The Long War Archives

Trials, Tribulations & Tribunals

By Lt Col P

By way of MMM, the sad and shocking tale of Miss Al-Qaeda on trial in New York City.

"You want a glimpse of the future that crime-coddling Eric Holder and the White House will be bringing up en masse?

"Right now, in New York City, jihad scientist Aafia Siddiqui is on trial."

Make sure you read the whole thing. View the links. And remember this:

"Two jurors were also let go after a man sitting in the courtroom pointed at them, used his finger as a gun to pretend to shoot them, and mouthed an obscenity.

"Reports the NYPost: ” The unidentified man in a white headdress was taken into custody but it was unclear if charges were filed following the incident in Manhattan federal court.”"

What, if anything, have we learned in the last eight years?? Send these people to Guantanamo, try them before military tribunals, and execute them.

The Man with a Plan

By Lt Col P

Tony-Sahib sent me this article from the WaPo: "Jim Gant, the Green Beret [sic] who could win the war in Afghanistan," and I strongly recommend it to all hands.

Please be sure also to read MAJ Gant's own article, linked at Steven Pressfield's blog.

In an unusual and unauthorized pact, Gant and his men were soon fighting alongside tribesmen in local disputes and against insurgents, at the same time learning ancient tribal codes of honor, loyalty and revenge -- codes that often conflicted with the sharia law that the insurgents sought to impose. But the U.S. military had no plans to leverage the Pashtun tribal networks against the insurgents, so Gant kept his alliances quiet.

No longer. In recent months, Gant, now a major, has won praise at the highest levels for his effort to radically deepen the U.S. military's involvement with Afghan tribes -- and is being sent back to Afghanistan to do just that. His 45-page paper, "One Tribe at a Time," published online last fall and circulating widely within the U.S. military, the Pentagon and Congress, lays out a strategy focused on empowering Afghanistan's ancient tribal system. Gant believes that with the central government still weak and corrupt, the tribes are the only enduring source of local authority and security in the country.

Go forth; read and heed. And thanks to the ever-bold Tony-Sahib for the heads-up. (And bon chasse to MAJ Gant!)

Nothing "New" Here

By Lt Col P

There are several very good points contained in "Al-Qaeda Has a New Strategy," but I'm not sure there's anything really new about Al-Qaeda.

"But for all the talk, two key dots have yet to be connected: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged Northwest Airlines Flight 253 attacker, and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the trusted CIA informant turned assassin. Although a 23-year-old Nigerian engineering student and a 36-year-old Jordanian physician would seem to have little in common, they both exemplify a new grand strategy that al-Qaeda has been successfully pursuing for at least a year."

Hoffman goes on to list point by point what AQ is doing-- all correct, in my opinion-- but again, nothing new. If it's "new," then we haven't been paying attention; that of course is a distinct and sobering possibility.

No, it's a useful and timely reminder on the same old story: this war has been with us a long time, long before we recognized it as such, and it will be with us for a while longer. And we face a determined, ruthless and adaptive adversary. We need to be more so.

"Paging La Valette..."

By Lt Col P

"Paging Grand Master la Valette-- your presence is requested in Malaysia."

And a related story.

You Are Too, Dickweed

By Lt Col P

"America is a legitimate target."

And this is the sort of person we want to try in a civilian court, or release and send back to his home country? Sometimes I swear we haven't learned a damn thing.

We've quoted LtCol Jeff Cooper before, and he's always worth quoting again... "The enemy cannot be taught to like us or respect us. What he must be taught now is to fear us."

Apparently we still have some work to do.

Traitors and 5th Columnists

By Lt Col P

Here we go again.

"A spike in terrorism cases involving U.S. citizens is challenging long-held assumptions that Muslims in Europe are more susceptible to radicalization than their better-assimilated counterparts in the United States.

"Four investigations disclosed in the past 12 months, including the arrests of five Northern Virginia men in Pakistan this week, underscore what the Obama administration asserts is a domestic threat emanating from Americans training overseas with al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups in Pakistan. "We have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror," President Obama said this month in announcing plans to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

"American Muslim organizations, jolted by the spate of cases, are abandoning their hesitation to speak out about the issue. While underlining that only a tiny minority has become radicalized, two major groups -- the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- said this week that they would launch counter-radicalization programs aimed at young people." [Thanks, fellas, we could really use that! Where were you a few years ago??]

So, these five nuts wanted to go for some Jihad? Let's give it to them. Get what information we can out them and then drop them off in Helmand or Kandahar, with an AK and one hour's head start. See how they like it then. Might make 'em wish they stayed back in dental school.

Either way, I'd say that MPAC and CAIR have their hands full. We'll see if they can deliver. Don't hold your breath.

OEF And The Future

By Lt Col P

Well, I think I can speak for most people here when I say we're glad to have seen it and heard it. I've said before also that people here are pretty much interested in winning, not quitting, so we've been waiting to get the word officially.

It is also true that the DoD has been leaning forward-- I hope everyone saw this article on the next wave of Marines to land in Afghanistan. (We heard about this straight from the Commandant.) Rough work ahead, but I can't think of any force better able to do what has to be done.

So there it is. Time to get on with it... because the one thing we ain't got it is time.

"America vs. The Narrative"

By Lt Col P

In another entry from the HOLY SHIT! category, comes this op-ed out of the NY Times:

"What is scary is that even though he [Major Hasan] was born, raised and educated in America, The Narrative still got to him.

"The Narrative is the cocktail of half-truths, propaganda and outright lies about America that have taken hold in the Arab-Muslim world since 9/11. Propagated by jihadist Web sites, mosque preachers, Arab intellectuals, satellite news stations and books — and tacitly endorsed by some Arab regimes — this narrative posits that America has declared war on Islam, as part of a grand “American-Crusader-Zionist conspiracy” to keep Muslims down.

"Yes, after two decades in which U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny — in Bosnia, Darfur, Kuwait, Somalia, Lebanon, Kurdistan, post-earthquake Pakistan, post-tsunami Indonesia, Iraq and Afghanistan — a narrative that says America is dedicated to keeping Muslims down is thriving."

Friedman goes off the rails slightly in the next-to-last paragraph, but overall he scored at least a 98 out of 100. In fact, I'd say he hit the nail right on the fucking head. IO and stratcomm people-- read and heed.

(Hotel Tango to loyal reader, good friend, fellow Marine and gunslinger, MDL.)

Not A Good Sign

By Lt Col P

H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T.

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

I am fucking speechless.

We Couldn't Agree More

By Lt Col P

"An Officer's Outrage Over Fort Hood":

As an officer in the United States Army, I'm angry for so many reasons over what happened at Ft. Hood. I'm angry that twelve of my fellow soldiers and a contractor were murdered. I'm angry that over thirty people have suffered life altering injuries from which they will never fully recover. I'm angry that the lives of so many families have been forever ruined. I'm angry that this happened on an Army post on American soil where soldiers should be safe. And I'm angry that the murderer was a terrorist who masqueraded as an Army officer for half a dozen years.

Fire for effect, Major!

Well done.

More On the Fort Hood Fuckbag

By Lt Col P

We skewer the WaPo when they print weird shit, but we also like to highlight them when they do good work. Some of my favorite WaPo features are the online discussions. The questions and comments are almost always as illuminating as the answers, and sometimes more so. Recently, they had a former Army officer and lawyer online to discuss the Fort Hood massacre. He acquitted himself well-- I strongly recommend it to all hands.

Also, this too is a must-read, found by way of MMM's Buzzworthy column. The links in this article are worthy of bookmarking, and the Steyn-isms are, as usual, priceless.

Read and heed!

Remember the COLE

By Bull Nav

Nine years ago yesterday.

From the commemoration at NOB:

"The families of the USS Cole have waited nine years for justice to be served to those who attacked USS Cole. And although their wait continues, today's anniversary honors the 17 sailors who were the first casualties in the War on Terror. They will forever be remembered for their sacrifice in service to their country on a ship far from its homeport."

It seems folks forget about the USS COLE (DDG67) and the sacrifices her sailors made that day. Look at the pictures of the damage, read the reports of what happened...this is why a few of my BRs (John, Neal) and many others are still in Afghanistan.

Beyond Duty Released

By John

Few stories break the heart like Shannon Meehan and Roger Thompson's Iraq War memoir, Beyond Duty. Meehan, a 1st Cavalry Division tank commander and VMI graduate, may as well have titled it "heavy lies the crown," as Beyond Duty is the first book I've read that fully captures the crushing burden of combat leadership.

Meehan and Thompson (a professor of English at VMI), started writing the book after disaster struck -- Meehan, freshly promoted to acting company commander during an offensive into insurgent-infest Baquba, called in an airstrike which killed a house full of Iraqi civilians. Beyond Duty details that fateful day in the prologue, the rest of the story's arc rides wave after wave of hyper-realistic tension ultimately leading to Meehan's antagonizing decision -- send his men into the dragon's mouth and possible death, or safely negate a house full of unknown occupments with a precision guided airstrike.

I've read my share of Iraq and Afghanistan war memoirs, God knows there's plenty of them out there. This, however, is the first "under the helmet" account of the terrifying nature of MOUT operations that I've read. Further, Beyond Duty forces the audience to come to terms with the immense responsibility we place on kids who are often times fresh out of college. The decisions Meehan faced were terrifying, yet through those unforgiving experiences, the light of this wonderful generation of young men and women shone through. The tougher the fight became, the faster Meehan ascended into a strong, confident leader. The great tragedy of Beyond Duty --and indeed it is a tragic tale-- was that after an uninterrupted record of deeply admirable and virtuous leadership, one bad decision completely unraveled Meehan's confidence and demeanor. Indeed, the pain doesn't stop after the wound has healed.

Read Beyond Duty. Understand what we ask of these young men and women, the angry seas we ask them to navigate, the agonies of combat, and the crushing burdens of leadership.

Shannon and Roger will be on the Ed Morrissey Show at 4pm EST, Thursday 24 September. Our friends at WRKO Boston also have a must-listen interview up with Shannon and Roger, click through for the link.

Finally, I'm proud to say that Capt Shannon Meehan will be joining us here at OPFOR full time as a blogger. I expect that will happen when the buzz from Beyond Duty calms (and it's buzzing loudly, folks -- pass the word).

Smack-Down in Somalia

By Lt Col P

Great news from the Horn of Africa:

Helicopter-borne Special Forces troops attacked and killed a top al-Qaeda-linked suspect in a raid in southern Somalia early Monday, U.S. officials said.

Officials said Saleh Ali Nabhan, 30, a Kenyan sought in the 2002 bombing of an Israeli-owned resort in Kenya and an unsuccessful attempt that year to shoot down an Israeli airliner, was among four men killed in the attack. U.S. troops fired from the air at a vehicle in which the men were traveling.

At least four helicopters participated in the raid, launched from a nearby U.S. naval vessel, a senior military official said. At least one of them landed, and troops retrieved the bodies. "You want to go in there, do this fast, and get out before you're detected," the official said.

Officials said Nabhan was the target of the raid.

Fox News has more:

Ten days ago President Obama signed the Execute Order for Nabhan, who since 2006 was on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists. He was also wanted for the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Kenya in 1998.

They called it operation Celestial Balance: at least two AH-6 Little Bird helicopters deployed from one of two U.S. Navy vessels near Somalia's coast strafed a vehicle Nabhan was using to go back and forth between meetings.

Intelligence operatives had been monitoring Sabhan prior to the attack. The helicopters passed once, firing on the vehicle, and then circled back around to retrieve the body so they could make a positive identification, according to an official.

Outstanding work, boys! And unstinting praise for the President, who gave the Green Light.

Mushkil

By Lt Col P

The Dari word we advisers/mentors/trainers/LNOs hate to hear, the word we wince at, the one word we love to hate, is "Mushkil."

"Problem."

Mushkil rarely is the opening gambit. Mushkil creeps up on you. Mushkil is a sucker punch.

It goes like this... "Khoob!" ("Well!" or "OK!" as if to signal the end of an otherwise successful and pleasant meeting.) And then you hear what amounts to, "Dari dari dari dari dari dari. Dari dari. Dari dari dari,dari! Dari. Dari, dari, dari, dari, dari... Mushkil."

Fuck.

You shoot a glance at the interpreter, who knows very well that you know what word is floating in the air. Before you even speak, he's asking back, in effect, "What, pray tell, is the problem?"

It's usually something significant, on the verge of urgent. Like this example, from my meeting just this morning: "Vehicles [that is, up-armored SUVs] were given out two days ago by the Americans. I did not receive mine, but General ______ got four and he only deserves two. Colonel ______ gave them to him!" You can almost hear the "thwock!" of the ball being swatted into our court. A pregnant pause ensues.

"That is disgraceful, General," we reply, "and it is a gross affront to you." (All of which is true.) "Colonel ______ is in league with the devil, and General ______ is a dishonorable thief. You sir, however, are an honest man and unfortunately you are suffering the consequences of being an honest man." All of this too, is true. Knowing some of the background we continue: "We cannot produce a vehicle for you, much less two or three or four. However, we can assist your aide in filing the right request, so that at the next MoD conference we can produce the documents which have had no action taken, and confront General _____ and his lapdog Colonel ______, and uncover their fiendish plot."

There's more to it than squabbling; buried in there are strands of face, influence, prestige, authority and power. This is very important, and while it seems trivial and tiresome, it's worth paying very close attention to. Besides, possession of an armored SUV can mean the difference between life and death here, especially for the senior officers. But we have to walk a fine line between getting them something ourselves and gently chiding them into making their own system work.

Mushkil-- it's all in a day's work.

9/12 And Beyond

By Lt Col P

A few 9/11-related items to wrap up.

I forgot, most disgracefully, to link to Doc H's post on Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of the Panjshir. His assassination immediately preceded 9/11; if he were alive today I'm sure we would not have half the problems we do.

Second, at our own 9/11 ceremony here at Camp Eggers, I stood next to a fellow VMI grad, from the class of '91, LCdr Dave Williams's class. Solemn. We also heard a most rousing and inspiring address from the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, and later I was privilieged to meet him. That's one squared-away soldier; you may or may not recall that he was deputy CG of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq, in 2004. Good guy to have on your side in a fight!

Read More »

11 Sep 2009

By Lt Col P

Pardon me, but I'm going to reprint a slightly edited version of my post from 2006, on the other September 11th, of 1565. I think it's timely and relevant.

The fifth anniversary of September 11th 2001 is upon us. It is fitting that the day should see both a solemn remembrance of the dead and the renewal of a cold-hearted resolve to win the war that was declared on us.

There is however, another September 11th that we should also remember, and from which we can take heart in our own struggle. It is September 11th 1565; the scene was different and so were the actors too, but the nature of the battle was all too familiar. On that day, a small force of European knights and the entire population of Malta dealt Ottoman Turkey a decisive defeat, and in doing so probably saved western civilization.

In May of that year, a Turkish invasion force landed on the island of Malta, held only by a combined force of knights, their hired soldiers, and the mobilized population of the island. The Turkish aim was to seize the strategically located island and clear the way for the expansion of the crescent flag of Islam into the western Mediterranean and western Europe. The Turks, under Sultan Suleiman the Great, also sought to exterminate the last vestige of a crusading order that was still proving to be a dangerous foe.

Those old crusaders were the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John, of Jerusalem of Rhodes, and of Malta. Originally founded in the eleventh century as a hospital order to provide relief to Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, they quickly grew into a formidable military force that also protected those Christian pilgrims. (They still exist as hospitallers, but if they existed today in the same form as in 1565, they would surely be the strangest NGO in the world. Imagine a merger of Catholic Charities and Blackwater; imagine Mother Teresa with a .45 and the will and skill to use it.)

The Knights of St John were by 1565 already living anachronisms. (Today, wouldn’t they be called warmongers from the religious right?) The crusades from which they derived were old history even then; the Order had been expelled first from the Holy Land and then from the fertile island of Rhodes. They were given the rock of Malta as much to keep them away from Europe as to allow them to get at the Turks, who they saw as mortal enemies. They waged ceaseless war against the Sultan in the form of commerce raiding and other operations.

The Knights knew their enemy well. The Order’s intelligence network gave early warning of the Turkish Sultan’s preparations for a massive attack to crush the Knights for good. Under the Grand Master, Jean de la Vallette, they prepared their defenses and called in their brethren from estates across Europe.

The Knights and the Maltese were virtually on their own in the fight for Malta. The Europe they sought to defend was going to provide little help. The Protestant powers of northern Europe were content to let the Catholic knights fight this battle. Imperial Spain, technically the order’s patron, would prove dilatory at best in sending aid. France had signed a treaty with Turkey some years before, and although much of the Order was of French descent, that country was neither able nor inclined to ride to its rescue.

The siege was brutal. After weeks of attack and counterattack under the hot Mediterranean sun, the Turks took a small position, Fort St Elmo, which guarded the approaches to the main citadels of Fort St Angelo and Fort St Michael. Despite having taken enormous losses, they then hurled their forces against the twin defenses around the grand harbor. More than once their fanatical assaults nearly overwhelmed the defenders; at one point the Turkish assault on St Michael was about to succeed when a surprise attack on the Turkish rear area by the Order’s cavalry caused them to retreat. In June a small relief force of about 700, sent from Sicily, arrived and crept into the fortress under the cover of a fog, and the reinforcement proved just enough to bolster the tired defenders at a critical point.

By the end of summer it was clear that the Turks had shot their bolt, despite their having come very close to victory more than once and having inflicted severe losses on the Knights and the Maltese. The Order had made them pay a very heavy price for their gains, and they could not sustain the campaign. The defenders likewise were on their last legs, but their faith and the leadership and iron resolve of the Grand Master held them firm.

On September 8th, when at last a relief force from Sicily appeared bearing 8,000 Knights and soldiers from across Europe, the Turks began to withdraw. But they left a force ashore, hoping to draw the Knights and their soldiers into an ambush that would secure them the victory in the open that they could not gain in the siege. Their fleet was still mostly intact, and even with the arrival of a relief force the issue was still in doubt. The Grand Master recognized what was afoot but was determined to finish them off; he gave orders to sortie a force to meet the Turks and push them into the sea.

One of the soldiers in that force, Francisco Balbi di Correggio, who left a first-hand account of the siege, tells us about that last battle. The force was made of defenders, nearly worn out by months of combat and privation, and the soldiers of the relief, who sought action after months of waiting in Sicily. They advanced on the Turks and seized a commanding height. With an officer shouting, “Santiago, and at them!” they fought a pitched battle but finally beat the enemy down, stopping only when the guns of the Turkish fleet covered the withdrawal. Yet not all Turks made it off. Balbi tells us that hundreds were left on the island; no quarter was shown to them, save one Turk who was sold into slavery.

And so it was that on Tuesday, September 11th 1565, the Ottoman Turks were driven from the Malta by the stalwart defense of a small group of living anachronisms and the island’s own brave inhabitants. The greatest military force in the Mediterranean was broken on the walls of the island’s fortresses, and the swords, spears and shields of the islanders and the Knights.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the battle. In modern terms, it was not only a great victory in and of itself, it was also a critical shaping operation. In 1571, the Turkish fleet met the combined fleet of the now-mobilized European powers at Lepanto. The Turks were crushed, and their naval power never again threatened Europe.

The lessons for us today, almost five centuries hence, are equally important. The same enemy exists today. Instead of galleys he uses airliners, and instead of Janissaries he uses suicide bombers. He hates and fears western civilization, and seeks to convert or enslave us. We have to meet him and engage him everywhere he is, just as the Knights did. What it will take to win against him is what it took to win at Malta: preparation, skill at arms, leadership, and above all faith and an iron will.

While I remember our dead, I'll also remember the Knights of St John.

Remember also 11 September 1683, in which King Jan Sobieski of Poland led his army to the rescue of the city of Vienna, and broke the Turkish siege. Be sure to thank a Pole if you know one. There are several here aboard USS Eggers, and I will be thanking them profusely.

Project 2,996: Op-For Remembers

By Lt Col P

We willingly signed up with Project 2,996 to remember our two fellow alumni who were murdered in cold blood on the 11th day of September in the Year of Our Lord 2001. We remember:

Mr Charles William Mathers, VMI '62

Lieutenant Commander David Lucian Williams, VMI '91

N E V E R F O R G E T. Never forget them, and their families, and never forget why we're fighting. Never forget that the war was brought to us. Never forget that there is a time and place for cold, hard vengeance. Never forget that victory in this war is not a mere theoretical possibility, but an absolute requirement for a Nation that wishes to remain free and sovereign.

How we got to 9/11/01

By Bull Nav

So, not much news out there this week concerning this Friday's anniversary. Seems health care is sitting on the front burner and even conservative pundits want the war to end (see my BR's comments here).

To provide some context in how we got to 9/11/01, and in where we are going, I recommend reading Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower. A very well written and researched history on the origins of bin Laden's radicalization (as well as others), and the radicalization of Islam in the 20th Century.

It seems people would rather forget and move on, as if the external extremist threats have been dimmed by the passing of time. We can't, lest this happen again.

Please take some time Friday and remember those who were murdered that day and also those who have given their lives since then to root out the evil. Most of all, remember that this is not over.

Now That's More Like It

By Lt Col P

This goes a long way to calming my elevated blood-pressure.

Winning the war in Afghanistan—creating a stable and legitimate Afghan state that can control its territory—will be difficult. The insurgency has grown in the past few years while the government's legitimacy has declined. It remains unclear how the recent presidential elections will affect this situation.

Trying to win in Afghanistan is not a fool's errand, however. Where coalition forces have conducted properly resourced counterinsurgency operations in areas such as Khowst, Wardak, Lowgar, Konar and Nangarhar Provinces in the eastern part of the country, they have succeeded despite the legendary xenophobia of the Pashtuns.

Poorly designed operations in Helmand Province have not led to success. Badly under-resourced efforts in other southern and western provinces, most notably Kandahar, have also failed. Can well-designed and properly-resourced operations succeed? There are no guarantees in war, but there is good reason to think they can. Given the importance of this theater to the stability of a critical and restive region, that is reason enough to try.

That's the spirit.

Butt-Fucking Quitters, Part I

By Lt Col P

What's all this quitting shit?? It's starting to piss me off.

People's Exhibit One, previously aired here on the very pages of this august forum: "... Afghanistan would need hundreds of thousands of coalition troops, perhaps for a decade or more. That is inconceivable. ... So, instead, forces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters."

Establishment conservative, indeed. That's his problem. The establishment conservative is the first to retreat, from anything and everything that threatens his standing in the local social circuit. "It" is NOT inconceivable; it is difficult, it is painful, it is necessary; it is in our vital interests. IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

People's Exhibit Two, with a good stonking from UJ, and another from HotAir.

A free-for-all debate on policy and strategy is great. Quitting? That's for losers. Count me out.

So I submit to you one George F. lack-of-Will-- Butt-Fucking Quitter #1. There will be more.

Election Day, Afghanistan, Part II

By Lt Col P

Results are not yet known, but from the local point of view, we had braced for considerable violence and chaos and thank God we got nowhere near as much as we had feared. That is good.

On the other hand, turnout appears to have been lower than expected. Again, final results will tell. The WaPo has reporting and photos. David Wood, whom I have referenced before as as a straight shooter and solid reporter, has more, and he strikes a chord. (In a very strange coincidence, Mr Wood was standing at the bottom of the stairs as I climbed down from the C-130 a couple days ago; I hadn't seen him in years.)

My take-- We'll have to wait, of course, for the results and the numbers, but the fact remains that the election has come and gone. Imperfect? Probably. Violent? In some places but not so in many others. But, it's good enough for this round. The fact that there was an election is a big step forward, and hopefully it will begin to set a basic expectation of regular self-governance. This unfortunate land could use a hefty dose of that.

(And yes, I can see the blimp.)

Election Day, Afghanistan

By Lt Col P

Today's the day here in Kabul, and across the country.

If you're the praying sort (and I hope you are), ora pro nobis-- for the brave folks who will stick their necks out to vote, to work the polls, to protect the polls, to clear the roads, to watch the crowds, to do their utmost to make sure that it's a fair, clean and quiet process.

Keep your fingers crossed.

A Damn Fine Piece of News

By Lt Col P

The desperately-in-need-of-a-haircut Pakistani Taliban supremo, Baitullah Mehsud, has assumed ambient temperature; or rather, the extant bits and pieces of him have. Much like the end of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, this will not mean the end of his movement, but it does move the end a little closer. And it's just a nice little pick-me-up for the day. UJ at B5 agrees.

Congrats are due to every man and woman in that kill chain.

Medal of Honor Count Questioned?

By Lt Col P

Saw this yesterday on foxnews.com:

The very nature of this medal requires that its recipients be judged at the highest standards, yet I would not want to think that the count is being sandbagged. (I also don't like the suggestions that numbers of awards are derived from numbers of casualties.) Every act of heroism stands on its own, and we cannot (should not) manufacture or inflate the circumstances surrounding them. I do wish we had living recipients in this war, not because because I'd want anyone to go through what MoH holders have to go through, but because I know we have men like that now in the armed services. And they deserve to be recognized.

Gross Disrespect

By Lt Col P

If you haven't had a drink yet tonight, you'll need one after you see this, but you still need to see it.

This woman's beyond a useful idiot. She's a malignant growth on a civil society. Have some respect, you hooded hag. Or go live somewhere else.

The Danger of the Instant Jihadist

By Lt Col P

MMM has a good post on the self-starting "instant jihadist" who assassinated a US Army private in Arkansas. Go, read, follow all the links.

This, as we have noted before, is the most difficult threat to counter, especially if it's one guy who, in essence, wakes up and decides today's the day. He might not have left any sort of electronic trail, or skylined himself in any way. The best defense against him is vigilance, individual and organizational. Be in Condition Yellow; have a plan and act on it.

This is unfortunately a stark illustration that the threat exists, and that some attempts will succeed. The one thing that the four jihadists in New York had going against them was an informer in their wider circle. It wasn't lack of initiative, or failure of will, or any shortage of capacity. Don't expect all such groups (or individuals) in the future to have OPSEC holes. Or for an FBI informant to be placed so conveniently.

War, folks. It's WAR. You can't wish it away. Or call it something else. It is what it is. I say we fight it, and win it.

And Godspeed to you, Private Long. MORE... Pvt Long's father speaks (h/t to B5).

One Step Backwards

By Lt Col P

Sorry, folks, for the silence on the net. It seems that we've all been quite busy. Good thing, then, that UJ has the time to cover all the bases.

While I believe the decision by the administration to continue military commissions to try the suspects at Gitmo is a good one, that is far from the only problem we face in looking at our policies regarding terrorists. What happens now that a federal court has ruled that all detainees at Ngram Airbase have habeas corpus rights? Not just those transferred there from abroad, but even those picked up on the battlefield there. In the cases where habeas proceedings have been held on enemy detainees 25 of 30 were released because there was not evidence that fits the requirements of federal court to hold them.

We are well on the way back to the pre 9/11 law enforcement approach to terrorism and that is a mistake we should not make again. They are at war with us and unless we reciprocate, they will win in ways they never should. That will cost American lives.

Yes. It. Will. I'm about three-quarters through Ghost Wars, and UJ's point is one of the enduring lessons. War is war; it's not crime. We didn't ask for this war, it declared on us. We should fight it with every means at our disposal, and it is a capital error to confuse war with anything other than what it is.

Running the War in Iraq, by Major General Jim Molan

By Townie 76

Running the War in Iraq, by Major General Jim Molan, Australian Army Retired; 2008: Harper Collins Publishers; Sydney, Australia; ISBN: 9780732287818; ISBN10: 0732287812; 358 pages.
Some interesting links to about the book:

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/9780732287818/Running_the_War_in_Iraq/index.aspx

http://www.homepagedaily.com/Pages/article5542-is-australian-general-jim-molan-a-war-criminal.aspx

http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/the_facts_about_fallujah/desc#commentsmore

Read More »

Opportunity, Missed

By Lt Col P

As promised, a few comments on the article I linked below, on the very beginnings of what turned into the Anbar Awakening. On what could have been, possibly, but wasn't an alternate ending to OIF-2.

Let's get a few things out of the way. First of all, VF is not a publication I normally read. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever read it. Second, the author and the editors probably have a deep-seated policial axe to grind with the Bush Administration. All that being said, the essentials of the story are, as far as I know, correct.

As far as I know. And in this case, I know a good deal. Among other things, Colonel John Coleman (VMI 76, and an exceptional officer) told me the tale a few years ago, when he was about to retire. It was clear to me that this was an exceptional story, and when he suggested (!) that I keep it to myself for obvious reasons, I had no problems with that. Col onel Coleman thought then that this was an effort well worth pursuing. To put it another way, I thought it was a stunning turn of events; if anything, that article is a mild version of events.

What makes Coleman's opinion the key to understanding the opportunity that was offered here-- and missed-- is that if anyone would have been in a position to scoff at counterfeit engagements, it would have been the I MEF leadership. They had been forced, virtually at gunpoint, into a union with the Fallujah Brigade, and had endured more than their share of charlatans and hustlers. (They had also had a taste of the real deals too, like the Showanis.) If Colonel John Coleman thought that the people he met with were speaking with authority, and were capable of doing what they said, he would have the experience to know it.

Furthermore, I have had all of this confirmed by a 3d CAG officer I know well, who was deeply involved with economic engagement before and after this. And, I have seen the documents in Mr Jones's possession, and unless they are very clever fabrications, they bear out the facts. They are priceless historical documents, and I hope they get preserved properly.

I said that, as far as I know, the essentials of the story in the article are true; but I think the author jumps the rails in a few places. For one, he places the blame squarely on the Bush White House. That's one possibility, but not a certainty. There were others involved, and they shouldn't be let off the hook so easily.

What I think is beyond a doubt is that if we had taken the risk and accepted this offer at face value, we'd be a year ahead of where we are now. I have often said that the failure to score a decisive blow at Fallujah in early 2004, or rather the failure to allow I MEF to deliver that blow, set us back a full year. We could have recovered, at a much reduced cost, all of that time and more. And a lot of good men paid the price. But there's nothing to be done about it except to square up to the facts and absorb the lessons.

Irregular Warfare Requires New Leaders

By Lt Col P

Not, almost certainly, directly related to McKiernan-out/McChrystal-in, but not un-related either, in the larger sense:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 12, 2009 – The Army will require a different type of leader in the fight against terrorism and other kinds of irregular warfare, the Army’s top troop trainer said here today.

Not too many years ago, senior Army leaders were taught to combine speed with massed conventional forces to beat a similarly equipped, conventional enemy, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of U.S. Training and Doctrine Command, told attendees at the 2009 Joint Warfighting Conference, held here today through May 14.

The object of battle strategy then was to quickly defeat the enemy through attrition of his forces, Dempsey explained.

Now, I added the emphasis on "attrition" in the hopes that one of our Army brethren can confirm or deny that the Army sought to win a battle of attrition rather than a battle of maneuver in the recent past. I really hope that that the reporter got it wrong.

Self-Inflicted Casualties

By Lt Col P

An ugly day in Baghdad:

A U.S. soldier opened fire on coalition forces attending a stress clinic at a military base outside of Baghdad International Airport Monday, and at least five were killed, the Pentagon and U.S. Command said.

It was unclear how many U.S. soldiers were killed in the shooting at Camp Liberty, but a defense official said the shooter is alive and in custody. Three were wounded, but it was not immediately clear if the shooter was one of them.

Pentagon officials first indicated that an Army soldier shot the others and then turned the gun on himself.

It would have been better for him if "first indications" proved to be true...

On Torture: Getting Warmer

By Lt Col P

A revealing, very revealing op-ed in today's WaPo.

On April 16, President Obama released the now-infamous torture memos along with a covering statement that said the CIA's old interrogation methods not only failed to "make us safer" but undermined "our moral authority." A week later, a woman holding the hand of a child walked into a throng in Baghdad and blew herself up. Apparently she had not heard of our new moral authority.

That term -- "moral authority" -- gets used a lot. There is such a thing, I suppose, although a suicide bomber probably thinks he or she has it in abundance. Whatever it may be, however, it is an awfully thin reed upon which to construct a foreign policy. I, for one, am glad we're no longer torturing anyone, but ceasing this foul practice will not in any way make Americans safer. We prohibit torture for other reasons.

Yes, he has to take a jab or two at Dick Cheney, and say a couple of minor odd things. However, he absolutely nails the one thing we should all be disgusted about in this business:

If Obama thinks the world will respond to his new torture policy, he is seriously misguided. Indeed, he has made things a bit easier for terrorists who now know what will not happen to them if they get caught. And by waffling over whether he will entertain the prosecution of Bush-era Justice Department lawyers (and possibly CIA interrogators as well), he has shown agents in the field that he is behind them, oh, about 62 percent of the time.

Awfully nice when your Commander in Chief hands the enemy an advantage, isn't it?

Scheuer Shanks The Prez

By Lt Col P

Michael Scheuer, late of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit-- perhaps you've heard of him?-- sticks it to the President:

Americans should be clear on what Obama has done. In a breathtaking display of self-righteousness and intellectual arrogance, the president told Americans that his personal beliefs are more important than protecting their country, their homes and their families. The interrogation techniques in question, the president asserted, are a sign that Americans have lost their "moral compass," a compliment similar to Attorney General Eric Holder's identifying them as "moral cowards." Mulling Obama's claim, one can wonder what could be more moral for a president than doing all that is needed to defend America and its citizens? Or, asked another way, is it moral for the president of the United States to abandon intelligence tools that have saved the lives and property of Americans and their allies in favor of his own ideological beliefs?

I like it, I like it. But I've always been of two minds on thus Scheuer fellow. So, go, read, and make up your own mind.

"Asked" or "Tasked"??

By Lt Col P

It's one good deal after another these days.

Military reservists may be asked to volunteer to fill many of the hundreds of additional U.S. civilian positions in Afghanistan called for in the Obama administration's strategy for that nation and neighboring Pakistan, officials said yesterday.

"Asked" is a polite word. I wonder if they'll tack a "t" on the front end of that verb. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

And THIS is a very bad idea-- "The State Department, officials said, wants the reservists to dress in civilian clothes and to report up a civilian chain of command reaching to an overall civilian coordinator who would supervise all nonmilitary U.S. programs in Afghanistan." And this too-- "State has also asked the Pentagon to consider a flexible rotation schedule that would allow for assignments longer than the several months that mark many reserve tours. Officials said that it was not yet clear whether any of the State Department's requests were possible within military reserve rules..."

But I have a GREAT idea. Hey, all you crackerjack smart Ivy Leaguers, dedicted to national service, all of you agronomists, engineers, accountants and other experts-- here's your chance. No uniforms, no awful evil guns, none of those boring state university types barking orders at you in their frightful provincial accents. Can I get a show of hands?

Didn't think so.

Torture; Another Perspective

By Townie 76

While most will not agree with sentiments of the Economists they offer an interesting perspective on the release of the Torture of Memorandums.

Read More »

Excited about this...

By John

Though I can't figure out when it's supposed to release --

Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg writes, directs, and produces this true-life tale of survival set in Afghanistan and involving a Navy Seal whose entire squadron was killed in a Taliban ambush. Marcus Luttrell was a Navy Seal who led a team of soldiers into Afghanistan on a dangerous mission to kill a Taliban leader. One day, while preparing for their mission on the side of a mountain, the team was surprised to encounter an Afghan man, a farmer, and a young boy. Subsequently struggling with the decision whether to kill them and violate the military rules of engagement or to let them go and risk blowing their cover, the team took a vote and found themselves deadlocked at an even split. As the leader of the team, it was up to Luttrell to make the final call. Determining that the three were simple civilians, Luttrell made the call to release them. An hour later, his entire team was wiped out by dozens of heavily armed Taliban. When the smoke cleared, Luttrell was clinging to life -- the sole survivor of the brutal ambush. In the following days Luttrell would use his military experience to stay alive in a hostile landscape and avoid detection by the Taliban.

Peter Berg did an amazing job with The Kingdom, in that he refused to inject his opinion on US foreign policy during the film. Kept true to the story, which I admired. Plus, The Kingdom was just damn well done. If Berg handles Operation Red Wing with the same care and attention to detail that he's treated previous works, this film should kick a US Navy SEAL level of ass.

By the way, if you haven't read the book -- you should.

Pentagon Discusses 2006 Lebanon War

By Lt Col P

Someone's been looking long and hard at Israel's dust-up with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

U.S. military experts were stunned by the destruction that Hezbollah forces, using sophisticated antitank guided missiles, were able to wreak on Israeli armor columns. Unlike the guerrilla forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, who employed mostly hit-and-run tactics, the Hezbollah fighters held their ground against Israeli forces in battles that stretched as long as 12 hours. They were able to eavesdrop on Israeli communications and even struck an Israeli ship with a cruise missile.

I think that's less of a problem of having the right capabilities and more of a problem of essentially underestimating your enemy. Nevertheless, it's a good debate. In truth, we need to be able to do it all, from low-intensity to full-on conventional combat. And let us not forget that "combat" doesn't equal "war"...

"Even if the Israelis had done better operationally, I don't think they would have been victorious in the long run," said Andrew Exum, a former Army officer who has studied the battle from southern Lebanon. "For the Israelis, the war lasted for 34 days. We tend to forget that for Hezbollah, it is infinite."

I think we're in grave danger of making THAT mistake.

GWOT's The Point?

By Lt Col P

I never liked the term, Global War on Terror, or GWOT. I found that it failed singularly to identify the enemy, a fine but crucial point. Words have meaning. Like so many of the previous administration's efforts, it was a game try but only a partial success. ("The Long War" was a much, much better choice.) But at least it identified a global war going on out there.

Now, we have this: we have Overseas Contingency Operations. OCO is, arguably what we have been doing for some time regardless of any major combat operations. The Navy and Marine Corps, for example, have been engaged in routine overseas contingency operations for some time now, centuries indeed.

The first step in solving a problem is to admit that you have one. If you don't square up to the fact that you're in a war, that some other entity is not only wishing harm on you and your interests but is actively pursuing the policy, you're ceding the initiative. No amount of euphemizing will wish away the facts: we are at war. We didn't ask for it, we didn't start it. The previous administration might not have fought the war as well as they should have, but at least they fought it.

Rally 'round the flag, boys! The Long Contingency Operation is underway, and set your calendars back to 10 September. Where is Winston Churchill when we need him?

Quick Update... I see Uncle Jimbo has dumped on it too.

New Israeli Defense Minister?

By Lt Col P

Loyal reader and occasional commenter VFRMarine sent in a note about the presumptive Defense Minister in the new Netanyahu government. While there is a bit of inside baseball that not all of us will follow readily, what's clear is that Mr Ya'alon favors a hard stance toward his more troublesome neighbors:

"Are you willing to give up the state of Israel for a prisoner?" Ya'alon asked. "The expression 'at any price' is not appropriate."

He is also a known critic of accepting a cease-fire with Hamas. In a paper he wrote for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in September, he called for "intensive, medium-scale operations, and targeted killing of the [Hamas] leaders."

This policy, he said, would get Hamas to "cry for a cease-fire without conditions."

One can only hope.

Mazel tov to you, sir.

Yes, We Can

By Lt Col P

Saw this yesterday at work, but being at work and therefore unable to post, I had to put it off til now.

The answer is, YES.

I had a fine list of reasons why this is so, most of which would come as no surprise to this community, but since Uncle J beat me to it, I'll save a minute and point you his way.

Everyone say it with me now, YES WE CAN. We know how, and have forces to do it. Let's hope the folks at the top are as committed to victory as the troops on the ground.

"The War Is Lost"?

By Lt Col P

I strongly recommend this latest piece from Andrew McCarthy at NRO, as it carries a theme I have often voiced.

And that caging had better happen soon, because the word “war” in this context refers only to our nation’s forcible military response after the 9/11 attacks finally made the atrocities of radical Islam impossible to ignore any longer. Our response did not start the war. That war, radical Islam’s jihad against the United States and the West, continues — and ever more perilously. As we hollow ourselves out by the day, we become a much softer target.

Well put: War does not consist solely of combat, or the deployment of large forces. War is a concerted, conscious, national effort. There is no "Iraq war" or "Afghan war." There is only The War, waged across the globe, with campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan (and other places), drawn together as a coordinated whole by political decisions, and endorsed by the electorate. Unfortunately, we have the previous administration to thank for failing to get the terms straight, at least to the public, and hammer the point home. The vulnerability lingers; indeed, possibly worsens.

Even more unfortunately, I think that the enemy understands The War quite well. I do hope we wise up, and soon.

Friday Free-Play

By Lt Col P

Got all sorts of stuff on my mind today.

If you ain't got yours, you ought to get it now. And a related note too.

What if the enemy decides to keep fighting after the deadline?

Isn't it perverse that defense-- a Constitutional obligation-- is now considered "discretionary," but Medicare-- no mention I can find in the Constitution-- is somehow "mandatory." Hello, Europe.

The big bad Bear gets slapped on the nose by a Maple Leaf! Nice.

Talk to you monday. I'm headed to the Star City of the South.

Update... Operation Gunnerside, 66 years ago today-- the op that saved the world. A fascinating story that only gets better the more you read about it. (I recommend this and this, and to a lesser extent this.)

Five More Senior DOD Posts Filled

By Lt Col P

From DefenseLink:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2009 – President Barack Obama continued his efforts to fill key Defense Department posts, announcing plans today to nominate two more people and to have three others continue to serve in their current posts.

Obama announced his intent to name Jim Miller as principal deputy undersecretary for policy, and retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Wallace “Chip” Gregson Jr. as assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs.

The White House also announced that Michael B. Donley will continue serving as Air Force secretary, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper will remain on board as undersecretary for intelligence, and Michael G. Vickers will remain as assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict and interdependent capabilities.

Continuity is always good, especially in SOLIC, a domain which has big stakes in this war.

Congrats to LtGen Gregson as well. He was kind enough to give me about 20 minutes of his time back in '06 when I was working on my history of Det One, and he was retired and working for the Olympic Committee. I'm sure it was the thing he least wanted to do that day, especially after I politely harangued him about the lack of funding and attention for the U.S. Biathlon Team. A patient and forebearing man. I'm afraid he'll need both qualities in abundance.

Good luck to all these appointees-- there's still a war on.

Well, Not Anymore

By Lt Col P

Not secret anymore, that is.

Or more accurately, it hasn't been in a while. BZs to The Torch for a scoop. :-)

(And BTW, I'm glad SF training teams are doing that.)

Iowa Guard Training: Good Idea or Bad Idea?

By Lt Col P

Take a look at this post at Michael Bane's place, and then take a look at the one immediately following.

There's some substantial gray area here, and as much as I'd like to give the Iowa Guard at least an honorable mention for trying to get some realistic training (I can't tell from the article whether this is pre-deployment stuff or just a Guard-specific exercise), I have to give it the thumbs-down. I'm going to assume that this is a state active duty or Title 32 event, but if this is a Title 10 exercise, I'd be screaming bloody murder.

Now, to frame my opinions properly, I've always thought that the ideal pre-deployment work-up for a unit headed overseas would be three months in any area of the US, urban or rural, that has experienced a significant natural disaster and where they could conduct a true prac-app on the full range of security and stability ops. Always operating in support of civil authorities, they could get real experience in dealing with local governments, NGOs, and a population denuded of its resources and normal routine. However, I know for a fact that this would never fly, and for a variety of good reasons too, so I'm not just knee-jerking against the Iowa guard.

The same things that bothered Bane bother me. NEVER LET ARMED AGENTS OF THE STATE SEARCH YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT A WARRANT-- FOR PRETEND OR FOR REAL. Never.

What say you?

Call Them "XE"

By Lt Col P

Blackwater is dumping the name and switching to "Xe." Apparently the raft of bad PR forced the change:

Blackwater said Friday it will no longer operate under the name that came to be known worldwide as a caustic moniker for private security, dropping the tarnished brand for a disarming and simple identity: Xe, which is pronounced like the letter "z."

It's a rare surrender for a company that cherished a brand name inspired by the dark-water swamps of northeastern North Carolina, one that survived another rebranding effort about a year ago, following a deadly shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The decision to give it up underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by that incident and other security work in Iraq.

Say what you like about Blackwater, but they have a 100% success rating in VIP protection in Iraq. Too bad some of those VIPs can't or won't stick up for them.

Close, But Not Quite

By Lt Col P

BZs to Anne Applebaum for coming very close to scoring a direct hit on the strategy for Afghanistan. She has, however, made two errors.

First, it'll need to be the Afghan police, not the army, that ultimately wins the war. A counterinsurgency is at heart a police matter, even if it's military units that might appear to be in the lead from time to time, or indeed for much of the time. For a properly constituted police force, of whatever form, is drawn from and has the trust of the people it lives and works among. A policeman's primary weapon is his badge (or equivalent), which represents the moral authority of the government. (The soldier's primary weapon is his weapon.) A competent and clean police force is, at any rate, the ideal and the goal, and it ought to be pursued as the ultimate security enabler.

Second, the real objective of the US and NATO is V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. Not simply an exit, but a clear-cut win. If we win, the exit becomes a simple matter. If we don't win outright, the exit is just lipstick on a pig.

AQ On The Gim??

By Lt Col P

Good article in LWJ on the re-appearance of organized AQ/Taliban formations.

Not to make light of a serious situation, but when I saw this photo and the shoes they're wearing, one thought immediately popped into my head...

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Out With The Old, In With The New

By Lt Col P

We at Op-For have assiduously avoided the blatantly partisan; you might guess at our individual inclinations, and you may or may not be right. As a group, we generally take no position except that of national interest, and being a mil-blog that boils down to national security and defense matters.

For that reason, although I have plenty to say to the old and new administrations, I'll point you to Pete Hegseth's article in NRO last week, and confine myself to a solid "Roger that!"

John says: Ditto. The fact that I was a McCain man has been irrelevant since early November. President Obama's failures are now our failures, his victories -- our victories. I won't celebrate his political losses like people did with President Bush -- I think that is, and was, abhorrent. Country first, country always. Good luck and God speed to our new administration.

Open For Comment

By Lt Col P

T H I S .

I'm going to keep my own counsel.

Scorched Earth Jihad

By Lt Col P

This was making the Marine Corps email rounds the other day: "Forest Jihad."

From the beginning of September 2008, a renewed concern emanated from Western intelligence agencies to the effect that Al Qaeda terrorists were planning a “global fireball”, in a departure from its war on the West. Deliberately lighting forest fires in Europe, the US and Australia, would not only stretch emergency services, but would also leave insurance companies facing multi-billion dollar claims, as the credit crunch bites. The fires would also create a pollution disaster, with billions of tons of climate-change gases escaping into the atmosphere. The so-called “forest jihad” is being championed by Islamic scholars and Osama Bin Laden’s terror strategists who believe setting fire to dry woodlands will produce maximum damage at minimum risk.

Aside from the climate-changing bit, I think this is a real threat. A woodland fire out of control is terrifying, destructive and costly. It would be a very effective, low-risk/high-payoff tactic. Imagine these scenes in and around major population centers across the country, not just on the West Coast:

The effective counter to it, as with other anti-terrorist measures, is a comprehensive national effort involving the Feds, the states, the locals and private organizations. That would be yet another opportunity to remind people that the war effort is national and long-term, and that a threat to any part of the country is a threat to all. That would, in turn, require a little leadership and vision from both parties. And it should remind everyone that we're dealing with truly wicked, dedicated, evil-doers.

(It's also good reason to allow weapons carriage in forests and parks.)

Veteran's Day Benefit for SOC Jason Freiwald

By Bull Nav

Back in September, just prior to when he was to pin on Chief, Jason Freiwald was killed in action against Taliban in Afghanistan. He left behind a wife and young daughter.

For anyone in SE Michigan, a benefit is being held for him on Veteran's Day.

I would encourage anyone in the area to attend. As I understand it, most of the Chiefs who drill at NOSC Detroit will be attending.

Note that donations for those who can't attend can be mailed to the address noted on the flyer.

Another (This Time Classified) Navy Cross

By Bull Nav

There is a report in Navy Times about a Navy Medical Officer who was awarded the Navy Cross last year.

Somewhere out in the fleet, there’s a Navy medical officer who earned the Navy Cross during vicious, hammering combat five years ago.
And he’s not authorized to wear the award — second only to the Medal of Honor.
That’s because the 2003 mission, during which the officer fought like a demon and put himself in the line of fire to save several wounded American and Afghan comrades from al-Qaida and Taliban forces, remains classified.

In my time on active duty, I had heard of awards given to folks who were not allowed to wear them. I have also seen awards that are somewhat vague on specifics (then you have the PARCHE).

This is the first time I have heard of a Navy Cross awarded in which the recipient is not allowed to discuss or wear it.

Brenton said the information in the citation is unclassified but the officer’s identity remains undisclosed because “the mission was sensitive.” He was awarded the Navy Cross in April 2007. “His name has been redacted to protect the individual, as well as the individual’s family,” Brenton said.

A copy of the citation, with name redacted, is available on the Navy Times website.

To the unnamed LT, my hat is off to you.

History...Coincidence?

By Bull Nav

So, John brings up Agincourt.

I will bring up Samar and Grenada.

0737 Mercury 33 v Taffy 33 Big fellows make first run, form on me in order, DREADNAUGHT, NEBRASKA, BRASSLOCK. Little fellows form up for second run.

BRASSLOCK, wilco out.

JUGGERNAUT, wilco out.

DREADNAUGHT was USS SAMUEL B ROBERTS.

Seven destroyers and destroyer escorts were escorting 6 "jeep" carriers. The action was intense.

"...about the time of the torpedo attack, the destroyer JOHNSTON came by us and I saw her for the last time. That picture is engraved in my memory...She had taken a terrific beating. Her bridge was battered and had been abandoned. Her foremast, a steel tubular mast...had been split from shellfire and then bent down over itself...the mast was doubled over on itself and dangling down with its radar swinging just like a pendulum.... It gave me a hurt feeling to look at it. Her searchlights had been knocked off. One torpedo mount was gone and her No. 3 gun had completely disappeared. As she went by...she was limping along at a pretty slow speed...I saw her Captain. He was a very big man with coal black hair...he was standing on the fantail conning his ship by calling down through an open scuttle hatch into the steering engine room. I can see him now. He was stripped to the waist and was covered with blood. His left hand was wrapped in a handkerchief...he wasn't over one hundred feet from us as he passed us on our starboard side...he turned a little and waved his hand at me. That's the last time I saw him because JOHNSTON was sunk, too, a few minutes after we were."

Those were the words of ROBERTS CO.

She sank, too.

At 0851 three 8-inch armor piercing shells struck ROBERTS....one below the water line....one in the IC room knocking out communications and electrical power....and one in the forward engine room rupturing a steam line. From this point on ROBERTS became the focal point of Japanese gunfire. Unable to match her previous speed, ROBERTS is hit by three 14-inch shells from battleship HIJMS KONGO. A 40-foot hole is ripped in her port side near the water line....the end for ROBERTS drew near. Shortly after 0910 LCDR Copeland ordered "abandon ship."

In LCDR Copeland's words...."I went on down the deck. Nothing about the ship portrayed her condition as much as the view I had when I turned from looking at those boys (the dead) and saw our motor whaleboat hanging in the davits with the boat gripes having been shot away...shrapnel had come and ripped the bottom of the boat out and the boat gripes away...so that she was dangling. She was still two-blocked up there at the davited heads, but she was dangling nevertheless.... Lieutenant Gurnett and I went forward up to the eyes of the ship, right up to the very bow. It was about twenty-five feet to the water because the bow was starting to come up. It was a good thing we went up there because we were able to spot a life raft more quickly than some of the men who left the ship fifteen minutes before we did because we knew where we were going...then we jumped."

Less than three hours of combat. A force of four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and eleven destroyers were damaged and turned away.

By a force which should by all rights have never engaged them.

Then of course (in our lifetime) we have Grenada.

US units involved in Urgent Fury started moving on the evening of 23 October. The plan for operation called for a combined initial attacks by rangers, marines, and paras, partially deployed from the air, and in part by amphibious landings. They were first to capture both airfields, and then neuralgic points around Grenada.

Of course, the first wave was to a large degree to consist of units trained for special purposes, like USN SEALs and US Army DELTA Force operators. Both were deployed to Grenada during the night to 24 October, with the help of Lockheed MC-130 Combat Talons of the 8th SOS, using the HALO-jump technique. The SEALs and DELTAs first took positions from which they could observe the situation on the two airfields, as the US commanders realized that they were lacking proper intelligence, and even the SR-71-overflights could not properly help.

Right from the start, the special troops encountered severe problems: for example, a group of SEALs jumped too far from the coast and fell into the water. Four operators did not manage to get free of their chutes and heavy equipment, and drowned. All of the survivors lacked good maps of Grenada: in fact, most of the US troops went into the battle using tourist maps! Time and again the SEALs and DELTA-operators stumbled over completely unknown enemy positions. Nevertheless, their insertions remained completely undetected by the opposition.

On the other side, on the morning of 24 October a Cuban Antonov An-24 transport landed at Pearl, bringing Col. Comaz to the island. Comaz was to take over the command of 53 Cuban instructors and 636 workers and lead them into the fight against the Americans. He could not do much, however, as there was simply not enough time. In the night from 24 to 25 October, around 2200hrs local time, additional SEALs were deployed to the northern coast of Grenada, where they were to do reconnaissance of the eventual defenses on local beaches. Their reports – exactly like those from the troops deployed the night before – brought no good news: the beaches were surrounded by coral reefs, and no amphibious landings were possible.

On the first view, it appeared as if the whole operation would have to be cancelled. Clearly, this was not possible any more, as at the same time as the additional SEALs were deployed to Grenada, already the first Lockheed C-130E Hercules transports of the 314th 317th, 459th, and 463rd TAW USAF, as well as the C-130Es of the 913rd TAW were starting from their bases in the USA, loaded with rangers of 82nd Airborne. The Hercules‘ were escorted by five MC-130Es, carrying rangers of the 75th Regiment, and a single Lockheed AC-130H Spectre-gunship of the 16th SOS/1st SOW that were to lead the attack against Point Salines. During their ten-hours long flight, the transports had to be refueled two times in the air from Boeing KC-135s.

I am not aware of a definitive history of the US intervention in Grenada, but one needs to be written. We lost a number of men, and we must keep their memory alive.

God bless Taffy III.

Interesting Plan, Congressman

By John

Though my strategy for winning the war may differ a bit

After the November election, Democrats will push for a second economic stimulus package that includes money for the states' stalled infrastructure projects, along with help paying for healthcare expenses, food stamps and extended unemployment benefits, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said Thursday.

In a meeting with the editorial board of The Standard-Times, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., also called for a 25 percent cut in military spending, saying the Pentagon has to start choosing from its many weapons programs, and that upper-income taxpayers are going to see an increase in what they are asked to pay.

Hey if they're going to cut shit like the Air Force's lawn care expenditures and clean out the grossly bloated upper-echelons of command, super! But, alas -- the military isn't very competent when it comes to prioritizing their coin. Unsheath Conquest's third law of politics and apply to both Congress and the Pentagon: The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, politics are the divine science, and neither are welcome in today's military.

Such is the way of things, I suppose.

12 OCT 2000...Remember

By Bull Nav

We were at war and we did not even know it.

But guess what?

Back in the game, kicking ass.

Remember the 17 who gave their lives:

Sunday: after church, before the race begins, take a moment to remember those sailors who unknowingly gave their lives.

Tora Bora Revisited

By Bull Nav

I am sure everyone has heard the story of Tora Bora in December 2001 where we came close to killing bin Laden. The conventional story has been that US led Afghan forces cornered him and we bombed the whole area back into the stone age. It was a huge victory but we were never able to determine whether or not we had gotten our man.

Now along comes Dalton Fury.

Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon ordered a top secret team of American commandos into Afghanistan with a single, simple order: kill Osama bin Laden. It was America's best chance to eliminate the leader of al Qaeda. The inside story of exactly what happened in that mission, and how close it came to its objective has never been told until now.

The reason for his story?

Why would the mission commander break his silence after seven years? He told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that most everything he has read in the media about his mission is wrong and now he wants to set the record straight.

I think it is great to get this story out there, although I kind of question the timing. Yet another book to add to the slowly growing list of Delta exploits (not too many books about Delta out there; this, this, and this). He sounded sincere, and I hope his version of events is true from his end.

Check out his website. Buy the book (yet another one to add to the list; I am certainly looking forward to reading it). The proceeds are going to Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

More Good Reading

By Bull Nav

Just out today...

From the Amazon Description:

In this ground-breaking book, bestselling author and former U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Couch follows the SEAL Task Unit in Iraq s Anbar Province between 2005 and 2007, chronicling the unit s deployment in the Battle of Ramadi. Based on extensive interviews with Army, Navy, and Marine personnel who fought in the battle and the author s firsthand assessment of the situation when he traveled to Ramadi in 2007, Couch details the previously unrecognized importance of the SEALS in winning the fight to control Ramadi. Calling the battle the most significant military engagement in the global war against terrorism since 9/11 and the most sustained and vicious engagement ever fought by SEALs, Couch describes the success of special operations forces/Navy SEALs fighting side by side with conventional forces. Couch identifies the SEALs ability to adapt and evolve in this urban battle space and their code of brotherhood as the keys of their success. Among the many examples of this extraordinary brotherhood is the story of PO2 Michael A. Monsoor, who was posthumously, awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in Ramadi.

Put it on your Christmas list...or better yet, buy it now.

Al-Qaeda on the Ropes

By John

For real, this time --

WASHINGTON - Top U.S. counterterrorism officials Monday said al-Qaida is "imploding" and that its violent tactics have turned Muslims worldwide against the organization. "Absolutely it's imploding. It's imploding because it's not a message that resonates with a lot of Muslims," said Dell Dailey, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism.

I still hear people cling to the tired meme that "Iraq is distracting us from the real fight in Afghanistan." I'm down with military assessments that mission creep in Iraq has kept warfighting units out of Afghanistan (and how that's hurt our ability to decimate the Taliban/core AQ remnants), but not with the ritualistic denial that Iraq wasn't one of the two central fronts on the war on terrorism.

And killing tangos in Afghanistan would have never delivered us the victory that we really needed -- the ideological curb stomping that we delivered to AQ when the Sunnis in Anbar flipped sides. The Anbar awakening rippled through the Arab World, exposing Al-Qaeda's animalistic brutality for all to see. Now we're witnessing prominent clerics (Sunni & Shia alike) rising up and rejecting Wahhabism throughout the entire Middle East.

Bottom line: without Iraq, there is no Awakening. Without the Awakening, this Long War just becomes longer.

Warriors

By Bull Nav

You know, when I normally think of our everyday, run-of-the-mill warriors, I think of Marines. The guys who are ready to take it to the enemy on a moment's notice.

Not to say us folks in the Navy aren't warriors, because we are. Just not in the hand-to-hand, hardcore combat sort of way.

Except there is this kind of separate part of the Navy, the part that is true Warrior, almost psychopath. It takes a lot to kill them, a lot to put them down. They don't go down willingly, and I am convinced they don't know what pain is, not in the normal sense to the 99.99999% of us that inhabit this planet.

So bow your head, and say a prayer of thanks that these Michiganders were on our side.

Two highly decorated local Navy SEALs died Thursday night from injuries sustained in fierce fighting against insurgents in Afghanistan, according to the Navy.

Senior Chief Petty Officer John Marcum, 34, and Petty Officer First Class Jason Freiwald, 30, died in a battle with heavily armed militants, the Navy said. The men were deployed from the highly selective Naval Special Warfare Development Group at Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach.

A Senior Chief and a Chief Select. SO1 Freiwald was to be promoted to Chief on Tuesday.

Read about it here and here.

God Bless their families.

Fair winds and following seas, Senior Chief and Chief. More will follow and finish...

11 Sep 2008: A Call To Arms

By Lt Col P

This is brilliant. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Amen.

11 Sep 2008: Never Forget

By Lt Col P

Tomorrow is a day for mourning, for remembrance, and for cold calculated rage. It is a day for a renewal of national resolve.

I, for my part, will pause to remember all of the victims, and in particular our two fellow alumni, Mr Charles Mathers '62, and LCdr David Williams '91.

And then, I'll remember the days of victory-- 11 Sep 1565, and 11 Sep 1683. And I'll look forward to our victory one day, by the grace of God and the strength of our nation.

The Air Force and COIN

By Slab

Small Wars Journal posted an article by Air Force LtCol Buck Elton, "Shortchanging the Joint Doctrine Fight: One Airman's Assessment of the Airman's Assessment". LtCol Elton's excellent article is a counterpoint to an earlier monograph, published in December 2007 by Air University, and written by Air Force Deputy Judge Advocate MajGen Charles Dunlap, entitled Shortchanging the Joint Fight? An Airman's Assessment of FM 3-24 and the Case for Developing Truly Joint COIN Doctrine.

I have not read MajGen Dunlap's article, as I was deployed in Iraq at the time watching the lessons of FM 3-24 put into practice by an Army cavalry troop. I find it interesting that MajGen Dunlap believes the Army and Marine Corps are shortchanging airpower in the COIN fight, as I spent quite a bit of time using rotary and fixed wing aviation in support of Apache Troop's objectives. However, LtCol Elton does a far better job of refuting the General's criticisms than I ever could, so I'll let him do the talking:

Many COIN and Irregular Warfare experts argue population control, legitimacy of the government and isolation of insurgents are key elements of success. Contrary to what General Dunlap suggests, airpower is a critical enabler that is absolutely necessary, but it is by no mean sufficient to defeating insurgencies. While criticizing the commitment of massive numbers of American boots-on-the-ground, he fails to discuss any historical COIN case studies where airpower replaced land power as the dominant military effort. From Malaya, to El Salvador, to the Greek Civil War to Vietnam, to Algeria, insurgencies are rarely, if ever, successfully crushed by an overwhelming foreign military force alone and there has never been an insurgency crushed by the overwhelming application of airpower alone. Ground forces, whether they are host nation security forces or external combat forces assisting the security forces, are necessary but also not sufficient. Of all the discussions about the best way to counter insurgencies, only General Dunlap argues airpower is necessary and sufficient. The harsh reality is that our Joint Force will be called upon to conduct many difficult missions and we must prepare for them together with the resources we have available. Advocating the types of wars the Air Force should fight (no ground troops) by only preparing for the wars they want to fight (airpower centric conflicts with peer competitors), while ignoring the type of fight our enemy wants to fight (al-Qaeda’s global insurgency) and the wars our President orders us to fight (Afghanistan and Iraq), is a terrible mistake. Our nation must be prepared to succeed in conventional, irregular, and hybrid conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan. If funding for new equipment and forces is constrained, the Air Force should be willing to consider some risk in capacity (not capability) for Major Combat Operations to increase the capability and capacity to conduct Irregular Warfare and COIN, while convincing our civilian leaders to supply adequate funding for all our threats and requirements. Our services shortchange the joint fight when they organize, train, and equip for only one type of conflict. General Dunlap shortchanges the doctrine development process by discrediting sister service doctrine and military operations to protect service’s budget equities.

H/T to SWJ

Update: Looks like several members of the Small Wars Council don't think quite as highly of LtCol Elton's article.

I am not convinced Buck like Dunlap ever read 3-24. He read passages and filled in with what he wanted it to say. More Hap Arnold airmindedness mess.

I saw LtCol Elton's article as being more in favor of joint mindedness, but perhaps I misread. I must admit that applauding a critique without having read the criticized work itself is less than exemplary scholarship on my part.

I have to say that when I read the line in his conclusion, "The United States Air Force is the most lethal, flexible, overwhelming and feared military force in the world," I snickered a bit.

The Future of Jointness?

By Charlie

Two articles recently caught my eye that appeared to counter the idea of "jointness." "Jointness" is the idea that all of the services can work together, under a unified command structure, to accomplish a mission.

Quoth FM 101-5-1:

joint force (JP 1-02) - A general term applied to a force composed of significant elements, assigned or attached, of two or more Military Departments, operating under a single commander authorized to exercise operational control. See FMs 100-5, 100-15, 100-20, and JP 0-2.

The first article is by Charles Dunlap, entitled "Take Closer Look At Air Force's Nuclear Blunder." In the article, MG Dunlap lays out his view of the Air Force's handling of the nuclear mission. He says the following:

STRATCOM is the heir to the fabled Strategic Air Command, which was legendary for its draconian discipline and obsession with all things nuclear within the Air Force. In 1992 "Air" was dropped from the title when the command added Navy forces and converted itself into a joint-service organization.

Even so, STRATCOM remained wedded exclusively to its nuclear mission - until, that is, the arrival in 2004 of the highly respected Marine general (and now vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) James E. Cartwright.

Almost immediately, Gen. Cartwright set out to redirect STRATCOM away from a nuclear-only focus to missions seemingly more relevant to a post-9/11 world. Writing in Joint Force Quarterly in 2006, he acknowledged his command's "legacy" nuclear responsibilities, but emphasized the addition of seven new "distinct global missions." As brilliant as it appeared at the time, diffusing the command's concentration away from the nuclear mission now warrants re-evaluation.

The Strategic Air Command (SAC) , according to the infallible Wikipedia: "was both a major command and a "specified command" in the U.S. Air Force and was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based bomber aircraft and land-based ballistic missile strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946-92." MG Dunlap argues that the Air Force handled the mission better when it was exclusively an Air Force -not a joint- mission.

The next article that caught my eye was (brace yourself) the Army's TF Odin from the NYT: At Odds With Air Force, Army Adds Its Own Aviation Unit. I'm not sure how true this one is, as it quotes several (of course) anonymous "officers." It does, however, paint a decidedly partisan picture of inter-service rivalry:

But now in Iraq, the Army has quietly decided to try going it alone for the important surveillance mission, organizing an all-Army surveillance unit that represents a new move by the service toward self-sufficiency, and away from joint operations.

Later in the piece, they threw out this whopper which leads me to lend less credibility to the article:

Army and Marine Corps officers in Afghanistan have complained that Air Force pilots flying attack missions in support of ground operations do not come in as low as their Navy and Marine counterparts.

The "joint" environment seems to be where the entire DOD is heading. I think these types of articles are more growing pains than (to quote the NYT) moves "away from joint operations."

JUSTICE, CONTINUED

By Lt Col P

Justice marches on.

One more to go. Let's all get behind him. Remember, nations fight wars; the military fights campaigns and battles. These Marines have been fighting numerous battles, at home and abroad. The nation can unite behind them and demand justice.

Semper Fi!

Pakistani Paramilitaries

By Slab

A recent firefight near Asadabad, Afghanistan was ended when US Air Force F-15Es and a B-1 dropped several 500-lb bombs into Pakistan. Only trouble is, the planes apparently targeted Pakistani paramilitaries, killing 11 of them. Pakistan is upset over the loss.

The incident highlights one of the perils of employing paramilitary forces - the difficulty of distinguishing them from the actual insurgents. My last tour in Iraq saw much of the same, although we were not being engaged by insurgents at the time, so there was little danger of mistakenly killing the Neighborhood Watch guys. However, on more than one occasion I had aircraft working for me report some sort of suspicious activity that looked an awful lot like, say, insurgents placing an IED on a dirt road that we used from time to time. After a watching for a bit, we realized we couldn't identify them as a threat with any reasonable certainty, and eased our proverbial fingers off the triggers. When we stopped out there on patrol the next day, turns out, it was just the local Neighborhood Watch filling sandbags to fortify one of their checkpoints. We left them with a polite suggestion that they might not want to fill sandbags in the middle of a road at night.

On the whole, paramilitary forces are one of the most effective tools in COIN. Although they don't have the training and equipment of regular military forces, their knowledge of the local area and population makes them far more adept at separating the insurgent "fish" from the "sea" of the local populace. Many have pointed to the Awakening Movement in Iraq as a key ingredient to the current success in Al Anbar province, and rightfully so. I have seen the difference between Anbar province of 2006, where the Iraqi Army battalion I supported struggled to maintain control of a 4-5 kilometer stretch of battlespace, and the same area in late 2007 and early 2008. The area was so peaceful that the Iraqi Army shifted the entire brigade to another province and gave responsibility for the area to a battalion. The difference was the rise of the Provincial Security Forces in the area.

The Afghan border presents a real predicament for Coalition forces. I spent some time in Asadabad in 2003, and the base out there is not all that far from the border. Add a Pakistani paramilitary force such as the Frontier Corps in close proximity to a Coalition outpost, and the potential for cross-border incidents such as this one is very high. I have no idea what level of coordination is being done with the Pakistanis, but it is apparent that it is not enough.

How to prevent the continuation of this sort of incident? Well, one way would be to restrict all Coalition fires across the border. But since the enemy regularly operates across the border, and places no such restriction on their fighters, it's pretty easy to see why this is a poor choice, militarily. Better communication with the Frontier Corps seems to be the answer. But how, in a situation like a firefight in the mountains of the Afghan/Pakistani border, do you communicate with the Pakistanis that you are targeting a group of personnel at location X? And how do the Pakistanis, in turn, verify the location of paramilitary forces in the area and communicate whether the targeted individuals are friendly? Or contact the Frontier Corps soldiers and tell them to mark their position in such a way that it is recognizable to Coalition aircraft? All of this in a timely fashion, because the guys in the Coalition combat operations center are very aware that their fellow Soldiers are taking fire on some mountainside and need help. I've been in a COC in that sort of situation in Iraq, and having the ability to rain down high explosive from the sky to help out your brothers is very satisfying, but it can also be incredibly difficult to wait for things like identifying a paramilitary force on patrol in the vicinity.

So, I'm going to come completely out of left field with an idea for solving this sort of problem. Rather than relying on communications with the Pakistani Frontier Corps, ask Pakistan to allow Coalition personnel to train and advise the Frontier Corps in the border regions. This puts Coalition personnel and communications equipment in position to track and communicate the location of Frontier Corps patrols. The benefits to the Pakistanis are better training and equipment for their paramilitary forces, and a reduced likelihood that they will be targeted by Coalition units when operating in the vicinity of Coalition forces. The benefit to the Coalition is a more capable force patrolling the Pakistani side of the border, interdicting the insurgents before they attack our forces on the Afghan side. It will also help to maintain good relations with Pakistan, as we are less likely to mistakenly kill their troops.

Of course, there are many problems with this idea. Where do we get the manpower and equipment? Providing enough advisors for Afghan and Iraqi forces is difficult enough as it is. How to overcome Pakistani objections to foreign troops on their soil, even in an advisory and training capacity? They've 're obviously not interested in having our forces operating in their territory. Of course, I'm not talking actual Coalition combat formations, I'm talking small teams in advisory capacities similar to what we've done in Colombia and the Philippines. I would think that should be a bit easier for them to swallow. It's a pretty tough idea to implement, but one that can bear a lot of fruit in the struggle to secure the border regions and prevent cross-border operations by the insurgents. Not only will it aid in the discrimination of enemy insurgents from friendly paramilitaries, but it will make the Frontier Corps a stronger and more reliable counter-insurgent force. And ultimately, strong indigenous forces are required to win against this cross-border insurgency.

Edited to add: I'm leaving unsaid the possibility that the Air Force did, in fact, successfully target the individuals who attacked Coalition forces that day, and that those individuals might also have been members of the Frontier Corps. That is because I don't intend for this post to be about the reliability of paramilitary forces, which is another problematic issue. Coalition advisors could help to increase their reliability in terms of loyalty to the government of Pakistan, but ultimately it is up to the Pakistani military to take necessary steps to ensure the Frontier Corps in the Northwestern Frontier Province is not working against us.

Update: I was unable to find the complete footage of the strike earlier, but Defense Tech provided it. From the raw footage, it looks pretty clear that the guys who ate the high explosives were asking for it. Even UAS footage doesn't necessarily tell all, but I'm pretty confident at this point that if those guys were Frontier Corps, they were bad apples. Even if the UAS lost track of the original group of fighters and hit FC troops, the close proximity would indicate at least a degree of complicity on their part. So, tough luck boys, but when you mess with the bull you get the horns.

I am on board with that...

By Bull Nav

President Bush today to the Israel's Knesset:

"Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.

"We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Outstanding.

Somebody, however, is a little upset with this...

Outside The Wire: Punk-Slapping the Left

By Lt Col P

A day late but not a dollar short... heard a good interview on the Dennis Miller show yesterday with documentarian JD Johannes on his Outside The Wire series. I've had this on my list for some time but haven't gotten it yet (shamefully). Now I have an even better reason-- JD is trying to beat the execrable Redacted's box office receipts. He told DM he was about fifty percent there. Let's see if we can help a little.

Old Corps Meets New Corps

By Lt Col P

We have a detachment mobilized, training now at Quantico to go overseas later this year. Today they got a day off, and it began with a det photo at the Iwo Jima memorial.

Among the crowd there was a large party in attendance at a Marine lieutenant's commissioning, and bus after bus of tourists. And one old timer, moving slowly but surely under his own power. His ball cap read, "IWO JIMA SURVIVOR."

This WWII vet spent a long time relaying stories about his battle, to a rapt audience. All the while, the other visitors moved around a small knot of young men arrayed around one old one passing the torch, absolutely oblivious. The Old Corps lives on!

"It's Beautiful Out Here"

By Charlie

When you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life. The Khost province has been getting a lot of media coverage recently, and it seems like our forces are just getting better. If there is any war fatigue, its not showing on this frontier.

24 MEU On the Attack

By Bull Nav

FINALLY.

U.S. Marines in helicopters and Humvees flooded into a Taliban-held town in southern Afghanistan's most violent province early Tuesday in the first major American operation in the region in years.

Several hundred Marines, many of them veterans of the conflict in Iraq, pushed into the town of Garmser in predawn light in an operation to drive out militants, stretching NATO's presence into an area littered with poppy fields and classified as Taliban territory.

After sitting around for weeks in Afghanistan, waiting for NATO to come to a "consensus" on how the Marines were to be employed, they have finally been let loose. I expect they will be successful and clear the Taliban out of the area. My concern is that the bad guys will simply retreat back into the safe haven of Pakistan where they are untouchable.

But you know they are ready to go:

One Marine in Charlie Company, Corp. Matt Gregorio, a 26-year-old from Boston, alluded to the fact the Marines have been in Afghanistan for six weeks without carrying out any missions. He said the mood was "anxious, excited."

"We've been waiting a while to get this going," he said.

Understatement.

SECDEF's Comments

By Charlie

Lots of good stuff from the SECDEF’s recent speeches. I’ve already heard from some of my buddies referencing his remarks on the Air Force, so I posted the video:

This from the NYT:

Mr. Gates said that he had “been struggling for the last four months or five months” to bring more surveillance aircraft to the war zones, saying that more drones and other resources would mean that “lives are going to be saved.” In an interview, Mr. Gates also described in unusually blunt terms his frustration with what he called a tepid response to his pleas.

“I said I am really not, frankly, interested in what you can bring to the table two years from now,” Mr. Gates said in recounting what he said had been his message to the armed services. “We are in the war — now. This is a critical time in the war. We need more, and we need it now.”

In his speech at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, Mr. Gates did not single out the Air Force for criticism. He said the responsibility should be shared across the military and the vast bureaucracy that researches, develops, builds, buys and fields intelligence assets.

But the Air Force owns most of these airborne surveillance systems, and the message Mr. Gates delivered at the Air War College was clear — and especially painful to a service whose reliance on expensive, new jets can seem at odds with 21st-century counterinsurgencies fought in the alleyways of the Middle East.

The Air Force is singled out here, but I think that the rest of the services deserve some of the blame as well. The Army still has the same personnel system it had before the war started, which has a peacetime emphasis on garrison military-type career progression, and takes 0% of the counterinsurgency lessons learned over the last 7 years to heart. You want specifics:

-The Army still has its current promotion system, despite numerous lower-grade officers and NCOs performing the real-world jobs of higher billets. If an officer is a captain in a major’s billet, in theater, at war, promote him to a major. Or at least give him a brevet rank of major, and work out the details when his tour ends.

-Arabic language training has not intensified at all. We’ve been in Iraq since 2003, and I have not seen an Army-wide program to get language skills down to the soldier-level. With the new counterinsurgency doctrine, engaging the local populace is now just as important as knowing how to shoot a rifle. The language barrier must be overcome, but 5 years on we have not seriously emphasized this.

-Being embedded as an advisor to a Host Nation unit is one of the most dangerous and important jobs we can ask soldiers and Marines to do. This needs to be at or above “company command” in an officer’s career progression. Building the host nation forces is the stated mission in OIF and OEF, but examples 1 and 2 are making this vital piece of the counterinsurgency puzzle more difficult to solve.

So, yeah, the SECDEF gave the AF some lumps on not getting drones into theater. Each service has its problems, and at the root of most of them is the culture of a peacetime military that has been at war for far to long for any excuses to be meaningful. We ask the most of our squad members and team leaders who are on patrol every day in harm’s way. Why should we not demand the same from our military bureaucracy?

Death In The VMI Family: 1stSgt Luke Mercardante, USMC

By Lt Col P

This week I received a forwarded email from VMI:

The Superintendent regrets to inform the VMI community of the death ofMarine First Sergeant Luke J. Mercardante, who was killed in action April 15 by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. He was serving as acting sergeant major of Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit at the time of his death. First Sergeant Mercardante served as an Assistant Marine Officer Instructor in VMI's Naval ROTC from March 2003 to July 2005. He was an Honorary Brother Rat of the Class of 2007. Information concerning arrangements will be provided when it becomes available.

To become an honorary BR demonstrates just how much influence one man can have on a class, with its varied service options, backgrounds and career intentions. By all accounts he was the consummate Marine. He will be missed, but his legacy lives in his cadets and others who served with him, who are now taking the field across the globe.

Semper Fidelis, First Sergeant, and Godspeed.

Update John - There's a Facebook memorial site dedicated to Sergeant Mercardante, and already several hundred members of the VMI family have signed on to show their support. His daughter Cailin also logged on to write this note, which just broke my heart.

wow.. i cant believe this. this whole thing wasent supposed to happen to us. he was my daddy, my best friend, and my role model. just because hes not really in life here.. dosent mean that hes not HERE. I love this man so much. we shared so many memories together. i was his date to Ring Figure.. it was such an honor to be his date and to be the one lucky enough to put his class of 2007 ring on his finger. i remember this event like it was yesterday. and we were laughing and having a good time.. and now.. just this morning i was at an airport to meet his body there. it was heart breaking. and i remember when i first heard the news.. i was FLABBERGASTED! this man ment and still means so much to me and all of my family. i love you daddy.. and i know that your going to be watching out for me.

♥ Cailin Christine Mercardante ♥

Like Col P said, to be elected an honorary Brother Rat by a VMI class is a tremendous achievement. Each year VMI's second class (juniors) bring two members of the VMI faculty or staff in their ranks. Two people who have had a lasting and powerful impact on the development of each class' cadets. It means that that person is forever a member of the VMI family, bonds which --as Sgt. Mercardante has proven-- can not be shattered even in death.

Sgt. Mercardante loved VMI and VMI loved Sgt. Mercardante. As long as the Virginia Military Institute stands, his name will be etched in the halls of our heroes. Godspeed.

"WILLFUL BLINDNESS"

By Lt Col P

Great interview in NRO with Andrew McCarthy, regarding his new book, Willful Blindness: Memoir of the Jihad.

He gets right to the point:

Kathryn Jean Lopez: Do I have the sides right? They say “Allahu Akbar!” we say “Imagine the liability!”

Andrew C. McCarthy: Unfortunately, that’s exactly right, and you’ve hit on the key difference. They are a religious ideology reveling in a mission for which, far from making any apologies for their brutality, they exude a zeal found only in people convinced they are both right and justified. You won’t ever hear from them the slightest misgiving — no careful references to Infidelo-fascists so as not to offend all the wonderful moderate infidels out there.

We, on the contrary, are an odd combination of diffidence, self-loathing, and arrogance: doubtful we are worth the trouble to defend; apt to figure that if people hate us, we must deserve it; and sure that it is within our power to satisfy their grievances — even though we didn’t cause them — by dialogue, political processes, sensitivity-training, and, of course, buying them off — which simply confirms them in their suspicion that we don’t have the stomach for the fight.

They continue in that vein for three pages. Here's more, and this is my favorite, concerning the pitfalls of using the legal system as the primary defense against terrorists:

... But a national security threat is not, essentially, a legal case. When the protection or even the preservation of the country is at stake, our position has to be that government must prevail — not that we’d prefer to see government lose. Government does not create our rights and our freedom, but it is necessary to their protection. If the system is not preserved, we are no longer free and our rights are worthless.

Sounds right to me.

An Unfortunate Contrast

By Slab

From The Torch comes this unfortunate look at how Great Britain has been handling her fallen, compared to the Canadian government.

British hearses carrying two Royal Marines from 40 Cdo are stuck in traffic

Flag-waving Canadians line the street to pay their respects

The Daily Mail article sheds a little light on why there is such a contrast, specifically the Thames Valley Police Force does not provide escorts for the procession. However, Canada is definitely going the extra mile for her soldiers, which I am very glad to see.

Can anyone shed light on the procedures for our casualties when they return to Dover? Specifically, how they compare to the British and Canadian examples? I know the Patriot Guard Riders frequently escort casualties to their hometown, which is a fantastic service, but it is provided by private citizens, not the government.

H/T to The Torch, and another to the Canadians for getting it right.

MRAP Review

By Slab

In January, my team traded out our well-worn M1114 Up-armored HMMWV for a 4X4 JERRV, one of the models of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles purchased by the Marine Corps. We were pretty excited to have the new vehicle, especially after our first look inside. I mean, the thing looks like the Cadillac Escalade of tactical vehicles. The IED threat in our little slice of Al Anbar had long since dropped to non-existent, but it felt good to have something that was specifically engineered to combat the threat, you know? It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off, however, and by the end of the deployment we had taken to operating mainly from a Humvee again. The MRAP is a superb EOD and convoy security vehicle (the acronym JERRV stands for Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle), but it is merely a passable utility and/or fighting vehicle. The thing was obviously designed with the EOD mission in mind, and if any operator input was incorporated into the design, it clearly did not come from the infantry community.

On the good side, it is obviously better equipped to resist blast-type mines and IEDs than any other vehicle in the inventory. On top of the increased protection, the MRAP has a fantastic communications system installed, much better than what we had in our Humvee. Most ANGLICO Humvees look like Monster Garage rejects - additional antennas installed in weird places, additional radios installed in all sorts of unauthorized fashion, all trying to maximize the communications capability of our vehicles. Here we had a vehicle that came with brand new multiband radios, all tied in to an intercommunications system. Although many of the comm capabilities are completely unnecessary for most units, it almost seemed like this thing was made for ANGLICO. In addition, the designers were definitely looking to improve crew comfort in these things - the seats are much more comfortable than the ones in a Humvee, the Vehicle Commander's (VC) seat was MUCH roomier than in a Humvee (even my 155 lb ass ends up wedged between the door and the Blue Force Tracker mount in a Humvee), the air conditioning system was top-notch, etc.

For a motorized infantry mission, however, the MRAP's shortcomings are many. It handles atrociously offroad. The suspension is incredibly stiff, with the end result being that you must be tightly strapped in to survive the jostling in the back of the vehicle. Well, my radio operator sits in the back, and those wonderful radios I mentioned before are placed in such a way that the only person who can readily access them is the gunner. Someone that I would prefer keep his attention oriented, you know, outside the vehicle. My radio guy can certainly reach around the gunner's legs and work on the radios, but not if he's tightly strapped in trying to survive the ride.

Because we frequently live and fight from our vehicle, we have to carry an assortment of odds and ends for our radios, weapons, and ourselves. Things like water, MREs, ammunition, spare barrels for the machinegun, and spare items for the radios. The jostling that I just mentioned makes it nearly impossible to store any of these items in the interior of the vehicle without significant modification. We tried removing one of the seats and putting in a wooden box with space for some of these items, but many items were tossed completely out of the box and ended up strewn about the floor of the vehicle. There is a complete lack of weapons stowage for passengers in the rear of the vehicle, and the weapons racks for the driver and VC are designed for M16s, not M4s. One aspect that seems to elude many tactical vehicle designers is that motorized infantry typically store their sustainment load (i.e. rucksacks) externally (see below). This allows the vehicle's internal space to be utilized for items that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, which must be readily accessible throughout the day. Sustainment items can typically wait until a long halt of some sort before they are needed. Yet, the MRAP has no provision for strapping a rucksack to the outside of the vehicle.

7-tons and HMMWVs with rucksacks stored externally just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003

The MRAP is a vehicle that is well-suited for a particular niche, but due to pressure from people such as our lawmakers in Congress, it has been pressed into service in roles that it is not suited for. For a unit that never leaves a paved surface, and rarely spends more than 24 hours outside of some sort of operating base at a time, the MRAP's protection and communications capabilities make it a superb asset. For units that must remain expeditionary, be able to operate in a wide variety of terrain and pursue the enemy wherever he is found, the MRAP is ultimately a poor choice, and I in retrospect I am very glad that Gen Conway is reducing the number of these vehicles on order. Personally, if given the choice, I would take an M1114 or M1152 HMMWV over the JERRV 4X4, and would seek other means to reduce the IED threat through such things as tribal leader engagement and refining mounted patrol TTPs.

For more reading on the subject, try Defense Tech. As you can see, Christian has been leveling similar criticism since last year. Christian's article is one of the more down-to-earth articles I've seen on the subject. He and I had a good discussion about personal body armor at the Milbloggies last year, it looks like we are of generally the same opinion on the MRAP issue as well.

Update: I should point out that the Defense Tech article I referenced above is over a year old. DT's Ground Vehicles category has more articles on MRAPs.

Bad Voodoo's War

By Lt Col P

JP from milblogging.com wrote in to remind us that Bad Voodoo's War will air on Frontline tomorrow night, 1 Apr 08.

BAD VOODOO`S WAR

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

9 P.M. (check local listings)

In June 2007, as the American military surge reached its peak, a band of National Guard infantrymen who call themselves "The Bad Voodoo Platoon" was deployed to Iraq. To capture a vivid, first-person account of the new realities of war in Iraq for FRONTLINE and ITVS, director Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes) created a "virtual embed" with the platoon, supplying camer as to the soldiers so they could record and tell the story of their war. The film intimately tracks the veteran soldiers of "Bad Voodoo" through the daily grind of their perilous mission, dodging deadly IEDs, grappling with the political complexities of dealing with Iraqi security forces, and battling their fatigue and their fears.

I'm no big fan of Frontline or any PBS show that doesn't sound like "This Old House" or "New Yankee Workshop" but this looks promising.

Brief update... Then again, after viewing the trailer, it could be the same-old same-old. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

Battling The Sadrists In Iraq

By Lt Col P

Bonhomme Richard makes some good points in the post immediately below, about the week's fighting in Iraq. There is yet more to be said.

If the ISF are standing fast in Baghdad and Basra-- whether they need help or not-- that is an enormous step forward for them. As imperfect as it may be, the duly elected government of Iraq has to stand firm and be seen to stand firm for the rule of law and its own primacy. It cannot tolerate a competitor state-within-a-state. And that is what the Sadrists represent: the ugly alternative to the slow, slogging but real progress that country has made in the last five years.

An Iraq where Sadr dominates, or at the least is free to do whatever his fat ass pleases, is not in our vital interests. The Sunnis won't tolerate it, and the Kurds won't like it either. Iran stands to profit most from a Sadr victory of any magnitude.

Up til now, Sadr has lost every major contest of arms. If there is no political will simply to do away with him-- boy, don't we wish we'd done it back in 2003-- the next best thing is to slap him down every time he gets uppity. Let's hope the government of Iraq doesn't go wobbly on us, and doesn't let him get away with anything.

Good links by way of MMM.

The Easy Way and The Hard Way

By Lt Col P

Via B5 and MMM, this disappointing cave-in:

A national tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be stopping at Forest Lake Area High School today as planned, after school leaders abruptly canceled the visit.

It looks to me like the principal just doesn't want to deal with any controversy at all, or make an even remotely tough decision. How nice. What good life lessons he's imparting to his young charges. And to make it worse, all he's facing is pissy backlash from OTHER AMERICANS.

On the other hand, want to meet a guy who isn't afraid of confronting his (and our) adversaries? He has more on the line than limp-dicked protests and mild controversy. He lives in a place with life and death consequences for dissent. Apparently he's not fazed by it, and if he is, he rucks up and does it anyway.

Now there's a lesson for you.

Penetrating Al Qaeda

By Lt Col P

Interesting article in this week's WaPo, "After a Decade at War With West, Al-Qaeda Still Impervious to Spies." The main theme is that Western intelligence agencies have had precious little success in penetrating any upper level of AQ's structure, and that this has not helped the war effort. There is much truth to this, and the article exposes some of the issues at work.

Granted, this is a tough nut to crack. AQ's footsoldiery is notoriously fanatic and doesn't seem to have a long shelf life, and the leadership is tight and clannish in the extreme. It presents a different problem than the Warsaw Pact did, which although loathsome at least had a roughly symmetric structure. Not so the jihad network.

What we are looking for is a modern-day Kim-- or perhaps a Strickland Sahib-- who can assume not only the guise but the persona of the enemy, and has the wits and nerve to come out on top. Such a fellow is proving hard to come by. "Few operatives," the article points out, "have the language skills, personal backgrounds and knowledge of radical Islam that would enable them to talk their way into the camps." True, but one would hope that we've been laying the ground work in the last eight years. One would hope.

Another problem, certainly a self-inflicted one, is that law enforcement and domestic intelligence operations don't always integrate well with overseas operations. An excessively legalistic view of intelligence matters can lead to a complete breakdown in interagency cooperation, with awful consequences. In the 1990s the US treated AQ more like an organized crime syndicate than a hostile foreign power at war with us. We are still living with the results today.

And yet, although the title of the article says "impervious," it is not. Highly resistant yes, impregnable no. The author points out one French agent of Moroccan descent who did work his way into the organization, but was turned off by his superiors. "'I was a gift that walked in the door, but they always underestimated me," Nasiri said in a recent interview. "I told them, 'You know, guys, I'm not doing even 10 percent of what I can do.' And it made them mad when I said that. But they knew I was right.'" And of course, one of AQ's senior figures today began as a walk-on hippy idiot from California, as was John Walker Lindh. It can be done, but we have to re-learn the art and science of doing it. I wonder if the Kim we're looking for isn't some quick-witted entrepreneurial kid in Dearborn or LA, treading just on the right side of the law.

Probably the sort who couldn't pass a background check for a security clearance, ironically. Mores the pity, because we really need him.

24 MEU SOC In AFGHANISTAN

By Lt Col P

Marines from 24 MEU SOC are setting up for ops in Afghanistan.

Marines with MWSS 271, attached to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO International Security Assistance Force, lay down AM2 matting while in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. This AM2 matting will be essential in the support of aircraft while conducting operations in support of NATO.

Building an airfield by hand isn't as sexy as kicking down doors and putting warheads on foreheads, but without the hard airstrip you can't run extended helo ops, and definitely can't run Harriers.

“Obviously it is really hot during the day, slamming 155- pound slabs of matting. It takes a lot of those to build an airfield,” explained Warrant Officer Joseph Whitebear, expeditionary airfield and emergency services officer, MWSS 271. “They push through it like Marines do, it’s not an easy job, but they are probably the best at it.”

And here, we get a look at the C-130 Det. What's significant about this is that normally a MEU SOC's two C-130s are on-call in CONUS rather than forward deployed, since they don't fit too well on amphibs. In this case, they were needed right up front (no pun intended.) The planes and crews are getting a workout:

“I think we would all like to do everything our platform is capable of. In Iraq we have become more segregated into certain teams and what we do. Here we have the chance to take a KC-130 and do everything it was built to do, so I hope we get that chance while we are here,” he said.

For him that means, helicopter and fixed wing refueling, resupply drops, and landing on less-than perfect landing strips (short, dirty or at high elevation.)

Flying Leathernecks!

Fox Fallon Out as CENTCOM

By Bull Nav

As I am sure most everyone has heard by now, ADM Fallon has submitted his resignation (and retirement request) which has been accepted by SECDEF. The official release is here at Defenselink.

Most folks point to this Esquire article as the straw that broke the camel's back.

I remember when he took over last year and thinking that he was overstepping his bounds as a Combatant Commander. You might be a 4-star, but the CINC is the one who makes the policy.

At home from work tonight, I got a call from a guy I know at work. Nice enough fellow, younger, tends towards the Dem side of things. He has not been in a leadership position and does not understand what that means. He wanted to know if this was normal, if anyone else in this type of situation would have resigned.

I explained to him command and accountability. I explained to him the Oath of Office and what it entails. I explained that when you can't follow the bosses policies, then it's time to go.

Not sure if he got it...

I hope ADM (soon to be retired) Fallon enjoys retirement. Wonder where he will pop up next?

Prince Harry the JTAC

By Slab

This was forwarded to me by the guy who let me crash at his place on Emerald Isle for two years, now a fellow ANGLICAN and JTAC, and mutual acquaintance of LtCol P.

Looks like I'm in good company in this job.

Prince Harry provided air support for UK troops

I wish it were all as easy as they make it sound in the article. Then again, if you're a Prince, maybe it is. Hey, I'll bet he didn't get "drop-blocked" by an RCT air officer just before he cleared an aircraft hot. I mean, who's going to say no to royalty?

For the record, the air officer made a good call. Although dropping a 500 pounder into the building would have been legit, it wasn't really the best solution to that particular situation. So I'm just funnin'.

Britain's Prince Harry in Afghanistan

By Charlie

Good on him. I saw the interview on FOX news, and Prince Harry seems pretty motivated to be with his men on the front lines.

LONDON (AP) — The secret is out: Prince Harry has been serving on the front line with his British army unit in one of Afghanistan's most lawless and barren provinces. Harry is the first royal to serve in a combat zone since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters during Britain's war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.

British officials had hoped to keep the 23-year-old's deployment secret until he had safely returned, but they released video of Harry serving in Helmand Province after a leak appeared on the U.S. Web site the Drudge Report.

This War, 15 Years On

By Lt Col P

MMM reminds us it was 15 years ago that jihad hit America's shores.

The first World Trade Center attack killed a handful compared to 9/11, and should have woken up a nation. It did not. We have lived to regret our failure to heed the warning.

Remember that day, and think hard about where it has lead us. The lessons have yet to be learned fully, I fear.

Afghanistan Suicide bombings become more effective

By Charlie

Bad news for NATO, as the enemy upgrades its capabilities and tactics:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy killed 35 civilians at a busy market in southern Afghanistan , a police official said.

At least 28 people were wounded in the attack in Spin Boldak, a town in Kandahar province near the border with Pakistan , said Abdul Razeq, the Spin Boldak border police chief. Three Canadian soldiers were lightly wounded, he said.

The attack comes one day after Afghanistan 's deadliest bombing since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. More than 100 people were killed by a suicide bomber outside Kandahar city on Sunday.

The back-to-back bombings could indicate a change in tactics by militants. Though attacks occasionally have killed dozens, insurgents in Afghanistan have generally sought to avoid targeting civilians

This should only serve to reinforce the need to up the combat troops in southern Afghanistan , and defeat these networks of AQ and Taliban that are deploying these devices.

Riverine Patrol

By Slab

Hey folks, I know it's been a little while since my last update. In lieu of a long-winded post about nonsense, here are some photos from a recent operation with Riverine Squadron Two (RIVRON 2) on Lake Qadisiyah.

Update: You can't read it, but the Riverine Patrol Boat (RPB) in the second picture has the name "BM1 James E. Williams" stenciled on the side. I had no idea who that was, so I decided to look it up. And that is how I came to find out about the most decorated enlisted Sailor in the history of the United States Navy. One hell of a warrior.

More after the jump.

Read More »

Pakistani militants 'call truce'

By Charlie

Yeah, it probably sounded like “Stop Shooting! We’re Reloading!”

A leading Pakistani militant group is reported to have declared a truce in the South Waziristan region and be willing to enter peace talks.

Few details have emerged about the terms of the truce, announced on Wednesday by Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group.

The group's leader, Baitullah Mehsud, is accused by the government of being behind the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

The government has not confirmed the truce, but Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the national leadership was ready for a dialogue with the militants.

Isn’t that tremendous, a “a dialogue with the militants.” The sad fact here is that the Pakistani army is having a tough time rooting out the Taliban from their Northwest Frontier province and their Federally Administrated Tribal Area. Negotiating with them in order to gain a better position on the battlefield may be the only option that the Pakistani forces have left, granting them some time and space to re-arm and reinforce. Which raises an interesting question –who can do it faster, the army, or the Taliban?

Silver Stars Awarded To Two Soldiers

By Charlie

A little un-reported news today from the Seattle Times:

In a Wednesday afternoon ceremony at Fort Lewis , two soldiers with the Army's 3rd (Stryker) Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were awarded Silver Stars for gallantry in their combat actions in Iraq .

Sgt. 1st Class Ismael Iban was recognized for his actions on Feb. 19, when a joint security station with Iraqi forces came under attack from a suicide bomber who blew up a vehicle at Tarmiyah. Under Iban's leadership, Army officials say, a platoon then responded to enemy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, cleared debris and secured a helicopter landing zone. These actions allowed 21 wounded soldiers to be evacuated, according to Army officials.

Staff Sgt. Jon Hilliard was recognized for his actions in March in Baqouba, when his Stryker vehicle was struck by a bomb. Hilliard was thrown onto the roof of the Stryker and suffered injuries to his left leg. While exposed to enemy fire, he freed a machine gun and ammunition from the burning wreckage. He identified enemy positions and provided suppressive fire while wounded soldiers were evacuated. He also retrieved a grenade launcher and took out an enemy position.

Taliban Growing in Pakistan

By Charlie

These guys have found a great way to fight the US military: Fight the Pakistani military. This is a big deal, because as this movement grows, it entrenches a support network in northern Pakistan that allows Taliban elements actively engaged in combat against NATO forces north of the border safe haven when they get shot up. Additionally, the specter of a civil war in Pakistan coupled with the “loose nuke” scenario scares to death the US , India , and everyone who is paying attention.

I thought this wasn’t a big deal, but check out these numbers:

A disparate group of tribal armed militant groups, some of them linked to al-Qaida, announced the formation of an alliance last month called the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. The 40-man leadership is from seven tribal agencies and eight bordering districts, underscoring the movement's reach. The group is thought to have 5,000 to 10,000 fighters and is growing.

U.S. officials are deeply concerned that the insurgency is becoming bolder and expanding faster than had been anticipated, a State Department official said.

"The feeling is that we are not dealing with a terrorist group here, but an insurrectionist movement," said the official. "That's an elevation without question from what we've been dealing with."

He noted the broad scale of fighting across the tribal agencies, which together form the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and in settled parts to the east.

"These are not groups of Pashtun brigands popping potshots at army patrols," he said. "This looks like there is clearly coordination going on."

Some U.S. officials say al-Qaida is providing the coordination, but others say it's too early to reach that conclusion, he said.

Canucks Out of Afghanistan ?

By Charlie

...If NATO doesn't pony up troops to share the combat burden. They tiptoe around whether "NATO" means "America", or other European countries in the article, but I think it may be the latter. This is bad news if it is true, I’ve heard good reviews of the Canadian troops from my buddies who have served in Afghanistan . They’ll be missed if they pull up stakes.

TORONTO - Canada will extend its military mission in Afghanistan only if another NATO country puts more soldiers in the dangerous south, the prime minister said Monday, echoing the recommendation of an independent panel to withdraw without additional forces.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is under pressure to withdraw its 2,500 troops from Kandahar province, the former Taliban stronghold, after the deaths of 78 soldiers and a diplomat. The mission is set to expire in 2009 without an extension by Canadian lawmakers.

European allies' refusal to deploy to Afghanistan 's dangerous south and east has opened a rift with Britain , Canada , the Netherlands and others which, along with the United States , have borne the brunt of Taliban violence.

Previously on Op-For:
NATO Intransigence is Official
Petraeus Eyed for NATO Command?
Where for Art Thou, NATO?

Top Canadian General Speaks on Afghanistan

By Lt Col P

Our Canadian doppelganger blog, The Torch, is one of my daily reads. Today they have a good post on an interview with their top man in uniform, General R. J. Hillier.

From everything I've read about him, he sounds like a fighting man, and one with a realistic view on world events. This interview seems to bear it out.

"Some Canadians don't understand the fact you can't just go and talk to people in Southern Afghanistan and say 'OK, now put your guns down and let's all come to an agreement..."

And

"The peacekeeping concept works superbly in many cases -- not all. It worked when it was state-versus-state that had come to some politically-negotiated agreement. They now needed assistance in helping separate military forces to implement that agreement.

"The world has changed. Now we very seldom have that. What we have are stateless threats based on terrorist groups who can operate either across several countries, regions or worldwide."

Sounds like our kind of guy, the sort we'd want to have on our flanks, be they tactical or strategic. As the debate goes on in Canada about their role in Afghanistan, I wish there were a dozen more of him. And some down here, for that matter.

One team, one fight.

US Troops to Pakistan ?

By Charlie

Caught this on EarlyBird this morning:

The Pentagon is "ready, willing and able" to send U.S. troops to conduct joint combat operations with Pakistan's military against al-Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.

The U.S. military is also beginning to construct as many as eight coordination centers along the Afghan-Pakistani border that will be staffed by officers from the three countries to more closely share intelligence and conduct combat operations, according to Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the top U.S. commander for eastern Afghanistan.

Gates said al-Qaeda has allied with other extremists in the border area, possibly including Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal leader linked to the Taliban. "They clearly are much more active and working with other people," he said.

Rodriguez said Pakistani military leaders are increasingly willing to cooperate in operations on either side of the border. There is "a growing realization amongst all of them, that everybody needs to do more together," he said at a Pentagon briefing this week.

This is being framed correctly by both sides, rather than initiate hostile military action, partner with Pakistan and help them remove a threat to Afghanistan , Pakistan , and America . The Taliban elements and AQ-terrorists that are lurking in the hinterland between Afghanistan and Pakistan are becoming an increasingly destabilizing force inside Pakistan, which is giving Musharraf –or who ever is in charge next –a strong incentive to resolve the issue.

So does this mean the road is paved for a US training mission? Nope, there is still a high amount of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan , and a large percentage of the population may favor a jirga –or tribal elder sit-down –with the Taliban in order to solve the crisis. In American-speak, a jirga amounts to negotiating with the enemy and declaring peace with the Taliban, which is unacceptable unless it is on our own terms. Remember, Pakistan already did this in 2006, where a jirga resulted in a peace deal in northern Waziristan . Remember:

Details of the deal signed by the two sides were given in a brief speech by local MP Haji Nek Zaman, a member of the council of elders which was authorised to negotiate on behalf of the Pakistani government.

Under the accord, the Pakistani military promises to end major operations in the area.

It will pull most of its soldiers back to military camps, but will still operate border check-points.

That whole thing didn’t work out too well, and it allowed Taliban-linked groups to re-fit, re-arm, and re-group. They even got a new leader with Baitullah Mehsud, who has been blamed for the Bhutto assassination.

It would be great if we could have SF imbedded with the Pakistani Army, working jointly with the Afghan nation army along the border region, calling in air strikes on the Taliban and wiping them out in an enormous pincer operation. That is the gold standard of what we want, but sometimes reality intrudes on the plan, so we’ll have to wait and see how this works out.

Pakistan's Problems Persist

By Charlie

Retired generals tell Musharraf to go

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An influential group of retired officers from Pakistan's powerful military has urged President Pervez Musharraf to immediately step down, saying his resignation would promote democracy and help combat religious militancy.

Musharraf's popularity seems to be dropping faster than ever, and creeping instability in Pakistan can be seen in its tribal areas where Taliban have been launching new attacks and confronting the Pakistani Army and Frontier Corps directly. This is not likely to stop any time soon, but it is reasonable to look at some COAs for a post-Musharraf Pakistan. The elections will be held next month, assuming they will not be postponed again, which could leave Pakistan with the following:

1. A weak (but legitimate) pro-US government: The danger here is that this government could be susceptible to pressure from the Taliban and other extremist forces, and may not enjoy the entire support of the military. The good news is that the US would retain its current flyover rights to keep OEF supported.

2. A strong (and legitimate) anti-US government: Think Uzbekistan. There is a strong anti-US undercurrent in Pakistan, and a large chunk of people think that the pro-US policies of Musharraf have led to their current problems. If a legitimate anti-US government comes to power, it could very well deny the US flyover rights, which could severely impact ops in Afghanistan. Expect less cooperation on border security and fighting the Taliban as well. Not a rosy scenario.

3. A pro-Pakistan (and illegitimate) military state-of-emergency government headed by a general not named Musharraf. While bad for Pakistan, this may be the best case scenario for America. The continuation of the status quo in Pakistan may not be sustainable, a military junta could keep up the pressure on the Taliban and curb some of the Islamic radicalization (the Pakistani army has to fight the Taliban on their side of the border, so there is no love lost between the two). This is not the best deal for Pakistan, but it may avert civil war and keep the country together long enough to re-establish law and order and eventually transfer into some manner of democratic governance.

Also, there is this:

On Tuesday, Adm. William Fallon — the head of the U.S. Central Command and top commander of American forces in the Middle East — held talks in Rawalpindi with Kayani. The Pakistani army said the two men discussed the "security situation" in the region, but gave no more details.

Spooky. Stay tuned.

Is Pakistan Softening on US Training Mission ?

By Charlie

Pakistan is getting it handed to them by Taliban and AQ-linked fighters in its Western territories.

Up to 20 Pakistani troops were missing and feared dead after 200 Islamic militants armed with rockets overran a remote military outpost in south Waziristan, close to the Afghan border.

A spokesman for the Pakistan military said the attack happened at midnight and lasted for about two hours. He said up to 40 of the attackers were killed.

About 40 members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps occupied the fort.

…Which may explain this story:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pakistan is taking a more welcoming view of U.S. suggestions for using American troops to train and advise its own forces in the fight against anti-government extremists, the commander of U.S. forces in that region said Wednesday.

We are technically fighting the same bad guys, just on different sides of the mountains. AQ and Taliban are just as threatening to Pakistan as they are to Afghanistan , it just took Pakistan a while to figure that out, as they have always seen India as the #1 threat. In the past, the Pakistani government viewed the Islamic radicals camped out in the western frontier as a strategic reserve against India ’s larger and better trained army. Now, that strategic reserve has become a massive internal security problem that just assassinated a major public figure, and would love to target Musharaf next.

Partnering with Pakistan and helping them do the heavy lifting of COIN in the Western areas is no easy task. There is very high anti-US sentiment in Pakistan , a significant support base for terrorists, and a shaky internal situation. On top of that, the “AO” of Western Pakistan ’s Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) is crawling with foreign Al Qaeda fighters, Taliban, warring tribes, and other shady characters that further complicate the situation.

The bottom line is that Pakistan has to solve this problem. If we can help them, it helps us.

"If terrorists fall in Iraq and nobody hears them, do they still make a sound?"

By Charlie

Only if you read new media who have the backbone to see the truth and report it.

Check out this article on progress in Iraq.

Hotel Tango to Ryan

"Mini-Surge" Term Surfaces

By Charlie

John documents its use by Ralph Peters.

Blech, Indeed.

This post is rated ARRRRRR

By Charlie

Pirate attacks up across the board in 2007:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Pirate attacks rose by 10 percent globally in 2007, the first increase in three years, as pirates stepped up attacks off the coasts of Nigeria and Somalia, an international maritime monitoring organization said Wednesday.

Last year, there were 269 attacks on ships, up from 239 in 2006 and reversing a downward trend that began in 2003, the International Maritime Bureau said in its annual report released by its piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

“The significant increase in the numbers can be directly attributed to the increase in the incidents in Nigeria and Somalia,” said Pottengal Mukundan, the bureau’s director, in a statement.

Attacks off the coast of Nigeria increased to 42, up from 12 cases in 2006, he said. Somalia reported 31 cases, up from 10 in 2006.

This gets back to a fundamental problem that is developing in third world areas- a complete breakdown in society, and a return to a "state of nature." These attacks draw a sharp line between our orderly, prosperous, and on-line world and the violent, poor, darkened areas on the map. In our modern world, there is simply no place for piracy, yet it seems to be on the increase across the globe.

What we are seeing is a bizarre mix of old and new, as the third world urbanizes, and still struggles under age-old corrupt governments and economies, the people have cell phones, satellite TV, and RPGs. Pirates today seek the same as they did in their 1400-1700 heyday -loot, but they go about it using modern technology, and good old fashioned violence.

The logical next step is for the pirates to begin demanding tribute from merchant nations, in exchange for not attacking ships bearing their flag. Good thing we still have our Navy...

Joke below the fold:

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NATO Intransigence is Official

By Bull Nav

So once again, the US will suck up the majority of a force request in Afghanistan (from Fox News).

THE PENTAGON — A request has been made by top commanders in Afghanistan to send 3,000 Marines to the country, FOX News has learned.
The goal would be to have the Marines in the region by April, the time of year when offensive actions by the Taliban usually pick up after the Spring thaw.
Senior Defense Department officials say International Security Assistance Forces Cmdr. Gen. Dan McNeil made the request, which has to be approved by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gates will receive the proposal on Friday, but not like make a decision on that day.
The plan calls for sending one ground and one air Marine contingent plus one battalion for a "one-time, seven-month deployment," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morell said Wednesday.
Defense officials are not calling this a surge, rather a specific increase for more troops. Currently roughly 26,000 American troops are in Afghanistan, under NATO auspices. NATO commanders have asked for 7,500 more troops, but Gates has called on allies to contribute the additional forces.

How many countries are in NATO? How many actually want to do something?

How many want to sit back while we do all the heavy lifting?

I still think it was a mistake to let NATO take the lead for the Afghanistan conflict. We should run it lock, stock and barrel with our own forces. No excuses, no silly ROE, no fighting only during daylight hours.

***Charlie says: Dammit, beat me to this. Here's my take:

I've always wondered why we allowed the Taliban to conduct yearly "spring offensives," instead of just dropping a division of troops in the southern mountain regions of Afghanistan to stop it before it starts. Now the Marines have their shot to do just that. Recall a few weeks back, the Marines requested to take over the OEF mission entirely. That got shot down, but perhaps this is the opportunity for the Marines to do what they do best, now that the Anbar province has quieted down.

Also, if they start calling this a "mini surge," I'll go crazy.

Where's the Peace?

By Charlie

International peacekeeping seems to be taking a beating this week, following attacks on UNFIL in Lebanon and AU troops in the Darfur region.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Armed men opened fire on a U.N./African Union supply convoy in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, the first attack on the newly formed joint peacekeeping mission, officials said on Tuesday.

A diplomatic source working in the region told Reuters Sudanese Army soldiers had fired at the convoy from the UN/AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) late on Monday, apparently confusing the peacekeepers for rebels.

Two Irish soldiers working as part of a United Nations force were injured today when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in south Lebanon.

The blast smashed the windows of their white UN four-wheel-drive vehicle near the village of Ramiliya, about 35km south of Beirut shortly before 1pm today.

My post yesterday on Darfur noted Bin Laden's Jihad declaration against a peacekeeping effort in Darfur, and it looks like the first shots of that jihad were fired today. This probably will not be the last attack on the mission, and because of the training and equipment of the UN/AU troops, two things are possible here:

1. The next time a convoy rolls outside the wire, the soliders will be scared, and vulnerable to more attacks. Plus, if they get itchy trigger fingers and kill any civilians, it will further alienate the populace toward their mission.

2. The UN/AU troops simply won't leave the wire, and the mission will languish on for months and even years, with zero progress as the opposition to their presence grows stronger unopposed.

The UN is pretty good at opption number 2, but I wouldn't rule out option number one. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Hezbollah seems set on continuing its attacks on the UN force:

[Irish] Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea also conveyed his wishes and those of the Government, for a speedy recovery of the soldiers. "The incident is a stark reminder to us all of the dangerous yet vital work our brave troops do in the cause of peace," he said.

Today's bomb was the third attack on the 13,500-strong Unifil force since it was expanded after a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas ended in August 2006.

FYI, the UN resolution that authorized UNFIL also called for the disarming of Hezbollah, which hasn't happened yet (and won't) and no one seems to mind. As much as the US defense establishment is bashed for lagging in Assymetric warfare tactics, it seems that the rest of the world isn't really good at it either, and that forces that are opposed to international peackeeping efforts have been taking note of insurgent tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are moving closer to Open Source Warfare.

The bottom line is that we may be at the end of an era where traditional peacekeeping efforts work. Tactially, this may mean scrapping the whole concept of stability/support operations in favor of counterinsurgency. Strategically, this may mean a new embrace of Unconventional Warfare, or a militarization of foriegn aid. Stay tuned.

Darfur Crisis: Too Few Peacekeepers

By Charlie

Quote of the Day:

"We have now 9,000 re-hatted soldiers in Darfur. That's not sufficient. That is why we are very concerned about the ongoing deteriorating situation in Darfur."

-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The article, Too few troops deployed in Darfur, continues:

Last week a joint U.N.-African Union (AU) mission took over peacekeeping in Darfur from a purely AU force, seeking to end almost five years of fighting. But the swapping of green AU berets for U.N. blue ones is unlikely to bring rapid change.

That is why we are very concerned about the ongoing deteriorating situation in Darfur."

The so-called hybrid force of AU and U.N. troops replaces a struggling AU mission. The plan is for it ultimately to comprise 20,000 soldiers and 6,000 police, but only a little over a third of those are so far in place.

"I as the secretary-general and the United Nations as a whole ... must ensure the rapid deployment of hybrid operations as agreed to the level of 26,000 (peacekeepers) as soon as possible," Ban told reporters at his first news conference of 2008.

Herein lies the problem with peacekeeping: there are no divisions of troops sitting on the tarmacs of a multitude of networked, of-one-mind-group of nations that are ready to deploy at a moment’s notice to the hotspot of the week. Individual countries have individual self interests, and the diplomatic prodding and wrangling necessary to accomplish this has been demonstrated to us over the past few years. Peacekeeping nowadays is tough duty, because forces have to be flexible, and in uncertain areas, must be prepared to shoot people. That requires a disciplined, experienced, and professional force to be committed to near-combat ops, for a very long time at high expense. There just aren’t that many countries that that have it in their national interest to commit to these missions, morality aside. Commit untrained troops, and you get sex-crimes, and rampant corruption, and your country’s military ineptitude is on display for the world to see. Commit no troops and you have stood up to “imperialism,” or whatever the international cop-out is for the week. There are trained troops that could do this job, but they are going to be from the US, Britain, Australia, and some key European allies that have not completely disassembled their defense establishment –that’s it.

Also, don’t think for a moment that Osama Bin Laden’s call for a jihad against any peacekeeping effort isn’t influencing nations to stay out of the fray. Most AU countries can sit in the “nonaligned movement” of the war on terror, and they want to keep it that way.

Recall:

CAIRO, Egypt: Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden called for a holy war against a proposed peacekeeping force in Sudan's war torn region of Darfur in a message that appeared on jihadi Web sites Tuesday.

… Bin Laden called on those living in the areas surrounding Darfur, particularly the Arabian peninsula, to drive out any foreign forces in the region.

"It is the duty of the people of Islam in the Sudan and its environs, especially the Arabian Peninsula, to perform jihad against the Crusader invaders and wage armed rebellion to remove those who let them in,"

So there you go. It doesn’t matter what color the peacekeeper’s hats are in Darfur, because unless they are ACU, it isn’t going to change anything, and that isn’t likely to happen any time soon.

Quick roundup of Stuff that Happened while I was Honeymooning:

By Charlie

Kenya caught on fire

Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly cited the need for “a sustained call from Kenya's political leaders for the cessation of violence by their followers” and called for the country’s leaders to engage “in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first.”

Their joint statement, issued January 2, comes after days of violence across the country have left as many as 300 people dead and caused tens of thousands to flee their homes to escape looters and armed mobs.

In one instance, dozens of people who had sought shelter in a church in the western city of Eldoret were killed January 1 when the building was set on fire by a mob.

I never got the whole “we’re politically frustrated so we’re going to burn down religious buildings” argument. We saw this in Kosovo, in Iraq with the Golden Mosque, and now in Africa, and it always seems to backfire on the burners. Kenya was one of the few relatively “stable” and “not crazy” African governments –its quick loss of law and order underscores the fact that many African governments are tenuously hanging on to power. If it could happen in Kenya, it could easily happen in Nigeria or Zimbabwe. Plus, events like the church burning in Kenya are called “spark events” because of their ability to ignite a larger outbreak of violence throughout a region. AFRICOM is going to have a big job to do.

Bhutto was Assassinated in Pakistan

Ms. Bhutto was assassinated in the city of Rawalpindi a week ago while campaigning for parliament. Her death sparked riots across this nation, leading to more than 50 deaths and millions of dollars in property damage.

The former prime minister had complained repeatedly about a lack of security. She narrowly escaped a suicide attack the day she arrived back in the country last October, after eight years in self-imposed exile.

Before her death, she said elements within the government were trying to kill her. The government denies that charge, but there is no disputing that controversy surrounds the assassination.

If you are Al Qaeda, what is better than buying a nuke from the mob off of the Russian black market? Taking over a country that already has 100. Much ink has been expended on this topic elsewhere, so I will just point out that securing Pakistani nukes is soon going to become a major national-security issue for many nations, not just America. Plus, the Pakistanis and the Indians still hate each other, and India cannot be happy about their next-door nuclear enemy about to tumble into civil war. On a larger scale, this situation is rooted in the development of Pakistan’s neighbors: India and Afghanistan. India is making remarkable economic progress, and is fast becoming a 21st century power player, while Pakistan is still mired in corruption and extremism. The Pakistani people see this, and they want a piece of the Indian success, the sad thing is that many think the way to get to that prosperous level is to trust Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, Pakistanis Fleeing To Afghanistan As Violence Escalates. When did you think you’d read that headline?

Taps For 2007

By Lt Col P

2000 EST in NoVa: fire in the insert, Son & Heir in the rack, cats deployed tactically throughout the house, beer in the old VBC mug, beloved spouse on the couch, the .45 and the M&P 15T all nice and clean after a good day at the range. Waiting for midnight. Truth be told I'm not much of a New Year's Eve guy. If I can stay up for the changeover, I will. But if I don't make it, well, no big deal.

2007 was a landmark year. 2008 promises to be an exciting ride, if nothing else.

For my money, 2007's Man of the Year is the average soldier, sailor, airman and Marine, with an emphasis on the soldiers and Marines. They have borne the brunt of the fighting, refused to back down when times were tough, endured the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and the IEDs and RPGs of fanatic enemies. They ought to get the credit for the victories, with a good dose of shame going to the naysayers and spineless wonders who said it couldn't be done, and some who said it shouldn't be done.

F them all, and cheers to our men (and 'men) in uniform!

See you next year.

Quick update below the fold...

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The Bhutto Assassination

By Lt Col P

This is bad.

The full extent and nature of its badness has yet to be made clear. However, we can expect that it might (will?) contribute greatly to the destabilization of a country that is key terrain in The Long War. That this key terrain country possesses nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and may very well contain the AQ command group are complicating factors. Many threads come together in Pakistan.

In crisis however there is opportunity. If Pakistan can pull it all together and soldier through elections, that will be a big step forward, and a poke in the eye to AQ. That's a big IF.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

And our powder dry.

Quick update... some good commentary and comments at B5.

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Turkish army sends soldiers into Iraq

By Charlie

I was close yesterday when I suggested that Turkey may again up the ante in their struggle against the PKK, a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group that is operating in the border region between Northern Iraq and Turkey. Now they've sent some ground troops in:

KIRKUK, Iraq - The Turkish army sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern Iraq in an overnight operation on Tuesday, Kurdish officials said. A Turkish official said the troops seeking Kurdish rebels were still in Iraq by midmorning

The troops crossed into an area near the border with Iran, about 75 miles north of the city of Irbil, said Jabar Yawar, a spokesman for Kurdistan's Peshmerga security forces.

About 300 Turkish troops crossed the border at 3 a.m., said Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the regional Kurdistan government. He said the region was a deserted mountainous frontier area.

Is it politically dangerous for the US to conduct counter-terrorist ops against the PKK? Would we lose crucial Kurdish support if we took on the PKK, and is that why we are aren’t making a big deal out of these cross border incursions? Perhaps…

Previous:
Turkish Jets Bomb PKK in Iraq

US/Turkey Relations

Update on the Pakistan/Turkey Instability

Canadians Wield A "Sharp Sword"

By Lt Col P

This is the kind of article I love to read.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian forces killed or uprooted scores of insurgents in a Taliban stronghold this weekend, in a raid described by a commander as "successful for the time being."

Working with Afghan army and police units, Canadian and Gurkha soldiers say they killed 41 insurgents and captured four in yesterday's daylong battle, rousting another 20 to 30 fighters from the baked-mud villages in Kandahar's Zari district.

No coalition soldiers were injured in the operation named "Sharp Sword," Maj. Rich Moffett, the deputy commanding officer of the Canadian battle group told reporters today.

It gets better:

The Afghan, Gurkha and Canadian troops surprised the fighters while they slept, said Maj. Moffett. Nonetheless, the battle appears to have been particularly fierce. Battle video shot by a freelance cameraman embedded with Canadian forces shows Afghan, Canadian and Gurkha soldiers firing at the Taliban from behind tall stone walls and embankments.

Good work to our great allies and cousins from the north, and the tough little hillmen who are no strangers to explosive raids on hostile Afghan villages. Surprised 'em while they slept, did you? Outstanding! Somewhere, McBride and Masters are both smiling.

US Military Orders Review of Coalition Strategy in Afghanistan

By Charlie

Does this indicate a change is on the way? Northwest Pakistan is heating up, and the Taliban are reinforcing across a safe "border." We'll see:

The U.S. military is making an assessment of coalition strategy in Afghanistan in an effort to ensure that a recent increase in violence does not threaten long-term progress.

The effort, first reported in Sunday's New York Times newspaper, was confirmed to VOA by a U.S. military official.

The assessment is being handled by Admiral William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military activity in the Middle East and East Africa, as well as Afghanistan.

The official who spoke to VOA Sunday on condition of anonymity said Central Command is constantly assessing strategy and progress in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but that this effort by the admiral goes beyond the usual process.

The New York Times reports that Admiral Fallon's assessment is one of three that will feed into a broader Afghanistan policy review early next year.

Turkish Jets Bomb PKK in Iraq

By Charlie

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish jet fighters bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq early Sunday, Turkey's military said, marking an escalation of force against the outlawed separatist group. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman.

The nighttime offensive was the first confirmed time since the U.S.-led invasion that Turkish war planes have been used in Iraqi territory. Turkey has previously attacked the area with ground-based artillery and helicopters.

The fighter jets hit rebel positions close to the border with Turkey and the Qandil mountain, which straddles the Iraq-Iran border and is 60 miles from the frontier between Iraq and Turkey, the military said in a statement posted on its Web site. It said the operation was directed against the rebels and not against the local population.

The Kurds in Iraq would be smart to distance themselves from the PKK, but it is likely that the group is maintaining its support in Northern Iraq. The question is- if/when Iraq stabilizes and establishes a functioning economy coupled with the freedom in a federal system, will the Kurdish areas attract Kurds from Turkey, or will Kurds in neighboring countries agitate for similar freedoms at home?

Also, Turkey has upped the ante, by using attack aircraft instead of artillery strikes. What is the next chip they will throw in? Special Purpose Forces? MLRS?

Previous:

US/Turkey Relations

Update on the Pakistan/Turkey Instability

Hamas Throws Anniversary Party

By Charlie

WoooHooo! No booze and no chicks! Party on!

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas marked the 20th anniversary of its founding with a huge rally Saturday, sending a message of strength and defiance even as it is struggling to keep Gaza the Strip from sinking deeper into poverty.

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in a sandy lot and nearby streets, waving green Islamic flags. The crowd appeared to be at least equal in size to a march last month in support of Hamas' rival, Fatah. That rally drew 250,000 in a major challenge to Hamas.

A large turnout Saturday was seen as critical for the increasingly embattled Hamas, which seized control of Gaza by force in June. Since then, the coastal strip has been virtually cut off from the world, with Israel and Egypt sharply restricting access, and 1.5 million Gazans have been driven deeper into poverty.

Every time the Gaza Strip is brought up, I find it useful to remind everyone that the median age there is 16:

Age structure: 0-14 years: 47.6% (male 361,115/female 344,236) 15-64 years: 49.9% (male 377,927/female 361,824) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 15,454/female 21,849) (2007 est.)

Median age:
total: 16 years
male: 15.9 years
female: 16.2 years (2007 est.)

Hamas is a great example of what happens when an Islamist terrorist group takes over a failed state. We have watched this train wreck ever since Hamas took over, and due to the presence of the media and their obsession with the Arab-Israeli conflict, the failure of Hamas to initiate any type of progress has been total.

If we abandon Iraq, it will become a much larger and much more dangerous Gaza Strip. Somalia is already, and Afghanistan has been pulled back from the brink, after having been under the control of Hamas' fellow travelers. This situation will continue to implode, and as I have said before, maintaining the status quo of suffering is in the best interests of states like Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

Also: Top Fatah official kidnapped in Gaza

State of Emergency over in Pakistan

By Charlie

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf said Saturday that he imposed a state of emergency last month as a last resort to save Pakistan from destruction.

Musharraf, in a nationally televised address after lifting the emergency earlier in the day, said a conspiracy had been hatched by unspecified people to derail the country's transition to democracy.

Hopefully, this moment can be capitalized upon by the Pakistani military, and they can begin to retake their northwestern provinces from the Taliban/fellow travelers.

Suprise: Al Qaeda Against Peace Conferences

By Charlie

For a conference that accomplished nothing, AQ seems pretty upset about it:

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's deputy leader denounced last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., as a "betrayal" of Palestinians in a new audio message posted Friday on an Islamic militant Web site. ...Al-Zawahri mainly addressed Arabs, urging them to condemn the Annapolis conference and label Mahmoud Abbas as "the traitor," adding that the Palestinian "brother-president sold you out in Annapolis and in its aftermath."

1. We own the internet, why do we let Islamic militants have websites?
2. Remember AQ's grand strategy:

al Qaeda's battle plan calls for driving the Americans out of Iraq, establishing an Islamic regime in as much of the country as possible and then extending the holy war to other Arab countries, including Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

This 4-step plan for world domination leaves no room for negotiations with the infidel. Most of the countries that attended the Annapolis peace conference are led by regimes that AQ would like to overthrow after they establish their caliphate *somewhere.* The sad thing about all of this is that most efforts to actually solve the Arab-Israeli conflict will meet resistance from many of the Arab autocracies that have created a grievance industry around blaming all of their ills on Israel or America. As long as there are Palestinians being "oppressed," the governments in the Middle East have an excuse for their failures.

Back to School for Mookie Al Sadr

By Charlie

If this was a sitcom, I’d watch:

BAGHDAD - The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia movement has quietly resumed seminary studies toward attaining the title of ayatollah — a goal that could make firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq.

Al-Sadr's objectives — described to The Associated Press by close aides — are part of increasingly bitter Shiite-on-Shiite battles for control of Iraq's southern oil fields, the lucrative pilgrim trade to Shiite holy cities and the nation's strategic Persian Gulf outlet.

Al-Sadr has been a huge pain in the neck for the US, basically since the invasion started in 2003. The thing about Al-Sadr is that he really rode the coat-tails of his dad into prominence in Iraq, by going back to seminary to become ayatollah Al-Sadr he is attempting to establish himself as a legitimate authority figure.

As an ayatollah, his views and fatwas, or religious edicts, would resonate with even more authority as the battles heat up for sway over Iraq's Shiite heartland.

Al-Sadr currently has the relatively low title of hojat al-Islam, which leaves his supporters no choice but to seek religious guidance from top establishment clerics — many of whom al-Sadr sees as out of touch with common Iraqis and accuses of acquiescing to Washington's demands.

The aides said al-Sadr was currently on a path to achieve ayatollah rank possibly by 2010 or earlier. His studies were under the supervision of senior clerics in the Shiite holy city of Najaf — where al-Sadr's Mahdi Army fought grinding urban battles with U.S. forces in 2004.

So short-term, this takes Sadr out of the picture while he crams for finals. Long term, this may sway Iraq, depending on what Iraq looks like in 2010.

The Axis Strikes?

By Charlie

Waled Phares, writing over at the counterterrorism blog, points out that the Syrian-Iranian “axis” is responsible for executing the Lebanese general yesterday.

The parties that can execute such operations in Lebanon, and have an interest in it, fall under the umbrella of the Syrian-Iranian Mihwar (Axis) which includes the Syrian intelligence, the Pasdaran network, Hezbollah, Ahmad Jibril Palestinian group, as well as other smaller pro-Syrian militias. This “axis” has been accused by the Cedars Revolution of perpetrating a series of assassinations since 2005, including against Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and a number of leaders and MPs, last of whom MPs Walid Eido and Antoine Ghanem, all opposed to the Syrian occupation and in favor of disarming Hezbollah.

Interesting. I wrote on this here on OP-FOR back in April of 2006. Here’s what I said:

This type of “axis” will become more and more frequent as the world order re-shuffles itself. Instead of an old, diplomatically sealed alliance between nation-states, this new axis is comprised of under-the-table agreements, tribal and cultural oaths of allegiance, and realpolitik interest-based alignment. The militarized Shia crescent is assembling in front of our very eyes at a surprisingly fast pace. We already know all of the players on the scene: Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Jazeera, the Saudis, and the fledgling Iraqi democracy. What we don’t know are the goals and intent of this organization that is struggling to enter the world scene. If the Shia Crescent Axis materializes, what will be its goal? Regional hegemony with Iran as the guiding power would be my guess, as well as control of natural resources, and most importantly, respect from the rest of the Arab, and Western world. … If the Iranians can successfully leverage their influence throughout the Shia Crescent, they may be able to accomplish the following:

Bring[ing] national governments in the Crescent in line with Iranian thinking & objectives. This can be done violently through terrorist action or non-violently through bargaining and political pressure. This would bring Syria, Lebanon, some of the northern Gulf areas, and part of Shia Iraq under the sway of the mullahs.

Phares, who wrote the excellent Future Jihad, definitely knows his stuff. This just proves that if you read OP-FOR, you stay ahead of the game.

This is who the Troops Are

By Charlie

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic ...

Sgt. Jon Moldovan, reciting the oath of re-enlistment with Brig. Gen. Rodney Anderson (to left, not shown). Sgt. Moldovan, 508th Infantry Regiment, re-enlisted one day after he was wounded while helping his comrades wrest control of Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from the Taliban.

More on al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

By Charlie

Al Qaeda Islamic Magreb claimed responsibility for the bombings in Algiers yesterday, but who is this group? One of the largest Islamic extremist organizations in Algeria is the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), aka the Al Qaeda organization in the Islamic Magreb This group has been carrying out an Islamist insurgency in Algeria since 2002, and has roots that trace back to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) that fought in the 1992 conflict against the Algerian government.

When I was in northern Africa studying Arabic before 9/11, there was not a broad-based atmosphere of overt anti-Americanism. When I went back after 2003, there was. North Africa, and other Arab and Islamic population centers across the world continue to be areas of concern, especially where there is weak government, poor economic conditions, and a youth bubble. That basically describes all of Africa, but the continent is ignored at our own peril. If there is anything that can be taken from the lesson of Afghanistan, it is that a failed state can be just as much of a threat as a hostile nation-state, because of the base (or al qaeda) it provides terrorist groups.

AFRICOM is going to have work to do.

More on the Council on Foreign Relations site.

UK to Negotiate with the Taliban?

By Charlie

***UPDATE: Nope, the Brits say they are for "political reconciliation" not a cease-fire or peace treaty. Akin to what has been working in Iraq, bringing former enemies onto our side, I see no reason why this type of tactic would not work in Afghanistan. Perhaps the initial story was simply what the media wanted to be true...

Here's the text:

London, 12 Dec. (AKI) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says his country is not negotiating with hostile Taliban elements in Afghanistan.

In a speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Brown said Britain and it allies were isolating and eliminating Taliban leaders, but "not negotiating" with them.

However Brown supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other leaders in their bid for "political reconciliation" with former insurgents that rejected violence, as already 5,000 of them had done that.

Well, its one way to end the war on terror. Over at the Tank, Steve Schippert writes "Expect al-Qaeda's propaganda machine, relentless in engaging the Information War, to bat this out of the park in short order. Recall that bin Laden's latest message to Europe was a reminder of Russia's futile struggle in Afghanistan. This, for him and for furthering his message in the region, serves to help bin Laden bolster the parallel."

Here is the news on this:

Gordon Brown will announce today that he intends to talk to the Taliban in a bid to end the war in Afghanistan.

In a major shift in UK foreign policy the Prime Minister is expected to tell the Commons today that negotiation is the only way to bring peace to the war torn country.

The change of tack will be seen as the latest attempt by the prime minister to distance himself from the foreign policy of Tony Blair and his ally George Bush.

In a landmark statement in the Commons he will say that the Cabinet has agreed a three pronged strategy for Afghanistan which will security guaranteed by NATO and the Afghan national army followed by economic and political development in the country.

Can wars be fought and won anymore?

Lebanese General Assasinated

By Charlie

Car Bomb in Lebanon:

A top general in the Lebanese army was killed early Wednesday when a powerful car bomb exploded beside his vehicle in a residential suburb of Beirut.

General Francois Hajj, the chief of operations in the Lebanese army, died instantly along with at least four other soldiers. The blast from the 77-pound bomb packed inside a BMW hurled Hajj's body more than 100 yards from his car and damaged nearby buildings in the upscale Baabda district close to the presidential palace.

Hajj's murder came two days after a parliamentary session to elect a new president was postponed for the eighth time, and is certain to aggravate tensions between rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions. The bombing, said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi, "is a message to the Lebanese that the situation in Lebanon will remain fragile and that security will remain a target".

Hmm… large bomb targeting senior Lebanese official, on the surface, it smells like Syria’s interference in Lebanon continues.

Israel Moving Closer to Gaza Incursion?

By Charlie

Armor up:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli forces made forays into northern and southern Gaza Tuesday morning in operations targeting Palestinian militants, killing up to five, the Israel Defense Forces said. ... The IDF acknowledged having just 10 tanks about half a mile (a kilometer) inside the Sufa border crossing, saying its troops were on regular operational duty against the terror infrastructure in Gaza.

Hamas, meanwhile, claims they are ready for the fight:

Armed members of Hamas are conducting practical drills for a possible attack on Israel.

FOX News had an exclusive look at the guerrillas as they trained with new Kalashnikovs in the Gaza Strip.

"The U.S. and Israel and other regional powers were generous enough to provide Fatah security with very good weapons, and now they are in our hands," one gunman told FOX News.

"This training is part of the Hamas preparation to stop an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip," another gunman said. "We will hit them bad and many of them will be kidnapped."

That's a pretty bold statement of an intent to commit war crimes, and is likely intended as an IO message to the Israelis, meant to strike fear into their armed forces because of the successful Hamas kidnappings in the past. Check out the video, which shows Hamas terrorists that are well armed, and executing squad tactics rather than the usual parading through the street and brandishing their weapons...its almost as if they've had some professional training.

Bombings in Algeria

By Charlie

UPDATE: Al Qaeda Islamic Magreb claimed responsibility.

The long war continues:

(CNN) -- Two bombs ripped through the Algerian capital Tuesday, reportedly killing 47 people -- including 10 U.N. workers -- in what appeared to be targeted attacks on government and United Nations buildings.

One explosion was outside the constitutional court in the Algiers neighborhood of Ben Aknoun and the other was in the residential area of Hydra, state-run television network ENTV reported.

The other attack apparently targeted the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in the neighborhood of Hydra, UNHCR chief spokesman Ron Redmond told CNN.

Recall the militant Islamist strategy: 1 –remove US and Coalition forces from the Middle East, 2- establish caliphate, 3- overthrow apostate regimes, 4- destroy Israel and grasp global supremacy. Islamists continue to try to take over Algeria, although popular support for the effort has eroded since Algeria’s conflict between Islamists and military forces which claimed almost 200,000 lives in the ‘90s.

Also: will the UN now withdraw from Algeria?

Good Guys Win in Afghanistan, AP Spins Anyway

By Charlie

HUGE Shout-out to the troops with ISAF, mopping the floor with the Taliban in Musa Qala. But check out this spin from AP reporter AMIR SHAH:

Afghan, international forces retake town

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan and international forces on Monday retook a southern town held by Taliban militants since February, although foreign fighters — possibly members of al-Qaida — were continuing to attack invading troops, officials said.

Emphasis mine. We're INVADING the town? The town that was occupied by Taliban and foreign fighters? How about LIBERATING it from an 8th century theocratic death-cult?

And to be fair and balanced, the Taliban was contacted for comment (I wish I was kidding..):

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said militant fighters left Musa Qala as a strategic decision to avoid Taliban and civilian casualties. "Because of the massive bombings this morning, the Taliban didn't want to cause more casualties, so this afternoon all the Taliban left Musa Qala," Ahmadi told The Associated Press by satellite phone.

Wow, they are so concerned for civilian life, they just voluntarily withdrew! What nobility! What honor!

The way this war is covered in the press makes me sick. I only hope the other end of that phone call was targeted by a JDAM, and that future press calls to Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi go straight to voice mail.

Taliban on the Run!

By Charlie

Positive news (for a change) from Pakistan:

MINGORA, Pakistan - The Pakistani army has driven Islamic militants from all the towns in a scenic northern valley and killed 290 of the followers of a pro-Taliban cleric who has called for a holy war against the government, a general said Saturday

The militants, followers of firebrand preacher Maulana Fazlullah, had taken control of at least eight towns in the Swat valley since July, scattering outgunned police and erecting "Taliban station" signboards outside former police stations.

Officials accuse them of imposing a reign of terror, shuttering schools for girls and beheading locals who opposed them. Their seizure of the region demonstrated the government's feeble control in Pakistan's remote areas.

The “government's feeble control in Pakistan's remote areas” is why Musharraf’s army is going to have to initiate some sort of counterinsurgency operation in order to retake the country bit by bit.

Next door, in Afghanistan, the Taliban have made the mistake of massing their forces in a single location:

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan, British and U.S. troops were fighting in a major operation on Saturday to capture the Taliban's biggest stronghold in Afghanistan.

Musa Qala in the southern province of Helmand is the only sizeable Afghan town controlled by the Taliban. Capturing Musa Qala would give Afghan government and foreign troops a big boost as the harsh winter and perennial lull in fighting sets in.

U.S. troops were taken close to the town by helicopter on Friday to begin the attack as British troops moved in by land.

"We are now involved in an advance that is effectively kicking the door in to Musa Qala," said Lieutenant Colonel Richard Eaton, British forces' spokesman in Helmand.

Hooah! Now that’s NATO terminology I can understand. (it’s a company, not a coy, dammint…)

Gratuitous: Looked for the “Taliban on the Run” youtube video, but I couldn’t find it. This one will have to do.

US/Turkey Relations

By Charlie

Here’s a pretty good podcast from "Bloomberg on the Economy." It has radio host Tom Keene interveiewing Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy about Turkey's economy, its relationship with the U.S. and the Armenian Genocide Resolution, and the country's clashes with the Kurdish PKK.

The interview has good background information key to understanding the current situation, and the precarious nature of the alliance.

Turkey has always been key to our relations in the Middle East, and keeping them on board for the War on Terror has been an essential US Policy goal. When the SF dropped in to northern Iraq during OIF I, one of their primary missions was to keep Turkey out of the war by getting the Kurdish Peshmegra to attack south, and only south. A large information gap will be the reaction of the Kurdish population in all states in the region if they see a free and flourishing Kurdish area in northern Iraq. Will they emigrate, or will they demand the same in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Armenia?

"Maintaining Security is Easier than Establishing it "

By Charlie

Iraq Update:

BAGHDAD - Citing a 60 percent decline in violence in Iraq over the last six months, Gen. David Petraeus said Thursday that maintaining security is easier than establishing it and gives him more flexibility in deploying forces.

Armed with charts showing that as of Wednesday, weekly attacks and Iraqi civilian deaths have plunged to levels not seen here since early 2006, Petraeus said the reduction lets him make force adjustments to address remaining problem areas, which would include northern Iraq.

Speaking to reporters at the U.S. military's Camp Victory, he said the improved security is due to a number of factors including a "a reduction in some of the signature attacks that are associated with weapons provided by Iran," as well as a cease-fire called by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that he said had a particularly noticeable impact what had been one of the most violent areas of Baghdad.

This is positive news, but we’re not out of the woods yet.

Detroit-Hezbollah-USMC Connection

By Bull Nav

This was not surprising news this week:

DETROIT -- Fugitive LaShish Restaurants owner Talal Chahine was indicted for a third time today by a federal grand jury.
A grand jury returned an indictment charging Chahine, 52, with conspiracy in connection with phony marriages used to obtain citizenship for three Lebanese-born women associated with Chahine, who owns a chain of Middle Eastern restaurants in southeastern Michigan.

Chahine left the country two years ago when he was indicted on tax evasion.

The La Shish chain of restaurants he owns here in SE Michigan are renowned for their Arab cuisine. Not that I will go there...

But what really gets me about this whole affair is that there appears to have been a concerted effort not only to get these women into the country, but to get them into sensitive positions.

Elfat El Aouar, who later married Chahine, her sister Nada Nadim Prouty, and their Taylor roommate Samar Khalil Spinelli, have all pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining their U.S. citizenships through fraudulent marriages they entered into around 1990.
Chahine provided references and false statements to federal officials, saying the marriages of El Aouar and Prouty were legitimate, the indictment alleges.
Although he knew about her bogus marriage, Chahine in 1998 provided Prouty with a reference to the FBI, where she landed a job as a special agent before moving on to the CIA. She recently resigned from the CIA after her past was revealed and she was criminally charged in federal court.

That was kind of old news, too, but when I read this, it really made my head spin.

On Tuesday, Marine Capt. Samar Khalil Nabbou Spinelli, 39, of Okinawa, Japan, who lived with the two women in Taylor in the early 1990s, pleaded guilty to citizenship and passport fraud.

When you put all this together, it makes me think that this was a covert intelligence operation, worthy of something the KGB would do.

The women are all going to most likely be deported, which is good, but I have to wonder how many more are out there.

Israel to Invade Gaza?

By Charlie

The IDF has been conducting small scale actions around Gaza since it withdrew in 2005, and following the kidnapping incidents that led to the 2006 war. Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM - Israel's army has completed plans for a large offensive in the Gaza Strip and is only waiting for government approval, the military chief said Wednesday, shortly after two Palestinian militants were killed by Israeli tank fire in the coastal area.

Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that until he receives the go-ahead for a broad operation, Israel would continue with its policy of airstrikes and brief ground incursions to halt Palestinian rocket attacks.

The Gaza incursions have been militarily frustrating for Israel. Hamas fighters are imbedded in the civilian populace in Gaza, and use the civilian infrastructure to facilitate their indirect fire attacks into Israel. Recall that in 2006, the purpose of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon was to halt the firing of rockets by Hezbollah into northern Israel. Even after the armored strike into Hezbollah-run southern Lebanon, the IDF withdrew following disastrous info-war counterpunches by Hezbollah. After the 2006 fighting ended, Hezbollah remained in southern Lebanon, still retaining the ability to fire rockets. This was all despite UNSCR 1701 which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Why does Hezbollah matter this time? Because the same tactics used by Hezbollah will likely be used by Hamas if the IDF invades Gaza. Indirect fire against Israeli civilian and soft targets, and then Hamas fighters withdraw into their civilian areas. Any attacks by Israel on Gaza will be construed as warcrimes by the Arab media, and any civilian casualties will be broadcast and trumpeted as evidence of Israel’s brutality. Gaza’s Hamas militants will ignore all of the laws of armed conflict, and Israel will be held to he highest possible standard. In 2006, the IDF culminated without achieving many of its strategic objectives, and since Hezbollah was still on the battlefield after the dust settled, it was portrayed as a victor by the Arab media.

This type of warfare seems to be on the rise, and in the information age we live in, the infowar side of warfare, cannot be ignored. Also different this time is the possibility of intervention by Syria or Iran in the conflict. If Israel suffers another stalemate or defeat like it did in 2006- it may be viewed as weak enough to strike at by Iran or its other enemies.

Update on the Pakistan/Turkey Instability:

By Charlie

The restive Kurds and the PKK, and the dark north and west areas of Pakistan that have been radicalized by militant Islam, host terror training camps, and retain Taliban seeking to control Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal –both of these border conflicts affect our troops deployments in OEF and OIF, and involve major allies (Turkey and Pakistan) fighting for their own national security in internal conflicts that threaten to spill over into surrounding countries.

Gunmen kill soldier in Pakistan: police

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — Gunmen killed a paramilitary soldier and injured a policeman at a checkpost in insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistan late Tuesday, police said.

The shooting took place on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of restive Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

"Unknown gunmen fired at the checkpost from the roof of nearby houses after which a paramilitary soldier was killed and a policeman was injured," senior police official Rehmatullah Niazi told AFP.

Turkish army kills Kurdish fighters

Turkish soldiers have killed six Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) separatists, including four women, near a mountainous region bordering Iraq after they defied calls to surrender, the military says. A Turkish officer was also killed in the clash on Mount Gabar in the Sirnak province southeast of Turkey, it added.

The military said the slain fighters were those responsible for the deaths of 13 soldiers in early October, thought to be the worst single attack on Turkish forces in years, but it did not say how it ascertained this.

Darfur Crisis: Chad fighting increases

By Charlie

EU to Deploy Troops to Chad?

There has been a major battle in eastern Chad, with continuing heavy fighting, a rebel group says.
The Rally of Forces for Change (RFC) says government forces attacked them at dawn 150km north of the town of Abeche. No casualty figures were given.

The latest clashes come 24 hours after the rebels seized a number of army officers and vehicles.

This bleak picture coincides with a prediction that the European Union peacekeeping force (Eufor) being put together for Chad "risks becoming engulfed in the region's conflicts".

The timetable for Eufor's deployment, initially planned for January 2008, is already slipping because of difficulties in obtaining the attack helicopters needed.

Insiders now say it is unlikely to be operational before May 2008.
Some of the contributor nations have expressed their alarm at rebel statements saying the Eufor will be treated as an "occupying force" and targeted for attack.

Like it or not, George Clooney, but the only way to stop the Darfur crisis, and the cross-border wars that it has spawned, is to put combat troops on the ground. Having served with European coalition troops in the past, I believe that in a peace-keeping or peace-enforcement mission, this deployment may stabilize the area. If it is a counter-insurgency mission that will require heavy combat, training or indigenous allies, and integration into civilian population centers –amid IEDs, RPGs, and enemy information ops, I wonder if EUFOR will be able to handle it. So I guess it is wise to wait for those attack helicopters…

Turkey fires on Iraq-based rebels

By Charlie

Instability Continues:

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The Turkish military said Saturday it fired on 50 to 60 Kurdish rebels inside Iraqi territory, inflicting "significant losses."
…
The military statement came a day after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the government had authorized the military to launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq at any time.

"There was an intensified operation against the mentioned terrorists using fire support vehicles," the statement said. "The terrorist group suffered significant losses as a result of the operation," it added.

The current situation in Southeastern Turkey (and in Northwestern Pakistan) could have serious impacts on our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To begin with, the Turkey/Iraq problem stems from the colonial restructuring that the British enacted when Iraq was established as a traditional “nation state” with boundaries that did not take ethnic or religious concern into account. The Kurds, who have an ethnic-religious sub national identity already, pose a security problem for Turkey. The eastern (Kurdish) provinces of Turkey have become particularly restive as gains of autonomy appeared for Iraq’s Kurds.

One of the key missions in the initial invasion of Iraq was to keep Turkey out of the war by ensuring that the Kurdish areas remained part of Iraq proper, and did not agitate for or declare independence. Kurdish nationalism is driven by an extremist/political/terrorist wing that is currently embodied by the PKK (Kurdish Worker’s Party), a Marxist-Leninist organization that has executed terrorist attacks in central Turkey and seeks an independent Kurdistan. This possible partition of Iraq is detrimental to the security concern of the United States. The Kurds (comparatively) have been staunch allies of the US effort in Iraq. Turkey, a NATO ally, is attempting to balance US favor with internal security and threats to Turkish national security. If the Turkish military enters northern Iraq to fight against the PKK, it would be disastrous to the US effort in Iraq, forcing us to choose sides between the Kurds and the Turks. It could rupture the NATO alliance, and have a destabilizing effect on the entire region.

On the tactical side, Turkey has AH-1 Cobra attack helos, SP Howitzers, and MLRS assets that could give it significant reach into Iraqi territory to take out PKK C2 centers when they are identified. (here’s my link)

Defining Terrorism: War vs. Crime

By Charlie

I reached a moment of pure frustration today while typing out a paper for on of my classes. Given a report from the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism in April of 2001, I was assigned to describe what efforts were being made at the time to prevent or slow future acts of terror. Remember, this was April of 2001, five months before September, 2001, when the terrorist equation changed.

This document identified Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as a “primary hub” for international terrorism, and indicated that it was a growing threat for “all countries.” According to this document, sanctions were levied against the Taliban by UNSCR 1333, for harboring Osama Bin Laden and failing to close down training camps. This document hailed the sanctions as a “major victory” in international cooperation against terrorism. Additionally, it highlighted the importance of “isolating” the Taliban.

Additionally, the document points out how sanctions are important to “keep the pressure” on Libya, for its complicity in the Lockerbie bombing. The document mentions Iran, as the top state sponsor of terrorism in the region, and “expects those states in the region that are committed to peace distance themselves from all forms of terrorism.” While questionable as a policy prescription, the document then highlights work within the G-8 to “condemn” terrorism. According to the document, “the foundation of our efforts is diplomacy,” and the report seeks to ensure that terrorists are “brought to justice.”

I am well aware of the current debate of the approaches to dealing with terrorism, and I do understand that diplomacy and multinational cooperation are essential to combating terrorism: terrorists use borders to their advantage, and multinational agreements and cooperation deny this advantage to the terrorists. Got it.

What struck me was how this pre-9/11 law enforcement approach completely failed. It is still a valid argument that terrorism should be handled by law enforcement and not the military, but the debate is on how to practically make that happen in the world today, because the pre-9/11 efforts failed so completely.

What this document I reviewed from the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism (April 2001) told me this:

-If we identify a “primary hub” of international terrorism, destroy it. Don’t sanction it or try to isolate it.

-Diplomatic pressure on Libya did cause Qadaffi to give up his WMD program, only after that diplomatic pressure was backed with a credible threat of military action.

-“Hoping” nations “distance” themselves from regional powerbrokers and state-terror sponsors like Iran is not a credible policy prescription. Syria and even Venezuela have sought to increase their ties with the Islamic Republic since 2000.

-International condemnations are meaningless unless they are backed up by men on the ground with guns fighting for the good guys. Witness Sudan. George Clooney can campaign all he wants for Darfur, nothing will change until a brigade of combat troops from a Western nation shows up to stop the killing.

The law enforcement vs. war debate on terrorism will continue to be a relevant discussion, but the lessons of the past cannot be forgotten on this matter.

**UPDATE: I found the link at the State Dept. website

China Denies US Ships Port of Call

By Charlie

China's back:

China on Thursday fuelled the confusion surrounding its refusal to allow a visit to Hong Kong by a US aircraft carrier when it denied telling President George W. Bush that the affair was a "misunderstanding".

Beijing's decision to block a Thanksgiving port visit by the USS Kitty Hawk and earlier to bar two US destroyers from taking refuge in Hong Kong from a storm has angered the US navy and threatened the recent warming in cross-Pacific military ties.

This incident displays the divergence in thought that currently runs through the defense establishment. The root of this divergence is the Big wars versus Small wars argument. Big war enthusiasts argue that we need to focus on the next “big” war, against a state competitor (e.g. China, North Korea, Iran) and therefore we must purchase weapon systems that can deal with “big war” scenarios: F-22s, attack submarines, crusader artillery systems, etc. “Big War” types also embrace network-centric warfare, and increased investment in technological developments that will support destroying enemy armies. “Small war” proponents see the future of warfare developing along the 4GW model, where conflict are not between states, but within states. These wars will be fought along ethnic and religious lines, and increasingly involve control over resources. “Small war” types see the conflicts we are involved in now (OIF and OEF) and the relative successive gains when a “small war” strategy is implemented (COIN) rather than a Big-War mentality of search and destroy, and then returning to mega-bases for chow. “Small war” thinkers want to spend money on developing soldiers and supporting their efforts to work with local populations, rather than defeating enemy armies on the battlefield.

Anyway, this China incident gives some ammo to the “big war” thinkers, because they see China as our number one threat on a nation-state playing field. As long as China stays on the radar screen as a looming “future threat,” big war types will be able to forward their arguments that we are “ruining our Army” by executing counter-insurgency operations, and must return to focusing on synchronizing combat power on a linear battlefield.

China, if it were smart, would knock these kind of shenanigans off. While it isn’t wise to create international incidents with the US anyway, doing it at a time when economic ties between the two countries have never been stronger makes little sense. China is already making windfall off of US security protecting its oil exports through the Persian Gulf, and has negatively interfered with US efforts in Africa, and elsewhere. US efforts are focused elsewhere, fighting AQ and stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan –we don’t have time for China right now.

Wow, Didn’t see this One Coming…

By Charlie

Saudi Arabia releases 1,500 Al Qaeda Members

All it took was a promise not to wage jihad on the Arabian Peninsula for the Saudi royal family to free 1,500 imprisoned Al Qaeda members, declaring they had been "reformed." The kingdom's Interior Ministry released the terrorists last weekend, according to the Saudi newspaper Al Watan as reported by the New York Sun.

Saudi Arabia arrests more than 200 “militants.”

(CNN) -- More than 200 Saudi and foreign militants have been arrested over their alleged involvement in various plots, including assassinations and a planned attack on an oil facility, Saudi officials say.

Hmmm… there is a point here…. Somewhere…. Perhaps a connection that I’m missing…

The Problem with Peace Conferences

By Charlie

The Israeli/Palestinian “peace” conference continues in Annapolis today. However, Gaza, a Palestinian territory that democratically elected a terrorist gang to govern them, seems to have other ideas about “peace.”

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists rejected U.S. President George W. Bush's drive for peace in the Middle East on Wednesday and vowed to undermine Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by keeping up their fight against the Jewish state.

So how does a leader make international agreements when a large portion of his country is diametrically opposed to agreements? This is another example in the growing global problem of conflict within states, not between states. The true conflict here is not between the Israelis and the Palestinians, everyone is well versed in that fight. The real story is the real civil war that continues in the Palestinian territories, between Hamas and Fatah. What is interesting here is that a “leader” of a “state” is attempting to lobby on the international scene on behalf of people that are not even consenting to be governed by him. This is akin to having Muqtada Al-Sadr negotiate on behalf of Iraq, when a large chunk of Iraqis can’t stand him.

What do you make of an agreement in these circumstances? Even if a mutual agreement on a framework (or roadmap?) toward Palestinian statehood is reached, how can it possibly be enacted on the ground when Hamas is still committed to destroy the Palestinians’ new “partner in peace” Israel?

The bottom line on this is that it is formulaic, going through the motions, check th box diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Back In Haditha...

By Lt Col P

A good article from Marine Corps Public Affairs highlights progress in Haditha, which was once, well, not a nice place to be.

HADITHA, Iraq -- (Nov. 27, 2007) -- It may be impossible to predict history as it is happening, but some of the battles fought in Iraq are certain to become legendary. Generations from now, school children will learn of the heroes who fought in Fallujah and Ramadi, battling in extreme conditions when their country needed them most. Haditha, another Anbar city once caught in the grip of yesterday’s violence, is now becoming a city of progress and transition.

Without question, Haditha is known for its fierce battles. Many have given their lives in an attempt to reclaim peace in this northern area of the province. It was in this city that six Marines were killed in an ambush during 2005. Days later, 14 Marines died when their armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The city was a hotbed for terrorists where Marines confronted their enemy in the streets, houses and farm lands. But, if there was ever a place that could paint the picture of the progress being made in Anbar, it’s here.

A battalion of more than 1,000 Marines recently moved into Haditha. Most of them are reservists from New Orleans’ 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment. Others are attachments from Houston’s 1st Bn., 23rd Marines, or active duty Marines from various commands throughout the Marine Corps. Regardless of where they came or their status, their mission is clear.

“A year ago, we were fighting in the streets every day, (evacuating) Marines who were wounded in action,” said [LtCol] Jarrard. “Now, the Marines patrol the streets and the people are talking about problems, which are nice problems to have. ‘Hey, can we get the roads paved,’ it sounds kind of like our neighborhoods back home. The problems are problems that every city has in the world. They’re not the problems of a city in the midst of a civil war.”

Progress. Solid progress. Don't let the naysayers tell you otherwise, and don't let them place the credit where it's not due. This is not just a happy coincidence. Years of hard work, hard fighting, and patient persistent presence are the reasons for these little victories.

“Urban Guerillas”?

By Charlie

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and — in an ominous turn — shot at officers.

A senior police union official warned that "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

The last time I heard the phrase “Urban Guerillas”: was in a terrorism course I took, and it was in reference to the Mini-Manual of The Urban Guerrilla, by Carlos Marighella, written in June 1969.

Marighella defines urban guerrillas:

The urban guerrilla, however, differs radically from the criminal. The criminal benefits personally from his actions, and attacks indiscrimminately without distinguishing between the exploiters and the exploited, which is why there are so many ordinary people among his victims. The urban guerrilla follows a political goal, and only attacks the government, the big businesses and the foreign imperialists.

The “ominous turn” in the article was the use of shotguns by the “youths.” Marighella talks about this, specifically:

Shotguns can be useful if used at close range and point blank. They are useful even for a poor shot, especially at night when precision isn't much help.

Marighella concludes:

The urban guerrilla is engaged in revolutionary action for the people, and with them seeks the participation of the people in the struggle against the dictatorship and the liberation of the country. Beginning with the city and the support of the people, the rural guerrilla war develops rapidly, establishing its infrastructure carefully while the urban area continues the rebellion.

The only question I have, is that if the French are using the term “urban guerrilla,” do they understand the intent of the movement of the guerillas? If they are revolutionary, what is the goal of their revolution? Sharia enclaves in Paris suburbs? Are the French ok with this? Until this group can be defined in terms other than shotgun-toting “youths,” the groups goals, and deeper organization, ideology, and funding sources will remain as nondescript as the term “youths” is.

After Iraq

By Charlie

This story has made the rounds today:

Talks Are Set on Ending Battle of Iraq: Quiet Announcement Signals Start of U.S., Iraq Parley

With the eyes of the world focused on the Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Md., President Bush's war tsar, Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, quietly announced that the American and Iraqi governments will start talks early next year to bring about an end to the allied occupation by the close of Mr. Bush's presidency.

The negotiations will bring to a formal conclusion the U.N. Chapter 7 Security Council involvement in the occupation and administration of Iraq, and are expected to reduce the number of American troops to about 50,000 troops permanently stationed there but largely confined to barracks, from the current 164,000 forces on active duty.

"The basic message here should be clear. Iraq is increasingly able to stand on its own. That's very good news. But it won't have to stand alone," General Lute yesterday told reporters in the White House.

We’ll see how this pans out. The enemy has a vote in the situation, and there remains a “last gasp” or Al Qaida Tet Offensive possibility that if properly exploited through the media, could easily derail recent security gains.

That being said, if a long term occupation of Iraq (ala Korea and Germany) is in the cards, it will remarkably re-shape the way the US is perceived in the Middle East.

Iraq is and always has been one of many fronts in the global war on terror. Even if things quiet down in Iraq –we’re not out of the woods yet. Things could still go south in Afghanistan, Pakistan looks to be on the verge of a meltdown, Taliban and their terrorist fellow travelers still roam the northwest territories. AFRICOM is standing up to handle threats that are emerging from unstable regions and extremist insurgencies. Latin America seems to be unhealthily tilting towards communism, and Al Qaeda still lurks in the global shadows.

The idea that if Iraq is “won” our troop requirements worldwide will significantly decrease needs to be dispelled now. We still live in a very dangerous world, keep that duffel bag packed.

Pakistan Gets Worse

By Charlie

If that's possible...

Ex-Pakistan Leader Returns to Hero's Welcome

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan Sunday evening, marking a turning point in the political power struggle gripping this nation.

Unlike on Sept. 10, when Sharif made his first attempt to enter the country, this time there were no police waiting to detain and deport him. Instead, Sharif received a hero's welcome. Thousands of his supporters crowded into the airport in Lahore to greet him upon his arrival. Some held signs and chanted, "Go Musharraf Go!"

Things keep looking worse for Musharraf, despite his success in pulling off the state of emergency, stacking the courts with “his” guys, and quelling domestic political opponents. Here’s the rub: Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, despite being popular now, really did not vault Pakistan out of the dark ages while they were in charge. Bhutto extended diplomatic recognition to the Taliban, and let the ISI funnel them arms.

Bhutto, Sharif, and Musharraf all seem to be sub-standard (even for Pakistan) politicians, and all are aware that blood is in the water. What is going on in Pakistan now is simply a very dangerous power grab by all three of these politicians – Musharraf tries to get a better grip on the country, while Bhutto and Sharif try to take it back. This wouldn’t be a big deal if this were some country in central Africa, or South America- but Pakistan is central to the US efforts in the war on terror. Pakistan is currently at a tipping point between anarchy, possible Islamic terrorist rule, and continued authoritarian grip. All three of these foster massive internal instability, and Pakistan’s informal “cease fire” with the Taliban operating in the northern provinces has not helped the situation much.

Then and Now…

By Charlie

I had a conversation with my uncle, a WWII vet, after Thanksgiving dinner. It went kind of like this:

“The biggest difference, I think, between what’s going on now and back during the war, is that you knew who the bad guys were. All of the civilians in Germany had left the area, and had gone to Czechoslovakia, or anywhere else that wasn’t in the combat zone. So when we were on line, anyone on the other side, you knew he was a Nazi, and you knew that you could shoot him. Nowadays, you don’t know who’s on your side and who is not.”

“We were on line for 38 days during the Battle of the Bulge. I remember one day, we lost 30 men, and over 70 wounded during one attack. We had replacement units coming to the front all of the time to cover the losses. It wasn’t anything to hear of entire companies, even battalions, being lost. You don’t see that now.”

Both of these snippets of my conversation with my uncle tell us a lot about how much things have changed. Let’s take the first snippet. Combatants versus Non-Combatants has been a huge issue during the recent battles in the war on terror. Rights of captured terrorists, rules of engagement, hostile intent definitions, and detainee ops have been hotly debated in the political and military arenas. Back in WWII, this was a fairly simple concept: shoot the Nazis. Because WWII formed the basis for which all future wars are judged, we view the current conflict in its context: black versus white, red versus blue. The only problem is that war has changed, and we are not fighting a 3rd generation war anymore, we are fighting 4th generation wars in a grey world.

Snippet #2 is also telling: the differences between casualty rates are striking. According to this report:

The death-to-wounded ratio has also improved, the study found. Nearly 8 people are wounded for every one who dies in Operation Iraqi Freedom versus the 1 death to 1.7 wound ratio found during World War II.

We have not had anything resembling the troop loss that the US endured during WWII, where entire aircraft carriers could were lost in the Pacific and brigades of troops were being ground against the German war machine. In Iraq and Afghanistan, troop losses, while tragic, have remained historically low. That is a testament to our technological advantage in battlefield medicine, tactics, techniques, and procedures during operations, and a focus on evacuation procedures during the planning process.

However, generations of soldiers and warfare still maintain some connections –my uncle welcomed me home, and had a look in his eye that indicated that he knew what it meant to be back.

Give 'em an inch…

By Charlie

Always a fan of the MILF*, I figured an update on the situation in the Philippines was in order.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - - The Philippines government and separatist rebels have struck a deal on creating a Muslim homeland in the country's south which is expected to lead to a peace accord next year, officials said Thursday. The agreement on the extent of territory to be handed over had been a major stumbling block in the peace talks that opened when a ceasefire was forged with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2001.

Any time an insurgent group actually gains a chunk of territory, it is a HUGE victory on their terms, and validates their struggle for more land, and political control of it. All other things being equal, expect an information operations campaign to follow once the MILF takes political control of this territory, emphasizing how “just” the governance now is, showing new roads, schools, and happy children. Expect the MILF, and its fellow travelers, to set up shop in their new home territory, and use it to re-fit, re-am, train, and recruit forces to continue the unconventional fight elsewhere.

Just a side note, the US sinks quite a lot of money into the Philippines in the form of military assistance:

The Philippines is the most dependent on U.S. military assistance in all the East Asian countries, said a think tank in its latest report on Wednesday…. Its 54 million-U.S. dollar annual average is over 10 times more than the next biggest recipient, Thailand, another close U.S. ally in East Asia, which got an average of 4 million dollars annually during that period.

By this measure, from 1988 to 2005, U.S. military assistance was equivalent to over 8 percent of the Philippines average annual military expenditure. This is far larger than any other country in the region, much more than that of Thailand, for which U.S. military is only 0.4 percent of its annual military expenditure.

Read More »

Action In The Swat Valley

By Lt Col P

This past saturday or sunday morning I was watching Fox News, and in the microsecond I was able to take my eyes off Courtney Friel I saw one of the tickertape headlines saying something about a punitive expedition in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Ah! That struck a chord!

Yesterday I found this in the WaPo:

Pakistan Bolstering Forces in Northwest

"More than 1,000 security forces, civilians and fighters have been killed in the past five months in Pakistan. Much of the violence has occurred in the Swat Valley, an area in North-West Frontier Province once known to tourists as the Switzerland of South Asia.

"Pakistani army officials said government forces killed 100 fighters loyal to a pro-Taliban cleric in three days of fierce battles in the northern Swat Valley. Forces loyal to the cleric had been gaining ground in recent weeks, capturing several towns in the valley. In the adjacent Shangla district, they have seized government buildings with little resistance from security forces."

(The Torch noted it too.)

The fabled Valley of The Swat is no stranger to trouble. Winston Churchill described it in detail in 1897, when he penned his account of the expedition of the Malakand Field Force, a story which bears close resemblance to current events. After describing the valley's former glories as a pacific kingdom of Buddhists, he continues thusly:

"The reputation which its present inhabitants enjoy is evil. Their treacherous character has distinguished them even among peoples notoriously faithless and cruel. Among Pathans it is a common saying: 'Swat is heaven, but the Swatis are hell-fiends.' "

There is much to note beside that picturesque passage, which again should remind smart readers that events do repeat themselves. Chapter One in particular provides a description of the inhabitants of what was then the Northwest Frontier that is, I expect, still mostly valid. The book fired my imagination when I read it, some 25 years ago, and it still does today. I strongly recommend it.

Arab MTV?

By Charlie

ABC:

Music and lifestyle television channel MTV has launched a new service aimed at the Arab world.

MTV Arabia will show a mix of Arabic hip hop videos, talent shows, and versions of worldwide hits such as Pimp My Ride that have been adapted for the Middle East market.

MTV says it hopes that the unifying force of music will help correct the misconception that the Arab world is a place of tension and stress.

I am mixed in my reaction to this. One the one hand, I am reminded about the Cold War example of our culture seeping under the Iron curtain through things like Radio Free Europe. Culture and economics are a marked advantage that the US enjoys, so why not leverage it? On the other hand, MTV, as the purveyor of such pap as “A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila” could easily become a rallying point against American cultural imperialism by local extremist elements in the Arab world.

Although it cuts both ways, I think that this will be an advantage to the US in particular and the West in general. At the very least, it will tick off those remaining pockets of Taliban trying to outlaw music.

The 40-Year Old Recruit

By Lt Col P

A very interesting article appeared in the Washington Post Magazine this weekend, "The Last Resort." "Forty and short on prospects," reads the tagline, "Clayton Beaver traded the lush splendor of Hawaii for boot camp, barracks and the strong possibility of going to war." Traded poverty and the lack of opportunity too, but I digress.

It is at once more, less and exactly what you'd expect. I encourage you all to read it. The reasons PFC Beaver joined up are not new, but the article reminds us of some hard truths. Make up your own mind. (By the way, good on him for doing it. I'm not sure I'd want to do any sort of basic training at his age, which is my age, even Army basic. I don't even want to think about going through OCS at 40.)

Now, see also the online discussion that accompanied the article today. This one is revealing not in what it says about PFC Beaver but what it says about some of our fellow citizens.

Bethesda, MD: This is a raw and extraordinary story and beautifully told. I've never fully appreciated why anybody joins the Army, but I can relate to and appreciate a good man who wants his family to have a home and opportunities. I admire Clayton Beaver delivering for his family and your story revealed all this powerfully. But I have concerns. My question is what if, three, four, five years down the road, this doesn't work out for him? What does a 43 or 45 year old man do then? Are there serious reasons to worry if it doesn't work out?

(I know a few very good Marines and other solid citizens who live in Bethesda, but that's pretty much indicative of the rest of them.)

However, here's a great one, out of DC no less:

Farragut Square, DC: Clayton Beaver is THE MAN, and I predict he will very quickly be elevated to leadership as he rallies his 19-year-old comrades to whatever task is at hand.

Being just a few days shy of 40, I could only read this story with admiration. If I tried to enlist, one exam of my knees would earn me a reply of "No thanks, Pops."

But beyond age quips, I admire him further for serving our country and for doing what it takes to improve things for himself and his family. I've seen Hawaii, and it's not all paradise. I also grew up in an insular area with limited local opportunities (Eastern Kentucky) and made the decision to move elsewhere. The alternative is to stay home and spin your wheels forever. If Mr. Beaver makes a career in the Army, he and his family will get to see the world beyond Oahu. If he eventually returns home, he will bring with him perspectives and energies that can be applied towards improving the lives of his family and his local community. Yes, there's risk in serving, but that's life. "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat."

Clayton Beaver, if you're reading this: all the best, sir.

Michael Leahy: I'm posting this reader's comment as well as the next reader's comment to provide a window on to how the debate over American involvement in Iraq and elsewhere natually spills over to a story about the Army's attempt to attract recruits like Clayton Beaver.

And here it is...

Washington, DC: Your article is complete BS. There are plenty of good jobs in the U.S. other than volunteering to fight wars for the oil companies. People like Clayton Beaver are the problem, not the solution.

Michael Leahy: Here is the other reader's comment.

Shithead.

All in all, I have to give Michael Leahy a thumbs-up, although some of the article was overwrought. Beaver's achievements speak for themselves, though, and there's no doubting that.

Small Wars Journal on WaPo Live

By Lt Col P

Our colleagues (and my fellow Marines), Dave Dilegge and Bill Nagle of Small Wars Journal were on Washington Post Live today.

Go read it-- good stuff, uncensored, substantive answers. One example:

New York: What is the best-case scenario, and what is the realistic possibility that Iraq can become a stable country -- or does it appear hopelessly bound to continued ethnic fighting?

Bill Nagle: I think our entire species is hopelessly bound to continued ethnic fighting. We've been at it for eons, and even in the heart of the first world we are rife with tensions.

However, once you get out of the Logan's Run concept and identify with an acceptable level of violence, then the answer is definitive -- yes, Iraq can become a stable country.

A Couple of Reports from Afghanistan

By Lt Col P

Our Man in the 'Stan, Agent 91, has rogered up lately with some good reports, in response to a discussion we've been having that was prompted by something I read in The Torch. Not sure we'll post on the original question per se, but it produced some excellent material.

Bottom line: Afghanistan has a long way to go, but there is real progress being made. (Like Ted Nugent would say, Where have we seen this before?) Nine steps backward, ten steps forward. In case you missed these articles...

Afghanistan 'a success story,' World Bank says ALAN FREEMAN

October 16, 2007

OTTAWA -- Economic and social conditions in Afghanistan have improved dramatically since the fall of the Taliban, despite continuing problems with security, corruption and the drug trade, according to the World Bank's top official responsible for the country.

"This is a success story," Alastair McKechnie, country director for Afghanistan at the World Bank, said in an interview yesterday. "Afghanistan has defied predictions and has achieved a lot in a short period of time."

Mr. McKechnie, in Canada for meetings with officials in Ottawa and a speech in Toronto, pointed to a series of positive indicators, including double-digit economic growth, an expanding road network, a surge in school attendance - particularly by girls - and a drop in infant mortality from 165 per 1,000 live births to 135 in 4½ years.

He said it is easy to get a negative view of Afghanistan if one focuses on the south and east of the country, where the insurgency is strongest. In two-thirds of the country, there is no insurgency and conditions are improving more quickly.

Some of the credit goes to the World Bank, which has committed $1.5-billion (U.S.) of its own money to the country and set up the Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund, which has so far gathered $2.4-billion in pledges from two dozen countries.

This year's single top donor to the fund is Canada, with $211-million. Britain is second, with $145-million.

The Canadian money goes to a variety of projects and uses and is a major source of funding for the daily operations of the Afghan government, which still does not generate enough tax revenues to fund these activities on its own.

"Otherwise, teachers and health workers don't get paid," Mr. McKechnie said.

He conceded that much remains to be done in reducing corruption in the police and improving the functioning of the justice system.

Another challenge is to reduce the influence of the poppy trade. Afghanistan is estimated to furnish 93 per cent of the world's illegal opium supply, used in the manufacture of heroin, and opium production accounts for one-third of economic activity.

Even there, Mr. McKechnie said, the picture is not as bad as it seems, with only 4 per cent of the country's total arable land being cultivated with poppies and more provinces becoming poppy free.

To battle the opium trade, the most effective methods include the interdiction of traffickers, encouraging alternative cash crops such as grapes and appealing to the religious values of Afghans, he said.

Read More »

Action on the High Seas

By Bull Nav

The mighty USS PORTER (DDG78) gets some.

071028-N-0000X-185 INDIAN OCEAN (Oct. 28, 2007) - A pirate skiff burns after being hit by several rounds from a 25mm gun aboard guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78). The skiff belonged to a group of pirates that had taken a cargo ship. U.S. Navy photo (RELEASED)

A fine COMDESRON 2 ship.

I am looking forward to hearing more about this.

Two Hundred Forty-One

By Lt Col P

23 Oct 1983-- two hundred forty-one Marines, sailors and soldiers dead.

It's been fairly well established who did it, and who was behind it.

They have yet to be brought to justice, and I don't mean in a court of law.

Some day that account will be settled.

"He Didn't Have Any Quit In Him"

By Lt Col P

Just saw Marcus Luttrell on Bill O'Reilly, talking about his fellow SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient, LT Michael Murphy. O'Reilly asked him to tell us about LT Murphy's character, what set him apart. Set him apart even from those who are in a different league altogether.

"He didn't have any quit in him," came the reply.

About a year from now we'll select our next President, a whole new House of Representatives and a good number of Senators. Are we going to vote for quitters or for fighters?

If you need some guidance, remember LT Murphy and his men-- no quit in them.

Public Opinion re Afghanistan

By Lt Col P

Damian from The Torch put up a great piece concerning public opinion on Afghanistan-- sorry, make that public opinion in Afghanistan, and proceeds to compare and contrast it with the voice on the street in Canada.

Bottom line is that a large number of Afghans-- famously intolerant of foreigners in their midst-- appear to be happy with the way things are going, and are glad the Canadians and other forces are there.

Good reading, and the points made are valid south of the border too.

Who was it that said "Never take counsel of your fears"-- George Washington? He's right. And he might well have added, "And while you're at it, don't listen to the naysayers either."

Did He Gather Intel Too?

By John

Today's Badass Blogger Award goes to W.Thomas Smith of The Tank:

I snatched a Hezbollah flag — the yellow banner with the green fist and rifle — from one of the enemy's strongholds in Lebanon recently. And when I say stronghold, I literally mean a strong, heavily defended battle position where the Lebanese Army and police dare not enter, and I had to enter covertly.

Yup, you pretty much have to read the whole thing.

Update from ISAF HQ

By Lt Col P

Our Man "91" on the ISAF staff in Kabul just sent me a note.

Things are going reasonably well here (At HQ I mean). A few days ago, I gave a brief to the NATO Military Committee. They are the senior national military advisors to NATO. Mostly two and three stars. I talked about the future of the PRTs, but the most interesting comment came from the J2. I can't get in to everything that he said, but the first comment he made was regarding the status of the war. As to who is winning and/or losing, he said that the insurgents are not winning. Someone in the Pentagon asked me the same question a few weeks ago. In my opinion, we are not losing, but to evaluate who is winning or losing is one of thethings that makes a counter-insurgency so difficult to gauge. There is no front line to track, so how do you decide if you're winning? We are killing the enemy by the hundreds when they openly engage us, but we can not be in every village in Afghanistan. So, what happens at night when we are not there? The part time Taliban come out and do their evil and we are seen to be unable to stop that kind of activity. Some places are doing very well - Bamian and Panjshir provinces for example. But there are a lot more that are not. Almost all of RC South and a lot of RC East.

On a positive note, Germany has agreed to extend their mission in Afghanistan. In an interview I did with a group of German reporters [91 is fluent in German] a few weeks ago, they asked if I thought that the German forces should be in southern Afghanistan. While additional forces could do nothing but help,especially in the South, if the Germans leave northern Afghanistan, who will take their place? We, the US, do not have enough forces to takeover the mission in northern Afghanistan, and I would be stunned if anyone else in ISAF was willing to deploy an additional 3000 people to Afghanistan... Even more importantly than the tactical placement of the troops is the strategic impact the German extention will have on the alliance. There are more than a few countries who would leave Afghanistan in a heartbeat if they could come up with a reason. A major coalition partner like Germany withdrawing their forces would provide just such a reason. So, the German decision to stay will hopefully influence the other members of ISAF to stay as well. If Germany, with a population that is ever more opposed to involvement in Afghanistan will stay, then why shouldn't everyone else?

Why not, indeed? I've been pretty hard on the allies that look like they're starting to weasel, but let's be honest. The Germans rucked up on this one. We should all be very very pleased and relieved.

The Torch looks at the same issue from the Canadian point of view.

To our NATO allies I say, stay on target. Remember what Margaret Thatcher told President Bush in 91-- THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO GO WOBBLY.

And good work, 91. Keep your head down, and keep the updates coming.

Marines to Afghanistan?

By Lt Col P

From Fox News, "Report: Marines Seek Iraq Exit, Redeployment To Afghanistan."

Top Marine Corps brass is lobbying the Pentagon to allow its forces to vacate Iraq for the purpose of leading the fight in Afghanistan, according to a New York Times report.

Marine Corps Commandant James T. Conway proposed the idea during a session with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several regional military commanders, said the article.

The NYT article actually has some interesting information. I can see some definite strong points to the argument.

More to follow!

Miller Harpoons Lynne Stewart

By Lt Col P

Michelle Malkin reported on this loathsome collaborator the other day-- no picture here, I can't stand the sight of her. (Although maybe a "sight picture" of her...)

Yesterday, Dennis Miller harpooned her, as only he can, with, "I hope Queequeg is on this one..."

Brilliant.

Video Of The Day: Achmed The Dead Terrorist

By Lt Col P

Via the 10-8 Forums. It's already been removed from YouTube, so enjoy it onLiveLeak while you can.

Ha!

On The National Mall

By Lt Col P

I took a nice long run yesterday down on the Mall, the first really since I got back from Benning. Having seen the coverage of this vile act at the Vietnam Memorial, I wanted to go and take a look at The Wall myself.

I saw the section in question fenced off with cones, and as I came up a worker was breaking down a steam cleaning apparatus. There was another worker there, a lady I took to be in charge so I asked her how it was going. She said that it was going well, and in fact when I looked closely at the panels I couldn't see any lingering stain or damage. I thanked her for taking the time to right a wrong, and went on my way.

Also out in force were folks from the Gathering of Eagles. Nowhere to be seen were any hippies. Probably smart of them not to show. Because I was wearing my USMC/Airborne t-shirt, I got hoo-rahs! and airbornes! in equal measure. I was pleased to return both.

Another reason to be ready...

By Bull Nav

I have said many times, "Carry."

I am, of course, referring to legally carrying a concealed pistol, not only for self-defense, but for any situation in which others may be placed in danger by someone who would do them harm.

I also advocate that anyone who does not or cannot carry do what you can to be ready. Pay attention to your surroundings. Always have a plan. Follow Rule 21.

So after this morning's run, I am watching the news, and I watch this little tidbit (from WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit):

Doctor-in-Training Caught in Park with AK-47

Last Update: 9/12 6:13 pm

Federal authorities are investigating a Wayne State University medical student who was arrested in a Dearborn park with a loaded AK-47.

His name is Houssein Zorkot and he is (was?) a third year med student at Wayne State University in Detroit.

No one has given an explaination as to why the Dearborn Police found him Saturday night in a park with a loaded AK-47 (I realize that it was not an AK-47, but a knock-off; however, that is what was reported), in dark clothing, with his face blackened. Apparently the FBI is now investigating the case.

Oh, yeah, on his website he says he supports Lebanon and the Resistance. Take a look at it.

I don't understand why more is not being reported on this. The Dearborn Mayor apparently did not want people making a connection between this individual and the 9/11 anniversary.

I will make the connection.

This is the type of home-grown individual that the people of the US need to be aware of. I am not saying to persecute every Arab-American, or anyone with dark skin. I am saying that folks need to know that this type of individual exists right here in the USA and we all need to be ready at all times.

Head on a swivel.

Situational awareness.

Or, as I learned in the Boy Scouts, "Be Prepared."

11 September: Past, Present, Future

By Lt Col P

11 September, the day of infamy. Last year I wrote about another 11 September, a great victory of Western, Christian arms over the Turk. Last year, Gates of Vienna gave us a reminder of the other great 11 September in the fight against Islamist expansion.

This year, by way of B5, a reminder that the Poles continue to stand with us, and that one American hero remains not fully recognized. Read both of those posts. (Don't forget that Polish troops have been with us on the ground too. Perhaps they should adopt a new national motto-- "Thumping The Turk Since 1683.")

Where are we today? Locked in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and scoring victories. Hard won, grinding victories, some small and others large, but all steps forward in the Long War. Locked in struggle at home, too, as we contest the factions that wonder if we should be fighting at all, if this isn't just comeuppance for our own policies and misdeeds.

May God forbid that we ever give up the fight! Remember those who have fought and sacrificed for this country and our liberty, and those who would pull back under the illusion that peace can be brokered with anyone who seeks to dominate and enslave us. Remember both sides, their names, their actions, and their words, and hold the defeatists accountable. Our enemies can't be bought with oily words and vapid gestures; they must be brought to battle and beaten by strong will and action. Today is not the the day to forget that.

VMI Marines Clean Up The Command Slate

By Lt Col P

VMI Marines from my era have been heard from today (and last month), doing very well on the command slates.

From MarAdmin 468/07, re active duty commands...

- Col Bruce Nickle '86 picked up Combat Logistics Regiment 1 (via MarAdmin 465/07)
- LtCol Chris Goff '88 picked up 3rd Bn 3rd Marines
- LtCol Scott Leonard '89 picked up 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn (89! 89! 89!)
- LtCol Craig Streeter '91 picked up Marine Light Attack Helicopter Sqdn 467

And on the reserve side, via MarAdmin 524/07, I am especially pleased to pass on that my good friend and fellow Marine from more than one unit, LtCol Chuck Ellis '90, picked up 5th Bn 14th Marines.

Congratulations, all!

PS... BullNav has some good '89 Navy news to pass on later...

A New Chapter for Fallujah

By Slab

The Captain's Journal has a recent post on the pacification of Fallujah. Some argue that Fallujah is not truly pacified, because we have had to effectively close off the city and restrict the inhabitants' mobility to an extreme degree. Herschel, as cogently as ever, rebuts this:

I like to keep up with John Robb. Without studying analyses that run counter to your own one can become rather closed-minded. But what were the conditions like in Fallujah prior to this? I had interviewed Lt. Col. William Mullen concerning the conditions in Fallujah in this article: Operation Alljah and the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 6th Regiment.

And so I knew full well what we have had to do to pacify Fallujah. The tribal influence is much weaker in Fallujah, so more traditional counterinsurgency TTPs have been required, such as gated communities.

But is Robb seriously claiming that this has hindered true progress or otherwise caused conditions in Fallujah that are worse than they were prior to these actions? Is he seriously claiming that our efforts have caused unemployment or the lack of communication with the balance of Iraq?

He misses the point. The unemployment was already there, because it was the last major city in Anbar to undergo pacification. I claim exactly the opposite of Robb. Now … and only now … can Fallujah BEGIN its communication with the rest of Iraq.

Herschel has pointed out numerous times that we can not truly begin to provide services to the Iraqis until we take care of their most basic need: security. All of the measures that John Robb questions were taken to provide that basic need, so that we can begin to stimulate the economy in Fallujah. Obviously, Regimental Combat Team-6 and the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Iraqi Army Division feel that the security situation is much improved.

Iraqi Army Withdraws from Fallujah

The last battalion of Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, withdrew from the Anbar Province city of Fallujah, Sept. 1, leaving the city’s security and stability in the hands of the local police and government.

Brig. Gen. Ali al-Hashemi, the brigade’s commander, said the time had come when Iraqi Police alone could handle law enforcement in the city.

“I am very confident in the IPs keeping the city safe. Besides, it is their job to work to keep the city safe,” al-Hashemi said through an interpreter. “It’s not the IA’s job. The army should not be inside the city. The police should be in the city.”

I, for one, truly hope that Fallujans have finally turned a corner in this war that has been so hard on their city. To the jundi of 3-2-1 IA, and all of the Marines who have fought so hard, a heartfelt Bravo Zulu.

Pain Train Coming?

By John

Newsweek: "We are going to get hit again" -

Aug. 27, 2007 - Al Qaeda has an active plot to hit the West. The United States knows about it but doesn’t have enough tactical detail to issue a precise warning or raise the threat level, says Vice Admiral (ret.) John Scott Redd, who heads the government’s National Counterterrorism Center. In an interview at his headquarters near Washington, D.C., Redd told Newsweek’s Mark Hosenball and Jeffrey Bartholet that the country is better prepared than ever to counter such threats. But he also believes another successful terror attack on the U.S. homeland is inevitable.

Well, tis the season....

Hotel Tango: The Tank

Vets for Freedom Respond

By John

I know that quite a few of you guys read the NYT's op-ed from the 82nd Airborne guys, seven of em, a few weeks ago. Here's a chunk:

The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere. What soldiers call the “battle space” remains the same, with changes only at the margins. It is crowded with actors who do not fit neatly into boxes: Sunni extremists, Al Qaeda terrorists, Shiite militiamen, criminals and armed tribes. This situation is made more complex by the questionable loyalties and Janus-faced role of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, which have been trained and armed at United States taxpayers’ expense.

Basically, they're pessimistic. And they have a right to be, they spilled the same blood in the same mud as servicemen who support the effort. I respect the fact that they had the guts to write a piece like this. However, I tend to agree more with Vets for Freedom, and their response in the Weekly Standard:

ON SUNDAY, seven soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Iraq penned a passionate opinion piece in the New York Times that further illustrates the complexity of what is "really" happening in Iraq. Of the almost 3,000 soldiers from the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division currently serving in the hottest of Iraqi neighborhoods