history on America campuses. Although not a new phenomenon, it is deeply troubling. Who was it-- Lenin? Trotsky?-- that said, you might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. Indeed, this war will be interested in the U.S. for decades to come, whether we like it or not. We'd better pay attention.
Post Update: Chief Gebhardt & Iraqi Baby Girl
By John
An emailer from 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing sent in an additional photo of Chief Gebhardt and the Iraqi child that he has taken under his care. Heartwarming stuff. Dont let anyone tell you that we're not making a difference over there.
The baby girl was orphaned after terrorists killed family. Terrorists wanted to finish the job, so they shot the poor girl in her head. Fortunately a coalition medical unit was able to save her.
That's the war we're fighting in a nutshell. The enemy seeks to destroy innocent life, we protect and preserve it.
Picture of the Day: Red Flag
By John
It's the most wonderful time of the year....Red Flag!
Four F-16 Fighting Falcons, fly formation alongside a KC-135 Stratotanker during refueling operations Oct. 19, 2006, during Red Flag 07-1 being held at Nellis AFB, Nev., Oct. 10-20. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)
Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force
Put This Date on Your Calendar: 13 Nov 2006
By Lt Col P
That being the day the new National Museum of the Marine Corps opens at Quantico, Virginia.
Folks, this will be an extraordinary museum, and well worth a visit. I can't wait to see it.
Milblogger in Need
By John
Everyone, we've got a fellow milblogger in need. Spc. Reid Stanley -who writes A Storm in Afghanistan- was deployed in the Afghani theater when his wife Ellicia was diagnosed with breast, lung, and brain cancer. The family -Reid, Ellicia, and three kids- is moving back stateside from Germany, where Ellicia can receive treatment. This is not a cheap endeavour.
Andrea Shea King, of the excellent Radio Patriots blog, has launched an auction in support of the Stanleys. Up for grabs on Ebay are three of bestselling author Buzz Patterson's books, all signed by Buzz himself.
By clicking here and placing a bid, you'll help the Stanleys defray the sizable costs of medical bills and relocation. Or you can donate straight to the family.
We take care of our own folks. Please help out.
Aid and Comfort
By John
CNN, like its honcho, hasn't made up its mind as to whose side that they are on...
Video Shows Snipers' Chilling Work in Iraq (CNN) --
Chilling scenes from a videotape made by insurgents show the work of snipers in Iraq, targeting and killing American troops, taking them down with a single bullet from a high-powered rifle.The graphic video of 10 sniper attacks was obtained by CNN -- through intermediaries -- from the Islamic Army of Iraq, one of the most active insurgent organizations in Iraq. In one scene, U.S. soldiers mingle among Iraqi civilians on a city street as a U.S. Humvee with a gunner in its turret stands guard nearby.
From a distance, possibly hundreds of yards away, a sniper watches for his opportunity to strike as a fellow insurgent operates a camera to capture the video for propaganda purposes.
Emphasis mine. CNN, by their own admission, understands that this video's purpose is to serve as a propaganda tool for the insurgency, yet they still chose to give it a national TV audience. That type of advertising usually costs millions. CNN is giving it away to terrorists for free.
Uncle Jimbo echos my frustration:
It has been about three hours since I found out that CNN became a terrorist press agency, and it took that long to chill enough to type. I keep clenching all my muscles and imagining my hand, Ted Turner's scrawny neck, a wall, and a torrent of verbal abuse flowing from my cakehole to his entire existence, punctuated by occasional slams of him into said wall.
This is borderline treasonous activity. And no, I'm not being overly dramatic, this decision was that flipping bad.
19 Oct 1781: Victory at Yorktown
By Lt Col P
Read More »
Israel Interrogates Hezbollah Terrorist
By John
Israel interrogates one of the men responsible for the Summer War.
There is perpetual violence in the region because, to put it rather crudely, terror organizations like Hezbollah simply will not stop poking the big neighborhood dog with a stick. The violence will stop as soon as Hezbollah et al chooses for it to stop. Period.
Iraq Removes Leaders of Special Police
By Slab
Iraq Removes Leaders of Special Police
The Iraqi government removed the country’s two most senior police commanders from their posts on Tuesday, in the first broad move against the top leadership of Iraq’s unruly special police forces.The two generals had led Iraq’s special police commandos and its public order brigade, both widely criticized as being heavily infiltrated by Shiite militias.
An interesting development in the new Iraqi government. Since I only dealt with an infantry battalion from the Iraqi Army, I never had to deal with the complexities of their law enforcement. However, talk of militias and death squads within the police and security forces brings to mind many of the difficulties faced in Latin America, specifically in Colombia. In college, I took a course on Latin American Revolutions, and I chose to focus my research on a similar right wing movement within Colombia, known as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), or United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.
It is tempting for governments such as Colombia and Iraq to resort to right-wing movements like the AUC to combat determined insurgencies. Right-wing militias are often very successful at killing insurgents and deterring popular support for the insurgency. However, government support for these "paramilitaries", as they are often called in Latin America, basicallly amounts to defeating one devil by selling their soul to another one. In the case of the AUC, they are now considered nearly as great a threat to the Colombian government as the FARC, the left-wing movement that the AUC was created to oppose. The AUC is widely acknowledged to be wrapped up in the international drug trade, as are their principal enemy - the FARC. The leader of the AUC, Carlos Castaño, was indicted by the United States for trafficking over 17 tons of cocaine into the US. He has since been assassinated.
I sincerely hope that the Iraqi government is able to defeat the specter of right-wing militias. On the one hand they may seem to be an effective counter-insurgency tool, but one day they will rise to bite the hand that feeds them and possibly fuel yet another insurgency. The experience of the Colombians should provide ample proof as to the folly of supporting right-wing "death squads".
Book Review: Baby Jack
By John
Ward Carroll, author of the excellent Punk's War series, has a superb review of Frank Schaeffer's new novel Baby Jack:
As a writer, Schaeffer goes out on a stylistic limb with Baby Jack, most notably by shifting first person points of view between a handful of characters -- an element that would be a distraction in the hands of a lesser talent but one that is fundamental here. The book opens in the home of Todd Ogden, Jack's father. Todd is an artist, an old money New Englander for whom the sum total of the tragedy of 9-11 is that several of his paintings were destroyed as the towers fell. Todd is put off that Jack has invited a Marine Corps recruiter into the family home:Todd thinks of those who might choose to join the military as a "collection of victims" and wonders how someone like his son could even entertain the impulse to join.
Read More »
IDF Moves In
By John
Excellent video of an Israeli raid against a Hezbollah rat hole, in this case a civilian hospital. Besides the effeciency in which they strike and the cool first-person shooter camera angles, pay particularly close attention to Hezbollah's blatant violation of the Geneva Convention and Law of Armed Conflict. Using a hospital is a major no-no in warfare, which is why I'm certain that the Israelis opted with the low-level air incursion rather than an airstrike.
Sorry, no sound. I suspect that was calculated, as the video was released by the IDF.
Remember that those Hezzy terrorists would be just as happy to kill Americans as they would Israelis.
"What do you do with the people who are there?"
By Lt Col P
A very good question, when it comes as a riposte to the utterance, "Guantanamo should be closed!"
This is the subject of an interesting article in today's WaPo, my quaint and amusing local paper. Innocuously titled, "U.S. Faces Obstacles To Freeing Detainees," the article points out that many of the Europeans that clamor loudest for the closure of our detention camp also balk at having their nationals and legal residents returned to them. Ha! I bet they do.
I have a very good idea of what we should do with them, but I'll keep it to myself.
Frankly, this is the sort of policy waffling that is making it impossible for the West to form an effective coalition to fight the war. Old Europe wants it both ways: skewer the U.S. for snatching dangerous people and putting them in a nice little place where they can be carefully watched and perhaps interrogated for tidbits of information, but then pull a thanks-but-no-thanks when the U.S. says in effect, "OK, you take them." As the Canadian defense minister pointed out, the same impulse is at work in the NATO force in Afghanistan: France, Germany and Spain can get credit for having large contingents there, but they can also finesse their way out of offensive operations, at a time when we need every trigger-puller we can get out on the line.
And they ask me why I drink.
If At First You Don't Succeed....
By John
Here we go again...
US Detects Activity at North Korea Test Site -
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. spy satellites have detected suspicious vehicle and people activity near the site of North Korea's nuclear test that may signal preparations for another test, U.S. television networks reported on Monday.U.S. officials said they could not be certain of what the North Koreans were doing in the area, but the activity there could be preparations for a second nuclear blast, NBC and ABC said.
In Seoul, a South Korean government official told Reuters on Tuesday: "The government is aware of signs related to North Korea's possible second nuclear test. We cannot exclude the possibility of a second test."
What'd I tell you cowboys and cowgirls?
Kim Jong Il is going to keep at this until he gets it right.
Kim Jong Il Threatens New York and Tokyo
By John
And plans to test an H-Bomb, apparently.
Kim Myong-chol, director of the Center for Korean-American Peace, who is regarded as an unoffical spokesperson for Kim Jong-il has claimed in a radio interview that North Korea has an H-bomb and is ready to test it.When asked for evidence the director replied, "that’s why we are going to test the bomb." He went on to say "If the Bush administration makes more provocations, both New York City and Tokyo will be blazed."
The South Korean Ministry of Unification minimised the importance of the remarks, saying they should be ignored. Kim however claims to be in contact with high ranking North Korean officials and that his comments are representitive of Pyongyang.
Interesting words from the Director of the Center for American-Korea Peace.
Considering Kim Jong Il has spent the last few months proving that he is the Dictator of Duds.....
Yeah. Have some salt with your story.
An Email from Iraq
By John
Found this in my inbox earlier.
Thought you would appreciate...Got a tough but heartwarming story and a picture of a medical Chief, John Gebhardt in Iraq. This little girl’s entire family was executed…they intended to execute her also and shot her in the head…but they failed to kill her. She was cared for by John’s hospital and healing up, but has been crying and moaning. The nurses said John is the only one she seems to calm down with, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both sleep in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.
Google searched for more info, didn't find much, but Mike at the excellent Cold Fury got the same message and simply said: "Why We Fight." Indeed.
With a wounded Iraqi child in the Chief's arms and a pistol holster on his shoulder, the photo does seem to capture our purpose in Iraq rather succinctly.
This happens every day, in different ways. Our troops care. That's what makes them the best.
Best. Video. Ever.
By John
Fishing. Afghanistan style.
Showed this to Schippert at Threats Watch, who said "even Islam has rednecks."
Hotel Tango: Milblogging.com
Cookie Cookie Cookie!
By John
CJ at A Soldier's Perspective says it's not too late to send Girl Scout cookies to deployed Marines. His little girl has enough dough (har) to send 526 boxes, which means she's awful close to her goal of 750. Go help the young lady (and some hard charging Marines) out.
Hey, CJ...tell your daughter that Zoomies like cookies too.
Edmonton's "Red Devils" and The Sandbox
By John
Via blog buddy and fellow Military.com peon JP Borda, comes more ass-kickery from Edmonton's Red Devils.
This time they're countering an ambush. JP calls it "milvlogging." I think our Canuck friends may have started something here...
In related milblogging news, JP has been following Gary Trudeau's (Doonesbury) foray into the milblogging world. His new Slate Magazine blog, The Sandbox, has just recently launched. JP's got all the coverage on our new milblogging brothers at Slate, so I'm going to briefly talk about Trudeau.
After enduring 3 years of stupid protestor tricks, we've learned that "I support the troops, not the war" is an empty, used carsalesman's line. SMASH did a thorough job proving that on a street corner outside Walter Reed Army Hospital.
Yet while Code Pink and friends were outside the hospital engaged in their most inappropriate protest, Gary Trudeau -who has made his anti-war slant clear through his comic strip) was inside and bedside. Trudeau checked his politics at the door, and made himself 100% available to our wounded warriors, signing autographs, chatting with soldiers, and listening to their stories.
THAT, ladies and gentleman, is "supporting the troops, not the war." I will be reading The Sandbox daily, simply out of support for Gary Trudeau and his efforts on behalf of our soldiers. I encourage you all to do the same.
Happy Birthday, Navy!
By Lt Col P
(One day late.)
Michelle Malkin reminded us all of the US Navy's 231st birthday yesterday. I'd like to add my good wishes as well, to all the docs, dentists, chaplains, corpsmen, EOD techs, naval gunfire officers, SEALs, pilots, coxswains, gunner's mates and the thousand other rates and ranks who serve with us in the Marine Corps and support us on the sea and in the air. The Navy is the service we love to hate, and sometimes I think the feeling is mutual. But when it's all said and done no one can keep the seas-- and sweep the seas-- like the good old US Navy.
Japan Reaches Down, Grabs Honorable Nuts
By Lt Col P
Japan just took the lead in acting against N Korea, if you ask me. I suppose being right next to the problem, having had practice missiles lobbed over your homeland and having had citizens kidnapped now and then by your nutty neighbors, tends to run your patience down.
Either way you cut it, it's damn good to see some leadership.
I'll now go back to deferring to John on NoKo issues.
Picture of the Day: NORAD over the Golden Gate
By John
"If you're going to San Francisco....."
NORTHCOM responds. NORAD fighters and tankers like these were in the air within minutes following the report that a small aircraft crashed into a New York apartment building.
Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force
World War III
By John
We've got a most excellent guest blogger today, Richard S. Lowry...author of Marines in the Garden of Eden.
World War Three
Richard S. Lowry
We are living in turbulent times, but you would never know it walking the streets of America. America has been at war, or should I say that America’s enemies have been at war, since the taking of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The World has been involved in this slow-motion conflict since 1979. Yet, the everyday American does not feel the effects. We all live in such comfort and security that we do not realize that our “Camelot” is under siege.
In years gone by, when aggressors attacked their enemy, it was quite clear to everyone taking refuge in the castle that a state of war existed. Everyone knew that they were in peril. Today, we are fighting a war halfway around the World. Surely, our economy has been affected, but not enough for the American public to feel the pain of war. For us, the war on terror is a nightly news item and a political football to be kicked around in the nation’s capitol and on news talk shows. Only the families and friends of the men and women who are on the front lines feel the pain of this war.
Read More »
Canada to NATO: Get with the Program
By Lt Col P
In line with John's post below, I found a great source of news on Canadians in Afghanistan on the Toronto Globe & Mail's site.
Here's one story from 10 Oct that struck me: "Canada slams NATO's Afghan role:"
OTTAWA — Canada's Defence Minister is confronting those NATO countries with troops deployed in relatively stable parts of Afghanistan — including Germany, France, Spain and Italy — saying they must lift the restrictions that prevent their soldiers from taking on the more dangerous tasks being shouldered by Canadians.
It's a problem that one former Canadian military leader says threatens the future of the 57-year-old North Atlantic Treaty Organization — an alliance founded on the principle that an attack against one of its members is an attack against all.
Point well made, Mr O'Connor.
Like I've said before and John said below, they may be small in numbers but they're professional, skilled, dedicated and willing. Damn glad to have them out there, only wish there were more.
By Dawn's Early Light
By John
OPFORian Chris T., who sent in the sizzling vid of the Swiss Air Force, struck gold again with this footage of Canadian troops engaged in a dawn assault on a Taliban stronghold.
A brave and professional bunch, those fellas. Glad they're on our side.
Two Must Reads
By John
Or "Rapid Fires" as Col P calls em. It's interesting the way the blogosphere works, in that I found articles by two of my favorite writers -Robert Kaplan and Joe Galloway- by way of two of my favorite bloggers -Robert Averch and Michael Yon.
Mike has a fascinating, must-read up from the king of embedded reporters, Mr. Joe Galloway.....
...and Robert has a somewhat lengthy, but fascinating article from Robert Kaplan on North Korea.
Both Galloway and Kaplan are "solution guys," and I think you'll find their solutions on Iraq and North Korea stimulating. Read em both.
PS- Just for kicks, read a 10 year old Robert's letter to the Commandant of West Point.
"Enough of the Politics"
By Lt Col P
In today's Washington Post, a very moving article about the life and death of a Marine from Bethesda, Maryland. He is the only serviceman from that city killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
A quote from the fourth page struck me: " 'Enough of the politics,' Alex e-mailed [his mother] from Iraq."
Enough, indeed. Godspeed, Sgt Carbonaro.
The Banned GOP Ad
By John
I'm reposting the Drudge-exposed GOP ad, from the producer of Scary Movie, exclusively on the grounds that it is funny as hell.
Was the GOP justified in refusing to run this ad? Probably. The ad may be humorous, but it does sink to a level normally reserved for sophmoric Bush Bashers. I hold the GOP to a higher standard.
Look I don't think anyone in the Clinton administration or the Democrats wanted the North to go nuclear (or try..see post below), but their Sunshine Policy of hugs and basketballs simply did not, nor ever will, work. I suppose what frustrates me somewhat is statements like this, from Nancy Pelosi:
"The United States does not need a multi-billion-dollar national missile defense against the possibility of a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile.
With what appears to be two prominent duds from North Korea, that statement may be true today...but leaders who are truly committed to the national defense think in terms of years and decades into the future. I don't feel any animousity towards the Democratic leadership and make a point to pay them the respect they deserve as elected officials, but I just don't feel like they "get it" when it comes to the post-cold strategic paradigm.
Fighting this war is messy. And because it is messy, I will continue to entrust my votes to candidates who demonstrate that they are not afraid to get their hands dirty.
Not a Nuke
By John
Just got an email from Mike Yon, who pointed me towards this post:
A very well-placed government source told me Tuesday afternoon that the North Korean explosion was non-nuclear. The explosion may have been an actual nuclear test — this is unknown — but the source reports the outcome was non-nuclear. The source stressed the importance of bearing in mind that though the explosion occured in North Korea — if it was actually a test and not merely a dictator clamoring for attention and influence — the test may have been by or for the Iranians. The source reported that American physicists with access to the information see no sign of nuclear activity, however. My source also mentioned that Japanese sensors picked up no radiation signatures.This further confirms some of what Bill Gertz reported in the Washington Times this morning.
Double good news. Another fizzle from the dictator of duds, and Mike Yon appears to be posting at The Corner now.
How on earth did the Norks get that much TNT into a mine shaft without us detecting it though? Was the explosion deliberately faked? Or did something go wrong? One thing is for certain, this line:
"The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent,"
...seems pretty appropriate.
Was it a Suitcase Nuke? Was it TNT?
By John
Anyone who reads OPFOR knows that we're big fans of Wretchard's Belmont Club. Today he's asking the right questions, and coming up with the right answers.
The small size of the detonations has led to speculation that the North Korean tests are really "faked" nukes using large quantities of convention munitions. Chester explores the logic and arguments behind this theory without necessarily subscribing to it. However, there is another possibility. Kim Jong Il is testing suitcase nukes.
Wretchard updated with clarification:
I think its important in this discussion, not to confuse the a 'low yield' from a small amount of fissile material with the miniaturization of components required to create a suitcase weapon. I know that RAND has just published a study describing the delivery of a terrorist bomb by ship to a US port -- a kind of shipcase weapon. So I think that the issue requires quite a bit of attention which I hope will be forthcoming in the next few days.
Bingo. The idea of the Norks creating some sort of suitcase bomb is absurd. They don't have the technology and it's not what they want. In fact, they can't even miniaturize to achieve a somewhat easier goal, mating a bomb to a working missile. And they want that bomb to yield large, not small, results.
North Korea wants a weapon that can knock out Hawaii, or Anchorage, or LA, so that they can have a free hand in attacking the South. It's an offshoot of the old chicom doctrine, "defending Taiwan isn't worth Los Angeles." People are confusing the Nork ideology with that of jihadists. Islamists want a bomb to generate damage, destruction, and casaulties. Their goal is chaos. The North's goal is Seoul.
As for the TNT hypothesis, let's put that one to bed right now. It is science fiction to think that the Norks can slip hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of TNT into a single entry mine shaft withour our spy sats detecting the activity. Remember it was those space assets that blew the whistle on the North's nuke operation in the first place.
Kim Jong Il is going to keep at this until he gets it right. Once he can credibly threaten the US with the proper bomb + delivery system, he'll adapt a far more aggressive posturing. And that's when things will get interesting.
Picture of the Day: Norks with Nukes
By John
In honor of Kim Jong Il's plea for attention, I'm watching Team America: World Police.
"I'm so ronrey."
Destablization v2.0
By John
Another nation joined the nuclear club today. A particularly nasty one.
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Monday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test and the blast had been successfully set off underground with no radioactive leakage from the site.An official at South Korea's seismic monitoring center confirmed a magnitude-3.6 tremor felt at the time North Korea said it conducted the test was not a natural occurrence.
My source on the peninsula says that South Korea is -understandably- having a cow, same with Japan. And think of all the nations that are within the fallout range of a green-glowing, radioactive Korea. Russia, China, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Taiwan, the list goes on.
And North Korean sugar-daddy China has even more reason to be seeing red (no pun). The last time the North pulled a stunt like this (launching an IRBM over the Japanese mainland) it sparked a massive Japanese defense buildup and lit a fire under America's tail to get a missile shield operational, complicating Chinese plans for Taiwan.
Back then it was just one errant missile. Today we're talking about a nuclear weapon. A nation killer. A world killer. And it's in the hands of a man whose sanity is suspect and is worshipped as a god by an army of over one million.
Korea is simply too small of a theater to be playing with nuclear toys. You can bet your britches that the far east paradigm just shifted, big time. Let the arms race begin...
**Update** Post I wrote a few says ago. Still applicable:
We've figured that North Korea has had these things for a few years now, largely in part thanks to -trying my best to be apolitical here- the Clinton Administration's pseudo Sunshine Policy during the 90s....Hopefully the test goes as well as North Korea's 7 dud barrage that was launched on the 4th of July this year. But if their nuke test is successful, try to remember that building a nuke is one thing, building one small enough to be mated to a delivery system that ACTUALLY WORKS is another matter altogether.
Here's my question. Does a successful test scare Japan into building an arsenal of their own?
SMASH answers that last question with this link.
**Update 2** I'm talking with a friend who is somewhat concerned by my "lack of emotion." He wanted to know, "doesn't this freak you out?'
Not really. Our missiles work. Theirs don't.
**Update 3** Unbelievable. AMERICAblog has found a way to blame Bush.
**Update 4** Stop the ALCU is rounding up the blogosphere reax.
Soldiers' Angels Needs Help
By John
Hey folks, take a pause in your routine to help out Soldiers' Angels ok? They're in need of assistance in a bad way.
Over 700 Heroes Waiting for Angels
I think that line says it all. Please do what you can.
Kill Us, Too
By Slab
Thanks to Truth, Life, And Political Honesty, a blog run by fellow ANGLICO Marine Mark D. Glesne, for this wonderful article. If only we can start to see more men like Aslam Abdullah take a stand against the perversion of Islam by extremists like al-Muhajer.
Kill Us, Too: We Are Also Americans
Radical Muslims not worthy of the religion
By ASLAM ABDULLAHThe leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, recently issued a decree to its supporters: Kill at least one American in the next two weeks "using a sniper rifle, explosive or whatever the battle may require."
Well, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, I am an American too. Count me as the one of those you have asked your supporters to kill.
I am not alone, there are thousands of Muslims with me in Las Vegas, and many more millions in America, who are proud Americans and who are ready to face your challenge. You hide in your caves and behind the faces of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. You don't show your faces and you have no guts to face Muslims. You thrive on the misery of thousands of Muslim youth and children who are victims of despotism, poverty and ignorance.
Read the rest at Truth, Life, and Political Honesty.
Stand By For A Fighter Pilot
By Slab
On my last deployment, one of my jobs as a JTAC* was to be the link between the pilots and the ground commander that I was supporting. Since ANGLICO has developed sort of a quasi-squadron atmosphere, I have started to learn a little bit more about what life is like for the pilots. Let me tell you, on the ground side we have a few misconceptions about what they do. In the words of one of my fellow ANGLICO JTACs, "I thought they just sat around drinking coffee all day, until it was time to get in the plane and go."
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing recently had a pretty good article about daily life for the pilots of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, or VMFA-251. VMFA-251 is on deployment aboard an aircraft carrier as part of Carrier Air Wing One, Carrier Strike Group Twelve. A detachment from 251 has been sent ashore and is operating in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) from Al Asad, Iraq.
For pilots, their days vary depending on the flight schedule. One could say, a pilot's day is anything but routine.
...
An average scheduled flight takes about 11 hours to plan, execute and de-brief.
You can read the rest of the article here. For those of us "dirt people" who have not had the opportunity to work with aviators on a regular basis, I hope this gives you a little better understanding of what they do in support of you. After working with some of these guys, I can tell you that there is very little they will not do to help out the troops on the ground.
* In the Marine Corps, we have FACs and JTACs. A Forward Air Controller (FAC) is an aviator who is assigned to a ground unit to provide terminal control of aircraft conducting close air support for friendly forces. A JTAC is a ground combat arms officer or staff NCO who is trained and qualified to do the same.
7 October: A Great Day in American Military History
By Lt Col P
(Yes, I know today is 6 Oct, but I'll be on travel shortly and wanted to post this.)
7 October was twice a salient day in the American Revolution. Two events occurred to change the course of the war. Although they took place three years and hundreds of miles apart, their consequences came together in a single climactic battle later.
Read More »
Faces of Courage: Leigh Ann Hester
By John
The next installment of MSNBC's powerful series is up, this one narrated by Joe Scarborough.
Please remember to email MSNBC and let them know how much you appreciate these excellent tributes.
Non Multa Sed Multum, Pt II
By Slab
ANGLICO has its origins in the Assault Signal Companies of World War II. The Army and Marine Corps both used ASCOs (although the Army called them JASCO) to coordinate naval gunfire and air support for amphibious landings. They consisted of Shore Fire Control Parties (SFCP) to direct gunfire from Navy vessels offshore, and Tactical Air Control Parties (TACP) to direct air support from carrier and land-based aircraft. The ASCOs were somewhat of an ad-hoc organization, especially in Army divisions, and were sometimes regarded as unwanted orphans. In 1947, the Joint Chiefs of Staff abolished the ASCOs and JASCOs. This is a good article by (then) LtCol Robert D Heinl, Jr. on the importance of the (J)ASCO, written shortly before the companies were disbanded.
In 1949 the Marine Corps saw fit to form the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Companies. There was originally one ANGLICO per Marine Division, plus another ANGLICO under Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic (FMFLant). The former existed to support their partnered Marine Division in an amphibious assault, and the FMFLant ANGLICO was intended to support Army divisions during their own amphibious training. After the Vietnam War commenced, 1st ANGLICO deployed Sub-Unit 1 to support operations in that theater. Marines from Sub-Unit 1 fought in numerous major actions in Vietnam, all the way up until the Easter Offensive of 1972.
Read More »
Non Multa Sed Multum
By Slab
The Latin phrase above means, “Not many but much”. It has become the unofficial motto of 2d Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO), since we are a small unit (around 150 Marines) that disperses across the battlefield in 4-6 man teams, yet each team brings a substantial set of capabilities with it. On this last deployment, teams from 2d ANGLICO supported the Iraqi Army, US Army (both Regular Army and National Guard), Naval Special Warfare, and Marine Corps reconnaissance units, to name a few. Despite this wide network of supported units, or perhaps because of it, the role of ANGLICO is frequently misunderstood.
So what exactly is an ANGLICO? Let’s start at the beginning.
The ANGLICO mission statement:
To provide MAGTF Commanders a liaison capability, with foreign area expertise, to plan, coordinate, employ, and conduct terminal control of fires in support of joint, allied and coalition forces.
Read More »
"When you go into bad neighborhoods, you'll have more attacks."
By Lt Col P
News from Iraq looks grim. Casualties are high; lawlessness appears to have the upper hand.
An article in today's Washington Post makes all of these points, and were one to skim the text only, one would might be left with the impression, again, that the situation is hopeless and not worth one more life.
If one reads the article, the picture becomes somewhat more clear. Yes, it's ugly; any American casualty is a horror. But what we see is essential warfare-- the violent and chaotic clash of two opposing wills. The quote above, "When you go into bad neighborhoods, you'll have more attacks," illustrates what is happening on the ground. We are coming to grips with a violent and dedicated foe. Clashes will rise, and casualties unfortunately will occur. The question for America as a nation is, do we have the will to fight it out? The men (and women) in uniform do.
(Update... for some reason, this next section didn't get posted.)
We have to have the will to fight it out, to get into the population-- the "key terrain" of a counterinsurgency-- to root out the evil-doers and set the conditions for basic law and order to return. Again, this kind of fighting is ugly, but it's necessary to win. Where the Iraqi forces can't set the conditions, we have to help them, and then we have to support them. And if they prove to be corrupt, as one police unit apparently has, I say they need to be punished. The good ones need to be supported, absolutely and unequivocally; the bad one need to be eliminated, publicly and swiftly. Again, the question for America is, do we have the will?
And We Were Just Getting to Know Him...
By John
Iraq's al Qaeda leader killed -TV (Reuters) --
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's al Qaeda leader, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been killed, Al Arabiya television reported on Thursday.It gave no further details. Masri, an Egyptian who is also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, assumed the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq after the death of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June.
Al Qaeda keeps setting em up, we keep knocking em down. So who's next?
**Update** Uh oh, hold fire:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two Arab satellite television stations reported Thursday that the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq may have been killed by U.S. forces during a raid near Haditha, but American officials said they had no information about the reports. Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, deputy Interior Minister in Iraq, told Al-Arabiya TV in a phone call from Baghdad that officials were awaiting DNA tests to determine if a man killed in a recent raid was the new leader, Abu Ayyub al-Masri."We are not sure about al-Masri. There were other people who were killed in this U.S. military operation. We are waiting for the DNA tests to be sure of the identity," Kamal said.
**Update 2** Negative, Says CENTCOM --
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Thursday denied reports it had killed the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq Abu Ayyub al-Masri. "There was a raid where we thought he may have been among those killed. We are still doing DNA tests but we do not believe coalition forces have killed al-Masri," U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson told Reuters.
**Update 3** Bummer --
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials are performing DNA tests on a slain militant to determine if he is al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the deputy interior minister said Thursday. But the U.S. military said it was "highly unlikely" the terror chief had been killed.
We bagged al-Masri's aide last month, during a bug hunt near Haditha. With that score fresh in my mind, I was optimistic about the "Masri dead' report that came in over the Reuters wire. Next time, Gadget, next time.
Picture of the Day: Raptors Sleeping
By John
F-22 Raptors will provide strike packages of aircraft better spherical situational awareness when they pull their first Air Expeditionary Force duty in 2007. The 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., will fly the first Raptors in combat.
Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force
For a few more Raptor pictures, visit Military.com correspondent David Axe's Flicker site.
Brian Williams goes AWOL
By John
You'd think that one of America's three evening news anchors would understand the responsibilities involved in chairing the Medal of Honor Society's annual convention.
A People Have Been Set Free
By John
Why. We. Fight.
Dr Alwash,My name is David Nixon a resident of Gallatin, TN , USA. I read an article in the Oct issue of the Smithsonian about the Marshlands.
Frankly what got my attention was the mention of An Nasiriyah. On March 23, 2003 the 2nd Marine Div, 1st Btln, C co had the mission to take and hold the Sadam Canal in Nasiriyah. On that fateful day 18 Marines and 11 Soldiers were killed in action. One of those killed was my son Cpl Patrick R Nixon, USMC. As time went on after that day I began to hear of UR, the biblical home of the Garden Of Eden and was struck by the historical and biblical aspect of this area.
During the past 31/2 years I have wondered what it was that Pat and his fellow Marines were fighting for. I know that removing Sadam was an important thing for Iraq and, frankly, the world. But beyond that what did he and all of the others accomplish. When I read this Smithsonian article I was struck with the thought that part of this was to bring back the life of those Iraqis who had suffered so under the regime. I suddenly had a kernel of a thought, " the Charlie 1/2 project ". So before I contact other family members of Charlie Co who also lost loved ones there af An Nasiriyah, I wanted to contact someone there for some guidance.
David Nixon
Father of a fallen Marine
Dr. Alwash's reply:
Read More »
Special Preview: Marines in the Garden of Eden
By John
I'm pleased you bring you all a very special feature today, an OPFOR exclusive preview of Richard S. Lowry's Marines in the Garden of Eden. Richard was kind enough to send a few of the thousands of photos collected during his research into the book. From the text and photos below, you'll understand why Lowry's account of the Battle of Nasiriyah has become one of my all-time favorite reads. It'll make a fantastic Hollywood movie one day.
Following is a short excerpt from “Marines in the Garden of Eden” by Richard S. Lowry. To read the entire story of one of the bloodiest battles in our war in Iraq, purchase your copy today at www.marinesinthegardenofeden.com
Chapter 8
The Euphrates River
“Keep moving”
2d Marine Regiment Motto
THE TIMBERWOLVES
Shielein’s CAAT section and Gunny Howard’s Team Mech tanks crested the Euphrates River Bridge first. From his position farther back in the column, Grabowski watched as the tanks and HMMWVs disappeared from view. He thought out loud, “there’s no turning back now, we’re committed!"
The road to Nasiriyah burns
As soon as Shielein’s CAAT vehicles moved to the dusty streets on the north side of the bridge, all hell broke loose. Schielein’s field of view was filled with Iraqis running in all directions. He saw muzzle flashes for one-hundred eighty degrees in front of him. Bullets cracked all around his vehicle. Schielein immediately ordered, “There will be no TOW shots.”2 In a confined urban environment the TOWs can be more dangerous to the Marines than the enemy. Back wash from its rocket can melt the skin off a person in the blink of an eye. So the Marines in the TOW vehicles reached for their SAWs.
Schielein’s CAAT section came screaming down off the bridge with guns blazing. They were firing every SAW, every .50-caliber, and every MK19 they had. Drivers and loaders were firing their personal M-16s. Schielein’s Marines threw everything they had at the enemy. The MK19 grenadiers hurled grenades as fast as they could, leveling everything in sight.
Read More »
Inaugural Post
By Slab
Greetings to all of our readers. First off, I’m honored to have been invited to contribute to OPFOR. By way of introduction, my name is Charlie, and I am a captain in the Marine Corps. An infantry officer by trade, I am currently assigned to an Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) as a Firepower Control Team leader. I just recently completed a fourth deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility, this time to Iraq to support a battalion of the Iraqi Army and their partnered Military Transition Team (MTT). I also run the blog Lightning From The Sky, which explains the moniker that I use on this blog.
For my first post, I wanted to reflect a bit on my experiences on this last deployment to Iraq.
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Putting Muscle into NGO Operations: Time to Raise Private Armies?
By Lt Col P
The other night I saw a commercial plea from the organization Save Darfur, to urge Congress and the President to do something about the crisis in Sudan. Recently, actor George Clooney also made a public appeal for "immediate UN Intervention."
The commercial was powerful stuff and difficult to dismiss out of hand, Clooney's appeal less so. To him, or rather to his image on the screen, I replied, "Easier said than done, George."
Over the last few days I've thought about it again. I'd like to toss this out to George Clooney, on the off-chance that he reads this blog: I agree that the situation warrants intervention, but I think that if you want the UN to do something effective on its own or through proxies like the African Union, you're asking for the impossible. If you want the US and its allies to intervene, I don't think that's going to happen either, for a long list of reasons.
However, I think this offers an opportunity. In order for the oppressed Darfurians to be made secure and help to arrive, the evil-doers need to be slapped, and slapped hard. The situation requires a motivated, professional armed force with the means and will to create the conditions for recovery. (You ain't getting that from the UN, by the way.)
I suggest that you raise a force by private means and send it to Darfur. Staff it with professional soldiers, and get it working hand in glove with the NGOs. Give it a mission, and tasks, and resources. There is ample precedent-- Executive Outcomes' operations in Angola for one-- and there is legal backing too. The Constitution authorizes Congress to issue letters of marque and reprisal.
The results might surprise you, and you would have the satisfaction (and political ammunition) of knowing that you did something where no one else would, and that you solved an intractable problem. You might also get an idea of the real-world problems attanding such a venture, and would have to make some tough decisions and then execute them. What say you?
New Nork Nuke?
By John
North Korea says it will stage nuke test (AP) --
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program.
The United States warned a North Korean nuclear test "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability." South Korea raised its security level, and Japan promised a severe response if the threat was carried out.The statement from Pyongyang gave no precise date for a test, but the prospect that North Korea could soon take a major step forward in its nuclear weapons development triggered alarm and condemnation in foreign capitals, including Russia and the European Union.
We've figured that North Korea has had these things for a few years now, largely in part thanks to -trying my best to be apolitical here- the Clinton Administration's pseudo Sunshine Policy during the 90s. You can insert a "don't feed the crocodile" cliche if you want, since I can't think of a better way to describe giving a hostile, dictatorial regime that wants to join "the club" two nuclear reactors.
Hopefully the test goes as well as North Korea's 7 dud barrage that was launched on the 4th of July this year. But if their nuke test is successful, try to remember that building a nuke is one thing, building one small enough to be mated to a derivery delivery system that ACTUALLY WORKS is another matter altogether.
Here's my question. Does a successful test scare Japan into building an arsenal of their own?
Picture of the Day: Kangaroo Duck
By John
I don't know what it is about this shot that I love so much.....
A rescue crew from the 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., test a "Kangaroo Duck" in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Apalachicola, Fla. The K-Duck is an inflatable raft that is strapped to the underbelly of a rescue helicopter so it can be easily dropped to better assist with water-rescue scenarios like those experienced during Hurricane Katrina.
Picture Courtesy of the US Air Force
The Battle of An Nasiriyah
By John
I've been doing quite a bit of reading into the 2003 fight for An Nasiriyah, widely believed to be the toughest battle of the second Gulf War. I devoured Marines in the Garden of Eden, Richard S. Lowry's account of the Marine action at the Nasiriyah bridgeheads. Lowry's website summarizes the book effectively:
The true story of the bloodiest battle in the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.It began on March 23, 2003, a clear Sunday morning in the city of An Nasiriyah, Iraq, where members of the 507th Maintenance Company had become hopelessly lost on their trek through the desert. The enemy ambushed the 507th at first light, killing and wounding twenty-one soldiers and taking six prisoners, including the now-famous Private Jessica Lynch. By nightfall, 18 Marines had given their lives in what would become the battle for An Nasiriyah.
For the next week, An Nasiriyah was rocked with gun and mortar fire, as the Marines of Task Force Tarawa fought to wrest control of the city from Saddam's fanatical followers. This is the story of the battle for "The Nas," as seen through the eyes of the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and newsmen who made it through those terrible seven days, and would never forget what they experienced, what they learned-or those they lost in the name of freedom.
Lowry's website also provided a link to Lt Col Doug Feiring's online journal, which is a first hand account of Feirings' in-the-mud experiences during the 7 day slugout. I liken it to reading the journal of a soldier in the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of Bastogne. An excerpt:
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Monday P.M. Prep Fires
By Lt Col P
I spent the morning running errands with Son & Heir.
First, a belated happy (fiscal) New Year! Money, money, money! Ammo! Fuel! MREs!
On more serious subjects, by way of our good friends at Blackfive, I see this: GTMO nurse's conversations with a terrorist. This is chilling and sobering reading. Bookmark that page and watch for the parts two through five. Like we said earlier, know your enemy folks, because he definitely knows you.
Military Police?
By Charlie
Charles J. Dunlap Jr. On deploying active duty troops to disaster-relief : (H/T Instapundit)
The cool efficiency of full-time military professionals on the hot New Orleans streets was exactly what the people wanted to see. And apparently they want to see more of it when the need arises -- and sooner. Indeed, few would debate the utility of a faster deployment of the active-duty military's rescue, logistics and engineering resources. … The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act bars most direct military involvement in law enforcement, with several exceptions, including civil disturbances. Since Sept. 11, 2001, such threats as terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction have given the armed forces new legal authority. Should there be more? Americans don't seem especially worried about increasing the full-time military's role. Despite troubles in Iraq and detainee abuse scandals, polls show that the armed forces are the most trusted institution in American society.
I was down in Katrina, not New Orleans, but Gulfport, Mississippi. Our operation was 100% Reserve component, with an on-the-fly task force consisting of about a division. There were so many troops there, I thought that a follow-on mission to invade Mexico wouldn’t have been out of the question. The streets were flooded with military vehicles, MPs were on every street corner, my infantry prowled through the devastated coastline looking for looters and providing security for the local populace to gather their belongings and begin to rebuild their lives. All the while, logistics troops from packhorse battalions and truck companies ferried needed supplies, water, and food to the populace, civil affairs guys liaisoned with the local civic leaders, Engineers partnered with local relief workers and set up a Blue Roof program, Aviation units kept helicopters flying 24/7, and mechanics, cooks, and administrators kept things running smoothly behind the scenes.
All of this was done by the National Guard and Reserves. We had no Active units, and really didn’t need them. Personally, I think the insertion of Active units into the AO was for political reasons.
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