What It's All About

Today while I was doing my "real job" out in this barren wasteland, I had some time to reflect on the weirdness of the past couple days. I've said it before- sometimes I think I get too bogged down in politics, the MSM, or whatever. I had to once again remind myself that this blog was never meant to be about me, rogue news personalities, or anyone else. This blog is about our brave soldiers who are out there fighting the good fight. Some think it's kind of crazy for me to say this, because they insist that I am one of those soldiers out there "fighting the good fight." Well, as a staff officer in Kuwait, it's not really like that. Sure, I was in Iraq. But now I'm sort of in a "supporting role"- and I guess I'm just taking that supporting role a little further than what's "required." But enough about me. The most important things will always come first...

One of the best ways we can honor those brave heroes who have sacrificed so much (some of whom gave their lives) is by studying and appreciating their amazing accomplishments. If we focus too much of our attention on one Marine who may or may not have been "caught on tape" or a group of misguided miscreants at Abu Ghraib, then we do the vast majority of our brave soldiers a disservice.

Fallujah

In the case of Fallujah, I'd recommend looking no further than this wonderfully comprehensive site at Winds of Change. Please- take some time and just pour through all that stuff. There's so much information there, you'd never be able to get through it all in one day. But it's there. So look at it, tell your friends about it, and be proud of what these heroes accomplished. I think I speak for most soldiers when I say that spending your time learning about our accomplishments is a better way of supporting us than sending us care packages (not that there's anything wrong with care packages!- you get the point).

Mosul

Looks like the focus is shifting to Mosul, my old stomping grounds. Make no mistake- Mosul is not Fallujah. Mosul is an amazing city with a history that would blow your mind. Did you know that Mosul lies directly on the old Biblical province of Nineveh? Locals told me (every chance they had) that it is the oldest known city in the world. It is an amazing amalgamation (big word for the day) of Sunnis, Kurds, Assyrian Christians, and even some Jews (there used to be lots). Jonah's Tomb is right in the middle of town. Some say it used to be a Jewish Synagogue. Don't repeat that to a local Sunni Arab unless you're ready to rumble. It's a fascinating town, really. When peace finally reigns supreme in Iraq (and it will), Mosul will become an absolute gold mine for history buffs and archaeological types. Amazing sights to see there. There are many PhD-holding professors, doctors, intellectuals, etc.- many of whom were educated in Michigan, Ohio, the UK, you name it. They are going through an amazing change right now, and it sounds like things are going to get even more interesting for them. Tonight I'll try to see what I can learn about the kind of operation that's going on over there, and hopefully I'll be able to write about it tomorrow...

The Fallujah Incident

I haven't been able to learn enough about what happened yet, so I won't offer anything specific. One thing I will say is that unless you've been in that man's combat boots getting shot at, watching your buddies die, and struggling to stay alive amidst a several-day long journey into pure hell- DO NOT pass judgment on this individual. I know that the Geneva Convention forbids killing enemy combatants who are wounded and unable to pose a threat. I also know that on today's battlefield, with booby-trapped bodies, suicide vests, and an enemy who cares nothing for "rules of war"- the Geneva Convention needs to be reexamined and more specifically defined. A wounded enemy soldier can theoretically pose a significant threat if he simply has the ability to move his finger. Times are different and war is hell- let the facts come out and let the military authorities handle it. If the MSM starts to spin this into another Abu Ghraib, I will come at them with a cyberfury not yet seen. I know you will all be there with me. Call this an official warning to the MSM- keep it fair, or the blogosphere will activate the Bat Signal.

Administrative Stuff

I've been getting tons of emails and (as you can see) comments during the past couple days. I'll get to all the emails as best I can, but please understand that I do have a "real job" out here and so my time on the net is somewhat (OK- a lot) limited. Please be patient. As several commenters mentioned, my site survived (yet another) Instalaunch yesterday. Instalaunches create Instalanches. Yes, that sounds strange and it was the subject of a great number of questions...

What is an Instalaunch?

Simply put, it's when your site gets linked by Instapundit (the blog of blogs featuring the famous Glenn Reynolds- thanks Glenn- and thanks to Kate). Glenn gets thousands and thousands of hits a day, and when he links your site- watch out. You get hit with an Instalanche- thousands of his readers come flooding to your site. The first time it happened, my site shut down for a while. Last night, I was asleep during the whole thing, so I have no idea what happened. I do know that the Forum took more than 40,000 hits in a period of about 10 hours. That's a little bit more than my daily average of about 500. The comments and emails come flooding in, and all that...

Last Word on Hockenberry?

If I ever bring him up again, I hope that it will be because of something positive. Some have said that the blogosphere will eventually overtake and destroy the MSM. That may happen- who knows? The blogosphere is still in it's infancy. My hope is that they can coexist in some sort of freakish, uber-balanced, peace and harmony. Maybe I'm just a crazy optimist...

Thanks

That whole ordeal was, as you may have guessed, a little much for a Black Hawk pilot who used to work at McD's. Especially since I'm still very new in the blogosphere. Thanks to all the great bloggers out there who helped me deal. You'll be filling up my blogroll shortly. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Greyhawk of the incomparable Mudville Gazette for inviting me on board (I love the new MILBLOG button). Also thanks to my always-supportive and amazing group of family (afy) and friends, the long-time Forum members, all the new folks who happened by, and last but certainly not least- the "secret force" behind the Forum- helping me out and supporting me from 7,000 miles away- my beautiful and brilliant fiance- the soon-to-be Mrs. 2Slick. 6 more weeks, Sweetie!!! Love you like crazy...

Hockenberry Comes Clean

OK, this was a first for me. Just try to follow along. I was surprised- no SHOCKED- to look in my inbox today and find an email from John Hockenberry entitled "white flags."

Dear 2Slick,

We have certainly gotten off on the wrong foot. I certainly didn't wish to insult you or offend your military service by missing your rank and mistakenly calling you an enlistee. I just receive so much hate mail from so many quarters being a member of the media. (we are reviled you know) I was, frankly, surprised by the tone of your remarks about Senator Kerry's war record (I ultimately think it was a bad campaign issue and had nothing to do with what kind of a president he might have been). That issues is quite moot after November 2nd. I was also taken aback by the way you lumped me in to scandals at CBS and some conspiracy to bring down George W. Bush. I have opinions like anyone else and like anyone else hate being told I'm part of a conspiracy, or ignorant, or unpatriotic or part of some profit motive for getting Kerry elected. But hey I'm a big boy. I can take it.

I just replied, perhaps stupidly, in the same tone as your original blog. I've spent lots of time on the internet. I think the internet is often not the best forum for dialogue. I can't imagine why you would want to start some campaign against me personally. I am closely following and am horrified by the tough campaign in Falluja. The discoveries of weapons and chambers of horror certainly suggest the challenges ahead for the military in Iraq. I certainly want you to stay safe and hope that you and your family can be as secure as me and mine in the future. Can we have a peace treaty? I am interested in your views and your experiences if you really want to talk. I have no interest in cutting off a source of information or perspective. If you really want to open a channel of communication I'm game. Internet road rage serves no one. I think the idea that journalists are against the military is a myth that neither of us should perpetuate. I'm deeply sorry if I have made an enemy of you. Please accept my apology.

Hey!! I really mean it. I left my real email because despite the tone of our little exchange I still respect and trust you.

Talk to you soon... maybe.

one other thing.... you should see the hatemail I get from people who think the media is actually part of the Bush administration. I've even been accused of actually helping to cause 9/11. It's a wearying blitz. You nailed me in a bad moment... but you nailed me.

best
jch

Yeah no kidding, right? How often does something like THAT happen? So of course I thought about it, and he sounded sincere enough. And here's the thing- a lot of people think I'm some kind of mean-spirited hack because of the way I felt about John Kerry. Well, Kerry was a very unique case for me. I'm normally just a happy-go-lucky guy who just wants everyone to get along. So this may upset some of you out there, but here's what I wrote back:

OK, I accept your apology, and I apologize if I jumped the gun with that posting. I'd be happy to post your apology on my site. Along with some kind of endorsement for a "peace treaty." I'm not into politics of hate or grudges (John Kerry doesn't count- that's a very rare thing for me). I understand that your job must come with a significant blitz. I'd just be careful about "venting" at people like that. Being in your profession and all. I mean, I didn't mind the "sparring" really- it was just surprising to see that stuff coming from a man who is supposed to be "objective" in his reporting about war issues. Just let me know what you'd prefer. I'm always willing to bury hatchets...

2Slick

To which he replied...

Captain,

post away... you are a good guy... and I'm man enough to say you taught me a lesson about the downsides of venting. In the middle of a political campaign where all rhetoric and discourse seems ignited with toxic venom it sometimes gets to be too much. I'll be candid and tell you that I have reservations about U.S. long-term strategy in the Middle East. None of that bears on my respect for you or my ability to be objective about what's going on in the field. As long as we're digging to bury hatchets let's find the treasure of newfound communication. Again, stay out of harm's way and you have my prayers for a swift end to the conflicts in Iraq. Thanks for being so... human. You can tell that I certainly am... human enough to have to ask: Now how do I get this combat boot out of my own mouth?

All best

john

And since this is my blog, I get the last word...

John,

No sweat. I'll post it all. If you're a better reporter because of this and I'm a better (or at least more thoughtful) soldier/blogger, then that works for me. I do admire your willingness to come forward and admit your mistake. I think a lot of people in your profession could learn a bit from you. There would certainly be fewer credibility concerns if this sort of thing happened more often in the media. I hope there was no irrepairable harm done. I'll "bury the hatchet" as best I can but I trust there may be those who will still be upset. I certainly trust you'll do your best to be as objective as possible with any future reporting (we'll be watching you!). In the meantime, do you have Jennifer Loven's email address? That's a joke...

Best to you and good luck,

2Slick

So that's how it all went down (during the past 40 minutes or so). I'm sure there will be some pretty upset people out there who don't agree with how I handled this, but it's just not everyday that an award-winning Dateline guy comes at you with an olive branch. I hope most of you agree that I did the right thing. I think we both did the right thing here, but that's just me.

I hereby officially declare John Hockenberry a friend and fellow seeker of the truth. No hard feelings, John. Just treat my buddies on the battlefield fairly, OK?

Back to today's original post...

What Hath Blogs Wrought?

Sorry if the headline is trite or oft-used (I haven't seen it yet), but it really is the first thing that came to mind when I saw my Hockenberry posting start zipping through the blogosphere yesterday. Whoa. I posted an alarming email from some journalist, and all of sudden thousands and thousands of people knew all about it. The power of the blogosphere amazes me. In case you were out windsurfing this weekend, let me get you up to speed.

I was ranting about Jennifer Loven last Saturday night (a little cranky, a little tired), and I decided (as an afterthought) to support the premise of my rant with an email snippet from my new "friend"- NBC's John Hockenberry. When I came back the next morning, I saw that my site had crashed from taking thousands of hits. RW Sparkle, The Commisar, Right on Red, Outside the Beltway, Black Five, Flopping Aces, and a myriad of other sites picked up on my post. You can check my Technorati "thing" to find many more. I searched far and wide, and I only found one blog site that took a "dissenting" approach- I was more than happy to jump into a thoughtful debate. Check it out at In Search of Utopia- I really think we all made some solid points and delved further into that lingering question- whose side are these people on? I'd encourage anyone to go finish up the debate with them (they are nice people- they don't bite), but I'm just too busy with other stuff right now. The whole thing just completely reinforced my faith in the blogosphere and it's ability to foster healthy debate, generate truth, and crush the spin- and it's often extremely entertaining. Definitely a great diversion after a long day in the desert. Sorry, but TV is overrated.

The Lingering Question

I guess the whole point of the Hockenberry post was to generate a new look into an old issue- the line between biased reporting (to further a political agenda) and treason (spreading propaganda that supports our enemy). I believe there is a line there somewhere- I'm not going to pretend that I know where it is. That's for all of us to figure out. Specifically, I pointed out Jennifer Loven's obvious conflict of interest and habitually biased reporting (and how it undermines our mission). If it were one or the other, I'd let it slide. But those are two separate and unique aspects of her that just can't be coincidental. At least not from where I'm standing. Finally, I shared an email that I received from John Hockenberry that looked- well...just looked bad. Needless to say, there were some strong feelings on the subject.

My personal feeling is that the MSM is using some old "means justify the ends" tactics that worked effectively during Vietnam. I don't think those tactics are working very effectively this time around. The fact that Kerry's actions during the Vietnam era were a liability to his campaign (as opposed to an asset) tells me that America learned a valuable lesson from that time in our history (although Wizbang correctly points out that not everyone has learned). In my humble opinion, this lesson is one more thing that we can all thank our Vietnam Vets for. They stood up to some pretty unfair treatment and lived their lives honorably during the past 3 decades. They quietly showed the angry mobs that they were not cold-blooded baby-killers, but rather upstanding and courageous warriors who would continue to honor their country no matter what. They paved the way for Iraq Vets (like me) to be treated with the sort of dignity that most of us now realize they themselves deserved 30+ years ago. Their wounds may "never heal," but I'm inclined to think that most of them probably feel like they've been "vindicated," at least to some extent- especially after the recent election. John O'Neill recently said something like (heard it on a post-election Hannity show) "no group of Americans will ever be accused of being war criminals by the American people ever again," and I believe him. In any case, I greatly appreciate their service- just wanted to say that again.

America Speaks

I never meant for my last post to be some kind of "push for solidarity," but I've been absolutely overwhelmed by the reaction from you great Americans out there. Just look at the comments from my last post. I wish I could show you all the emails I received. People actually sent me pictures of their children holding up signs that said "We love you- come home safe!" I'm serious! If any of you could have been in my combat boots yesterday, I assure you- you would have been moved to tears. I shared some of the emails with my comrades, and I'm telling you they were genuinely affected by them. And truth be told- we get stuff like this ALL THE TIME. Thousands of drawings, cards, and packages. Not just from friends and family members- but also from strangers (thanks again to the "Angels" in Florida), school children, even some news reporters! Make no mistake- we live in an amazing country. There will never be another like it. Each and every day I'm out here, I'm reminded of how much our great nation is worth fighting for...

Thanks all- your unbelievable support does not go unappreciated. This is a team effort, and you are all certainly doing your part...

The Enemy Within?

I just finished a long two-day mission, so forgive me if I seem a bit "curt" today.

It's about 9:00 pm (Kuwait time), and I just logged on at the Cyberstation. When I pulled up my own personalized MyYahoo! page, I saw a headline that immediately caught my eye:

Bush Paints Rosy Picture of Iraq Situation

Wow, I thought. That sounds an awful lot like:

Bush is a Big Stupid Jerk and the Iraq War is Wrong Wrong Wrong

Before I even clicked on the story to read it, a single thought crossed my mind- this is the first time in my life that I've ever looked at a headline and knew right away who the author was before even looking at the story. In fact- off hand, I probably can't think of a name of any other wire reporter in existence. But I knew her name. It's Jennifer Loven. I knew it was her because of the experience I had the last time I was so "affected" by a headline:

President Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq

I'm not kidding- that was really the headline. And when I read the story, I couldn't believe what my eyes were reading:

Campaigning by bus through hotly contested Wisconsin on Friday, Bush sought to counter recently sharpened criticism by Kerry about his Iraq policies:

-He stated flatly that Kerry had said earlier in the week "he would prefer the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to the situation in Iraq today." The line drew gasps of surprise from Bush's audience in a Racine, Wis., park. "I just strongly disagree," the president said.

But Kerry never said that. In a speech at New York University on Monday, he called Saddam "a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell." He added, "The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure."

Seriously. This was actually published with the AP header and everything. The headline was eventually altered to read Bush, Kerry Twisting Each Other's Words. I guess the first headline was a little too obvious. After reading that unbelievably biased and dishonest article, I immediately Googled the author's name- "Jennifer Loven." And you know what? Everything became perfectly clear. Go ahead. Try it. There's a Google box at the top of this screen. Jennifer Loven. Copy it and paste it. Don't want to? OK- here's what you would have found among the top six links:

The Pelican File - Reporter - JENNIFER LOVEN
JENNIFER LOVEN. Associated Press ... Kerry Accuses Bush of Incompetence.

Power Line: Jennifer Loven, Democratic Operative
... Jennifer Loven, Democratic Operative. Jennifer Loven, the AP reporter who wrote the absurd "President Bush Twists...

Power Line: Discussion on Jennifer Loven, Democratic Operative
Democratic advocate Jennifer Loven in this post showing her...

HOG ON ICE: Jennifer Loven, AP Stooge for Kerry
September 25, 2004. Jennifer Loven, AP Stooge for Kerry ... It was written by one Jennifer Loven. Wonder who she's going to vote for...

Joe Kelley's The Sake Of Argument: AP: We Report, We Decide, II
July 22, 2003. AP: We Report, We Decide, II. REPORT: The AP's Jennifer Loven reports on the Bush administration's attempt to defend against claims President Bush used misleading tactics to garner support for war against Iraq...

Notice a pattern here? A little further investigation reveals the following:

In Georgetown's East Village, Roger Ballentine and his wife Jennifer Loven have sold their quaint two bedroom semi- detached Federal house at 1346 29th Street, N.W.

Roger Ballentine is president of Green Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in energy and environmental issues, and was previously deputy assistant to President Clinton for environmental initiatives and chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force. He also sits on the board of directors of Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)along with actors Ed Begley, Jr. and Larry Hagman. Jennifer Loven is a reporter for the Associated Press.

See that? She's married to a former deputy assistant to President Clinton! Never would have guessed...

But I digress. Let's get back to the article that I just finished reading- Bush Paints Rosy Picture of Iraq Situation (as of 9:23 pm Kuwait time Nov 13th 2004, the headline has not yet changed). Just look at the first two paragraphs, and it's like deja vu all over again:

President Bush painted a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq, claiming significant progress Saturday in the U.S. military's battle in an insurgent stronghold.

In his weekly radio address, Bush praised the assault on Fallujah, west of Baghdad. About 80 percent of the city was said to be under U.S. control, with insurgents pushed into a narrow corner. But the battle has claimed at least 24 American lives and wounded about 170 U.S. troops, and violence has now spread to other Sunni Muslim areas of Iraq.

Wow, that sounds a lot like:

No matter what Bush says, he is a big stupid jerk for starting the Iraq War- he caused at least 24 American troops to lose their lives in the past few days and about 170 are wounded. Not only that- things are actually worse in Iraq as a result of their sacrifice!

Nice work, Jennifer.

Let's not focus on the fact that these brave Americans exterminated more than 1200 terrorists in a span of 4 days (that's unprecedented, by the way).

Let's not bring up the fact that we knew that violence would erupt throughout Iraq long before we started the offensive in Fallujah- it's called "reacting to a massive offensive" and it's a common occurrence in most wars, believe it or not.

Indeed, let's pretend that the outbreak of violence was an unexpected setback. Even better- let's portray the operation in Fallujah as a "catastrophic blunder" and let's try to trick the American people into thinking that those brave soldiers died for no reason. It's such a worthwhile lie to propagate because Bush is such a jerk!! How could the American people have been so stupid to vote him back in? Must not have lied enough in those AP stories...

The Most Amazing Realization

As I type this I'm wondering- are these reporters in the now-infamous MSM really that determined to see us fail in Iraq?

I think I had the answer 2 weeks ago, but I just failed to see it. Hold on tight, because this part may really surprise you. About 3 days before the election, I helped in a Swiftee campaign to "get the story out" about Kerry's discharge. I emailed the NY Sun article to a provided list of media outlets and I immediately forgot all about it. Until 2 days later, when I got a response. The response was from an NBC news reporter named John Hockenberry. Google his name. He's "an Emmy award-winning news correspondent. Tells his story of war zones, wheelchairs, and declarations of indepedence." Remember the part about him reporting on war zones.

He didn't like that I sent him that article, and I guess he didn't like the attached Letter to John Kerry. He said some mean things to me (and I'm a nice guy, gosh dangit!). I don't want to get into the whole exchange, as it's mostly just him insulting me and the military, and me doing my darndest against this emmy-winning thug. But here's a quick peek:

2Slick baby,

Sorry, never would have expected an officer to speak so ignorantly. I've been in Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel. Jordan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Pakistan. As for being ignorant of the military, ouch, wrong about that one too. I have two relatives buried at Arlington. But hey, making blanket statements about people seems to be a real talent over there at DOD. At least you know the difference between a real threat to our nation and a bogus half dead dictator (who was once on the CIA payroll). I feel better already knowing you are out there on the front lines delirious with self righteousness. Hey, you can call me a liar but I can't compete with you guys... you're professional grade. Hope your next promotion doesn't take too long I'm really looking forward to paying you more money to protect me and my family so well. Thanks again 2Slick (the officer who is apparently embarrassed to reveal his rank)

John Hockenberry (NBC Universal) John.Hockenberry@nbcuni.com

This guy, an emmy-winner, reports on "war zones" for NBC. Does anyone have any doubts about the way this man feels about our nation's military? Read his email again. For what it's worth, I told him twice before that I was a Captain- and I'm certainly not embarrassed about my rank. If you really want to see the whole exchange, you can find it here. In any case, I ask you- whose side are these people on? I'm on my second tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I won't even pretend to know the answer. But I don't like what I'm seeing. I guess that's why I find the time to write on this blog...

What a Lousy Message

Have you noticed that the insurgents tend to kill significantly more Iraqis than Americans? How idiotic is that? "Attention Iraqi people. We are killing you. We are going to kill lots of you. We will keep killing you until the Americans leave. Therefore, you should want very much for the Americans to leave."

Can they really expect to get strong support from the people with a message like that? It seems to me that the Iraqi people are more teed off now than they've ever been. Maybe that's why we see lines at the recruiting stations get longer each time a recruiting station gets bombed. I don't think that's the effect the insurgents were hoping for. Maybe I'm wrong.

Bribed and Coerced?

I remember there was some guy a while back who liked to suggest that our allies in Iraq were "bribed and coerced." I don't remember him ever presenting any evidence to support that claim. He certainly wouldn't have used South Korea as an example. When South Korea put out a call for volunteers to serve in Iraq, their service members jammed the system. There were 14 hard-charging Korean volunteers for every 1 slot available. Gaining a slot to Iraq became one of the most hotly contested prizes in Korean military history. I served for over 3 years in that great country, and their "race to fight Islamofascism" doesn't surprise me one bit. They are, in my humble opinion, our most overlooked and underappreciated allies. They deserve much better than to be called "bribed and coerced." Who called them that, anyway? Whoever it was, I'd like to apologize to our Korean friends and thank them for their service.

Night of Power

To nobody's surprise, violence broke out across the country yesterday. Early reports suggested that they were "diversionary strikes" aimed at taking the pressure off Fallujah. That may be partially true, but yesterday was also a significant part of the Ramadan Holiday. It was the dawn of the "Night of Power." 1 prayer is worth 1000 prayers, 1 American killed is worth 1000 Americans killed (better odds at getting a great deal in the afterlife), the gates of hell are closed (no chance for a "mix up"), and all sorts of other great things that would cause any well-meaning terrorist to beg for a good suicide mission.

Don't Forget About the Other Guys

Even if it were just a big "diversionary" ploy- how could the insurgents be so stoopid (don't answer that)? Sure, we may have 15,000 troops engaged in Fallujah, but what about the 120,000 or so other troops that we have in the Land Between the Rivers? Did those nutty insurgents forget about them? That's hard to believe. And yet, they saw fit to start things up in Mosul. Fortunately, the 25th ID's Stryker Brigade was ready for them:

Iraqi National Guard soldiers and soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team began offensive operations against known concentrations of insurgents in southeastern and southwestern Mosul, Iraq, today at the Ninevah province governor's request.

Those Iraqi cops in Mosul aren't ready for prime time. They are of the "old school" variety and they don't understand that if you're not playing offense, then you're on defense. There's no "halftime" in war. General Petraeus hasn't sent any of his "new" cops to Mosul yet, but they'll be coming soon enough. The hope is that the new guys will pursue the terrorists aggressively- not hide out in their station houses hoping they don't get bombed. In the mean time the 25th ID and some new ING troops went on the offensive yesterday in order to make things right. Mosul will be just fine for the elections. You can bet on it.

Roach Motels and the "Big Picture"

The good people at INDCJournal had some excellent thoughts about my Roach Motel article, and I thought I'd use today's post to address some of the points that came up.

First, I never meant to imply that this was some sort of "big secret strategy" that was going to shock the world with our strategic brilliance. My intent was to suggest it as one key part of a much bigger comprehensive plan that's been under construction since April. When you tie it together with the timing of the offensive and the events that have transpired since the first siege in April- we start to see a sort of "grand strategy" that just makes sense.

Anyone with even a little bit of military knowledge could have told you that the offensive would take place in November- immediately following our elections. The reasons are simple. First, the enemy wanted to influence our elections (not that they would have been able to anyway), and therefore wished for a bloody showdown before November. Realizing that this was a big morale issue that was driving the enemy's will to fight, we wisely held off until after the election (one of perks of being on offense instead of defense). Doing so left them with only one goal to fight for- thwart the upcoming Iraqi elections. In order to prevent this from even being a possibility, we knew we'd have to "clean up the cities" well before January. It all fits the timeline.

So what to do between April and November? Easy- focus on the other guys. The ones not affiliated with Sunnis or Zarqawi- the Shi'a. Moqtada al-Sadr and his band of misguided misfits didn't really have any other goals other than to stir things up and make a "power play" as the Iraqis began taking charge of their country. Sadr wanted to be a big player, and he thought taking on the Coalition would win him some points among the Shi'a majority. He was wrong. We surrounded him in Najaf, forced him to bow to Sistani (a key supporter of the upcoming elections), forced his people out of Najaf, and then reduced his forces to rubble in Sadr City (but we made them feel better by giving them money for their worthless weapons after we crushed their spirits). Now I ask you- when's the last time you heard anything from al-Sadr? How are things in Najaf these days? Exactly.

All the while, we had patrols moving in and around the Sunni triangle just harassing, capturing, and killing foreign fighters and Sunni insurgents. Knowing that they'd be left alone (minus the occasional air strike here and there) in Fallujah, they flooded the place. Great for us- more bad guys to crush when we deal with them in November. We also launched an intense campaign to get innocent civilians out of Fallujah. Pamphlets, radio broadcasts, trucks with loudspeakers, you name it. We are probably the only military in the world that spends more time and effort on saving good guys than killing bad guys. Believe me, there were no secrets about an upcoming offensive in Fallujah. Some expressed dismay that this took away our element of surprise, but I'm telling you we have ways of dealing with that. Last October 17th, I wrote:

It's interesting to watch the various news agencies trying to figure out what we're doing in Fallujah. Are we attacking? Surrounding? Threatening? Is this the
big showdown? Of course I know the answer, but I can't tell you. Sorry.

It wasn't just the media types that were confused. The enemy was flabbergasted. It's called a feint- pretend we're launching a big offensive and then quickly pull back. It's a strategy as old as war itself. It causes the enemy to react with, "Is this it? Are they finally coming for us? Man the defensive positions!! Execute the battle drills!!!!"

Repeat this process daily for about 2 or 3 weeks, and I'm telling you it gets very old in the minds of the bad guys. Each and every day, we poke and prod, watch their defensive actions (UAV's, P-3's, ground observers, spies on the inside), and use this windfall of valuable intelligence to tweak and finalize the plan for the upcoming offensive. All the while, the enemy is left with an ever-increasing "boy who cried wolf" effect that leaves him confused and demoralized. Another reason it's great to be on offense.

The Road to Fallujah

Our first Sunni target was Samarra. It was like a mini-Fallujah. It gave our new Iraqi troops some combat experience, and allowed us to assess their readiness before the big fight in Fallujah. We also knew that Samarra would be the first place the bad guys would run to if they managed to escape Fallujah (Ramadi would be sealed off and blocked during the Fallujah offensive). Best to have Samarra under IIG control before we take Fallujah. Samarra fell quite easily. You'll recall figures like 100+ enemy dead and no Coalition casualties.

Zarqawi and his gang are morons, but they're not THAT stupid. They knew we'd be coming after them in November. He and some of his top guys are likely to have escaped before the offensive began. We expected this. But now ask yourself this question- how is Zarqawi going to thwart the Iraqi elections while he's on the run, most of his troops enjoying their time with 72 virgins, and no cities left in Iraq to offer him safe haven? His prospects are not good.

You may have heard some reports of insurgents (possibly the Z-man himself) fleeing to Mosul. This is not good news for the insurgency. The 2 million+ people in Mosul don't like trouble. There are some Sunnis there (it used to be the home of the 5th Iraqi Army), but it's close to the Kurdish area and it shows. The people are more civil, more educated, and much less inclined to tolerate violence in the streets. Many of them enjoy turning insurgents into money. Believe me, I know this from experience. If you don't believe me, ask Uday and Qusay Hussein how they fared in Mosul. You may be waiting a long time for their answer.

You may choose to believe the pseudo-intellectual journalists who have long been insisting that we had "lost control in Fallujah" and that the Coalition "couldn't handle the vast and growing insurgency in the Sunni Triangle." But if you actually believe this, then I'd ask you to try to explain the past 3 days. Here's a newsflash- our boys are kicking the $*#& out of them.

The Value of Embeds

A few days ago, Chester hinted at the value of the embeds:

Iraqi (and American) journalists are being embedded with US forces. Remember how well embedding worked for us during the invasion? No reason it won't work again in swaying Iraqi public opinion.

The caliber of reporting has already gone through the roof since this operation began. Even the New York Times is putting out stuff that's worth reading. I know- I couldn't believe it either, but Dexter Filkin (with the 8th Marines) is calling it like he sees it:

After nearly 16 hours of fighting, the United States marines thought they had finally won their battle for the green-domed mosque, which insurgents had been using as a command center.

Then a car drove up behind a group of the marines on Al Thurthar Street. Seven men bristling with Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades and black ammunition belts spilled onto the street, ready to fight at point-blank range. The marines turned and fired, and killed four of them immediately, blowing one man's head entirely away before he fell on his back onto the pavement, his arms spread wide.

Three more fled. Cpl. Jason Huyghe cornered two of them in a courtyard. One of them, he suddenly realized, was wearing a belt packed with explosives.

"I saw the guy roll over and pull something on his jacket," Corporal Huyghe said, "and he exploded."

The seventh man limped into the dark streets of the city and escaped.

That sounds exactly like a typical insurgent vs. Marine showdown. You can't help but wonder how those 7 morons were able to fool themselves into thinking that the outcome would have been any different. And then there's the eyewitness account of the insurgents using a Mosque as a battlestation:

Insurgents were firing from an entire row of buildings, including the mosque. Tens of thousands of rounds cracked through the air in all directions.

The marines opened the doors of the mosque for Iraqi security forces to clear out the interior; it was thought better to let the Iraqis go into the holy place, even though it had been transformed into a kind of barracks.

Al-Jazeera would have reported things very differently (U.S./Iraqi Forces Desecrate Mosque- Local Sunni Clerics Outraged), but it's hard to argue with a reporter who's right there watching it. It's really so much more effective than the nonsensical reporting methods I wrote about last week. And how about those Iraqi warriors?

The Iraqis entered, their uniforms crisp and spotless because they had done none of the fighting until then, and fought with the insurgents and won.

I would have preferred a few more details, but okay- the Iraqis fought the insurgents and won. Excellent job, new Iraqi Sooper Troopers! This kind of stuff is being covered by local Iraqi journalists, so it should help to weaken the enemy's resolve, drown out the Al-Jazeera propaganda machine, and most importantly- help foster the belief among the Iraqi people, and indeed the Iraqi soldiers themselves, that they are more than capable of handling the daunting task ahead of them. The sooner that happens, the sooner we get to come home.

Important Point from General Metz

Don't be fooled into thinking that the success of this operation hinges on the capture or destruction of Zarqawi. That's not what this is about. I'd explain it in my own terms, but General Metz and a "senior military official" are more smarter than I:

American military officials said that they anticipated a surge in violence timed to the Falluja invasion and Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting that is supposedly auspicious for martyrdom. They say they are not under the illusion that an attack on Fallujah will break the back of the insurgency, or that the capture of Mr. Zarqawi is a realistic goal. The objectives of the offensive are to deny a safe haven to the insurgents, install the presence of the Iraqi government in the city and ensure the area is secure enough so residents can vote freely in the coming elections, General Metz said.

"The important idea to consider is that this is not an operation against Zarqawi or his network," said a senior military official in Washington who has been monitoring the battle. "It is just one of many steps that need to be taken in order to defeat a complex and diverse insurgency in which the Zarqawi network is but one element.''

They're right, but I can already feel the media spin machine coming on full force if we don't get at least some of the top bad guys.

Thanks for all the great emails! This is a team effort and your support means a lot to all of us.

More tomorrow...

I Can Finally Say It

I've been busy all day, so I haven't been able to "dive into the details" of the raging battle in Fallujah. One thing I would like to bring up, however, is something I wanted to write about for some time now. For the past several months, the media spin machine has taken much pleasure in writing about how U.S. forces have "allowed Fallujah to fall into the hands of the insurgents" and that Fallujah is a "no-go zone" and that Fallujah is just "one big black eye on the face of the Coalition effort." It's very easy to spin it that way (which is why they do it), but allow me to offer a different perspective.

What if the Coalition planners decided to let them set up a "safe" operations center that would, over time, develop such an appeal to all enemies of the coalition, that local insurgents and foreign extremists alike would come running from all parts of Iraq to "consolidate and organize?" Sort of like grabbing a megaphone and shouting "Attention all ye Ba'athists and Islamofascists!!! Safe area in Fallujah!!! Bring your friends!!! Anyone interested in killing children and/or driving car bombs welcome!!!!"

Now, instead of having them spread throughout the country, we have the bulk of them holed up in one "popular" spot. Like a roach motel. Insurgents check in, but they don't check out. Doesn't sound like such a failure now, does it? Observe:

Col. Michael Formica, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade, said Tuesday that a security cordon around the city will be tightened to insure insurgents dressed in civilian clothing don't slip out.

"My concern now is only one- not to allow any enemy to escape. As we tighten the noose around him, he will move to escape to fight another day. I do not want these guys to get out of here. I want them killed or captured as they flee," he said.

Yep. That's a roach motel.

159th Movie Update

I recently received an update from my old 101st buddy (and prodigious filmmaker) Eric Simon- reference the movie that he's making about our Brigade's story in Iraq. Good news, I'm happy to report:

The DESERT SKY website has a new face. Due to web designer Robert Rees' coming deployment with 50th MED, the website has been turned over to Robin Kong a longtime friend of mine who is also helping to develop a marketing strategy to get the film into the public eye.

Jimmy Dunn (composer) and I met this week to continue scoring the film. He's brought in a cast of VERY talented musicians from his 30+ years of music to contribute to the project. Next week we hope to have the score completely written and have the recording finished by the second week in November.

The DVD will be priced at around $19.95. We were hoping for a release on November 7th or 15th but we won't have it ready until later in the month. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please visit the renovated site at 159thfilm.com and pass the word.

God Speed Robert Rees in your deployment. Thank you for donating your time in getting the website its desperately needed jump start. We are forever grateful.

Sincerely,

Eric Simon
Director, DESERT SKY

Sounds like I'll be seeing Robert Rees in a few days. I'll be looking for you, Bob! Don't forget that proceeds from the purchase of this film (and any funds generated by this blog) will benefit scholarship funds for the children of soldiers that were killed in action while serving with the 159th Aviation Brigade during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eric told me in a recent email that he's still scanning through my footage, but that "some of it is already slated to be in the film." I'm proud to be part of such a noble project. Thanks again to "Team Atlanta" for shipping my tapes to him in such a timely manner. If you haven't checked out the website- please give it a look...

Getting the Word Out

The site took an amazing number of hits yesterday, and I eventually solved the mystery during the course of my "daily reads." The first site I always go to is Little Green Footballs (the uberblog that brought down Dan Rather), and I immediately noticed this plug for Beautiful Atrocities that advertised an "excellent round-up of the many US military personnel who are blogging their experiences live from Iraq." So I followed the link to Beautiful Atrocities, and the mystery was solved:

2Slick'sForum: Fascinating analysis of Fallujah insurgents' attempt to influence American election: "They did everything to lure us into the fight before Election Day- but we resisted. Because WE were calling the shots, & WE had total control of the situation."

Unbelievable! There were many other milblogs listed- some I hadn't ever heard of. As soon as I get some time, I'll link to all of them. Thanks to LGF and Beautiful Atrocities for helping us cut through the media spin and get the truth to the people.

And Finally...

If you haven't read this article from VDH- you should read it. It's the best post-election article I've read so far.

And So It Begins...

Prime Minister Allawi has given the "green light" and so U.S. forces have stormed Western Fallujah. This is what we in the business like to call a shaping operation (or supporting effort) in support of the main effort, which will occur when the proper conditions are set. The primary goals of this shaping operation were to "seize a hospital and two bridges over the Euphrates River" and essentially "gain a foothold in the city." So far, the operation appears to be going well. Some things I like about what I'm seeing so far:

The 3 to 1 Factor

US Military doctrine dictates that we hold a 3 to 1 advantage over enemy forces before launching an offensive operation. However, this doctrine was written with soviet-style, organized, state-sponsored military enemy forces in mind- not the rag-tag mixture of foreign extremists and local mercenaries that we're up against now. It would therefore be acceptable in the minds of some commanders to "ease up" on the "3 to 1 rule" and go with a smaller invasion force that would be a little more tailored to the situation. I'm glad to see this didn't happen. Our estimates have enemy strength at 3,000 in Fallujah, and our international forces involved in the operation are said to be well over 10,000. It's better to overestimate our enemy than to underestimate them. We're treating them as if they were the most capable fighting force in the world (after us of course). This is not good news for the enemy...

What's With the Hospital?

This relates to a theme I've touched on a few times in my earlier posts. Notice how just about every air strike that you hear about on the news is followed by a report that says something like "Al-Jazeera quotes a local doctor as saying that all of the casualties are women and children" which is then supported by a familiar-looking video clip (re: stock footage) of innocent civilians being pulled out of some rubble? This is not a coincidence. Al Jazeera is the voice of the jihad, and for whatever reason, our media agencies constantly see fit to air their anti-coalition propaganda. Well, this "hospital" that we seized was a key component of the insurgent/Al-Jazeera conspiracy. They will not be reporting any phantom civilian casualties during this offensive:

The U.S military said insurgents had been in control of Fallujah General Hospital- located on the west bank of the Euphrates- and were "forcing the doctors there to release propaganda and false information."

It underlined in a statement that when hospitals "are used for military purposes they lose ... protected status."

Hospital director Dr. Salih al-Issawi said Monday he asked U.S. officers to allow doctors and ambulances go inside the main part of the city to help the wounded but they refused. There was no confirmation from the Americans.

Al-Issawi denounced the U.S. seizure. The Americans "thought that they would halt medical assistance to the resistance," he said by telephone to a reporter inside the city. "But they did not realize that the hospital does not belong to anybody, especially the resistance."

Um...okay, Dr. al-Insurgent. Thanks for the scoop...

Show Me the Money!!!

Most of you know that I was heavily involved in the "financial war" that the 101st Airborne Division waged, quite successfully, in Mosul. I never went anywhere in that city without at least $50,000 in my briefcase. General Petraeus gave us orders to "use cash as our ammunition of choice. If we fire dollars (not bullets) at all the right targets," he insisted, "there will be no limit to our success." In other words, these people can be bought. He was right, and now he's wearing a 3rd star and has the most important job in all of Iraq. I'm glad to see this strategy is still in effect. This from the London Telegraph (hat tip: Chester):

'Cash On The Spot- If They Tell Us Where The Weapons Are'

When Capt Kirk Mayfield of the US army goes into battle he will have Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and sniper teams at his disposal. But one of his most important instruments of war will be in his back pocket- a thick wad of dollar bills.

"I'm going to get five grand," he told his platoon commanders at one of their final briefings yesterday. "If they tell us where the weapons caches are, where the IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and the bad guys are, we'll give them cash on the spot." Capt Mayfield, commander of Phantom troop of the 2-2 Task Force, emphasised that intelligence gathered on the battlefield could not only save the lives of American soldiers but also lay the foundations for stabilising the city after victory had been secured.

Never underestimate the power of the almighty dollar...

Also worth note- from the same article:

Standing by a tent in front of a large aerial photograph of a sector of the city taken from an unmanned drone, Capt Mayfield pointed out mosques and schools on a "no strike list" of 217 places in Fallujah that must be spared.

One member of his troop was Sgt Kimberly Snow, a "combat camera" photographer whose job was to record what happened in the battle to prevent the insurgents later boosting their cause with propaganda. "If they're firing out of a mosque or a hospital I don't care where she is, bring Sgt Snow forward. So when we level that thing, we have pictures to show they were using it as a bad place," said Capt Mayfield. He urged his men to play close attention to where they were firing. "God forbid I don't need to blow up a mosque and somebody yells about it," he said.

Sounds like they're doing everything right so far. Let's keep them in our thoughts...

More tomorrow- thanks for your continued support.

Guest Blogger: Chester the Marine

I'll be gone until Monday. Until then, I offer the following post from Chester, a former Marine officer who participated in the Iraqi campaign. He has a BA in Int'l Relations from Duke. He now works in finance in Texas. He knows a few things about what's going on in and around Falluja. I strongly encourage you to check out his milblog- The Adventures of Chester. It's well worth a look. Have a great weekend, and thanks for supporting those brave troops who are about to face evil head on...

Shaping the Battlefield

(2Slick note: this was posted on his site Novemeber 3rd- go to his site after reading this to see more current posts)

Folks, many of the psychological aspects of the battle are starting to become clear. Let's see what we end up with when we try to calculate the overall effect on the enemy that the following combination of military and political events will have:

1. Bush has won re-election in the US with a clear victory that is unchallenged. This shows unity in the American populace.

2. Four Arab-language media outlets have been forced from Fallujah by the insurgents for refusing to display stock footage of civilian casualties. This is a huge plus for us, especially when we learn that Iraqi journalists are being embedded with US forces. Remember how well embedding worked for us during the invasion? No reason it won't work again in swaying Iraqi public opinion. Note that the article states that Al-Jazeera declined to embed a reporter. If the battle goes well for the US, and Iraqis and other Arabs watch it go well on their TVs, but Al-Jazeera reports negatively, the US can publicize AJ's "no thanks" to being included to AJ's detriment. Another note: I bet the US has some very solid signals intelligence, or other human intelligence that many of the fighers in Fallujah are not Iraqi. Being able to show them on TV as the US assaults will be a huge plus for Allawi. I don't think he would take this risk if he didn't know for sure.

3. There is a British report that the Black Watch will be patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah. The article states that the Brits are based in Camp Dogwood. If that's the case, then the idea that they are patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah is spin, pure and simple. Camp Dogwood is a good 50 miles as the crow flies from Fallujah. The Brits are serving as a blocking force, and are going to be watching one of the high-speed avenues of approach running north-south from Baghdad to Iskandriyah (I can't find the name of this highway at the moment [2Slick's note- it's Highway 1- runs from Kuwait all the way up to Turkey]) to clean up any fleeing insurgents. I bet the US will leave them one avenue of escape. This is because:

a) it will definitely be very bloody if all the jihadi's have nowhere to go and fight to the finish in the city

b) if they flee, we can attrit them from the air very effectively (a highway is a relatively open battlespace)

c) the British, maybe coupled with US Army units, will be in a position to bat cleanup as the bad guys move toward them.

If I wanted them to have an escape route, I would make it to the east, and not to the west. Ramadi is in the west and we don't need fleeing forces regrouping there, or stumbling into the rear of 5th Marines.

Whether the spin of "outskirts of Fallujah" is generated by the British press to make good headlines or whether it is generated by the US/British military to emphasize an important role for the Brits is unclear. But the effect is the same: to someone on the other side hearing news reports, it looks like not only the Americans, but also the Brits are involved in the campaign, and are very unified.

So to sum up, if I am Joe Insurgent in Fallujah, and have news access (probably via shortwave radio), I know that:

-Bush has won a resounding victory

-the British are united behind him and will participate in the attack against me

-the Arab media will mainly be embedded with the Americans, and will give accurate stories of their prowess, not the dreck I feed them

All of these things have a psychological effect on the enemy combatants. If there is any chance at all for a peace settlement, the US' blatant unity behind the president will further deepen existing discord between the sheiks and the foreign fighters.

I would put all of these events, together with the unrelenting airstrikes, under the battle phase of "shaping the battlefield," wherein we have not yet committed ground troops, but it's the next step, and we are doing all possible right down to the wire to make them successful. Look for more airstrikes tonight, and if they begin to increase in frequency, as they did yesterday (from more or less one a day to two a day) then we'll know the assault phase is getting closer. In US doctrine, phases must have clearly defined begin and end points. These can be either time-driven or event driven. I think that since the US election is over, the shift of phases from shaping the battlefield to beginning to kick down doors will be event-driven: like a certain unit in place and ready to perform a certain activity, or a certain enemy target successfully attrited by air.

[Note: thanks to "cjr" in the comments for pointing out the CentCom press releases.][Note: a reader asked in the comments section what "devildog" refers to. It's translation of German: "teufelhunden." See here.] [Note: Thanks to alert reader "schutzhund" for pointing me to this story.]

Just Be Patient, Mr. Insurgent Guy!

The Biggest Question of All

The first question I want to answer is one that hasn't really been asked much, but I anticipate that it will be asked. Why are we gearing up for Falluja immediately following the elections? Was this a ploy by the Bush administration to avoid taking large numbers of American casualties at a time when it could hurt their efforts to "get the votes?"

The short answer is no, this had nothing to do with the Bush administration trying to get reelected. Any commander on the ground would tell you that if the Pentagon sent orders to "hold the offensive until after the election- don't risk hurting Bush's chances," the commander would laugh and tear it up. As if he'd even consider making operational decisions based on a candidate's political aspirations! He's intereseted in the lives of his troops, accomplishing the mission, and many other things- getting Bush reelected is not on his list of priorities. What is possible however, is to make informed operational decisions based on the enemy's political motives. I know it sounds complicated, but here's how it works:

The ground commander has a large staff of smart people that determine every aspect of the upcoming offensive. He has his intell staffers work specifically on what we call Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB). This consists of many things- among them, finding answers to the questions- What is motivating our enemy? What are their objectives?

Our IPB determined (to nobody's surprise and I can tell you this because it's already been reported in the press), among other things, that these insurgents and terrorists were aiming primarily to influence our election and thwart the Iraqi election. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how they planned on influencing our elections- kill as many Americans as humanly possible.

They did anything and everything to lure us into the fight before Election Day- but we resisted. Because WE were calling the shots, and WE had total control of the situation. Our commanders and staffers up there wisely determined that if we hold off the offensive until after Election Day, it would leave the insurgents with one less thing that drives their will to fight. Almost like a morale issue. Instead of two primary goals, now they only have one- having failed to achieve their first. When you think about it- it's brilliant strategy. We won half the battle by not even fighting! There were other reasons for the timing of this thing, but our Election Day was a factor- but not in a context that many uninformed people will be able to comprehend.

Recap- the Bush administration had nothing to do with making this decision- it was (once again) the commanders on the ground- and it was a well thought out decision, both tactically and strategically speaking. Consider yourself informed. Please explain this to your friends who suffer from "lack-of-military-knowledge-but-strong-propensity-to-spout-off-about-military-issues" disease. Thanks!

Oh Praise Ye Bloggers!

Peggy Noonan gives us bloggers a nice parting gift after the elections:

Who was the biggest loser of the 2004 election? It is easy to say Mr. Kerry: he was a poor candidate with a poor campaign. But I do think the biggest loser was the mainstream media, the famous MSM, the initials that became popular in this election cycle. Every time the big networks and big broadsheet national newspapers tried to pull off a bit of pro-liberal mischief--CBS and the fabricated Bush National Guard documents, the New York Times and bombgate, CBS's "60 Minutes" attempting to coordinate the breaking of bombgate on the Sunday before the election--the yeomen of the blogosphere and AM radio and the Internet took them down. It was to me a great historical development in the history of politics in America. It was Agincourt. It was the yeomen of King Harry taking down the French aristocracy with new technology and rough guts. God bless the pajama-clad yeomen of America.

Thanks, Peggy. It was actually quite fun...

And Speaking of the MSM

What Peggy referred to as "bombgate" has taken on a life of it's own. The story that has been discredited about 30 different times is now finding new life in the LA Times. Talk about taking out your aggressions on a dead horse...

Note to LA Times: Election's over- your guy lost. And about your 4 anonymous "sources" that claim it was similar to "the LA Riots" (strange, I thought it looked more like a WAR over there, but that's just silly me)- maybe you haven't figured it out yet- when the MSM says "we can't tell you who said it or show you any definitive proof other than this testimony from people who may or may not exist, but trust us- this story about 12 US soldiers standing around watching Iraqis loot 380 tons of explosives over a period of several weeks is absolutely true"- well, that just doesn't quite carry the weight that it once did. But thanks for trying...

Target Fallujah

I'm going to keep this one short today, because I've got some things going on. Nothing bad, just a little busy lately...

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to write about what's going on in Fallujah. I can't give away details (obviously), but I can probably add some insight to the news stories you've been seeing.

When I read about Fallujah in the news, it's pretty obvious that the reporters are clueless. They occasionally report what they see, but usually it comes from a hired Iraqi "news chaser." Sometimes the information is accurate- often it's not. I try to read them from a civilian perspective, and I've noticed that these stories probably leave most civilians with more questions than answers. Questions like:

"Who are we targeting? What's with all the civilian casualties? What are the Americans doing to prevent them?"

"Why do the American troops run in there, shoot stuff up, and pull back? Why not just go in there and crush them already?"

"Why did we allow Fallujah to become an 'insurgent stronghold'?"

"Who are the bad guys? Where are they from? What are their motives?"

"When are we going to deliver the crushing blow? Who will make that call? Will it be anything like Najaf, Samarra, or Sadr City?"

I could go on forever. Reporters don't answer these questions in their stories, mostly because they don't even know enough about the military to ask themselves these kinds of questions.

It usually goes something like this:

Reporter answers cell phone while sitting by the pool at the Green Zone Hotel-

"Hello? Hi Mr. Hassam! Airstrike? OK, great! Heavy bombing in Fallujah- great stuff....let's see...What else do I need? Oh- how many innocent civilians were killed? Don't know? OK, make something up. 6! Sounds good- we'll say you got that from the doctor at some hospital. Great! Looks like I got a story! Thank you Mr. Hassam! Yes, come by the hotel tomorrow and I'll give you 50 bucks."

Not exactly Pulitzer-worthy reporting, but hey, whatever works. I'll try to explain the things that they cannot (or will not) starting tomorrow.

Good News

Since the election, we're not seeing or hearing about any wild celebrating in Syria or Iran. No massive influx of foreign fighters into Iraq. None of that.

But...

Today I heard a report about 20 Syrians sneaking out of Fallujah- heading back to Syria. "Exit polls" suggested they were leaving due to "lack of popular support." Based on other reports we're getting from the general population in Fallujah, I'd say these "exit polls" are accurate.

Thanks again for telling these morons that America mean business...

Most Shocking Headline of the Week

I'm not kidding, I saw this on FOXNews.com-

Bin Laden Slams Bush

I can't believe it!! And I thought they were friends!

Hey, what does Bush care? He's a CHAMPION!

Mission Accomplished

I can't tell you all how happy and proud we are over here. We believed in you just as you believe in us, and now we can focus on the task at hand. You all have spoken- and we heard your message loud and clear. There is no question that your support for us is overwhelming. Morale is high. We won't let you down...

No matter who you voted for, I'd ask you to support our Commander in Chief. It may not be readily obvious, but I'm telling you it's critical to our success.

I'm so glad this thing is over. Army Staff Officer by day, Pseudo Military Pundit by night is too exhausting for words. Tonight I sleep easy- thanks to you all.

I don't plan on ever mentioning the flip-flopper guy ever again. I appreciate his willingness to kindly step aside, and perhaps he'll find it in his heart to come clean and apologize someday.

From here on out, I'd like to stay away from politics. I now feel free to use this Forum for what it was originally intended- to spread the truth about our nation's military and offer the occasional (and sometimes educational?) color commentary. I welcome any of you to sound off about anything you'd like, post comments/email me with any questions or topics, and most of all- just come on by and share ideas. Say what you want about the blogosphere- I think it's a much better alternative to the MSM. I think a lot of people are starting to feel this way...

Great job yesterday! I'm about to listen to a speech that I've been wanting to hear for many months now, and then I'm going to get some (much needed) rest...

Thanks-

2Slick

BUSH ROLLS!!!!

2SLICK CALLS RACE FOR BUSH!!!!

Florida is already in the Bush column, and now Ohio is Bush by 7% with 42% of the votes tallied. Michael Moore- it's time to put on a wig and start singing- the traitorous villain that you call a Presidential candidate is done. Thank you America. Thanks to the Swift Vets and all the other courageous people who had knowledge of the true John Kerry and were brave enough to bring it forward and do battle with a hostile and biased media. They served their country well in Vietnam, and now 30+ years later- they served bravely once again...

To those who voted for Kerry- I believe your intentions were more than honorable, and I commend you for exercising your right to vote. You are all great Americans for that. I hope you'll find comfort with the knowledge that there will be some very disturbing information about John Kerry coming out in the very near future that will probably make you feel much better that your guy didn't win. In any case, I respect your opinions and I'm glad your guy lost.

Bush may not be the Lincoln or FDR that we'd prefer during these times, but I have no reason to doubt that he could possibly go down in history as one of the all-time greats. Time will tell. Give the guy a chance- the media has not been fair to him. Try and see past all the spin...

People say this election divided our country- I don't buy it. I think that many of us have different philosophical ideas for getting to the same place- we all want to make our country, and the world, a better place. My own brother voted for the loser in this election, and I couldn't care less. I love that kid! Politics will never be an excuse for harboring ill feelings toward anyone, as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I despise Kerry- but that has nothing to do with Politics. If Clinton were challenging Bush today (and there were no strategic implications in Iraq or anywhere else), you can bet that I would have been less than half-interested in the outcome.

Update: John Edwards just came out and announced that they were calling it a night. He said that they were going to "count every vote" and that they "waited four years for this victory- we can wait one more day." I'm not fooled. John Edwards is a good lawyer, but he will not be able to sue their way into the White House. Sorry, John. Back to ambulance chasing for you.

Election's over- let's move on to more important things. Let's do what we did in the 30's and 40's- unite behind a common cause (rid the world of evil), and enjoy the peace and prosperity that we are so amazingly fortunate to have.

2Slick out!!!!

Old stuff follows...

UPDATE!!!

FOX News just showed a bunch of Marines hanging out in Fallujah- laughing, watching FOX News, and cheering for Bush- who appears to be winning a landslide. I wish every terrorist in the world could have seen that. If Bush were losing right now, we'd certainly be seeing celebrations breaking out in Syria and Iran and any other places where Islamofascism reigns supreme. What a nightmare that would have been.

I love this country. Not just for it's strength, courage, and determination- but for it's ability to rise to the occasion when times get tough.

It may not, in fact, wind up as a landslide- but it sure doesn't seem possible for Hanoi John to claim a seat in the White House anytime soon. Let's thank our lucky stars for THAT.

Old stuff follows...

2SLICK CALLS FLORIDA FOR BUSH!!!

Bush leads by 6% with almost 70% of the vote tallied. As it heads west (towards Republicans) and with the absentees (re: Military) yet to be counted- I'm putting Florida in the Bush column.

ROCK ON, W!!!!!!!!

Ohio looks good: Bush 51% Kerry 47% with 20% reporting.

Come on OHIO!!!!

Stay tooned....

Old stuff follows...

At 41% tallied, Yahoo reports Florida at:

George W. Bush
Rep
1,822,029 - 56 percent

John F. Kerry
Dem
1,415,004 - 43 percent


I like that. A lot.

Bush is doing MUCH better (everywhere) than the exit polls predicted. How is that possible I wonder?

Old stuff follows...

With 27% of the votes tallied in Florida, Bush enjoys a 55%-45% lead. Still many Dem-heavy precincts to round up, but Bush is holding strong on the I-4 beltway...

No real surprises thus far.

Got some weird noise about California being in play? Not holding my breath, but that would really be something.

Stay Tooned...

Old stuff follows...

With 12% of the votes counted in Florida- Bush is DESTROYING Kerry by a score of 57%-42%.

Best thing about it. The late-closing polls in the western half of the panhandle haven't even been counted yet- and those are military-heavy, Alabama-border Republican strongholds. Great job, Florida!!!! Keep it up!!!!

Let's make sure this continues. If this margin even hangs on a LITTLE BIT- they might call this one A LOT sooner than we thought. I'm telling you guys- it's the cell phones!!!! Polls are MEANINGLESS these days!

Things are looking GOOD so far.

Stay Tooned....

Old stuff follows...

Thanks for all your great updates and voting stories. I especially liked the story about the merry-go-round. Please keep posting or sending voting stories. It makes us feel closer to home.

Comforting news from Drudge!

Exit poll mania spread through media and campaign circles Tuesday afternoon after first wave of morning data showed Kerry competitive in key states.... National Election Pool -- representing six major news organization -- shows Kerry in striking distance -- with small 1% lead -- in Florida and Ohio, sources tell DRUDGE... [But early 2000 exit polls showed Gore +3 in Florida; showed Gore-Bush even in CO [Bush won by 9], exits showed Gore +4 in AZ [Bush won by 6]... Exits Senate races: Thune +4 Castor +3 Burr +6 Bunning +6 Coburn +6 Demint +4 Salazar +4...

The Repubs are at work, and after work- they're going to hit the polls and strike that deciding blow!!!

Even BETTER news from Captain's Quarters!!

Democratic Pollster Predicts Bush Victory

In one of the more unusual analyses of this presidential campaign, The Hill published a prediction of victory by George Bush in today's race. That may not sound unusual, but when the pundit making the prediction turns out to be John Kerry's chief pollster Mark Mellman, it raises a few eyebrows

Keep fightin' the good fight!

GOOD MORNING, VOTERS!!!!!!

What a great day to go out there and SAVE YOUR COUNTRY!!!!

RUN (don't walk) to the nearest polling station and VOTE like you've NEVER VOTED BEFORE!!

YOUR BUTT IS ON FIRE!!!! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!! HURRY UP AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!

If, when you're at the polling station, you happen to be standing next to a Kerry voter- attempt to debate them out of their vote. It probably won't work, but might as well try. If you need help, use the following talking points:

"Kerry is BAD."

"Bush is REALLY GREAT!"

Actually, don't even bother.

Seriously guys, go out there, vote, and most importantly- have some fun. It may seem frantic with the huge turnout and all- but just remember how lucky you all are to be doing it. If things get out of control where you're at, just walk away- nothing (not even voting) is worth being caught up in a chaotic swirling bastion of stupidity. You can always go back later.

I just a read a post at Totten's site that reminded me why I read that guy's stuff. He's totally right about the main thing we need to stay focussed on during this election- we're all Americans:

You have the right to vote. You do not have the right to see the man of your choice in the White House.

People who vote for the other guy aren’t stupid, brainwashed, or evil. They are your friends and family. Someone you love will almost certainly cancel your vote. (My wife cancels out mine.)

If, by some chance, everyone you know votes for the loser it won’t mean the election was stolen, it will only show that you live in a bubble.

If the election doesn’t go your way, don’t pop off as though America were Guatemala under the generals. You’ll get lots of attention, but it won’t be the kind you want. People will laugh, not near you but at you.

And for any of you "undecideds" out there- I leave you with this:

"And no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often, than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry" -Zell Miller (Democrat)

"To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will." -Ronald Reagan (Republican)

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilence." -Thomas Jefferson (Founder)

"All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse." -Benjamin Franklin (Founder)

"We need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ...And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War." - John Kerry (Democrat) 1/23/03

"Iraq may not be the war on terror itself, but it is critical to the outcome of the war on terror, and therefore any advance in Iraq is an advance forward." - John Kerry (Democrat) 12/15/03

"It's the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time." -John Kerry (Democrat) 10/06/04

"You may not agree with everything I do or say. But at least you'll always know where I stand." -President George W. Bush (Republican)

"Dammit, of course Kerry's a lousy candidate – he's a Democrat, for heavens sake!" -Michael Moore (Filmmaker)

Okay folks! Go out there and make us proud!

The Story Breaks

Figures- right before I went to bed, I checked the Swifties site and found the following message:

A TO THE POINT HEADS-UP I had a conversation with Bill Middendorf earlier today. Bill was the Secretary of the Navy from April 1974 to January 1978. I got to know Bill well when he was Ronald Reagan\'s Ambassador to the OAS and we worked together on support for the Contras. Bill has agreed to publicly state that to the best of his knowledge and recollection, John Kerry was dishonorably discharged from the military and fought to have this reversed while he (Bill) was SECNAV, which Bill of course refused to do. When Carter became president, Kerrysecured the honorable discharge from Bill's successor. The OTH (Other Than Honorable) discharge story has been out for a while, but for a former Secretaryof the Navy to confirm it is major news. WorldNetDaily will be headlining it, as should the Washington Times tomorrow, and possibly Drudge. For some reason, Drudge, whom Jerry Corsi (coauthor of Unfit for Command) just talked to a few minutes! ago, is resisting. I also gave the story to Neal Cavuto at Fox. I thought all TTPers should get a heads-up on this.

Jack Wheeler

which was followed by a post from the now-legendary Navy Chief:

Something is about to break on this... - Chief

And so I waited for about 15 minutes. I was one of the first people to ever see this new article. The fact that it's coming from a former Secretary of the Navy is huge. I'm still not confident that the MSM will pick it up right away (for fear of a "you just pulled an October Surprise!" backlash). Another thing that hurts the story is that, while the former SECNAV makes it clear that he KNOWS about Kerry's bogus discharge (he would have had to know by virtue of the position he held at the time he held it), he's forbidden to speak his mind on the subject:

Middendorf said he cannot comment specifically on any action taken on Kerry, because he is barred, under the 1974 privacy act, from discussing personnel matters.

This was Middendorf's way of saying, "I'd love to tell you EVERYTHING I know, but if I did I'd go to jail." However, he gives us a good "read between the lines" nod:

However, he enthusiastically vouches for the character of Mark Sullivan, who formed the basis for a story today in the New York Sun by Thomas Lipscomb, the first to report discrepancies in Kerry's discharge record.

In other words, "Trust me- it's true."

Believe me, you may not hear much about this (or maybe you will) in the next 36 hours, but this is going to be big in the next few days. It's too juicy to pass up, even for the liberal media.

This will be a huge story in the days to come, but it's too close to election time for any major media outlet to touch it right now. You will have to keep him out of the White House...

Make sure you read the entire article.

The Next Liberal Media Scandal

As many of you might have seen, Tom Brokaw recently interviewed John Kerry. During their talk, John Kerry inadvertantly slipped that his records "weren't public," despite insisting for months that they were. Tom Brokaw forgot to follow that up with, "But I thought you said all your records were available for viewing on your web site," because Mr. Brokaw temporarily forgot everything that he learned in journalism school.

Here's the unbelievable part- MSNBC altered the transcript, and edited the video to delete any evidence of Kerry's unfortunate slip!! Unfortunately for MSNBC, there are mighty pajama-wearing bloggers out there. Little Green Footballs has already pounced on this:

Here’s the original MSNBC transcript of John Kerry’s interview with Tom Brokaw, dated October 28: MSNBC - Sen. Kerry: Nation ‘is polarized’.

Brokaw: Someone has analyzed the President’s military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do.

Kerry: That’s great. More power. I don’t know how they’ve done it, because my record is not public. So I don’t know where you’re getting that from.

And here’s the more recent version of the same transcript, dated October 31: MSNBC - Kerry: ‘America can do better’.

(Notice what has been removed, from a critical passage that has been much noted in the blogosphere):

Brokaw: “Someone has analyzed the president’s military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do.”

Kerry: “That’s great. More power. I don’t know how they’ve done it.”

You'd think MSM media people would be brought up on charges for this kind of stuff...

New Poll

New Fox Poll has Bush by 5.

It's On!

Okay folks- here it is. The Thomas Lipscomb article that leaves no room for doubt about Kerry's discharge. If somehow you should still have a doubt after reading it (you won't), ask yourself this simple question: Why won't Kerry sign that Form 180?

And just for musings- I ask you this: What would the MSM do if this was about President Bush?

If the MSM gives this article even 1/1000th of the play it gave Bush's forged National Guard story, it will be plastered all over the place by noon today (don't hold your breath).

Why is this disclosure significant? It goes way beyond the fact that he's told countless lies to cover it up for all these years- it's the reason that he received the dishonorable discharge that will make your head spin.

Ladies and gentlemen, we could potentially have an elected President who has a secret past. I'm not talking about special favors, drunk driving, or "shirking duty." I'm talking about collaberating with an active enemy of the United States- not to end hostilities- but to help the enemy win.

While American soldiers were being held captive by the VC and tortured for allegedly committing war crimes (which of course they did not commit), John Kerry took the enemy's propaganda talking points (aquired during his illegal meetings with them in Paris- during which time he claimed to be on his second honeymoon) and indicted the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines "more than any other body" for violating the Geneva Conventions, and committing, in his words: War Crimes. That devastating bit of propaganda was the one thing the Communists really needed to take the wind completely out of our sails in Vietnam - and it was the thing to really start us running. They knew how much it meant to us in Europe, and at home, to be the global crusader and legit policeman against Communist expansionism. He and his friends so thoroughly destroyed the military image in America by his sensational unfounded accusations, that we still have not recovered from it. Kerry's reward for helping the Communists? I'll give you a hint- tomorrow he could be our 44th President.

He has been able to keep this quiet for over 30 years.

The truth has now caught up with him, but it may be too late- send this article to everyone you know and GET THE WORD OUT. Let them know that there is even bigger news soon to follow. Thanks for helping our cause.

UPDATE:

From FOX News: Kerry Comment Rankles Troops (ya think?)

UPDATE AGAIN:

It's bedtime- doesn't look like Lipscomb's piece is going to catch on in time, but THAT'S OK!! As long as you all wake up tomorrow READY TO VOTE- you will be more than able to save our nation's dignity.

I leave you with this...

and this...

and finally- I know I've made it pretty clear that I despise John Kerry, and especially the thought of him as Commander in Chief. But that's not the main reason I voted for Bush. I said before, and I still believe, that our country is strong and determined enough to prevail in this war and maintain our enviable standard of living no matter who sits in that big white house. No, my stake in this election is something that goes far beyond disdain for a corrupt Senator or overwhelming confidence in our nation's resilience. I'd explain it to you in my own words, but I actually found an Iraqi who seemed to take the thoughts from right out of my head:

Thus, regardless of all the arguments of both candidates the main problem is that President Bush now represents a symbol of defiance against the terrorists and it is a fact, that all the enemies of America, with the terrorists foremost, are hoping for him to be deposed in the upcoming elections. That is not to say that they like the democrats, but that they will take such an outcome as retreat by the American people, and will consequently be greatly encouraged to intensify their assault. The outcome here on the ground in Iraq seems to be almost obvious. In case President Bush loses the election there would be a massive upsurge of violence, in the belief, rightly or wrongly, by the enemy, that the new leadership is more likely to “cut and run” to use the phrase frequently used by some of my readers. And they would try to inflict as heavy casualties as possible on the American forces to bring about a retreat and withdrawal.

He's right. I know how this enemy thinks.

I voted as if my buddies' lives depended on it.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW!!!

And as always- we thank you all for your support, no matter who you're voting for...