News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
In their own words:
Iraq: The Purgatorium: Vultures and POGs - Here in Kuwait, there isn't a damn thing to do, and that's precisely the reason why posts have been so frequent now. One of my friends and I were out and about exploring this wasteland (after Iraq, this place really doesn't seem that bad. It just sucks, but it doesn't seem like its been marinaded in runny, sickly shit for eons). Kuwait has REAL sand, not the Iraq dust and dirt, but legitimate sand. In the movies, when you see someone walking aimlessly across the dunes, there's always vultures circling overhead, waiting for the lost traveller to grow too weak to continue, then they descend on him and pick his bones. Here, it's bootleg vendors. They've got their shops set up all over the place and they shout at you as you walk by, explaining how incredible their shitty merchandise is. (READ MORE)
IraqPundit: Hope for Iraq's Future - It's no longer just Iraqis who see positive signs in Iraq. UN chief Ban Ki-moon praised Iraqi progress at a UN forum in Sweden on the situation in the country. Though some will surely say UN chief Ban is as deluded as the optimistic Iraqis, he did explain that while the country is "stepping back from the abyss that we feared most," the situation "remains fragile." Still more are getting the message that Iraq is improving. Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who has been busy dismissing Iraq and the achievements of U.S. soldiers, is suddenly planning a trip to visit the U.S. troops in Iraq -- his first since his only visit in January of 2006. (READ MORE)
LT Nixon: Final Words From the Emerald City - This deployment has certainly been more interesting than the last two (albeit a lot longer). Primarily because I had access to the internet, and I worked on a staff with many senior officers, which allowed me to fly low on the radar with my relative unimportance. Although, important people frequently counted on me for various pieces of the puzzle in their decision making, and I'll miss that aspect of my existence having a purpose. I also worked with some wonderful people both civilian and military and I wish them the best in their future endeavors. Since I don't have a girlfriend, wife/kids, or any of that other bullshit, I thought it would be interesting to spend all of my free time frantically engaging in an experiment of how America was going about its business while a war went on in Iraq. The blogosphere seemed like the logical place to accomplish this. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: Local task force trained by 1/327th infantry kicks in doors on insurgents in Adwar - The Iraqis just got their uniforms fresh out of the bag. They tried on their new boots and their Marine surplus uniforms. By the time they received their almost full AK-47 magazines, yesterday's rag tag group was transformed into something resembling a cohesive force. "This should give them the confidence that they've been trained by the best Army in the world," said Spc. Mark Mahurin, commenting they only had 60 days to mold the force. Now it was test time. Soldiers from 2nd Platoon of Charlie Co. led them out to an Iraqi Police checkpoint where they quickly integrated with the blue-uniformed police and began searching cars- basically checking for weapons and comparing male IDs with a list of wanted insurgents in the area. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Negotiations with the Taliban under way in Kohat - With peace agreements signed between the Taliban in Swat, Bajaur, and Mohmand, and talks under way in South Waziristan, the government is pushing forward with negotiations in northwestern Pakistan. The Pakistani government is currently in talks with the Taliban in the settled district of Kohat in the Northwest Frontier Province, where heavy fighting has taken place this year. Word of the negotiations was leaked by unnamed sources to The News on May 28. "The government wanted to keep the media away from details of the peace deal and also it did not want peace accord to be made public," sources told The News. But the Taliban went on record to confirm the negotiations. (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
VBIED explosion wounds 12 Iraqis - TIKRIT, Iraq – A vehicle-borne improvised explosive attack wounded 12 Iraqis locals in Mosul, May 29. “Although overall attacks have decreased dramatically and AQI has no stronghold left, terrorists continue to attack civilians and Iraqi Security Forces in an attempt to maintain an influence in the area,” said Maj. Daniel J. Meyers, a spokesperson for Multi-National Division - North. (READ MORE)
First Iraqi led Master Instructor Trainer Course graduates - TAJI, Iraq – The first Iraqi taught group of 34 Iraqi Army master trainers graduated today from the Master Instructor Course at the Taji Regional Training Center. The Iraqi Army master instructors will go onto become future trainers at the Master Instructor course in Taji, or be part of a mobile training team that will travel throughout Iraq to regional training centers and provide oversight and site evaluations to instructors at those centers. (READ MORE)
AQI bombing network weakened - BAGHDAD – On Friday Coalition forces killed an al-Qaeda in Iraq weapons dealer and detained another man during an operation near Tikrit, about 160 kilometers north of Baghdad. He made threatening movements toward Coalition forces when they attempted to detain the terrorist. Perceiving hostile intent, Coalition forces engaged the terrorist, killing him. The terrorist was identified as the targeted weapons dealer, who was involved in a Tigris River Valley bombing network. Coalition forces also discovered bomb-making materials inside the building, which they safely destroyed on site. (READ MORE)
Four wanted men, six other al-Qaeda suspects detained - BAGHDAD – Iraqi and Coalition forces disrupted al-Qaeda in Iraq’s mid-level leadership Friday, detaining four wanted men and six additional suspects during operations in central and northern Iraq. Coalition forces captured two alleged al-Qaeda leaders who reportedly manage terrorist activities in Mosul. One of the wanted men is believed to coordinate attacks against Coalition forces, and the other allegedly provides falsified documents for foreign terrorists. (READ MORE)
Sons of Iraq successfully defend checkpoint from attackers - TIKRIT, Iraq – Sons of Iraq killed nine enemy insurgents today during a firefight at a checkpoint near Owja, south of Tikrit, May 29. Members of the local SoI group were attacked when a fuel truck, fabricated to hold enemy fighters, approached the checkpoint and engaged the SoI guards with small-arms fire. As the SoI returned fire, the driver of the fuel truck exited the vehicle and detonated a suicide-vest. (READ MORE)
Iraqi citizens lead IA to large cache near Samarra - SAMARRA, Iraq – Acting on a tip from local Iraqi citizens, Soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army Division discovered a large weapons cache site near the al-Rega area of the Salah ad-Din province, May 29. The cache was buried nearly five feet underground. It contained 231, 40 mm rounds; 29, 60 mm rounds; and 14, 80 mm artillery rounds. This type of ordnance has commonly been used to manufacture improvised explosive devices. (READ MORE)
Suicide bomber kills 10, wounds 16 - MOSUL, Iraq – A suicide bomber killed eight Iraqi citizens and two Iraqi Police officers in an attack in Ninawa province, May 29. Eleven locals and five IPs were wounded in the attack. All causalities were evacuated to a local hospital for treatment. “This attack shows the enemy’s complete disregard for human life and their continued attempt to stop the citizens of Iraq from supporting their government,” said Maj. John Blankenhorn, a spokesman for the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. (READ MORE)
IA seize weapons cache, find IEDs in northern Baghdad - BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers discovered six improvised-explosive devices and a weapons cache in northern Baghdad May 29. Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, found six IEDs in the Sadr City district of Baghdad at approximately 8:30 a.m. Four of the IEDs were 155 mm rounds, and two were 120 mm rounds. At approximately 11:35 a.m., soldiers with the 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, seized a weapons cache in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
Marines Assist Iraqi Police in Release - KARMA — The Karma Iraqi police station was bustling with activity. Men lined up inside the station as family members waited outside, waiting for the words that they have been waiting to hear, “You are free to go to your families.” Marines of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, assisted the Iraqi police release approximately 40 Iraqis back to their families and home, May 18. “The significance of their release is that it demonstrates that the area is very secure and that we are working with the locals to return their country back to a state of stability,” said Capt. James E. Gallagher, staff judge advocate, 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines. (READ MORE)
May 30, 2008
Web Reconnaissance for 05/30/2008
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Campaign Jousting Returns to Iraq War - After a strong push from Sen. John McCain's allies, the war in Iraq has moved back to center stage in the presidential election, with McCain attacking Sen. Barack Obama for making up his mind about the war without visiting the war zone and Obama charging that McCain has yet to learn the lessons of... (READ MORE)
U.S. Cites Big Gains Against Al-Qaeda - Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along... (READ MORE)
Food Prices Predicted to Ease Before Entering Steady Climb - PARIS, May 29 -- The recent steep jump in global food prices should ease in the near term, according to a new report, but prices over the next decade are likely to remain high, spurred by the rising cost of oil, the declining dollar and increasing demand for biofuels. (READ MORE)
Texans say McClellan's turn started at home with mom - Scott McClellan's critics in Washington have speculated about his motives for writing a book bashing President Bush, but back in the former White House spokesman's home state of Texas, some chalk it up to something very simple: his gene pool. (READ MORE)
Top Democrats ask delegates to commit - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday said top Democratic leaders will push undeclared superdelegates to pick sides next week and end the long fight for the party's presidential nomination. (READ MORE)
Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal - For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming. They want to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground. President Bush is for it, and indeed has spent years talking up the virtues of “clean coal.” All three candidates to succeed him favor the approach. (READ MORE)
U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza - The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave. Israel has isolated this coastal strip, which is run by the militant group Hamas. Given that policy, the United States Consulate in Jerusalem said the grant money had been “redirected” to students elsewhere out of concern that it would go to waste if the Palestinian students were forced to remain in Gaza. (READ MORE)
Location Gives Tiny State Prime Access to Big Riches - For centuries, nomads have dropped down from the rocky hills around here to carve bricks of salt from an ancient lake and haul them away on the backs of camels. But a new salt miner is giving it a try, and he may be a harbinger of what's happening here. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Patrick J. Buchanan: Is Bush Becoming Irrelevant? - After losing both houses of Congress in the 1994 election, Bill Clinton expostulated: The president of the United States is not irrelevant! On learning his trusted aide from Texas Scott McClellan has denounced as an "unnecessary war" the same Iraq war McClellan defended from the White House podium, George Bush must feel as Clinton did. The synchronized savagery of the attacks on McClellan as turncoat suggests he drew blood. For what he has done is offer confirmation to the president's war critics, from within the White House inner circle, that Bush's motive in going to war was not a clear and present danger of attack by Iraq with weapons of mass destruction, but to advance a Bush crusade to impose democracy on the Middle East. (READ MORE)
Kathleen Parker: Revenge of the Nerd - Sometimes the answers to our most perplexing questions can be found on the playground. Take Scott McClellan. Is he dishonest? Dishonorable? Disloyal? Is he telling the truth that the Bush administration conducted an organized propaganda campaign in order to lead the country to war? Did McClellan know it all along and, if so, why did he hang so long with those guys? Curious Americans want to know. At the White House, former colleagues wonder what happened to the Scott they thought they knew? What caused that sweet guy to betray his former boss and friends with a tell-all memoir -- "What Happened" -- already No. 1 on Amazon? Who is that unmasked man? (READ MORE)
Mike Gallagher: John McCain Finds His Voice - It was a pretty eventful week in the world of all things political. And as expected, the mainstream news media honed in on the wrong story. Instead of amplifying an astounding example of one of the key differences between John McCain and Barack Obama, the press, ever hungry for anything that can be used to smear President Bush, went bonkers over a dullard named Scott McClellan who happens to be a former White House press secretary. It seems that Mr. McClellan, bitter over being pushed out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., decided to write a "Mommie Dearest" - type tell-all that suggests that George W. Bush deceived everyone over the reasons for going to war in Iraq. (READ MORE)
David Limbaugh: McCain and National Security - I'm aware of the widely held assumption that John McCain's path to victory in November requires him to capture a healthy percentage of independents and even Democrats. But his strategy could backfire if he doesn't restrain his urge to betray conservatives. Because of his military record, his POW experiences and his pro-defense Senate record, McCain has a decided advantage over Barack Obama on national security, the most important issue for many voters and plenty important for the rest, as well. Even McCain's outspoken support of the "unpopular" Iraq war, ironically, adds to his favorable national security image. This despite the Democrats' propagandizing against the war, their attempt to sever it conceptually from the overall war on terror, and their phony yet persistent argument that we've diverted resources away from fighting al-Qaida. The Democratic Party goes into any election with the burden of proving it can be trusted with power during times of war.(READ MORE)
Hugh Hewitt: Barack Obama, Meet Michael Yon. Now, Read His Book - Barack Obama’s long absence from Iraq after his one and only visit to the country –a two day visit in January, 2006—is shocking. Until John McCain’s blistering attack on Obama’s apparent indifference to observing conditions there, I had simply assumed that, like Senators McCain, Clinton, Biden and Governor Romney, Obama had been to Iraq after the surge had been initiated and its initial successes achieved. After all, Senator Obama wants to be the Commander-in-Chief in wartime. Given the centrality of the Iraq theater to that war and the conditions in Iraq crucial relevance to the campaign ahead, I am astonished to learn that he hasn’t bothered to make one trip to the country since declaring his candidacy for the presidency. (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: Top Seven Reasons Why Barack Obama is a Weaker Candidate Than People Think - John McCain is having a very tough time uniting conservatives and the political winds seem to be at the Democrats' backs; so many people seem to think that Barack Obama will win in a walk in November. However, that's probably not going to be the case. In a normal year, where the public was more closely divided between the Dems and the GOP, McCain would be capable of wiping out a candidate as weak as Obama in a landslide of Dukakis-esque proportions. With that in mind, even in a year like this, where Obama has a huge advantage, chances are that if he wins, he'll have to pull it off by coming in on the right side of a 2000/2004 style squeaker of an election. Here's a short but sweet primer that will help explain why that's the case: (READ MORE)
Mona Charen: Oil Woes Left and Right - So much for the idea that Bush went to war for cheap oil. Yes, I know, they're now imagining that high gas prices are actually lining the pockets of the president's cronies at Exxon and Sunoco. But this is not an argument advanced by grownups. I cannot pretend to plumb the intricacies of oil prices. I gather that the current high prices are attributable to a number of factors including, in no particular order: the decline of the dollar, high demand, and OPEC. But it does appear to me that wherever you look along the political spectrum, a lack of sobriety on this subject reigns. Rising oil prices delight the left. They serve to make the current occupant of the White House even less popular than he already was. (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: Lying About Iraq - Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s new book brings the question of who lied about Iraq to the front pages once again. Those on the left have claimed for years that the Bush administration lied about the threat from Iraq in the lead up to the war – often defining “lying” as omitting information that did not support the decision to invade from the case they made to the American people. If those on the left describe emphasizing the threat posed by Iraq before the war as a lie, then what do they call their current depiction of the situation in Iraq, as well as their characterization of how the war began? One of the most constant criticisms of the Bush administration regarding the war in Iraq has been that President Bush “lied us into war.” (READ MORE)
Burt Prelutsky: Bullies and Appeasers - Recently, President Bush made a few derogatory remarks about appeasers while addressing Israel’s governing body, the Knesset. Over there, his comments earned him a nice round of applause, while over here, Barack Obama took umbrage. A spokesperson for the administration was quick to point out that, although no names were mentioned, Bush had been referring to -- and the Israelis understood him to be referring to -- America’s foremost ambassador of bad will, Jimmy Carter. After all, just a few weeks earlier, Carter had been given the cold shoulder by the Israelis when he was in the Middle East for a meet-and-greet with his chums in Hamas. Well, I hate like the dickens to question the word of an official spokesperson, but if Bush didn’t have Obama in mind, he should have. (READ MORE)
David Strom: When You Fill Up the Tank Thank Congress for High Gas Prices - Americans have been treated to a lot of whining by our elected officials about the high cost of oil and gas these days, but as usual the fingers are being pointed by rather than at the guilty parties. Left-wingers want to have their cake and eat it too, of course: they simultaneously insist that oil is running out, its use is ruining our environment and should stop as soon as possible, and that oil gas should still be cheap at the pump. It is the evil oil companies, who keep us addicted to oil while reaping their profits off our helpless selves, who are to blame for all our current ills. Americans, however, are blessed to have plaintiff’s attorneys ready to sue the oil companies for causing global warming, Congressmen ready to rake oil executives over the coals for making money, and yet other Congressmen dedicated to keeping pristine the remaining American wilderness that has oil buried underneath. (READ MORE)
Oliver North: UN-Believable - WASHINGTON -- When the so-called mainstream media don't want you to know something, they simply spike the story -- meaning they just don't cover it. That's what's happened to the good news from Iraq. American heroes are in flak jackets and helmets, and their Iraqi counterparts are asserting rule of law for millions of grateful Iraqi civilians once tyrannized by al-Qaida terrorists and Shiite militias. In short, we are winning. That's the good news that isn't news. Then there is the bad news that isn't news. That includes stories about the United Nations interfering in U.S. domestic politics. It also includes stories about Iranian nuclear ambitions and what the U.N. isn't doing about it. These accounts aren't as titillating as Scott "Brutus" McClellan's back-stabbing book on the Bush administration, which throws salt in the wounds of every family member of a fallen soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. (READ MORE)
Amanda Carpenter: Obama Never Tried to Meet Petraeus - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama admitted he has never made an attempt to meet with Army General David H. Petraeus and said his opponents are making it a “sarcastic” and “flippant” political issue. Over the week Obama has been sharply criticized by right-wing bloggers and his likely general election rival John McCain for openly saying he would meet with enemies of the United States without “preconditions” and not reaching out to the general who oversees war operations in Iraq. A reporter asked Obama to “respond to McCain saying you’re more willing to meet with Ahmadinejad than with General Petraeus” in an impromptu press conference on Obama’s campaign plane Wednesday evening. Obama initially said it was a “sarcastic” criticism and that he “saw” Petraeus earlier this year. (READ MORE)
Michael Yon: Investigation Launched - The House Committee on Armed Services is investigating claims made by the New York Times. The New York Times claimed that retired Generals were co-opted by the Department of Defense to spread what amounted to propaganda throughout U.S. media to sell the Iraq war. The following letter from General (ret.) Barry R. McCaffrey is in response to a direct inquiry about his actions during this time. I've seen much of General (ret.) McCaffrey's work and it would be difficult to imagine he was part of any propaganda; McCaffrey has been extremely critical about much of the war. I consider him a very reliable source. (READ MORE)
Lawhawk: Credit Where It's Due - Rep. Nancy Pelosi has decreed that the surge in Iraq worked. Not because of the hard work of Iraqis and Americans who defeated the insurgency and al Qaeda fanatics who slaughtered countless people. Not because of General Petraeus' surge strategy. But because of the goodwill of Iran. “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal.” (READ MORE)
A Newt One: War Against Islam? - In a previous post, Islam & Terrorism: Another False Denial, I showed you the true relationship between Islam and terrorism: terrorism is sanctified as an islamic battle tactic. Muhammad bragged about being made victorious by it. CAIR's Dr. Parvez Ahmed also said to Final Call News: “The association of a faith practiced by 1.2 billion people worldwide to terrorism creates the perception that the GWOT is a war against Islam.” That statement is a clever reverse projection, accusing the defender of aggression. It exploits a convenient handle provided by President Bush: "Global War On Terrorism". Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. President Bush made a terrible blunder when he attached that false descriptor to the war. The enemy is using that blunder to falsely accuse us of being the aggressor. (READ MORE)
Richard Landes: MOS meets Al Durah Forgery: Larry Derfner Weighs In - Larry Derfner has an op-ed at the Jerusalem Post on the Al Durah Affair which lays out in a quite striking fashion the aggressive aspect of the mentality of the Masochistic Omnipotence crowd (MOS) crowd. In the Dreyfus Affair the term “intellectual” was coined to describe someone who was capable of looking at the empirical evidence and changing his or her mind. Derfner’s rant suggests that the term could not, by the remotest stretch of the imagination, be applied to him. On the contrary, one has to wonder what could drive him to such heights of irrationality as to assault people who call into question so base a story as that of al Durah. I have already discussed some of Larry Derfner’s writings, whose liberal cognitive egocentrism stands out even in a crowd of his friends, so I guess this piece didn’t come as a complete surprise to me. (READ MORE)
Ryan @ Castle Argghhh!: Talking of the dead: a rebuttal - It seems silly to pretend this isn't a shot across my bow, so to speak, so I won't. No, sorry, but I’m not buying this fallacy by emotional plea to the audience argument. And here are the reasons why. A) Misunderstanding The Cold War - The Cold War, despite the loss of thousands (which is better than 100k increments if you ask me) in the places where proxy wars occurred, did cause one side to be unable to reach its goal. It (oh gawd I hate cribbing from Dan) off-loaded the conflict from one of direct violent confrontation to one of economic, political, and military confrontation, with a resulting lower body count over the same period of time. Fewer broken bodies along the way to victory (sort of like how we study Network Centric and Effects Based Ops to limit the number of bodies necessary to win) how is that a bad deal? Oh, well, I guess it's just manlier to take one's grief in mega-loads all at once, to chug it all beer-like. (READ MORE)
Donald Douglas: Where's the McClellan Betrayal Headed? - Normally I don't pay attention to the he-said, she-said memoirist scandals, but I'm seeing something very significant about Scott McClellan's Janus-faced book-tour out this week. I noted previously that McClellan wouldn't likely get a hearing from the implacable Bush-demonizers on the left, but sometimes you have to think again. USA Today reports that McClellan, in an interview, suggests he's "intrigued" by Senator Obama, so it looks like his volte-face reflects not just remunerative interests, but full-blown political opportunism. Apparently McClellan's claim that the media's to blame has hit a nerve, for example, in this YouTube featuring NBC's David Gregory, who firmly rejects the media-culpability hypothesis: Perhaps there's personal shame and recrimination involved, but McClellan's turn against a sitting president strikes me as childishly craven. (READ MORE)
Adventures of a Former Detailed Recruiter: Answers, or lack thereof - Well, I've written Mr. Boucai a couple of times seeking a follow-up on the whole "enlisting felons" thing he did a couple years back which was then reported on by the AP. BLUF: The original data represented a combination of approved waivers and suitability reviews, however the academic paper didn't make the distinction and drew conclusions based on data which was factually incorrect. Compounding this, a think tank which supports abolishing Don't Ask, Don't Tell used the cover of this inaccurate paper to issue a call for allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. And this whole shebang was reported in many major outlets due to the reporting of the Associated Press. However, it seems no one bothered to ask the researcher what his numbers represented until I came along, a year later, and asked. (READ MORE)
Dafydd: McClellan's Losing Campaign - Part II - Scott McClellan's pathetic campaign against George W. Bush -- hence for the election of Barack Obama -- continues apace; he keeps talking about more snippets from the book in interviews. Today, McClellan bores deep into the Plame name blame game, which he sees as a "turning point" in his relationship with the president. But here is an oddity: It was clear to everyone from at least October 28th, 2005 -- the day that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald indicted "Scooter" Libby -- that it was not true that Libby was uninvolved in the inadvertent leak of Valerie Plame's CIA affiliation; and it was also well known by then that Karl Rove had testified five times to Fitzgerald's grand jury, correcting some of his testimony. As I recall, we already knew at that time that the correction involved a conversation Rove had with Matt Cooper of Time Magazine... which clearly implied that Rove, too, had inadvertently revealed Plame's employment. (READ MORE)
Big Dog: Pelosi Credits Iran for Surge Success - Not long ago Nancy Pelosi admitted that the surge in Iraq was working. This goes against the words of the Obamessiah who said that the surge was not working and neither was anything else and that we have lost the war. Pelosi had to do something so as to keep the message clear so what did she do? She creditied Iran, of all entities, for the success of the surge. “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians.” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: Cracks in the ground - Spengler at the Asia Times asked a year ago: what do you give someone who has everthing -- "cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, diabetes, kidney failure, and so forth. Iran's economy is so damaged that it is impossible to tell how bad things are. Except perhaps for the oilfields of southern Iraq, and perhaps also northern Saudi Arabia, there is nothing the West can give Iran to forestall an internal breakdown." That degree of dysfunction was underscored by a recent Pajamas Media article describing the biggest case of corruption in Iran. Or possibly the Middle East. The chief auditor of the Iranian parliament has reported that $35 B of the country's oil revenues has just gone missing. (READ MORE)
Baldilocks: Which Uncle Was at Buchenwald? - Many people have stayed on the case with regard to Barack Obama's claim of having one of the uncles on his American side present during the liberation of one of the infamous camps set up by Nazi Germany. When it was recalled that the senator's mother was an only child, reasonable observers figured out that he had to be talking about a brother of either of his maternal grandparents. As it turns out he has only two great-uncles old enough to have served in WWII,* one on each side--Ralph E. Dunham Jr. and Charles Payne, brothers of his grandfather and grandmother, respectively. As for which camp was liberated, it turned out that the uncle in question, Mr. Payne, had been a part of the 89th Infantry Division which took down Ohrdruf--a part of Buchenwald--rather than Auschwitz, the death camp which had been originally cited by Obama. So after the details were straightened out, everyone was happy. Except for the fact that the details are not straightened out. (READ MORE)
COB6 @ Blackfive: Pelosi Said What?! - I realize that Uncle Jimbo already commented on the recent commentary by our Speaker of the House but I think it needs a bit more, less diplomatic, opinion. Commentary Magazine first broke the story. Regarding her recent trip to Iraq, she was asked if she had seen any evidence that the "Surge" was working. Of course on a moron can't see the significant improvements. Did she give the credit to Prime Minister Maliki? General Patraeus? The US military? The US trained Iraqi Army? Nope, nope, nope and nope. Again, here is what this total POS said: “Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn't accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities - the Iranians.” (READ MORE)
The Captain's Journal: Des Browne Continues the British Surrender - We covered the surrender plea from David Miliband, and while pusillanimous and pitiful, at least Miliband was either duplicitous or didn’t know what he was talking about. Specifically, he advocated “negotiations between Pakistan’s new civilian government and Pashtun leaders in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).” If he was referring to tribal elders in FATA, then he was merely confused, as there are no negotiations with “Pashtun leaders.” Further, they would be irrelevant if these talks existed, as the tribal elders do not control FATA. They have no security from the Taliban, and thus hard core Taliban fighters control FATA and NWFP. If he is referring to the Taliban as “Pashtun leaders,” then he is intentionally avoiding naming the enemy and stating that we should negotiate with them. (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Climate Security Act - Next week our Senate will be debating the "Climate Security Act", which in some circles is becoming known as the Economic Insecurity Act. What the Act does is mandate reduced carbon emissions, by allocating every dwindling numbers of carbon credits to industry, then setting up a "cap and trade" scheme, in which your industry, if it's good, will have extra credits, and can sell them to those that don't. Exceed what you are given and you either buy excess credits from someone else, or pay hefty fines to the new government bureaucracy set up to administer the system. Here's the Chamber of Commerce's depiction of the bill's regulatory set up. Go ahead, try and figure it out without getting a migraine. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Only 10 - Even after her assassination gaffe, it is Democratic Sen. Barack Obama 52, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton 42. The Gallup numbers should sober Democrats. The lead shows Obama cannot close the deal on the presidential nomination. Oh, he is great at all that insider crap. He’s got great political connections and behind-the-scenes backers. He did great in the caucuses where the votes can be horse-traded. But popularity? Overstated. True, he leads her by 458,427 votes (16,685,941 to 16,227,514). That total does not include Florida or Michigan, which are not part of the USO (United States of Obama). His lead is largely thanks to Cook County, where death does not end the right to vote. (READ MORE)
GayPatriotWest: Obama, Iraq & Reality - When discussing the war in Iraq, Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, never ceases to remind us that he had opposed the initial decision to liberate that nation. He seems to be appealing to that supermajority of Americans who now oppose the war. Just yesterday Obama spokesman Bill Burton used the occasion of the release of Scott McClellan’s book to point out that his candidate had “challenged the president’s rationale for the war from the start.” But, as Ralph Peters reminds us, “our next president will take office in 2009. It’s today’s reality that matters.” (Via Instapundit.) But, instead of addressing that reality, the Illinois Senator dwells the past as if it’s enough to remind people he has always been opposed to the war. Should he win election to the White House, he’ll be in charge of managing its consequences in 2009, not in preventing its occurrence in 2003. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: US: Al-Qaeda on the run - A year ago, Michael Hayden warned that al-Qaeda had rebounded and presented a critical threat to the United States. Yesterday, he told the Washington Post that AQ and its network had suffered defeats across the board and now faced significantly increased hostility from fellow Muslims. What happened? Three guesses: “Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: New York governor basically legalizes gay marriage statewide - Why “basically”? Because only the legislature can formally legalize it and all attempts to push a bill through have stalled so far. Which means gays can’t get married in New York … but they can, of course, now get married in California or Massachusetts and then come back to New York, where, per Paterson’s new executive order, their marriages will be recognized with full faith and credit (the same principle that lets straights run off to Vegas and then have their Nevada license recognized back home). Not the cleverest gay marriage gambit ever to be tried in NYS but still darned clever in how it (a) lets him argue semi-persuasively that he’s just following the law as it already is, (b) holds the virtue for most conservatives of at least being imposed by an elected official and not a court... (READ MORE)
McQ: Narratives and the Press - The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) has looked at press coverage of John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and found some interesting things. First, a nice little chart to give you an idea of what they found when they looked at how the press coverage of the three candidates as it relates to "positive narratives": Anyone who has followed press coverage to date can't be particularly surprised by what, I'm sure, most realized was happening. Now whether you want to chalk that up to bias, a feverent desire by some in the press to see the Republicans out of office (aka bias) or infatuation with the candidates (hmmm, more bias?), it is clear the chart shows a much kinder press for the Dems than the Rep in the race. (READ MORE)
Reverse Spin: Strategic blunder? Hardly - While the national media continues its mindless merry-go-round coverage of whether George W. Bush “lied us into war” for about the 27th time, it’s time to look at what’s going on in Iraq and the Middle East. I can understand why Barack Obama doesn’t want to go there. What’s happening would be painful for him to see. He would find a rapidly collapsing al Qaeda, helped substantially by President Bush’s aggressive fight against terrorism. Our attack on Iraq has drawn al Qaeda into a fight it has nearly lost. That loss has heavily demoralized the jihadist movement, according to published and internet treatises by the jihadists themselves. The surge has been a particular strategic success because it capitalized on al Qaeda’s reign of terror in Iraq that turned the locals against it. The resulting al Qaeda defeat has fed perfectly into a growing reevaluation of terrorism tactics by the founding fathers of al Qaeda and other radical groups. (READ MORE)
Right Truth: Polygamous Muslim Families in the U.S. - We've been hearing a lot about the Fundamentalist LDS Church polygamous sect, where children on the ranch are being raised in a “pervasive belief system” that grooms males to commit sexual abuse and females to become brides as soon as they reach puberty. But what about all the Muslim polygamous families here inside the United States? I suppose it's too politically incorrect to approach them. This NPR article says that some Muslims are quietly living a polygamous life here in the U.S. “Although polygamy is illegal in the U.S. and most mosques try to discourage plural marriages, some Muslim men in America have quietly married multiple wives. No one knows how many Muslims in the U.S. live in polygamous families. But according to academics researching the issue, estimates range from 50,000 to 100,000 people.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: Its the Culture, Stupid! - "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) British mystery author & physician (1859 - 1930)" When Bill Clinton ran for President in 1992, the campaign famously centered on the slogan, "Its the Economy, Stupid." It was a clever conceit, aided and abetted by the MSM successfully depicting the slowing economy under George HW Bush as a disastrous recession (only surpassed by the current economic slowdown) and Bush's out of touch appearance of insouciance. For the election of 2008, although the economy is likely to be a major focus of the MSM, it might be more accurate to depict our current straits as related to the culture rather than the economy. (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: An Obama Presidency Will Set Race Relations Back Decades - I know some conservative Republicans who almost wouldn’t mind if Barack Obama does win the White House in November. Their theory is that once we as a nation elect a black man to the White House, that election will forever eliminate the claim that Americans are racist because we won’t elect a black man to that office. On its face, it seems a logical theory. In practice, however, it will not work. Not with this black man, not with Barack Obama. If Obama becomes president of the United States, his disastrous time in office will set race relations back 50 years. First of all — and there is just no other way to way this — the man is a liar. He claims to want to solve our partisan strife, doesn’t he? He claims he wants to work with Congress instead of against the other party. (READ MORE)
Steve Schippert: Parsing Pelosi: Military Usefulness - First emerging at Commentary’s Contentions blog and at Ace of Spades, we learn of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stating that “some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities - the Iranians.” The sheer ignorance of that statement should be self-evident. It’s as if to say that, if we were only negotiating with them (without preconditions, of course), just imagine the peace we could gain. But it is also an unforgiving slap in the face to the United States and Iraqi military forces. For it was they who defeated the Iranians and their proxy militias in Basra. The victory was not negotiated in words scribed upon a mahogany table, but in blood on the streets of Basra. And it was not a ‘peace’ won by Iran nor even the Brits, safely barricaded away in a nearby airfield. (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: Forget questioning their patriotism, I question their sanity - It would be really easy to question the patriotism of the person making this statement, but darned if I can get past questioning their sanity (via Ace). “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn't happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn't accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians.” I would love to dismiss the statement above as yet another absurd comment from yet another anti-war, anti-troop whiner grasping at any explanation, regardless how ridiculous, to diminish the success of American troops in Iraq. I would love to just completely ignore it, but since the statement is from the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, that is hard to do. (READ MORE)
Harmless Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Real Patriotism - Memorial Day 2008 came and went, and as you can tell from my post below, for our family it was a time of joy and celebration because my son came home. But for a lot of other families, it was a time to remember and grieve. It was a time to reflect and renew. It was a time to gather and rededicate. Even as our family celebrated the return of our Marine from the crucible of the Long War, we did understand that it was Memorial Day and we did take time to give thanks and recognize those who have given all in our prayers and in discussions. It was also something to see everyone at the National’s Ballpark stand in absolute silence for a National Moment of Remembrance. I know that these things are minor and that our family’s focus was on celebrating our reunion with our son; but we didn’t forget. Lest you think I sound defensive, I don’t regret a minute of our celebration (although I’m still recovering). I do want to comment on something Garrison Keillor wrote about the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day weekend. (READ MORE)
Information Dissemination: The Surge Has Spillover - The last few videos that have been released had already tipped off this conclusion. The CIA is now assessing Al Qaeda has been defeated in both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. “Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In a strikingly upbeat assessment, the CIA chief cited major gains against al-Qaeda's allies in the Middle East and an increasingly successful campaign to destabilize the group's core leadership.” (READ MORE)
Raymond Ibrahim: Islam’s war doctrines ignored - At the recent inaugural conference for the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA), presenter LTC Joseph Myers made an interesting point that deserves further elaboration: that, though military studies have traditionally valued and absorbed the texts of classical war doctrine—such as Clausewitz’s On War, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, even the exploits of Alexander the Great as recorded in Arrian and Plutarch—Islamic war doctrine, which is just as if not more textually grounded, is totally ignored. As recent as 2006, former top Pentagon official William Gawthrop lamented that “the senior Service colleges of the Department of Defense had not incorporated into their curriculum a systematic study of Muhammad as a military or political leader. As a consequence, we still do not have an in-depth understanding of the war-fighting doctrine laid down by Muhammad, how it might be applied today by an increasing number of Islamic groups, or how it might be countered.” (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: Genesis - (Part one in a series) Through the duration of the war in Iraq I've identified key indicators of important trends in the conflict on this web site. These indicators take the form of discrete events of variable duration, the trends are larger scale and longer term, and generally identifiable to the observer only as a series of events. The key to understanding what's happening in Iraq is to be able to identify a trend by it's indicators (and conversely to be able to determine which events are part of a trend) and to recognize which trends or events matter (in long or short term) and which don't. Identifying events and trends (or even distinguishing events from brief trends) is exceptionally difficult without the benefit of hindsight and demonstrably challenging even after the fact. And any attempt at forecasting - extending those trends into the future - compounds that challenge by an unknown degree, and at some point is an exercise in futility. (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
Trackbacked / Linked by:
Are there enough jails for Democrats in Denver? from Right Truth
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Campaign Jousting Returns to Iraq War - After a strong push from Sen. John McCain's allies, the war in Iraq has moved back to center stage in the presidential election, with McCain attacking Sen. Barack Obama for making up his mind about the war without visiting the war zone and Obama charging that McCain has yet to learn the lessons of... (READ MORE)
U.S. Cites Big Gains Against Al-Qaeda - Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along... (READ MORE)
Food Prices Predicted to Ease Before Entering Steady Climb - PARIS, May 29 -- The recent steep jump in global food prices should ease in the near term, according to a new report, but prices over the next decade are likely to remain high, spurred by the rising cost of oil, the declining dollar and increasing demand for biofuels. (READ MORE)
Texans say McClellan's turn started at home with mom - Scott McClellan's critics in Washington have speculated about his motives for writing a book bashing President Bush, but back in the former White House spokesman's home state of Texas, some chalk it up to something very simple: his gene pool. (READ MORE)
Top Democrats ask delegates to commit - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday said top Democratic leaders will push undeclared superdelegates to pick sides next week and end the long fight for the party's presidential nomination. (READ MORE)
Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal - For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming. They want to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground. President Bush is for it, and indeed has spent years talking up the virtues of “clean coal.” All three candidates to succeed him favor the approach. (READ MORE)
U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza - The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave. Israel has isolated this coastal strip, which is run by the militant group Hamas. Given that policy, the United States Consulate in Jerusalem said the grant money had been “redirected” to students elsewhere out of concern that it would go to waste if the Palestinian students were forced to remain in Gaza. (READ MORE)
Location Gives Tiny State Prime Access to Big Riches - For centuries, nomads have dropped down from the rocky hills around here to carve bricks of salt from an ancient lake and haul them away on the backs of camels. But a new salt miner is giving it a try, and he may be a harbinger of what's happening here. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Patrick J. Buchanan: Is Bush Becoming Irrelevant? - After losing both houses of Congress in the 1994 election, Bill Clinton expostulated: The president of the United States is not irrelevant! On learning his trusted aide from Texas Scott McClellan has denounced as an "unnecessary war" the same Iraq war McClellan defended from the White House podium, George Bush must feel as Clinton did. The synchronized savagery of the attacks on McClellan as turncoat suggests he drew blood. For what he has done is offer confirmation to the president's war critics, from within the White House inner circle, that Bush's motive in going to war was not a clear and present danger of attack by Iraq with weapons of mass destruction, but to advance a Bush crusade to impose democracy on the Middle East. (READ MORE)
Kathleen Parker: Revenge of the Nerd - Sometimes the answers to our most perplexing questions can be found on the playground. Take Scott McClellan. Is he dishonest? Dishonorable? Disloyal? Is he telling the truth that the Bush administration conducted an organized propaganda campaign in order to lead the country to war? Did McClellan know it all along and, if so, why did he hang so long with those guys? Curious Americans want to know. At the White House, former colleagues wonder what happened to the Scott they thought they knew? What caused that sweet guy to betray his former boss and friends with a tell-all memoir -- "What Happened" -- already No. 1 on Amazon? Who is that unmasked man? (READ MORE)
Mike Gallagher: John McCain Finds His Voice - It was a pretty eventful week in the world of all things political. And as expected, the mainstream news media honed in on the wrong story. Instead of amplifying an astounding example of one of the key differences between John McCain and Barack Obama, the press, ever hungry for anything that can be used to smear President Bush, went bonkers over a dullard named Scott McClellan who happens to be a former White House press secretary. It seems that Mr. McClellan, bitter over being pushed out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., decided to write a "Mommie Dearest" - type tell-all that suggests that George W. Bush deceived everyone over the reasons for going to war in Iraq. (READ MORE)
David Limbaugh: McCain and National Security - I'm aware of the widely held assumption that John McCain's path to victory in November requires him to capture a healthy percentage of independents and even Democrats. But his strategy could backfire if he doesn't restrain his urge to betray conservatives. Because of his military record, his POW experiences and his pro-defense Senate record, McCain has a decided advantage over Barack Obama on national security, the most important issue for many voters and plenty important for the rest, as well. Even McCain's outspoken support of the "unpopular" Iraq war, ironically, adds to his favorable national security image. This despite the Democrats' propagandizing against the war, their attempt to sever it conceptually from the overall war on terror, and their phony yet persistent argument that we've diverted resources away from fighting al-Qaida. The Democratic Party goes into any election with the burden of proving it can be trusted with power during times of war.(READ MORE)
Hugh Hewitt: Barack Obama, Meet Michael Yon. Now, Read His Book - Barack Obama’s long absence from Iraq after his one and only visit to the country –a two day visit in January, 2006—is shocking. Until John McCain’s blistering attack on Obama’s apparent indifference to observing conditions there, I had simply assumed that, like Senators McCain, Clinton, Biden and Governor Romney, Obama had been to Iraq after the surge had been initiated and its initial successes achieved. After all, Senator Obama wants to be the Commander-in-Chief in wartime. Given the centrality of the Iraq theater to that war and the conditions in Iraq crucial relevance to the campaign ahead, I am astonished to learn that he hasn’t bothered to make one trip to the country since declaring his candidacy for the presidency. (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: Top Seven Reasons Why Barack Obama is a Weaker Candidate Than People Think - John McCain is having a very tough time uniting conservatives and the political winds seem to be at the Democrats' backs; so many people seem to think that Barack Obama will win in a walk in November. However, that's probably not going to be the case. In a normal year, where the public was more closely divided between the Dems and the GOP, McCain would be capable of wiping out a candidate as weak as Obama in a landslide of Dukakis-esque proportions. With that in mind, even in a year like this, where Obama has a huge advantage, chances are that if he wins, he'll have to pull it off by coming in on the right side of a 2000/2004 style squeaker of an election. Here's a short but sweet primer that will help explain why that's the case: (READ MORE)
Mona Charen: Oil Woes Left and Right - So much for the idea that Bush went to war for cheap oil. Yes, I know, they're now imagining that high gas prices are actually lining the pockets of the president's cronies at Exxon and Sunoco. But this is not an argument advanced by grownups. I cannot pretend to plumb the intricacies of oil prices. I gather that the current high prices are attributable to a number of factors including, in no particular order: the decline of the dollar, high demand, and OPEC. But it does appear to me that wherever you look along the political spectrum, a lack of sobriety on this subject reigns. Rising oil prices delight the left. They serve to make the current occupant of the White House even less popular than he already was. (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: Lying About Iraq - Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s new book brings the question of who lied about Iraq to the front pages once again. Those on the left have claimed for years that the Bush administration lied about the threat from Iraq in the lead up to the war – often defining “lying” as omitting information that did not support the decision to invade from the case they made to the American people. If those on the left describe emphasizing the threat posed by Iraq before the war as a lie, then what do they call their current depiction of the situation in Iraq, as well as their characterization of how the war began? One of the most constant criticisms of the Bush administration regarding the war in Iraq has been that President Bush “lied us into war.” (READ MORE)
Burt Prelutsky: Bullies and Appeasers - Recently, President Bush made a few derogatory remarks about appeasers while addressing Israel’s governing body, the Knesset. Over there, his comments earned him a nice round of applause, while over here, Barack Obama took umbrage. A spokesperson for the administration was quick to point out that, although no names were mentioned, Bush had been referring to -- and the Israelis understood him to be referring to -- America’s foremost ambassador of bad will, Jimmy Carter. After all, just a few weeks earlier, Carter had been given the cold shoulder by the Israelis when he was in the Middle East for a meet-and-greet with his chums in Hamas. Well, I hate like the dickens to question the word of an official spokesperson, but if Bush didn’t have Obama in mind, he should have. (READ MORE)
David Strom: When You Fill Up the Tank Thank Congress for High Gas Prices - Americans have been treated to a lot of whining by our elected officials about the high cost of oil and gas these days, but as usual the fingers are being pointed by rather than at the guilty parties. Left-wingers want to have their cake and eat it too, of course: they simultaneously insist that oil is running out, its use is ruining our environment and should stop as soon as possible, and that oil gas should still be cheap at the pump. It is the evil oil companies, who keep us addicted to oil while reaping their profits off our helpless selves, who are to blame for all our current ills. Americans, however, are blessed to have plaintiff’s attorneys ready to sue the oil companies for causing global warming, Congressmen ready to rake oil executives over the coals for making money, and yet other Congressmen dedicated to keeping pristine the remaining American wilderness that has oil buried underneath. (READ MORE)
Oliver North: UN-Believable - WASHINGTON -- When the so-called mainstream media don't want you to know something, they simply spike the story -- meaning they just don't cover it. That's what's happened to the good news from Iraq. American heroes are in flak jackets and helmets, and their Iraqi counterparts are asserting rule of law for millions of grateful Iraqi civilians once tyrannized by al-Qaida terrorists and Shiite militias. In short, we are winning. That's the good news that isn't news. Then there is the bad news that isn't news. That includes stories about the United Nations interfering in U.S. domestic politics. It also includes stories about Iranian nuclear ambitions and what the U.N. isn't doing about it. These accounts aren't as titillating as Scott "Brutus" McClellan's back-stabbing book on the Bush administration, which throws salt in the wounds of every family member of a fallen soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. (READ MORE)
Amanda Carpenter: Obama Never Tried to Meet Petraeus - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama admitted he has never made an attempt to meet with Army General David H. Petraeus and said his opponents are making it a “sarcastic” and “flippant” political issue. Over the week Obama has been sharply criticized by right-wing bloggers and his likely general election rival John McCain for openly saying he would meet with enemies of the United States without “preconditions” and not reaching out to the general who oversees war operations in Iraq. A reporter asked Obama to “respond to McCain saying you’re more willing to meet with Ahmadinejad than with General Petraeus” in an impromptu press conference on Obama’s campaign plane Wednesday evening. Obama initially said it was a “sarcastic” criticism and that he “saw” Petraeus earlier this year. (READ MORE)
Michael Yon: Investigation Launched - The House Committee on Armed Services is investigating claims made by the New York Times. The New York Times claimed that retired Generals were co-opted by the Department of Defense to spread what amounted to propaganda throughout U.S. media to sell the Iraq war. The following letter from General (ret.) Barry R. McCaffrey is in response to a direct inquiry about his actions during this time. I've seen much of General (ret.) McCaffrey's work and it would be difficult to imagine he was part of any propaganda; McCaffrey has been extremely critical about much of the war. I consider him a very reliable source. (READ MORE)
Lawhawk: Credit Where It's Due - Rep. Nancy Pelosi has decreed that the surge in Iraq worked. Not because of the hard work of Iraqis and Americans who defeated the insurgency and al Qaeda fanatics who slaughtered countless people. Not because of General Petraeus' surge strategy. But because of the goodwill of Iran. “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal.” (READ MORE)
A Newt One: War Against Islam? - In a previous post, Islam & Terrorism: Another False Denial, I showed you the true relationship between Islam and terrorism: terrorism is sanctified as an islamic battle tactic. Muhammad bragged about being made victorious by it. CAIR's Dr. Parvez Ahmed also said to Final Call News: “The association of a faith practiced by 1.2 billion people worldwide to terrorism creates the perception that the GWOT is a war against Islam.” That statement is a clever reverse projection, accusing the defender of aggression. It exploits a convenient handle provided by President Bush: "Global War On Terrorism". Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. President Bush made a terrible blunder when he attached that false descriptor to the war. The enemy is using that blunder to falsely accuse us of being the aggressor. (READ MORE)
Richard Landes: MOS meets Al Durah Forgery: Larry Derfner Weighs In - Larry Derfner has an op-ed at the Jerusalem Post on the Al Durah Affair which lays out in a quite striking fashion the aggressive aspect of the mentality of the Masochistic Omnipotence crowd (MOS) crowd. In the Dreyfus Affair the term “intellectual” was coined to describe someone who was capable of looking at the empirical evidence and changing his or her mind. Derfner’s rant suggests that the term could not, by the remotest stretch of the imagination, be applied to him. On the contrary, one has to wonder what could drive him to such heights of irrationality as to assault people who call into question so base a story as that of al Durah. I have already discussed some of Larry Derfner’s writings, whose liberal cognitive egocentrism stands out even in a crowd of his friends, so I guess this piece didn’t come as a complete surprise to me. (READ MORE)
Ryan @ Castle Argghhh!: Talking of the dead: a rebuttal - It seems silly to pretend this isn't a shot across my bow, so to speak, so I won't. No, sorry, but I’m not buying this fallacy by emotional plea to the audience argument. And here are the reasons why. A) Misunderstanding The Cold War - The Cold War, despite the loss of thousands (which is better than 100k increments if you ask me) in the places where proxy wars occurred, did cause one side to be unable to reach its goal. It (oh gawd I hate cribbing from Dan) off-loaded the conflict from one of direct violent confrontation to one of economic, political, and military confrontation, with a resulting lower body count over the same period of time. Fewer broken bodies along the way to victory (sort of like how we study Network Centric and Effects Based Ops to limit the number of bodies necessary to win) how is that a bad deal? Oh, well, I guess it's just manlier to take one's grief in mega-loads all at once, to chug it all beer-like. (READ MORE)
Donald Douglas: Where's the McClellan Betrayal Headed? - Normally I don't pay attention to the he-said, she-said memoirist scandals, but I'm seeing something very significant about Scott McClellan's Janus-faced book-tour out this week. I noted previously that McClellan wouldn't likely get a hearing from the implacable Bush-demonizers on the left, but sometimes you have to think again. USA Today reports that McClellan, in an interview, suggests he's "intrigued" by Senator Obama, so it looks like his volte-face reflects not just remunerative interests, but full-blown political opportunism. Apparently McClellan's claim that the media's to blame has hit a nerve, for example, in this YouTube featuring NBC's David Gregory, who firmly rejects the media-culpability hypothesis: Perhaps there's personal shame and recrimination involved, but McClellan's turn against a sitting president strikes me as childishly craven. (READ MORE)
Adventures of a Former Detailed Recruiter: Answers, or lack thereof - Well, I've written Mr. Boucai a couple of times seeking a follow-up on the whole "enlisting felons" thing he did a couple years back which was then reported on by the AP. BLUF: The original data represented a combination of approved waivers and suitability reviews, however the academic paper didn't make the distinction and drew conclusions based on data which was factually incorrect. Compounding this, a think tank which supports abolishing Don't Ask, Don't Tell used the cover of this inaccurate paper to issue a call for allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. And this whole shebang was reported in many major outlets due to the reporting of the Associated Press. However, it seems no one bothered to ask the researcher what his numbers represented until I came along, a year later, and asked. (READ MORE)
Dafydd: McClellan's Losing Campaign - Part II - Scott McClellan's pathetic campaign against George W. Bush -- hence for the election of Barack Obama -- continues apace; he keeps talking about more snippets from the book in interviews. Today, McClellan bores deep into the Plame name blame game, which he sees as a "turning point" in his relationship with the president. But here is an oddity: It was clear to everyone from at least October 28th, 2005 -- the day that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald indicted "Scooter" Libby -- that it was not true that Libby was uninvolved in the inadvertent leak of Valerie Plame's CIA affiliation; and it was also well known by then that Karl Rove had testified five times to Fitzgerald's grand jury, correcting some of his testimony. As I recall, we already knew at that time that the correction involved a conversation Rove had with Matt Cooper of Time Magazine... which clearly implied that Rove, too, had inadvertently revealed Plame's employment. (READ MORE)
Big Dog: Pelosi Credits Iran for Surge Success - Not long ago Nancy Pelosi admitted that the surge in Iraq was working. This goes against the words of the Obamessiah who said that the surge was not working and neither was anything else and that we have lost the war. Pelosi had to do something so as to keep the message clear so what did she do? She creditied Iran, of all entities, for the success of the surge. “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians.” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: Cracks in the ground - Spengler at the Asia Times asked a year ago: what do you give someone who has everthing -- "cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, diabetes, kidney failure, and so forth. Iran's economy is so damaged that it is impossible to tell how bad things are. Except perhaps for the oilfields of southern Iraq, and perhaps also northern Saudi Arabia, there is nothing the West can give Iran to forestall an internal breakdown." That degree of dysfunction was underscored by a recent Pajamas Media article describing the biggest case of corruption in Iran. Or possibly the Middle East. The chief auditor of the Iranian parliament has reported that $35 B of the country's oil revenues has just gone missing. (READ MORE)
Baldilocks: Which Uncle Was at Buchenwald? - Many people have stayed on the case with regard to Barack Obama's claim of having one of the uncles on his American side present during the liberation of one of the infamous camps set up by Nazi Germany. When it was recalled that the senator's mother was an only child, reasonable observers figured out that he had to be talking about a brother of either of his maternal grandparents. As it turns out he has only two great-uncles old enough to have served in WWII,* one on each side--Ralph E. Dunham Jr. and Charles Payne, brothers of his grandfather and grandmother, respectively. As for which camp was liberated, it turned out that the uncle in question, Mr. Payne, had been a part of the 89th Infantry Division which took down Ohrdruf--a part of Buchenwald--rather than Auschwitz, the death camp which had been originally cited by Obama. So after the details were straightened out, everyone was happy. Except for the fact that the details are not straightened out. (READ MORE)
COB6 @ Blackfive: Pelosi Said What?! - I realize that Uncle Jimbo already commented on the recent commentary by our Speaker of the House but I think it needs a bit more, less diplomatic, opinion. Commentary Magazine first broke the story. Regarding her recent trip to Iraq, she was asked if she had seen any evidence that the "Surge" was working. Of course on a moron can't see the significant improvements. Did she give the credit to Prime Minister Maliki? General Patraeus? The US military? The US trained Iraqi Army? Nope, nope, nope and nope. Again, here is what this total POS said: “Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn't accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities - the Iranians.” (READ MORE)
The Captain's Journal: Des Browne Continues the British Surrender - We covered the surrender plea from David Miliband, and while pusillanimous and pitiful, at least Miliband was either duplicitous or didn’t know what he was talking about. Specifically, he advocated “negotiations between Pakistan’s new civilian government and Pashtun leaders in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).” If he was referring to tribal elders in FATA, then he was merely confused, as there are no negotiations with “Pashtun leaders.” Further, they would be irrelevant if these talks existed, as the tribal elders do not control FATA. They have no security from the Taliban, and thus hard core Taliban fighters control FATA and NWFP. If he is referring to the Taliban as “Pashtun leaders,” then he is intentionally avoiding naming the enemy and stating that we should negotiate with them. (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Climate Security Act - Next week our Senate will be debating the "Climate Security Act", which in some circles is becoming known as the Economic Insecurity Act. What the Act does is mandate reduced carbon emissions, by allocating every dwindling numbers of carbon credits to industry, then setting up a "cap and trade" scheme, in which your industry, if it's good, will have extra credits, and can sell them to those that don't. Exceed what you are given and you either buy excess credits from someone else, or pay hefty fines to the new government bureaucracy set up to administer the system. Here's the Chamber of Commerce's depiction of the bill's regulatory set up. Go ahead, try and figure it out without getting a migraine. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Only 10 - Even after her assassination gaffe, it is Democratic Sen. Barack Obama 52, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton 42. The Gallup numbers should sober Democrats. The lead shows Obama cannot close the deal on the presidential nomination. Oh, he is great at all that insider crap. He’s got great political connections and behind-the-scenes backers. He did great in the caucuses where the votes can be horse-traded. But popularity? Overstated. True, he leads her by 458,427 votes (16,685,941 to 16,227,514). That total does not include Florida or Michigan, which are not part of the USO (United States of Obama). His lead is largely thanks to Cook County, where death does not end the right to vote. (READ MORE)
GayPatriotWest: Obama, Iraq & Reality - When discussing the war in Iraq, Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, never ceases to remind us that he had opposed the initial decision to liberate that nation. He seems to be appealing to that supermajority of Americans who now oppose the war. Just yesterday Obama spokesman Bill Burton used the occasion of the release of Scott McClellan’s book to point out that his candidate had “challenged the president’s rationale for the war from the start.” But, as Ralph Peters reminds us, “our next president will take office in 2009. It’s today’s reality that matters.” (Via Instapundit.) But, instead of addressing that reality, the Illinois Senator dwells the past as if it’s enough to remind people he has always been opposed to the war. Should he win election to the White House, he’ll be in charge of managing its consequences in 2009, not in preventing its occurrence in 2003. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: US: Al-Qaeda on the run - A year ago, Michael Hayden warned that al-Qaeda had rebounded and presented a critical threat to the United States. Yesterday, he told the Washington Post that AQ and its network had suffered defeats across the board and now faced significantly increased hostility from fellow Muslims. What happened? Three guesses: “Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: New York governor basically legalizes gay marriage statewide - Why “basically”? Because only the legislature can formally legalize it and all attempts to push a bill through have stalled so far. Which means gays can’t get married in New York … but they can, of course, now get married in California or Massachusetts and then come back to New York, where, per Paterson’s new executive order, their marriages will be recognized with full faith and credit (the same principle that lets straights run off to Vegas and then have their Nevada license recognized back home). Not the cleverest gay marriage gambit ever to be tried in NYS but still darned clever in how it (a) lets him argue semi-persuasively that he’s just following the law as it already is, (b) holds the virtue for most conservatives of at least being imposed by an elected official and not a court... (READ MORE)
McQ: Narratives and the Press - The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) has looked at press coverage of John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and found some interesting things. First, a nice little chart to give you an idea of what they found when they looked at how the press coverage of the three candidates as it relates to "positive narratives": Anyone who has followed press coverage to date can't be particularly surprised by what, I'm sure, most realized was happening. Now whether you want to chalk that up to bias, a feverent desire by some in the press to see the Republicans out of office (aka bias) or infatuation with the candidates (hmmm, more bias?), it is clear the chart shows a much kinder press for the Dems than the Rep in the race. (READ MORE)
Reverse Spin: Strategic blunder? Hardly - While the national media continues its mindless merry-go-round coverage of whether George W. Bush “lied us into war” for about the 27th time, it’s time to look at what’s going on in Iraq and the Middle East. I can understand why Barack Obama doesn’t want to go there. What’s happening would be painful for him to see. He would find a rapidly collapsing al Qaeda, helped substantially by President Bush’s aggressive fight against terrorism. Our attack on Iraq has drawn al Qaeda into a fight it has nearly lost. That loss has heavily demoralized the jihadist movement, according to published and internet treatises by the jihadists themselves. The surge has been a particular strategic success because it capitalized on al Qaeda’s reign of terror in Iraq that turned the locals against it. The resulting al Qaeda defeat has fed perfectly into a growing reevaluation of terrorism tactics by the founding fathers of al Qaeda and other radical groups. (READ MORE)
Right Truth: Polygamous Muslim Families in the U.S. - We've been hearing a lot about the Fundamentalist LDS Church polygamous sect, where children on the ranch are being raised in a “pervasive belief system” that grooms males to commit sexual abuse and females to become brides as soon as they reach puberty. But what about all the Muslim polygamous families here inside the United States? I suppose it's too politically incorrect to approach them. This NPR article says that some Muslims are quietly living a polygamous life here in the U.S. “Although polygamy is illegal in the U.S. and most mosques try to discourage plural marriages, some Muslim men in America have quietly married multiple wives. No one knows how many Muslims in the U.S. live in polygamous families. But according to academics researching the issue, estimates range from 50,000 to 100,000 people.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: Its the Culture, Stupid! - "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Sherlock Holmes) British mystery author & physician (1859 - 1930)" When Bill Clinton ran for President in 1992, the campaign famously centered on the slogan, "Its the Economy, Stupid." It was a clever conceit, aided and abetted by the MSM successfully depicting the slowing economy under George HW Bush as a disastrous recession (only surpassed by the current economic slowdown) and Bush's out of touch appearance of insouciance. For the election of 2008, although the economy is likely to be a major focus of the MSM, it might be more accurate to depict our current straits as related to the culture rather than the economy. (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: An Obama Presidency Will Set Race Relations Back Decades - I know some conservative Republicans who almost wouldn’t mind if Barack Obama does win the White House in November. Their theory is that once we as a nation elect a black man to the White House, that election will forever eliminate the claim that Americans are racist because we won’t elect a black man to that office. On its face, it seems a logical theory. In practice, however, it will not work. Not with this black man, not with Barack Obama. If Obama becomes president of the United States, his disastrous time in office will set race relations back 50 years. First of all — and there is just no other way to way this — the man is a liar. He claims to want to solve our partisan strife, doesn’t he? He claims he wants to work with Congress instead of against the other party. (READ MORE)
Steve Schippert: Parsing Pelosi: Military Usefulness - First emerging at Commentary’s Contentions blog and at Ace of Spades, we learn of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stating that “some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians - they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities - the Iranians.” The sheer ignorance of that statement should be self-evident. It’s as if to say that, if we were only negotiating with them (without preconditions, of course), just imagine the peace we could gain. But it is also an unforgiving slap in the face to the United States and Iraqi military forces. For it was they who defeated the Iranians and their proxy militias in Basra. The victory was not negotiated in words scribed upon a mahogany table, but in blood on the streets of Basra. And it was not a ‘peace’ won by Iran nor even the Brits, safely barricaded away in a nearby airfield. (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: Forget questioning their patriotism, I question their sanity - It would be really easy to question the patriotism of the person making this statement, but darned if I can get past questioning their sanity (via Ace). “Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn't happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn't accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians.” I would love to dismiss the statement above as yet another absurd comment from yet another anti-war, anti-troop whiner grasping at any explanation, regardless how ridiculous, to diminish the success of American troops in Iraq. I would love to just completely ignore it, but since the statement is from the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, that is hard to do. (READ MORE)
Harmless Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Real Patriotism - Memorial Day 2008 came and went, and as you can tell from my post below, for our family it was a time of joy and celebration because my son came home. But for a lot of other families, it was a time to remember and grieve. It was a time to reflect and renew. It was a time to gather and rededicate. Even as our family celebrated the return of our Marine from the crucible of the Long War, we did understand that it was Memorial Day and we did take time to give thanks and recognize those who have given all in our prayers and in discussions. It was also something to see everyone at the National’s Ballpark stand in absolute silence for a National Moment of Remembrance. I know that these things are minor and that our family’s focus was on celebrating our reunion with our son; but we didn’t forget. Lest you think I sound defensive, I don’t regret a minute of our celebration (although I’m still recovering). I do want to comment on something Garrison Keillor wrote about the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day weekend. (READ MORE)
Information Dissemination: The Surge Has Spillover - The last few videos that have been released had already tipped off this conclusion. The CIA is now assessing Al Qaeda has been defeated in both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. “Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaeda, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In a strikingly upbeat assessment, the CIA chief cited major gains against al-Qaeda's allies in the Middle East and an increasingly successful campaign to destabilize the group's core leadership.” (READ MORE)
Raymond Ibrahim: Islam’s war doctrines ignored - At the recent inaugural conference for the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA), presenter LTC Joseph Myers made an interesting point that deserves further elaboration: that, though military studies have traditionally valued and absorbed the texts of classical war doctrine—such as Clausewitz’s On War, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, even the exploits of Alexander the Great as recorded in Arrian and Plutarch—Islamic war doctrine, which is just as if not more textually grounded, is totally ignored. As recent as 2006, former top Pentagon official William Gawthrop lamented that “the senior Service colleges of the Department of Defense had not incorporated into their curriculum a systematic study of Muhammad as a military or political leader. As a consequence, we still do not have an in-depth understanding of the war-fighting doctrine laid down by Muhammad, how it might be applied today by an increasing number of Islamic groups, or how it might be countered.” (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: Genesis - (Part one in a series) Through the duration of the war in Iraq I've identified key indicators of important trends in the conflict on this web site. These indicators take the form of discrete events of variable duration, the trends are larger scale and longer term, and generally identifiable to the observer only as a series of events. The key to understanding what's happening in Iraq is to be able to identify a trend by it's indicators (and conversely to be able to determine which events are part of a trend) and to recognize which trends or events matter (in long or short term) and which don't. Identifying events and trends (or even distinguishing events from brief trends) is exceptionally difficult without the benefit of hindsight and demonstrably challenging even after the fact. And any attempt at forecasting - extending those trends into the future - compounds that challenge by an unknown degree, and at some point is an exercise in futility. (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
Trackbacked / Linked by:
Are there enough jails for Democrats in Denver? from Right Truth
May 29, 2008
From the Front: 05/29/2008
News and Personal dispatches from the front lines.
In their own words:
Iraq: The Purgatorium: Oakley Bandits - As we continued our reign of terror in this big Pleasantville FOB full of M16-toting clerks, I saw a couple of my friends standing by some concrete bunkers, with a group of Air Force MPs. Apparently, one of the insidious Anaconda Gangs broke into the Oakley shop and stole a bunch of shit, and when some of my friends walked into the shop this morning looking to waste money, they found the door open and a bunch of shit missing. The vendor ran up on them, spazzing out, and the almighty authorities were summoned. [Sgt BenHur] had been in the PX earlier and had bought a Monster energy drink. The Oakley Shop was his next stop. In all their action-seeking glory, the MPs commanded him, "PUT THE CAN DOWN AND STEP AWAY! STEP AWAY FROM THE CAN!!!" (READ MORE)
IraqPundit: Iraqi Optimism On the Rise - File this under how dare they feel good about their future. A reporter returns to Iraq and finds cautious optimism and "palpable change." Howard LaFranchi of the CSM writes, "As families stroll and children squeal at swings and slides, Nahem says this tentative return to old ways is cause for cautious optimism. 'God willing, it means all Iraq is getting better, that security is coming back,' he says. 'I think there's a chance this can be true.'" Poor fool. If he would only read U.S. newspapers, he'd know better than to feel that way. The papers would tell him that his life is a mess. Presidential candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would tell him Iraq is a lost cause. From their own perspective, the Iraqis say they have reason to feel positive. (READ MORE)
James Aalan Bernsen: R&R in Qatar - I haven't had enough rest, or so my boss, an Army major, said. Forget the fact that I went on leave just 2 months ago, and that I even had a whole day off once this month. Nope, he said, I needed to take some time off to rest and relax in the civilized land of Qatar. I was reluctant to go, not because Qatar wasn't an exotic, fun-sounding place. The people are friendly, and think of Americans less as infidels, but more like good oil-guzzling maniacs whose driving habits have transformed the Qataris' squalid scrap of desert into one of the richest countries on Earth. No, it wasn't that. I just didn't want to go through Kuwait. Nothing wrong with Kuwaitis either, but as any servicemember who's gone through the transit experience at a certain facility there can say, it's just about the worst thing ever. But, as my boss informed me, the flight to Qatar was a direct one. (READ MORE)
Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage - I’d brushed aside the informal inquiries for months now. No, not me. Not interested. Keep me on the line. I want nothing to do with a promotion to XO (Executive Officer) that involves becoming a logistical whipping boy and terminal scapegoat for all things NOTGOODENOUGH. I’ve been out here in the wilds too long, dealing with matters of life and death, to go back to Little America for PowerPoint pissing matches. Not me. I’m that too skinny, crazy-eyed mustang who drives a hippie van with a McGovern bumper sticker and keeps his hair long and actually read the counterinsurgency manual rather than pretending he did, even quoting it during meetings and out in sector in this era of recentralized warfare, remember? You aren't gonna break me, no matter how enticing the fires of the FOB are. Semper Gumby. I guess they forgot, and instead focused on matters of competency. Cue outright offer. (READ MORE)
LT Nixon: Iraq News (29 May) - The Good - ABC News has cited Maliki's "Midas Touch" as Sadr City's markets are opened back up again after a huge Iraqi Army offensive. Another surge brigade of U.S. forces (~4000 troops) is being redeployed with no replacement, as U.S. force structure decreases to 15 Brigade Combat Teams. FIFA has lifted the ban on the Iraqi Football Association so that Iraq can play in the World Cup qualifying match. U.S. forces killed 10 IED-emplacers just outside Sadr City, and Iraqi troops have made huge cache finds in Sadr City. Recommended reading from AFP: Now that Al-Qaeda has fled Mosul, the citizens are allowed to drink and smoke again. I don't know how the Iraqis could have gone without smoking. Almost every Iraqi male I know smokes. One gentleman mentioned he could open up his ice factory again. Ice was banned by Al-Qaeda, because it didn't exist in the time of Prophet Mohammed. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: “Walking Dead” Marines hit lake for Spring Break - RAMADI, IRAQ (May 16, 2008) - For most individuals, Spring Break is a time to take a break from studying or work, head out to the beach and get a bronze tan while enjoying the sun and sandy beach. However, for the Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, Spring Break 2008 was a time to search for insurgents in the gleaming sun, hold security and perimeter watch during a gusty sandstorm, and concentrate on the mission at hand. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines assist Iraqi Police with reintegration - KARMA, Iraq (May 18, 2008) – The Karma Iraqi Police Station was bustling with activity. Men lined up inside the station as family members waited outside, waiting for the words that they have been waiting to hear, “You are free to go to your families.” Marines of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, assisted the Iraqi Police release approximately 40 Iraqis back to their families and home May 18. (READ MORE)
A Battlefield Tourist: Cannon Cockers Turn the Tide of Battle in South Baghdad - With additional firepower in the field during the U.S. surge strategy that began in early 2007, artillery units are firing off more rounds than ever during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recently, soldiers of “B” battery, 1/9 Field Artillery, 3rd ID (2nd BCT, 101 ABD), topped the 10,000 mark in regards to rounds sent downrange during their most recent tour which began in May, 2007. As their tour wraps up, Bravo battery will have shot more than 12,000 rounds. The previous artillery unit based at FOB Mahmudiyah, 2/15 FA (10th Mountain), was honored for shooting nearly 2,500 rounds. Word among the troops is that Bravo has shot more than any American artillery unit during OIF I or II or Desert Storm. Bravo is also the battery that fired an Excalibur round into Arab Jabour last summer, killing the top Al Qaeda leader south of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
ToySoldier: Leaving On A Jet Plane... - Don't know when I'll be back again. Or so the song goes, here I sit at a terminal at an Airbase in Iraq awaiting that magical flight to Kuwait...then more waiting, and then the magical flight home...no guarantees on the date, the Army doesn't give itineraries, they don't plan re-deployments apparently, ha ha. "Hurry Up And Wait", that should be the motto not "Army Strong". It's all so surreal, I don't think it'll hit me that I'm leaving this place till I've set foot on American soil. Sure, no more patrols, no more milvan details, no more "[Insert Name Here] Base this is Red 6 Romeo" none of that; but I'm still in Iraq, still here amidst the dust and the rising temperatures. Still on deployment but not working, this is Limbo. My friend Suspect referred to this tour as Purgatory, I disagree...this right here is the Purgatory. Endless waiting for a chance at heaven. (READ MORE)
Talisman Gate: Cat’s Out of the Bag: Onwards to Maysan - Well I guess enough people are openly discussing this now in Baghdad that it’s okay for me to write about it. Mind you, all the following is classified under the category of gossip: The Iraqi Army and the Marines are preparing for a major campaign against Mahdi Army and Iranian targets in Maysan Province (‘Amara). Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may even put the entire elected leadership of ‘Amara—many of whom are Sadrists—out of a job, by flexing his authority under emergency powers. There is even talk of air strikes against military targets—weapons depots, transportation vehicles and individuals—on the Iranian side of the fence; these are targets that are arming and otherwise supporting the Special Groups throughout Iraq. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: "Key" Special Groups financier captured south of Baghdad - Coalition Special Operations Forces captured a "key Special Groups financier" with direct links to Iran's Qods Force in the city of Mahmudiyah on May 28. "He is suspected to be the primary financier between Iranian intelligence elements and Special Groups criminals in Mahmudiyah and southern Baghdad and was reportedly distributing funds to weapons smugglers supplying criminals in those areas," Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. The Special Groups financier has conducted his activities outside Iraq, according to Multinational Forces Iraq. He is "believed to travel to Iran and Syria to procure funds on behalf of Special Groups senior leadership." Mahmudiyah is about 10 miles south of Baghdad. The city sits on what has been described as a sectarian fault line, where well-defined Sunni and Shia communities abut. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: "I love being over here man," 'Cold Steel' making a difference - Patrol Base Woodcock- They live inside the serpentine halls of an old factory that used to make communications equipment for the Iraqi Army. The Soldiers of Charlie 1st/327th Infantry Regiment of the 1st/101st Airborne are so used to the power going off, every 20 minutes or so, they don't flinch when the lights go dead. Their area of operation, the city of Adwar, ten minutes south of Tikrit is famous for being the town where Saddam was pulled from his spider hole without firing a shot. Now Charlie company of the 1st/327th, or 'Cold Steel' as they call themselves do more work to boost local Iraqi police and CLC checkpoints than shooting it out with the Ba'athists who used to control this area and lived in opulent houses along the Tigris. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Pakistan strikes deal with the Taliban in Mohmand - The Pakistani government has signed another peace agreement with the Taliban in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. On Monday, the Pakistani government signed a peace agreement with Taliban commander Omar Khalid in the Mohmand tribal agency, making this the third such agreement in northwestern Pakistan since April 20. The deal requires the Taliban to renounce attacks on the Pakistani government and security forces. The Taliban will maintain a ban on the activities of non-government organizations in the region and agreed not to attack women in the workplace if they wore the veil. Both sides exchanged prisoners. Eight members of the Saafi tribe were exchanged for a doctor. Khalid is a member of the Saafi tribe. The Taliban immediately moved to establish a parallel government in Mohmand. (READ MORE)
Back but still writing:
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: Life and death - The military calls it "re-integration." It's the process of re-connecting with your family and your previous life after being deployed for war. Such touchy-feely concepts don't sit well with soldiers who are convinced they can do anything and there should be nothing to picking up where you left off when you get back home. The truth is, re-integration has been easy for me and I'm sure it has for others. But I also know it's hard on families. This deployment has caused divorces and strained relationships in families among many soldiers close to me. We spent over a year focused on a mission. We had almost a singular purpose in life and each day was spent advancing that mission. In some ways it was larger-than-life. The intensity of each day and the dangers we faced amplified everything for us. (READ MORE)
Acute Politics: Memorial Day - Those men I remembered on Monday... The three Badgers you already know about, if you’ve been reading here long. Good men, taken much too soon. We all know far too well that the bomb that took them could have claimed any three of us. A sniper killed Major Olmstead while he tried to talk insurgents into surrendering, rather than running away and forcing his men to shoot. Captain Casey was killed when he went to aid Major Olmstead. Major Olmstead became the first milblogger that I know of to be killed in action in Iraq- his last post was published by a friend and spoke at length of his life’s philosophy and final regret at having died. LTC Jack Friedrichsen was my grandfather, an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. He died while I was in training to deploy to Iraq, just days after my 22nd birthday. In the birthday card he sent to me that year, he told me how proud he was that I had chosen to serve my country and wished me safety in Iraq. I was reading it on my bunk when they came to tell me he was dead. (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: The Battle for Anbar - A look at mainstream media coverage of events as they unfolded - this entry is designed as a companion piece to an upcoming series here. In January, 2006, USA Today ran a story headlined "General sees rift in Iraq enemy " - a rift described as "an opportunity for American forces to try to persuade local guerrillas to put down their weapons and join the political process": "Now you actually have a wedge, or a split, between the Sunni population and al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, deputy chief of staff for intelligence for multinational forces in Iraq. "It poses a significant crossroads for these groups as they look at where they head." (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
MND-B Soldiers engage RPG team, seize munitions - BAGHDAD, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers killed 2 criminals and seized munitions during operations in Baghdad May 28. Soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered 240 57 mm rocket warheads at approximately 2:10 p.m. northwest of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
VBIED kills 2 IPs, wounds 2 - TIKRIT, Iraq – A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device killed two Iraqi Police officers and wounded two additional police officers in Mosul May 29. The attack was conducted near the IP Special Weapons and Tactics Headquarters in northern Mosul. (READ MORE)
Conference brings key-Iraqi energy leaders together - TIKRIT, Iraq – Northern Iraqi leaders came together for an energy conference at Contingency Operating Base Spiecher in the province of Salah ad Din May 28. The conference, which lasted until mid-day, covered the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity within the northern region of Iraq. (READ MORE)
Large cache of explosives discovered in Mosul - TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers discovered a large cache in the al-Jazair neighborhood of Mosul, Ninewah Province, May 26. The IA conducted a search operation on a two-floor building, which was divided into two parts. The first part was used as a market, and the second part contained a small door, which led to the large cache. (READ MORE)
Mosul pinch continues: Two wanted al-Qaeda suspects, nine others captured - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces detained 11 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists, including two men wanted for criminal activities, during operations in Mosul Wednesday and Thursday. Coalition forces targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq cells in Mosul that are known to attack Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Two wanted men and nine additional suspects were detained during operations spanning Wednesday and Thursday. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces capture key Special Groups financier - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces captured a key suspected Special Groups financier May 28 in Mahmudiyah, about 15 km south of Baghdad. Intelligence sources led Coalition forces to the residence of the individual believed to be a key Special Groups financier. He is suspected to be the primary financier between Iranian intelligence elements and Special Groups criminals in Mahmudiyah and southern Baghdad and was reportedly distributing funds to weapons smugglers supplying criminals in those areas. (READ MORE)
‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys (Diyala) - BAGHDAD – Approximately, 4,000 Soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, are redeploying back to Fort Lewis, Wash., next month. The 4th Stryker Brigade deployed in April 2007 to secure the Diyala Province north of Baghdad to improve the safety and quality of life for the approximately 1.2 million people living there. During this time, the 4th Stryker Brigade was part of the initial surge of five additional brigades into Iraq. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces kill 10 criminals in New Baghdad - FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 10 Special Group criminals in the Fedaliyah neighborhood of the New Baghdad district in eastern Baghdad May 28. Coalition forces engaged the criminals after observing them emplace improvised-explosive devices. The criminals were also carrying illegal weapons. (READ MORE)
Improvements being made at FOB Hammer - When Spc. William Hughes, found out he would be stationed at Forward Operating Base Hammer in April 2007, all he knew about the FOB was it had been recently built. “I knew that the FOB was practically brand new,” said Hughes, a Soldier in 9th Psychological Operations Battallion. “I was expecting tents, water bottle showers and hoped that we would have phones or internet.” The fact was that FOB Hammer had been constructed only a month prior to his arrival by the 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron. (READ MORE)
200-pound bomb discovered in Arab Jabour field - A member of the Sons of Iraq in Arab Jabour found a 200-pound bomb while clearing a farm field May 27. Ahmed Razaq, an SoI leader, found the bomb in a field, and with help from other SoI, loaded the bomb in his truck and brought it to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers stationed at Patrol Base Hawks. Although tests have yet to be conducted to see if the bomb still contains explosives or was just the shell, 1st Lt. Jeno Giorgi, leader of 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, said it is a major find whether active or inert. (READ MORE)
Soldiers help Iraqis with drinking water, irrigation - Iraqi farmers near Patrol Base Copper received new means to irrigate their fields and provide clean water for their families through Coalition assistance May 25. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, distributed water pumps and filters to local sheikhs at the base, approximately 30 kilometers south of Baghdad. The pumps help residents use canal water to irrigate crops; the filters provide drinkable water. “We’re very thankful for the support the Americans give us,” said Sheikh Nahid, with the Gourani tribe. “We haven’t been able to farm our fields without water, but now we can make a living for ourselves.” (READ MORE)
In their own words:
Iraq: The Purgatorium: Oakley Bandits - As we continued our reign of terror in this big Pleasantville FOB full of M16-toting clerks, I saw a couple of my friends standing by some concrete bunkers, with a group of Air Force MPs. Apparently, one of the insidious Anaconda Gangs broke into the Oakley shop and stole a bunch of shit, and when some of my friends walked into the shop this morning looking to waste money, they found the door open and a bunch of shit missing. The vendor ran up on them, spazzing out, and the almighty authorities were summoned. [Sgt BenHur] had been in the PX earlier and had bought a Monster energy drink. The Oakley Shop was his next stop. In all their action-seeking glory, the MPs commanded him, "PUT THE CAN DOWN AND STEP AWAY! STEP AWAY FROM THE CAN!!!" (READ MORE)
IraqPundit: Iraqi Optimism On the Rise - File this under how dare they feel good about their future. A reporter returns to Iraq and finds cautious optimism and "palpable change." Howard LaFranchi of the CSM writes, "As families stroll and children squeal at swings and slides, Nahem says this tentative return to old ways is cause for cautious optimism. 'God willing, it means all Iraq is getting better, that security is coming back,' he says. 'I think there's a chance this can be true.'" Poor fool. If he would only read U.S. newspapers, he'd know better than to feel that way. The papers would tell him that his life is a mess. Presidential candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would tell him Iraq is a lost cause. From their own perspective, the Iraqis say they have reason to feel positive. (READ MORE)
James Aalan Bernsen: R&R in Qatar - I haven't had enough rest, or so my boss, an Army major, said. Forget the fact that I went on leave just 2 months ago, and that I even had a whole day off once this month. Nope, he said, I needed to take some time off to rest and relax in the civilized land of Qatar. I was reluctant to go, not because Qatar wasn't an exotic, fun-sounding place. The people are friendly, and think of Americans less as infidels, but more like good oil-guzzling maniacs whose driving habits have transformed the Qataris' squalid scrap of desert into one of the richest countries on Earth. No, it wasn't that. I just didn't want to go through Kuwait. Nothing wrong with Kuwaitis either, but as any servicemember who's gone through the transit experience at a certain facility there can say, it's just about the worst thing ever. But, as my boss informed me, the flight to Qatar was a direct one. (READ MORE)
Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage - I’d brushed aside the informal inquiries for months now. No, not me. Not interested. Keep me on the line. I want nothing to do with a promotion to XO (Executive Officer) that involves becoming a logistical whipping boy and terminal scapegoat for all things NOTGOODENOUGH. I’ve been out here in the wilds too long, dealing with matters of life and death, to go back to Little America for PowerPoint pissing matches. Not me. I’m that too skinny, crazy-eyed mustang who drives a hippie van with a McGovern bumper sticker and keeps his hair long and actually read the counterinsurgency manual rather than pretending he did, even quoting it during meetings and out in sector in this era of recentralized warfare, remember? You aren't gonna break me, no matter how enticing the fires of the FOB are. Semper Gumby. I guess they forgot, and instead focused on matters of competency. Cue outright offer. (READ MORE)
LT Nixon: Iraq News (29 May) - The Good - ABC News has cited Maliki's "Midas Touch" as Sadr City's markets are opened back up again after a huge Iraqi Army offensive. Another surge brigade of U.S. forces (~4000 troops) is being redeployed with no replacement, as U.S. force structure decreases to 15 Brigade Combat Teams. FIFA has lifted the ban on the Iraqi Football Association so that Iraq can play in the World Cup qualifying match. U.S. forces killed 10 IED-emplacers just outside Sadr City, and Iraqi troops have made huge cache finds in Sadr City. Recommended reading from AFP: Now that Al-Qaeda has fled Mosul, the citizens are allowed to drink and smoke again. I don't know how the Iraqis could have gone without smoking. Almost every Iraqi male I know smokes. One gentleman mentioned he could open up his ice factory again. Ice was banned by Al-Qaeda, because it didn't exist in the time of Prophet Mohammed. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: “Walking Dead” Marines hit lake for Spring Break - RAMADI, IRAQ (May 16, 2008) - For most individuals, Spring Break is a time to take a break from studying or work, head out to the beach and get a bronze tan while enjoying the sun and sandy beach. However, for the Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, Spring Break 2008 was a time to search for insurgents in the gleaming sun, hold security and perimeter watch during a gusty sandstorm, and concentrate on the mission at hand. (READ MORE)
Fearless 1st Marines’ blog: 2nd Bn., 3rd Marines assist Iraqi Police with reintegration - KARMA, Iraq (May 18, 2008) – The Karma Iraqi Police Station was bustling with activity. Men lined up inside the station as family members waited outside, waiting for the words that they have been waiting to hear, “You are free to go to your families.” Marines of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, assisted the Iraqi Police release approximately 40 Iraqis back to their families and home May 18. (READ MORE)
A Battlefield Tourist: Cannon Cockers Turn the Tide of Battle in South Baghdad - With additional firepower in the field during the U.S. surge strategy that began in early 2007, artillery units are firing off more rounds than ever during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recently, soldiers of “B” battery, 1/9 Field Artillery, 3rd ID (2nd BCT, 101 ABD), topped the 10,000 mark in regards to rounds sent downrange during their most recent tour which began in May, 2007. As their tour wraps up, Bravo battery will have shot more than 12,000 rounds. The previous artillery unit based at FOB Mahmudiyah, 2/15 FA (10th Mountain), was honored for shooting nearly 2,500 rounds. Word among the troops is that Bravo has shot more than any American artillery unit during OIF I or II or Desert Storm. Bravo is also the battery that fired an Excalibur round into Arab Jabour last summer, killing the top Al Qaeda leader south of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
ToySoldier: Leaving On A Jet Plane... - Don't know when I'll be back again. Or so the song goes, here I sit at a terminal at an Airbase in Iraq awaiting that magical flight to Kuwait...then more waiting, and then the magical flight home...no guarantees on the date, the Army doesn't give itineraries, they don't plan re-deployments apparently, ha ha. "Hurry Up And Wait", that should be the motto not "Army Strong". It's all so surreal, I don't think it'll hit me that I'm leaving this place till I've set foot on American soil. Sure, no more patrols, no more milvan details, no more "[Insert Name Here] Base this is Red 6 Romeo" none of that; but I'm still in Iraq, still here amidst the dust and the rising temperatures. Still on deployment but not working, this is Limbo. My friend Suspect referred to this tour as Purgatory, I disagree...this right here is the Purgatory. Endless waiting for a chance at heaven. (READ MORE)
Talisman Gate: Cat’s Out of the Bag: Onwards to Maysan - Well I guess enough people are openly discussing this now in Baghdad that it’s okay for me to write about it. Mind you, all the following is classified under the category of gossip: The Iraqi Army and the Marines are preparing for a major campaign against Mahdi Army and Iranian targets in Maysan Province (‘Amara). Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may even put the entire elected leadership of ‘Amara—many of whom are Sadrists—out of a job, by flexing his authority under emergency powers. There is even talk of air strikes against military targets—weapons depots, transportation vehicles and individuals—on the Iranian side of the fence; these are targets that are arming and otherwise supporting the Special Groups throughout Iraq. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: "Key" Special Groups financier captured south of Baghdad - Coalition Special Operations Forces captured a "key Special Groups financier" with direct links to Iran's Qods Force in the city of Mahmudiyah on May 28. "He is suspected to be the primary financier between Iranian intelligence elements and Special Groups criminals in Mahmudiyah and southern Baghdad and was reportedly distributing funds to weapons smugglers supplying criminals in those areas," Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. The Special Groups financier has conducted his activities outside Iraq, according to Multinational Forces Iraq. He is "believed to travel to Iran and Syria to procure funds on behalf of Special Groups senior leadership." Mahmudiyah is about 10 miles south of Baghdad. The city sits on what has been described as a sectarian fault line, where well-defined Sunni and Shia communities abut. (READ MORE)
IN-iraq: "I love being over here man," 'Cold Steel' making a difference - Patrol Base Woodcock- They live inside the serpentine halls of an old factory that used to make communications equipment for the Iraqi Army. The Soldiers of Charlie 1st/327th Infantry Regiment of the 1st/101st Airborne are so used to the power going off, every 20 minutes or so, they don't flinch when the lights go dead. Their area of operation, the city of Adwar, ten minutes south of Tikrit is famous for being the town where Saddam was pulled from his spider hole without firing a shot. Now Charlie company of the 1st/327th, or 'Cold Steel' as they call themselves do more work to boost local Iraqi police and CLC checkpoints than shooting it out with the Ba'athists who used to control this area and lived in opulent houses along the Tigris. (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Pakistan strikes deal with the Taliban in Mohmand - The Pakistani government has signed another peace agreement with the Taliban in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. On Monday, the Pakistani government signed a peace agreement with Taliban commander Omar Khalid in the Mohmand tribal agency, making this the third such agreement in northwestern Pakistan since April 20. The deal requires the Taliban to renounce attacks on the Pakistani government and security forces. The Taliban will maintain a ban on the activities of non-government organizations in the region and agreed not to attack women in the workplace if they wore the veil. Both sides exchanged prisoners. Eight members of the Saafi tribe were exchanged for a doctor. Khalid is a member of the Saafi tribe. The Taliban immediately moved to establish a parallel government in Mohmand. (READ MORE)
Back but still writing:
Yellowhammering Afghanistan: Life and death - The military calls it "re-integration." It's the process of re-connecting with your family and your previous life after being deployed for war. Such touchy-feely concepts don't sit well with soldiers who are convinced they can do anything and there should be nothing to picking up where you left off when you get back home. The truth is, re-integration has been easy for me and I'm sure it has for others. But I also know it's hard on families. This deployment has caused divorces and strained relationships in families among many soldiers close to me. We spent over a year focused on a mission. We had almost a singular purpose in life and each day was spent advancing that mission. In some ways it was larger-than-life. The intensity of each day and the dangers we faced amplified everything for us. (READ MORE)
Acute Politics: Memorial Day - Those men I remembered on Monday... The three Badgers you already know about, if you’ve been reading here long. Good men, taken much too soon. We all know far too well that the bomb that took them could have claimed any three of us. A sniper killed Major Olmstead while he tried to talk insurgents into surrendering, rather than running away and forcing his men to shoot. Captain Casey was killed when he went to aid Major Olmstead. Major Olmstead became the first milblogger that I know of to be killed in action in Iraq- his last post was published by a friend and spoke at length of his life’s philosophy and final regret at having died. LTC Jack Friedrichsen was my grandfather, an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. He died while I was in training to deploy to Iraq, just days after my 22nd birthday. In the birthday card he sent to me that year, he told me how proud he was that I had chosen to serve my country and wished me safety in Iraq. I was reading it on my bunk when they came to tell me he was dead. (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: The Battle for Anbar - A look at mainstream media coverage of events as they unfolded - this entry is designed as a companion piece to an upcoming series here. In January, 2006, USA Today ran a story headlined "General sees rift in Iraq enemy " - a rift described as "an opportunity for American forces to try to persuade local guerrillas to put down their weapons and join the political process": "Now you actually have a wedge, or a split, between the Sunni population and al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, deputy chief of staff for intelligence for multinational forces in Iraq. "It poses a significant crossroads for these groups as they look at where they head." (READ MORE)
News from the Front:
Iraq:
MND-B Soldiers engage RPG team, seize munitions - BAGHDAD, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers killed 2 criminals and seized munitions during operations in Baghdad May 28. Soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, discovered 240 57 mm rocket warheads at approximately 2:10 p.m. northwest of Baghdad. (READ MORE)
VBIED kills 2 IPs, wounds 2 - TIKRIT, Iraq – A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device killed two Iraqi Police officers and wounded two additional police officers in Mosul May 29. The attack was conducted near the IP Special Weapons and Tactics Headquarters in northern Mosul. (READ MORE)
Conference brings key-Iraqi energy leaders together - TIKRIT, Iraq – Northern Iraqi leaders came together for an energy conference at Contingency Operating Base Spiecher in the province of Salah ad Din May 28. The conference, which lasted until mid-day, covered the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity within the northern region of Iraq. (READ MORE)
Large cache of explosives discovered in Mosul - TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi Army Soldiers discovered a large cache in the al-Jazair neighborhood of Mosul, Ninewah Province, May 26. The IA conducted a search operation on a two-floor building, which was divided into two parts. The first part was used as a market, and the second part contained a small door, which led to the large cache. (READ MORE)
Mosul pinch continues: Two wanted al-Qaeda suspects, nine others captured - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces detained 11 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists, including two men wanted for criminal activities, during operations in Mosul Wednesday and Thursday. Coalition forces targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq cells in Mosul that are known to attack Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Two wanted men and nine additional suspects were detained during operations spanning Wednesday and Thursday. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces capture key Special Groups financier - BAGHDAD – Coalition forces captured a key suspected Special Groups financier May 28 in Mahmudiyah, about 15 km south of Baghdad. Intelligence sources led Coalition forces to the residence of the individual believed to be a key Special Groups financier. He is suspected to be the primary financier between Iranian intelligence elements and Special Groups criminals in Mahmudiyah and southern Baghdad and was reportedly distributing funds to weapons smugglers supplying criminals in those areas. (READ MORE)
‘Surge’ Brigade redeploys (Diyala) - BAGHDAD – Approximately, 4,000 Soldiers from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, are redeploying back to Fort Lewis, Wash., next month. The 4th Stryker Brigade deployed in April 2007 to secure the Diyala Province north of Baghdad to improve the safety and quality of life for the approximately 1.2 million people living there. During this time, the 4th Stryker Brigade was part of the initial surge of five additional brigades into Iraq. (READ MORE)
Coalition forces kill 10 criminals in New Baghdad - FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 10 Special Group criminals in the Fedaliyah neighborhood of the New Baghdad district in eastern Baghdad May 28. Coalition forces engaged the criminals after observing them emplace improvised-explosive devices. The criminals were also carrying illegal weapons. (READ MORE)
Improvements being made at FOB Hammer - When Spc. William Hughes, found out he would be stationed at Forward Operating Base Hammer in April 2007, all he knew about the FOB was it had been recently built. “I knew that the FOB was practically brand new,” said Hughes, a Soldier in 9th Psychological Operations Battallion. “I was expecting tents, water bottle showers and hoped that we would have phones or internet.” The fact was that FOB Hammer had been constructed only a month prior to his arrival by the 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron. (READ MORE)
200-pound bomb discovered in Arab Jabour field - A member of the Sons of Iraq in Arab Jabour found a 200-pound bomb while clearing a farm field May 27. Ahmed Razaq, an SoI leader, found the bomb in a field, and with help from other SoI, loaded the bomb in his truck and brought it to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers stationed at Patrol Base Hawks. Although tests have yet to be conducted to see if the bomb still contains explosives or was just the shell, 1st Lt. Jeno Giorgi, leader of 2nd Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, said it is a major find whether active or inert. (READ MORE)
Soldiers help Iraqis with drinking water, irrigation - Iraqi farmers near Patrol Base Copper received new means to irrigate their fields and provide clean water for their families through Coalition assistance May 25. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, distributed water pumps and filters to local sheikhs at the base, approximately 30 kilometers south of Baghdad. The pumps help residents use canal water to irrigate crops; the filters provide drinkable water. “We’re very thankful for the support the Americans give us,” said Sheikh Nahid, with the Gourani tribe. “We haven’t been able to farm our fields without water, but now we can make a living for ourselves.” (READ MORE)
Web Reconnaissance for 05/29/2008
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
The Florida Revelation ... - Republicans in Congress may be out of gas, but that doesn't mean conservative ideas aren't percolating elsewhere, and even on the supposedly Democratic stronghold of health care. Take the news from Florida, where GOP Governor Charlie Crist succeeded last week in moving an innovative reform through the state legislature. (READ MORE)
...And Escape From New Jersey - New Jersey is about the last place one might think to look for free-market policy reform. But this week Jay Webber, a Republican Assemblyman in Trenton, will introduce legislation to let Garden State residents buy low-cost health insurance from any registered policy in any of the 50 states. Mr. Webber's proposal is a state version of Arizona Congressman John Shadegg's federal legislation to let individuals buy insurance across state lines, and John McCain has also endorsed the idea. (READ MORE)
The Menendez Method - Republicans in Congress are usually to blame for blocking immigration reform. So it's worth noting that last week's effort to fix a broken guest-worker program for migrant farm workers died at the hands of a Democrat. Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Emergency Agricultural Relief Act with a bipartisan vote of 17 to 12. (READ MORE)
Ex-Colleagues Ask, 'What Happened?' - Scott McClellan was the ultimate Bush loyalist. He went to work for George W. Bush when he was Texas governor in 1999, helped Bush gain the White House in 2000, and then came to Washington to defend the president for the next six years on such issues as the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. (READ MORE)
On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground - Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have. (READ MORE)
111 Nations, Minus the U.S., Agree to Cluster-Bomb Ban - LONDON, May 28 -- More than 100 countries reached agreement Wednesday to ban cluster bombs, controversial weapons that human rights groups deplore but that the United States, which did not join the ban, calls an integral, legitimate part of its arsenal. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
The Belmont Club: Behind the scenes - The Telegraph reports that someone's quest to acquire WMDs still goes on. “Equipment bound for Syria which could be used to test ballistic missile components was intercepted during a previously undisclosed mission, the United States has announced. Four member states of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a group of 90 countries who seek to prevent the shipment of weapons of mass destruction, were involved in the operation in February, 2007. US national security adviser Stephen Hadley described the incident in a speech to members of the PSI, which the Bush administration has sought to portray as a significant success in its drive to prevent biological, chemical or nuclear terrorism.” (READ MORE)
Dafydd: McClellan's Losing Campaign - I believe that McClellan's campaign will turn out to be a disaster, not for the president but for McClellan himself. Alas, I was scooped on the following observation by John Hinderaker at my favorite blogsite, Power Line; but I shall persevere, secure behind the lizardly firewall of "Never first, always final." What has struck me is "the Case of the Missing Evidence": McClellan is quoted as leveling numerous charges against President Bush and members of his administration, from "misleading" us into the Iraq war by spreading "propaganda," to McClellan's accusation that Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby conspired together to out Valerie Plame and then lie about it to the grand jury, to -- this is truly bizarre -- McClellan's psychic claim that Bush lied about never having tried cocaine. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Post toasties - The Fact Checker’s 5 favorite flip-flops from Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post listed his 5 favorite times when Obama said actually-I-was-for-it-before-I-was-against-it. In American Bandstand’s countdown style. No. 5: Actually he was for legalizing marijuana before he was against it. No. 4: Actually he was for hiring illegal aliens before he was against it. No. 3: Actually he was for the Cuban embargo before he was against it. No. 2: Actually he was for accepting public financing before he was against it. No. 1: Actually he was for opposing special interests before he was against it. (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Surprise: Obama suddenly considering trip to Iraq - That was fast. “Senator Barack Obama said today that he is considering visiting American troops and commanders in Iraq this summer. He declined an invitation from Senator John McCain to take a joint trip to Iraq, saying: ‘I just don’t want to be involved in a political stunt.’ In a brief interview here, Mr. Obama said his campaign was considering taking a foreign trip after he secures the Democratic presidential nomination. No details have been set, he said, but added: ‘Iraq would obviously be at the top of the list of stops.’… ‘I think that if I’m going to Iraq, then I’m there to talk to troops and talk to commanders, I’m not there to try to score political points or perform,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘The work they’re doing there is too important.’” Just so we’re clear, a “political stunt” would be letting McCain cow him into a joint trip to Iraq. Letting McCain cow him into a solo trip? Not a stunt. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Obama on policy: er, Hope! Change! - The Washington Post runs a front-page analysis of Barack Obama’s policy positions today, and they find … nothing much. In fact, what little work Obama had done on policy since entering the Senate in 2005 he abandoned in 2006 as he prepared for his presidential campaign. To the extent that he has any policy credentials, Perry Bacon reports that it doesn’t differ at all from the standard platform of the Democratic Party: “Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have. So in 2005, he had his office arrange informal seminars so that experts on health care, the economy, energy and education could brief him.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: The Arab Mind: Part XV - On the Use of Language: Hyperbole as Defense - Until 9/11 most Americans, and most Europeans, had almost no experience of the Arab use of language. Arabic spokesmen were adept at using soothing, noninflammatory language when speaking to Westerners. There were few people with access to the Media who actually spoke Arabic, and there was no MEMRI, Camera, or other translators available to most people to facilitate learning of the actual words used by the Arabs in their native language(s). Since 9/11 and with the explosive growth of the Internet, it has become much easier to obtain translations of actual speeches meant for and delivered to Arabic speaking audiences, and this now allows for a greater understanding of how such language is used and what the words are meant to convey. (READ MORE)
Cassandra: A Failure of Imagination - OMFG!!! Is Scott McClellan just the best White House secretary EVER, or *what*? Get a load of this: "The President, he, President Bush, too, had been deceived and therefore became unwittingly involved in deceiving me. OMG, OMG, OMG!!! Finally, the proof of what we have been telling America all along! That scummy little lying bastard lied to us without knowing that he lied!!! Jimminy Christmas, what a day! Can you say Chimpeachment, boys and girls? I knew that you could. Of course, the pathetic 28 percenters will be working overtime to discredit poor Scott: (READ MORE)
Jay Tea: Just Go Already! - Recently, Senator John McCain invited/challenged/double dog dared Senator Barack Obama to accompany him on a trip to Iraq. Obama, sensing a political trap (he's apparently as wary of McCain as he is of Fox News, neither of whom are as trustworthy as his longtime former pastor, his buddy the former terrorist, his buddy the indicted political fixer, or the heads of terrorist states, all of whom he has no problems with seeing), has declined. I think that is a mistake of Obama's. No, I don't think it's a political trap. And no, I don't think that Obama would suddenly have a "road to Damascus" moment and see the progress being made in Iraq and pronounce it good, and renounce his previous statements. But the simple facts of the matter are these: (READ MORE)
DJ Drummond: Their Surrender, Not Ours - An early distinction between the Democrat and Republican candidates for President, is the question about whether countries like Iran represent a threat to the United States, and if so what sort of posture should be taken to protect America. Speaking for the Left, Senator Barack Obama says that Iran should not be considered a real threat to the US, generally because it lacks the size of army and scale of armament to threaten American territory. It is laughable to argue that a nation like Iran would invade any land where US troops have boots on the ground. He makes the point that one-size-fits-all does not make sense when addressing different types of enemies, and suggests that discussions might prevent more costly confrontation later. In theory, this makes a kind of sense. Unfortunately for Senator Obama, the reality of the situation is very different from what he believes to be the case. (READ MORE)
Kevin Aylward: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin To Meet With McCain VP Search Team - A tipster sent us word that John McCain's VP advance man Arthur Culvahouse has been spotted in Juneau, Alaska. There's only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position. This comes on the heels of McCain's Memorial Day weekend barbecue attended by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former White House budget director Rob Portman, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Supposedly that was in informal affair, not a vetting session, but it appears that the VP selection game is very much afoot. (READ MORE)
This Ain't Hell: Gas price climbs while oil falls - The Associated Press writes this morning that even though oil prices are falling, prices for gasoline continue climbing; “Oil prices fell back Thursday ahead of a report expected to show U.S. inventories of crude and petroleum products grew last week. Prices remained volatile, though, buffeted about by threats against Nigerian oil facilities, worries about falling gasoline demand in the U.S. and a strengthening U.S. dollar.” That’s those big, bad oil companies getting rich on the backs of working Americans, right? Wrong. The problem is the bottleneck at the refinery stage. OPEC can pump oil as fast as they want and the price for each barrel will fall, but refineries are working at full capacity and can’t meet the demand which drives gas prices up. (READ MORE)
Westhawk: McCain’s nuke plan is good, but could go farther - Yesterday, Senator John McCain gave a speech that described how his administration would enhance global nuclear security. The speech addressed all of the most important issues relating to nuclear security and Senator McCain endorsed a variety of sound ideas. But for the U.S. to obtain the leverage it needs to make significant progress against current and future nuclear proliferation rogues, future U.S. policy will need to go farther than what Senator McCain proposed. Media headlines from the speech discussed Senator McCain’s willingness to discuss further warhead reductions with Russia and China. But Russia and China, being rational players, are the least important nuclear worries for the U.S. The gravest nuclear problem for the U.S. and the world is proliferation to rogue states and non-state actors. The top priority of U.S. nuclear security policy should be to obtain leverage over this problem. (READ MORE)
THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS: Why Hillary Still Runs - In a pathetic attempt at damage control after implying that she could still win the democratic nomination if Barack Obama were to be assassinated, Hillary Clinton offered a pious justification. As long as I live and breathe and blog, I will make sure that Hillary Clinton’s every statement is rebutted. In 1992, Hillary Clinton invented the “War Room.” Counterattacks were to be swift and severe. The blogosphere allows lies to be challenged. My blog is my own personal war room. Hillary will drown in an avalanche of her own lies. It is my honor to help in this version of ethical waterboarding. Below are some of Hillary’s comments, with the actual truth offered by the Tygrrrr Express. (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: Garrison Keillor Mocks Patriotism - I guess out on Lake Blowbegone, patriotism isn’t kosher? Keillor just seems, nose in the air, to find all that lowborn patriotism so woefully gauche. At least, one might get that impression by reading the attack penned by Garrison Keillor against the patriotism evinced by the folks who don their red, white and blue, along with their leather jackets and hop on their Hogs to join the long line of motorcycle riders at “Rolling Thunder” on Memorial Day in Washington D.C. This year, Keillor was so put off by the patriotic bikers that he was driven to his keyboard to regale us all with his bad metaphors and surly disposition. With “The roar of hollow patriotism,” Keillor found that he just couldn’t stomach the loud patriotism expressed by the Harley riders in D.C. He also seemed to say that if you are a “fat man with a ponytail” you shouldn’t be allowed to express that patriotism in a manner you so wish to express it. (READ MORE)
Melanie Phillips: The universities' witch-hunt against the Jews - Today, the Universities and Colleges Union is discussing whether universities should single out Israeli and Jewish scholars for active discrimination. Yes, you read that correctly. The UCU is debating a motion which not only raises the spectre yet again of an academic boycott of Israel but demands of Jewish and Israeli academics that they explain their politics as a pre-condition to normal academic contact. The motion asks colleagues to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions, and to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned, including Israeli colleagues with whom they are collaborating... the testimonies will be used to promote a wide discussion by colleagues of the appropriateness of continued educational links with Israeli academic institutions... Ariel College, an explicitly colonising institution in the West Bank, be investigated under the formal Greylisting Procedure. (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: EMBRACE THE HORROR - There are days that I really hate politics – days when my cynicism and contempt for the politicians, the process, the whole bloody, unholy mess of spin meisters, pundits, press, bloggers, and commentators from all sides of the ideological spectrum make me want to chuck it all and write about sports, or gardening, or cats. Readers of this site know that this too, shall pass; that tomorrow or the next day or day after that, I will resume my role as cantankerous curmudgeon railing against the left, the right, and the squishes in the middle as if this feeling of utter, depthless depression about the state of the nation never existed. Part of it is, I’m sure, the coming slaughter of conservatives at the polls in November. (READ MORE)
ROFASix: Are We Safer from Terrorists Here Now? - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say no. But a look here suggests something has changed. Was it the war against terrorists? Some think so. I suspect that is only a part of the reason that so far we have not been attacked again here at home. As you look at the various reasons you realize some are attributable to administration actions and directed changes, while some others are clearly not. First, we are no longer viewing actions of terrorists as a law enforcement issue. Instead of attempting to monitor, detect, and defend against terrorists at the local level, the response, in theory at least, is one that integrates the efforts and talents of the local through national levels of law enforcement, intelligence, backed up by the military to the extent permitted by posse comitatus. (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: The Daily Kos Thread Of The Day: It's Karl Rove's Fault I Am Driving My Conservative Friends Away! - It's always fascinating to watch the hoops liberals are willing to jump through in order to paint themselves as victims. I didn't get that job. Must be racism! I'm not as far ahead in my career as I'd like. Must be sexism! I'm poor. It must be because the rich people are getting all the breaks at my expense! It's always something. Now, over at the Daily Kos, a diarist named RoddieH is complaining that he can no longer be friends with conservatives, basically just because he can't stand the fact that they don't agree with him. Now, that's not my personal philosophy. I have a few liberal friends and acquaintances, but I do understand people who just get so wrapped up in politics that they can't be friends with people on the opposite side of the fence. (READ MORE)
Noah Shachtman: Al Qaeda's Civil War? - In an online town hall meeting with supporters last month, Al Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri was asked a number of unusually pointed questions. "Do you consider the killing of women and children to be Jihad?" one asked. "What is the legal [basis] for killing the innocents?" another wanted to know. Turns out, others in Al Qaeda are wondering the same thing -- including one of its founding members. In this week's New Yorker, Lawrence Wright profiles Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, "known to those in the underground mainly as Dr. Fadl." He's part of "the original core of Al Qaeda," and "one of the first members of Al Qaeda’s top council. Twenty years ago, he wrote two of the most important books in modern Islamist discourse; Al Qaeda used them to indoctrinate recruits and justify killing. (READ MORE)
Paul Cruickshank: The Beginning of the End for Al Qaeda? - Peter Bergen (my colleague at the NYU Center on Law and Security) and myself have a cover story out in the latest issue of the New Republic -- published online last week and now on news stands --- entitled the ‘Jihadist Revolt against Bin Laden.’ We report that key figures in the Jihadist movement, many of them veterans of the Afghan anti-Soviet Jihad, are increasingly publicly repudiating Bin Laden, alarmed by Al Qaeda’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the fact that most of its victims since 9/11 have been Muslim. Although several veterans of the Afghan Jihad saw 9/11 as an illegitimate attack on civilians and a blunder by Bin Laden because Jihadists lost their ability to train in Afghanistan, the emergence of a fully-fledged ‘Jihadist Critique’ of Al Qaeda was almost certainly delayed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, ‘a cause celebre’ for Jihadists around the world. (READ MORE)
The Captain's Journal: Miliband Surrenders - In an astonishing announcement today carried by the AP and other sources, Marine General James Mattis said that “we should immediately begin negotiations with both al Qaeda in Iraq and the Taliban and al Qaeda in the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Military action can only carry us so far, and eventually political reconciliation is necessary to address the root cause of the problems that cause the jihadists.” “I sincerely believe,” continued Mattis, “that with the right grievance amelioration, participation and representation in the government and infrastructure, our erstwhile enemies - al Qaeda and the Taliban - can be our friends.” Finally, in a statement that brought stares of disbelief from the audience at Quantico, Mattis wrapped up by saying that “there just seems to be no military solution to any of these problems.” For a once confident warrior among the Sunni insurgency, Mattis appeared tired and disheveled. Er … maybe not. (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee: Just the Facts, Sam - Would someone please provide ABC News' Sam Donaldson with some facts? It is perhaps progress in this commentary piece for a journalist to admit that Obama needs schooling— I do find it amusing that he refers to McCain as "the professor" and Obama as "his callow student"—but he grossly overestimates the size of al Sadr's faltering organization by an enormous amount, while downplaying Madhi Army defeats at the hands of the Iraqi security forces in recent weeks. “Iraq will almost certainly be one of the central issues in November -- if McCain is lucky it will remain relatively calm with casualties relatively low. But there is a wildcard named Moqtada al-Sadr, the 34-year-old Shiite leader of a 2 million man army. When the surge began, al-Sadr instructed his army to lie low. Why fight an increased American force? But we all saw what happened a few weeks ago when al-Sadr loosed his men in Bashra and Bagdad -- violence flared, casualties spiked -- before calling another truce.” (READ MORE)
The Barnyard: Obama Doesn't Watch The News - I have wondered how Barack could seem so ignorant of current events particularly in the Middle East but now it comes out in a profile of his "body man" Reggie Love in the NYT. Dean Barnett and Abe Greenwald picked up on this little nugget that sheds alot of light on the subject. I hear he doesn't read blogs either so where does he get his news? “Along the way, some unofficial rules have emerged between the candidate and his aide. From Mr. Obama: ‘One cardinal rule of the road is, we don’t watch CNN, the news or MSNBC. We don’t watch any talking heads or any politics. We watch ‘SportsCenter’ and argue about that.’” John McCain recently challenged/invited Obama to go to Iraq with him to meet with PM Maliki and Gen Petraeus to see the very real progress that has been made there in the last year or so but the Obama camp declined with talking points that sound more like talking points gleaned from a MoveOn memo. (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
The Florida Revelation ... - Republicans in Congress may be out of gas, but that doesn't mean conservative ideas aren't percolating elsewhere, and even on the supposedly Democratic stronghold of health care. Take the news from Florida, where GOP Governor Charlie Crist succeeded last week in moving an innovative reform through the state legislature. (READ MORE)
...And Escape From New Jersey - New Jersey is about the last place one might think to look for free-market policy reform. But this week Jay Webber, a Republican Assemblyman in Trenton, will introduce legislation to let Garden State residents buy low-cost health insurance from any registered policy in any of the 50 states. Mr. Webber's proposal is a state version of Arizona Congressman John Shadegg's federal legislation to let individuals buy insurance across state lines, and John McCain has also endorsed the idea. (READ MORE)
The Menendez Method - Republicans in Congress are usually to blame for blocking immigration reform. So it's worth noting that last week's effort to fix a broken guest-worker program for migrant farm workers died at the hands of a Democrat. Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Emergency Agricultural Relief Act with a bipartisan vote of 17 to 12. (READ MORE)
Ex-Colleagues Ask, 'What Happened?' - Scott McClellan was the ultimate Bush loyalist. He went to work for George W. Bush when he was Texas governor in 1999, helped Bush gain the White House in 2000, and then came to Washington to defend the president for the next six years on such issues as the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. (READ MORE)
On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground - Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have. (READ MORE)
111 Nations, Minus the U.S., Agree to Cluster-Bomb Ban - LONDON, May 28 -- More than 100 countries reached agreement Wednesday to ban cluster bombs, controversial weapons that human rights groups deplore but that the United States, which did not join the ban, calls an integral, legitimate part of its arsenal. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
The Belmont Club: Behind the scenes - The Telegraph reports that someone's quest to acquire WMDs still goes on. “Equipment bound for Syria which could be used to test ballistic missile components was intercepted during a previously undisclosed mission, the United States has announced. Four member states of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a group of 90 countries who seek to prevent the shipment of weapons of mass destruction, were involved in the operation in February, 2007. US national security adviser Stephen Hadley described the incident in a speech to members of the PSI, which the Bush administration has sought to portray as a significant success in its drive to prevent biological, chemical or nuclear terrorism.” (READ MORE)
Dafydd: McClellan's Losing Campaign - I believe that McClellan's campaign will turn out to be a disaster, not for the president but for McClellan himself. Alas, I was scooped on the following observation by John Hinderaker at my favorite blogsite, Power Line; but I shall persevere, secure behind the lizardly firewall of "Never first, always final." What has struck me is "the Case of the Missing Evidence": McClellan is quoted as leveling numerous charges against President Bush and members of his administration, from "misleading" us into the Iraq war by spreading "propaganda," to McClellan's accusation that Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby conspired together to out Valerie Plame and then lie about it to the grand jury, to -- this is truly bizarre -- McClellan's psychic claim that Bush lied about never having tried cocaine. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Post toasties - The Fact Checker’s 5 favorite flip-flops from Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post listed his 5 favorite times when Obama said actually-I-was-for-it-before-I-was-against-it. In American Bandstand’s countdown style. No. 5: Actually he was for legalizing marijuana before he was against it. No. 4: Actually he was for hiring illegal aliens before he was against it. No. 3: Actually he was for the Cuban embargo before he was against it. No. 2: Actually he was for accepting public financing before he was against it. No. 1: Actually he was for opposing special interests before he was against it. (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Surprise: Obama suddenly considering trip to Iraq - That was fast. “Senator Barack Obama said today that he is considering visiting American troops and commanders in Iraq this summer. He declined an invitation from Senator John McCain to take a joint trip to Iraq, saying: ‘I just don’t want to be involved in a political stunt.’ In a brief interview here, Mr. Obama said his campaign was considering taking a foreign trip after he secures the Democratic presidential nomination. No details have been set, he said, but added: ‘Iraq would obviously be at the top of the list of stops.’… ‘I think that if I’m going to Iraq, then I’m there to talk to troops and talk to commanders, I’m not there to try to score political points or perform,’ Mr. Obama said. ‘The work they’re doing there is too important.’” Just so we’re clear, a “political stunt” would be letting McCain cow him into a joint trip to Iraq. Letting McCain cow him into a solo trip? Not a stunt. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Obama on policy: er, Hope! Change! - The Washington Post runs a front-page analysis of Barack Obama’s policy positions today, and they find … nothing much. In fact, what little work Obama had done on policy since entering the Senate in 2005 he abandoned in 2006 as he prepared for his presidential campaign. To the extent that he has any policy credentials, Perry Bacon reports that it doesn’t differ at all from the standard platform of the Democratic Party: “Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have. So in 2005, he had his office arrange informal seminars so that experts on health care, the economy, energy and education could brief him.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: The Arab Mind: Part XV - On the Use of Language: Hyperbole as Defense - Until 9/11 most Americans, and most Europeans, had almost no experience of the Arab use of language. Arabic spokesmen were adept at using soothing, noninflammatory language when speaking to Westerners. There were few people with access to the Media who actually spoke Arabic, and there was no MEMRI, Camera, or other translators available to most people to facilitate learning of the actual words used by the Arabs in their native language(s). Since 9/11 and with the explosive growth of the Internet, it has become much easier to obtain translations of actual speeches meant for and delivered to Arabic speaking audiences, and this now allows for a greater understanding of how such language is used and what the words are meant to convey. (READ MORE)
Cassandra: A Failure of Imagination - OMFG!!! Is Scott McClellan just the best White House secretary EVER, or *what*? Get a load of this: "The President, he, President Bush, too, had been deceived and therefore became unwittingly involved in deceiving me. OMG, OMG, OMG!!! Finally, the proof of what we have been telling America all along! That scummy little lying bastard lied to us without knowing that he lied!!! Jimminy Christmas, what a day! Can you say Chimpeachment, boys and girls? I knew that you could. Of course, the pathetic 28 percenters will be working overtime to discredit poor Scott: (READ MORE)
Jay Tea: Just Go Already! - Recently, Senator John McCain invited/challenged/double dog dared Senator Barack Obama to accompany him on a trip to Iraq. Obama, sensing a political trap (he's apparently as wary of McCain as he is of Fox News, neither of whom are as trustworthy as his longtime former pastor, his buddy the former terrorist, his buddy the indicted political fixer, or the heads of terrorist states, all of whom he has no problems with seeing), has declined. I think that is a mistake of Obama's. No, I don't think it's a political trap. And no, I don't think that Obama would suddenly have a "road to Damascus" moment and see the progress being made in Iraq and pronounce it good, and renounce his previous statements. But the simple facts of the matter are these: (READ MORE)
DJ Drummond: Their Surrender, Not Ours - An early distinction between the Democrat and Republican candidates for President, is the question about whether countries like Iran represent a threat to the United States, and if so what sort of posture should be taken to protect America. Speaking for the Left, Senator Barack Obama says that Iran should not be considered a real threat to the US, generally because it lacks the size of army and scale of armament to threaten American territory. It is laughable to argue that a nation like Iran would invade any land where US troops have boots on the ground. He makes the point that one-size-fits-all does not make sense when addressing different types of enemies, and suggests that discussions might prevent more costly confrontation later. In theory, this makes a kind of sense. Unfortunately for Senator Obama, the reality of the situation is very different from what he believes to be the case. (READ MORE)
Kevin Aylward: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin To Meet With McCain VP Search Team - A tipster sent us word that John McCain's VP advance man Arthur Culvahouse has been spotted in Juneau, Alaska. There's only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position. This comes on the heels of McCain's Memorial Day weekend barbecue attended by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former White House budget director Rob Portman, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. Supposedly that was in informal affair, not a vetting session, but it appears that the VP selection game is very much afoot. (READ MORE)
This Ain't Hell: Gas price climbs while oil falls - The Associated Press writes this morning that even though oil prices are falling, prices for gasoline continue climbing; “Oil prices fell back Thursday ahead of a report expected to show U.S. inventories of crude and petroleum products grew last week. Prices remained volatile, though, buffeted about by threats against Nigerian oil facilities, worries about falling gasoline demand in the U.S. and a strengthening U.S. dollar.” That’s those big, bad oil companies getting rich on the backs of working Americans, right? Wrong. The problem is the bottleneck at the refinery stage. OPEC can pump oil as fast as they want and the price for each barrel will fall, but refineries are working at full capacity and can’t meet the demand which drives gas prices up. (READ MORE)
Westhawk: McCain’s nuke plan is good, but could go farther - Yesterday, Senator John McCain gave a speech that described how his administration would enhance global nuclear security. The speech addressed all of the most important issues relating to nuclear security and Senator McCain endorsed a variety of sound ideas. But for the U.S. to obtain the leverage it needs to make significant progress against current and future nuclear proliferation rogues, future U.S. policy will need to go farther than what Senator McCain proposed. Media headlines from the speech discussed Senator McCain’s willingness to discuss further warhead reductions with Russia and China. But Russia and China, being rational players, are the least important nuclear worries for the U.S. The gravest nuclear problem for the U.S. and the world is proliferation to rogue states and non-state actors. The top priority of U.S. nuclear security policy should be to obtain leverage over this problem. (READ MORE)
THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS: Why Hillary Still Runs - In a pathetic attempt at damage control after implying that she could still win the democratic nomination if Barack Obama were to be assassinated, Hillary Clinton offered a pious justification. As long as I live and breathe and blog, I will make sure that Hillary Clinton’s every statement is rebutted. In 1992, Hillary Clinton invented the “War Room.” Counterattacks were to be swift and severe. The blogosphere allows lies to be challenged. My blog is my own personal war room. Hillary will drown in an avalanche of her own lies. It is my honor to help in this version of ethical waterboarding. Below are some of Hillary’s comments, with the actual truth offered by the Tygrrrr Express. (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: Garrison Keillor Mocks Patriotism - I guess out on Lake Blowbegone, patriotism isn’t kosher? Keillor just seems, nose in the air, to find all that lowborn patriotism so woefully gauche. At least, one might get that impression by reading the attack penned by Garrison Keillor against the patriotism evinced by the folks who don their red, white and blue, along with their leather jackets and hop on their Hogs to join the long line of motorcycle riders at “Rolling Thunder” on Memorial Day in Washington D.C. This year, Keillor was so put off by the patriotic bikers that he was driven to his keyboard to regale us all with his bad metaphors and surly disposition. With “The roar of hollow patriotism,” Keillor found that he just couldn’t stomach the loud patriotism expressed by the Harley riders in D.C. He also seemed to say that if you are a “fat man with a ponytail” you shouldn’t be allowed to express that patriotism in a manner you so wish to express it. (READ MORE)
Melanie Phillips: The universities' witch-hunt against the Jews - Today, the Universities and Colleges Union is discussing whether universities should single out Israeli and Jewish scholars for active discrimination. Yes, you read that correctly. The UCU is debating a motion which not only raises the spectre yet again of an academic boycott of Israel but demands of Jewish and Israeli academics that they explain their politics as a pre-condition to normal academic contact. The motion asks colleagues to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions, and to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned, including Israeli colleagues with whom they are collaborating... the testimonies will be used to promote a wide discussion by colleagues of the appropriateness of continued educational links with Israeli academic institutions... Ariel College, an explicitly colonising institution in the West Bank, be investigated under the formal Greylisting Procedure. (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: EMBRACE THE HORROR - There are days that I really hate politics – days when my cynicism and contempt for the politicians, the process, the whole bloody, unholy mess of spin meisters, pundits, press, bloggers, and commentators from all sides of the ideological spectrum make me want to chuck it all and write about sports, or gardening, or cats. Readers of this site know that this too, shall pass; that tomorrow or the next day or day after that, I will resume my role as cantankerous curmudgeon railing against the left, the right, and the squishes in the middle as if this feeling of utter, depthless depression about the state of the nation never existed. Part of it is, I’m sure, the coming slaughter of conservatives at the polls in November. (READ MORE)
ROFASix: Are We Safer from Terrorists Here Now? - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say no. But a look here suggests something has changed. Was it the war against terrorists? Some think so. I suspect that is only a part of the reason that so far we have not been attacked again here at home. As you look at the various reasons you realize some are attributable to administration actions and directed changes, while some others are clearly not. First, we are no longer viewing actions of terrorists as a law enforcement issue. Instead of attempting to monitor, detect, and defend against terrorists at the local level, the response, in theory at least, is one that integrates the efforts and talents of the local through national levels of law enforcement, intelligence, backed up by the military to the extent permitted by posse comitatus. (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: The Daily Kos Thread Of The Day: It's Karl Rove's Fault I Am Driving My Conservative Friends Away! - It's always fascinating to watch the hoops liberals are willing to jump through in order to paint themselves as victims. I didn't get that job. Must be racism! I'm not as far ahead in my career as I'd like. Must be sexism! I'm poor. It must be because the rich people are getting all the breaks at my expense! It's always something. Now, over at the Daily Kos, a diarist named RoddieH is complaining that he can no longer be friends with conservatives, basically just because he can't stand the fact that they don't agree with him. Now, that's not my personal philosophy. I have a few liberal friends and acquaintances, but I do understand people who just get so wrapped up in politics that they can't be friends with people on the opposite side of the fence. (READ MORE)
Noah Shachtman: Al Qaeda's Civil War? - In an online town hall meeting with supporters last month, Al Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri was asked a number of unusually pointed questions. "Do you consider the killing of women and children to be Jihad?" one asked. "What is the legal [basis] for killing the innocents?" another wanted to know. Turns out, others in Al Qaeda are wondering the same thing -- including one of its founding members. In this week's New Yorker, Lawrence Wright profiles Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, "known to those in the underground mainly as Dr. Fadl." He's part of "the original core of Al Qaeda," and "one of the first members of Al Qaeda’s top council. Twenty years ago, he wrote two of the most important books in modern Islamist discourse; Al Qaeda used them to indoctrinate recruits and justify killing. (READ MORE)
Paul Cruickshank: The Beginning of the End for Al Qaeda? - Peter Bergen (my colleague at the NYU Center on Law and Security) and myself have a cover story out in the latest issue of the New Republic -- published online last week and now on news stands --- entitled the ‘Jihadist Revolt against Bin Laden.’ We report that key figures in the Jihadist movement, many of them veterans of the Afghan anti-Soviet Jihad, are increasingly publicly repudiating Bin Laden, alarmed by Al Qaeda’s indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the fact that most of its victims since 9/11 have been Muslim. Although several veterans of the Afghan Jihad saw 9/11 as an illegitimate attack on civilians and a blunder by Bin Laden because Jihadists lost their ability to train in Afghanistan, the emergence of a fully-fledged ‘Jihadist Critique’ of Al Qaeda was almost certainly delayed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, ‘a cause celebre’ for Jihadists around the world. (READ MORE)
The Captain's Journal: Miliband Surrenders - In an astonishing announcement today carried by the AP and other sources, Marine General James Mattis said that “we should immediately begin negotiations with both al Qaeda in Iraq and the Taliban and al Qaeda in the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Military action can only carry us so far, and eventually political reconciliation is necessary to address the root cause of the problems that cause the jihadists.” “I sincerely believe,” continued Mattis, “that with the right grievance amelioration, participation and representation in the government and infrastructure, our erstwhile enemies - al Qaeda and the Taliban - can be our friends.” Finally, in a statement that brought stares of disbelief from the audience at Quantico, Mattis wrapped up by saying that “there just seems to be no military solution to any of these problems.” For a once confident warrior among the Sunni insurgency, Mattis appeared tired and disheveled. Er … maybe not. (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee: Just the Facts, Sam - Would someone please provide ABC News' Sam Donaldson with some facts? It is perhaps progress in this commentary piece for a journalist to admit that Obama needs schooling— I do find it amusing that he refers to McCain as "the professor" and Obama as "his callow student"—but he grossly overestimates the size of al Sadr's faltering organization by an enormous amount, while downplaying Madhi Army defeats at the hands of the Iraqi security forces in recent weeks. “Iraq will almost certainly be one of the central issues in November -- if McCain is lucky it will remain relatively calm with casualties relatively low. But there is a wildcard named Moqtada al-Sadr, the 34-year-old Shiite leader of a 2 million man army. When the surge began, al-Sadr instructed his army to lie low. Why fight an increased American force? But we all saw what happened a few weeks ago when al-Sadr loosed his men in Bashra and Bagdad -- violence flared, casualties spiked -- before calling another truce.” (READ MORE)
The Barnyard: Obama Doesn't Watch The News - I have wondered how Barack could seem so ignorant of current events particularly in the Middle East but now it comes out in a profile of his "body man" Reggie Love in the NYT. Dean Barnett and Abe Greenwald picked up on this little nugget that sheds alot of light on the subject. I hear he doesn't read blogs either so where does he get his news? “Along the way, some unofficial rules have emerged between the candidate and his aide. From Mr. Obama: ‘One cardinal rule of the road is, we don’t watch CNN, the news or MSNBC. We don’t watch any talking heads or any politics. We watch ‘SportsCenter’ and argue about that.’” John McCain recently challenged/invited Obama to go to Iraq with him to meet with PM Maliki and Gen Petraeus to see the very real progress that has been made there in the last year or so but the Obama camp declined with talking points that sound more like talking points gleaned from a MoveOn memo. (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)