Job Hunting

I'll be back in a week. While I'm gone, many things will happen in Iraq. I'm sure you'll all be watching Drudge and all that. Don't forget to check the Iraq Election Diatribes. Great information there. Don't miss history in the making.

See ya...

Marine Chopper Crash

This is just an awful tragedy. Please keep these brave warriors and their families in your thoughts. I won't speculate about what happened, but I'm sure the facts will come out soonest...

Condi Rice

I haven't mentioned anything about the Barbara Boxer fundraiser...I mean, the Dr. Rice confirmation fiasco until now. Go check out Power and Control and you'll know everything you need to know.

Meet Rambo

That's right- Rambo is alive and well, and he's working for the US Army in Afghanistan:

By Afghan standards, Udin had a good life. He had a steady job, an apartment, six children and a wife he adored.

The turning point for Udin, he said, came several years ago when a rocket-propelled grenade apparently fired by a Taliban soldier slammed into his apartment, killing his wife.

Udin remembers the time of day — 10 or 11 a.m. — but not the year. The Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996, but were beating back counterattacks for sometime afterward, so it could’ve been 1997.

“We loved each other,” Udin said of his wife, “which is why I will never remarry.”

You can't afford to miss this story...

Cut to the Chase

In case you missed it in yesterday's update, here's my recent interview at Cut to the Chase. We had a great discussion about some very relevent topics...

Quick Hits

Michael Moore got snubbed by Hollywood. Maybe he'll find comfort in a brontoburger with cheese and an extra large milkshake.

Thanks to Liz for this excellent tip regarding the U of Oregon's "brilliant" decision to forbid employees from overtly supporting our deployed soldiers.

Get a box of Kleenax and go check out Froggy's Victim of the Week. It's a heartbreaker of epic proportions.

Read this post from LGF and then decide whether or not you can believe your own eyes.

Before You Read This...

...you have to go read this post at Black5's site. It's excellent. After you read it, come back and see why I disagree with most of what his military friends had to say about the war in Iraq.

1) Duration Plus Six. Just like World War II. Wow- that's a far out concept. Except this isn't WWII. In WWII, we were working towards a surrender. When Hitler (or his post-suicide stand-in) surrenders, we win. When Emperor Hirohito surrenders, we win. What an unbelievably simple concept! Those days are long gone, my friends.

Remember when the Taliban surrendered in Afghanistan? That's because they didn't. Remember when Saddam surrendered his control of Iraq? Me neither. Ask Saddam who the lawful ruler of Iraq is, and you'll hear something far different than what Emperor Hirohito would have said in 1946. Our objective in Iraq was to defeat Saddam (took 3 weeks), and to create a free and stable Iraq (still working on it). To think that this should have been done in 6 months or less is pure fantasy. This war will continue after we leave (the Iraqis will defeat the insurgency- not us), and I promise you will never see a formal surrender come from Zarqawi, bin Laden, Saddam's henchmen, or anyone else involved in the terrorist-sponsored insurgency. To say that we should have deployed forces for "the duration of the war plus 6 months" would have been laughable if it had been said before the initial invasion. The fact that people (military people even) are saying it now is simply hard for me to believe- but they did say it! Maybe I'm not understanding them...

2) Troop Strength. First off, I do agree that Shinseki wasn't forced out. He would have said something by now if he felt like he was forced out, and the whole conspiracy makes no sense. He served his time, and he served it well (except for the beret thing- that was just plain stoopid). Yes- he happened to be of the opinion that more soldiers would be needed in Iraq for the post-conflict Stability and Support Operations (SASO). The fact is, there were plenty of Generals who took that view. My take on this is simple- so what? Most Generals (notably including the one who was in charge of CENTCOM at the time- Tommy Franks) shared the view that the SECDEF ultimately decided on. So what's the argument here? Was it stupid to go with the majority view as opposed to the minority? I think not. When high-ranking military and government officials have conflicting opinions, they discuss them. They weigh the pros and cons of each Course of Action, and they have healthy and productive debates. The one in charge makes the decision after weighing all the facts and opinions. The majority often rules, but not always. Folks, this is how it's supposed to work, and this is how it happened. Did Rumsfeld end up making the wrong decision? I won't pretend to know (because it's impossible to know for sure), but I certainly haven't seen anything to convince me that it was the wrong decision.

Remember the Mosul blast last month? Let me ask you a simple question. If more troops had been in the dining tent that day, would the blast have been prevented? Or would the blast have killed more troops? Think about it. We're fighting an insurgency here. We already have them grossly outnumbered. If we were up against the Nazi horde, things would be different- but this isn't WWII.

I agree that future military action is imminent, but I believe that there will be lots of behind the scenes diplomacy and coalition-building preceding it.

I disagree that we need more than 40,000 additional soldiers and I can assure you- there will not be a draft. The issue isn't numbers- we have enough troops. The issue is restructuring- force modernization. We need less artillery soldiers and more MP's, Civil-Military specialists, and intelligence specialists. We need fewer tanks (but we still need tanks!) and more armored humvees. We need a flexible, rapidly deployable, modular force- with just the right amount of light brigades and heavy brigades. We need fewer troops in Europe and Korea than we have right now. This is all being fixed as I type this. It won't happen overnight, but it might not happen at all if it weren't for the wisdom of Rumsfeld and his staff. Which brings me to my next point...

3) Rumsfeld Should Resign. This is a fun one to debate. Let's take the first point:

-He should accept responsibility and step down.

Now the obvious question- he should accept responsibility for what? The fact that Iraq is about to hold it's first free election in it's history? The fact that the people of Afghanistan held free elections last year and are now more concerned with opium crops than Taliban/al-Qaeda goons? Should he accept responsibility for restructuring our military to reflect the current threat environment as opposed to the non-existent Soviet threat that Clinton and the gang were poised to fight while terrorists enjoyed 8 long years of unhindered aggression towards the United States? Or should he accept responsibility for the left-wing/media-concocted "quagmire" that used to exist in Afghanistan before it moved to Iraq?

And the second point:

-Most feel that it's not fair to have higher standards for Soldiers than for the Civilian leaders of the DOD.

Absolutely correct. But let's not forget that soldiers (like me) are not under the media microscope. Let's not forget that Rumsfeld takes the spotlight whenever something goes wrong (or in most cases- when the media or Ted Kennedy pretend that something goes wrong), and is ignored for anything and everything that goes well. As a soldier, I can't relate to this sort of treatment. But I can say that if the media covered the actions of every soldier (including me) the way they covered SECDEF Rumsfeld, you would think that we were the most incompetent military in the history of the planet- and those who were dumb enough to believe all the media spin would be calling for all of our resignations! Wouldn't that be interesting?

I guess my advice to Blackfive's friends would be to stop watching so many CBS news broadcasts, start reading more blogs, and talk (and listen) to their friends who were there. He didn't mention whether any of his friends ever served in Iraq, but I'm guessing most of them haven't. I could be wrong.

UPDATE:

I discussed many of these same issues in a recent interview with Marshall Masters of Cut to the Chase:

26-January-2005: Iraq War Fighter Captain Rick: "Is President Bush Writing Bigger Checks Than Our Military Can Cash?"

Last December, Captain Rick 2Slick, as he is known to netizens, weighed in on the honesty of the American media. Now, he does the same with the Iraqi people and gives his honest, boots-on-the-ground perspective on whether or not democracy can flourish in Iraq. He knows them well, having fought his way into Iraq in 2003 as a Captain in the US Army. He has just finished his second tour of duty in Kuwait and continues to fight the injustices of the American media on his war blog <2slick.blogspot.com>. He also addresses a key concern for YOWUSA.COM, that being the possibility that we may, ourselves, be dangerously over-extended in the Middle East. If you have nagging doubts, as we do, you'll appreciate his no-fluff assessment.

Back to the U of O

I haven't been able to follow up on this, but I got a great tip from GaijinBiker at Riding Sun- he caught University President Dave Frohnmayer squirming under the weight of an ever-increasing blogolanche. Go check it out.

UPDATE:

Check out what Deb the Marine Mom had to say...

This Might Hurt a Little

Before you read this post, I want to caution you- this is not for the weak at heart. Our friend Jordan at Cheese and Crackers tipped me off to this nice little story out of Oregon- courtesy of ABC affiliate KEZI:

"Support our Troop" Stickers...Creates a Stir at U of O

That's right- the University of Oregon has banned the Yellow Ribbon sticker. Writer Andrew Padula is to be commended for bringing this saga to our attention. Thanks, Andrew. Now let's discuss the piece.

In an e-mailed statement.. the University of Oregon says it is unclear if the decals are a political statement.

But to make sure they are in compliance with state restrictions... all stickers were ordered to be removed.

Wow, that's great. If there's ever any doubt, always default to the old "Screw the First Amendment" tactics- it's the best way to silence all those idiots who are dumb enough to love their country.

And then there's this:

The university determined that some may view the yellow ribbons as a political statement....therefore they demanded that all those stickers be removed.

That's brilliant. Imagine the possibilities! Let's ban SUV's and those cool little electro-hybrid thingies- might as well call them politimobiles! Let's ban Heinz ketchup while we're at it. Can we allow the employees to say things like "I love my country" or "Man, I'm glad I don't live in France?" Too political? I thought so.

U of O student Terra Wegner puts it in perspective for us-

"I think it's really a tough situation... because both sides have valid arguments."

Well said, Terra! Can you please share the "valid" arguments in support of the university's decision? No fair saying that they just didn't know what to do so they banned the stickers- they've already made that argument and we all laughed. I want a valid argument. Terra?

Andrew's article is chock full of valid arguments, but I couldn't find any that supported the University of Oregon's dubious position. Check it:

"I don't know how they think these are political.. I think they're patriotic," said Pete Baker, U of O delivery driver. "I'm not democratic or republican.. and I was really surprised the university deemed them to be political," said Baker.

We're all surprised, Peter.

"These are like their offices- they work in them for eight hours a day.. they're going to do something personal with them," said Ron Lattion, facilities Maintenace worker. "I don't think it's political I think they're just trying to support the guys who are putting their lives on the line for this country. Be it right or wrong.. be it right or left."

Good point, Ron. You might very well be the smartest man in Oregon. Hey, I'm just going by what I'm reading in this article. Stay with me here.

"It really comes down to the question of should state employees be allowed to express their opinions," said Morgan Goulding, a Eugene resident.

Ouch. Thanks for playing, Morgan. That's not what it comes down to at all. The university decided that displaying a "support the Troops" sticker is an expression of a political opinion (which it is not) as opposed to an expression of support for the troops (which it clearly is)- and sold it by saying "some people may think this- therefore it is so." Once that was accomplished, they tricked people like you into thinking that the whole debate is about whether or not state employees have the right to express their political opinions. It's an evil trick, but it only works on stoopid people. Sorry. Just read some blogs and you'll get more smarter, I promise.

For you really smart folks out there- I give you this (thanks again, Jordan):

Email University President Dave Frohnmayer (pres@oregon.uoregon.edu) or call his office at 541.346.3036 and let him know how you feel about this policy.

Yes. Tell him what you think. It's fun!

Best Story of the Year Thus Far

This Washington Post article is the most informative and compelling piece of journalism I've seen in quite a while. Here's a teaser:

Imaad began to slap his mother, he said. "The American people are devils," Um Imaad recalled her son repeating.

and

"I used to have a good opinion of the Americans," Imaad said. "But they are the enemy. They are bad."

I know it sounds hard to believe, but please read the whole article. If you read it, you will learn absolutely nothing about American soldiers and even less about Iraqi people. Instead, you will discover how painfully easy it is to be a journalist in today's market. You will begin to understand why more and more people are turning to publications like US Weekly and People for their news and information. No, let me finish. You will hate yourself for laughing about a guy who slaps his momma, but if you go visit Tim Blair's site- you will find comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

So You Say You Support The Troops?

Hello again. Sorry I've been so scarce. Lots going on these days. I'll get things moving here shortly, I promise. In the meantime, here's a great scoop from Russ Vaughn- thanks, Russ!

So You Say You Support The Troops? 2d Ed.

It's so easy to say you support the troops, regardless of which side you come down on in the issue of the War in Iraq itself. Yeah, you can send care packages and put yellow ribbon magnets on your car to make you feel all warm and fuzzy that you're doing your own small part. You can do as I do and use forums such as this one to expound the viewpoint of the folks we send in harm's way, hoping that someway, somehow, someone who can make a difference may read your rant and actually do that something that makes a difference.

But right now, folks, we have a rare opportunity, a seldom-held power for ordinary citizens, to actually do something for the troops that will bring them more comfort than any supportive letters or boxes of cookies and candy ever possibly could. You see, right now we have the ability to provide them with comfort of mind, to lift a mental and emotional burden that they all carry with them when they enter any theater of combat. We hold in our collective hands the ability to grant them assurance that should the worst befall them, we, their grateful nation, will provide for their loved ones in a manner that will approximate what they would have provided in the normal course of their lives.

Under current law, Uncle Sam is a rather parsimonious patron when it comes to providing for the families of fallen warriors. For example, when an American is killed in combat, the surviving spouse receives a one-time death gratuity of $12,400. Service Member's Group Life Insurance coverage (SGLI) up to $250,000 is available for those service members who can afford to pay the premiums. If the fallen trooper has been in service for an extended period of time, the surviving family may also qualify for the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), which is paid up to age 62 or until the spouse remarries. This SBP benefit is limited to 55 percent of the soldier's retirement pay, in the pay grade at the time of death. With so many combat deaths occurring among the youngest service members, we must keep in mind that this is frequently a pay grade that actually qualifies the family for food stamps and aid for dependent children.

The annual base pay of a sergeant E-5, with six years of service is less than $30,000. With twenty years service his retirement benefit is half of that. Think for a moment what 55 percent of less than $15,000 amounts to. Think about being a young widow trying to raise small children on less than $700 a month. And for lower pay grades, which constitute the majority of combat deaths, the situation is even grimmer because most of them will not have served long enough for their families to qualify for even this miserly benefit. Even if the service member is insured to the maximum amount, an unlikelihood for younger troops, think about how little $250,000 amounts to over the twenty-plus years required to raise and educate children in today's world.

Now think about the benefits conferred by our government on the survivors of 9/11. Yes, think about it long and hard: millions awarded to families because their loved one happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Millions handed to them not because their loved one had volunteered for the hard service of fighting in combat, but had simply shown up for work. Tell me, America: where's the justice in this situation?

Fortunately, there are some in government who have taken notice of this gross injustice and are preparing to attempt a legislative correction long overdue. Senator Joe Lieberman, D-CT, and Senator Jeff Sessions, R-AL, are scheduled to introduce the Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act on January 24th. This legislation will increase the benefit paid to the survivors of military personnel killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and future conflicts, from $12,400 to $100,000, retroactive to October 2001. The benefit for non-combat deaths will remain at $12,400. The Act will raise SGLI Insurance coverage from $250,000 to $400,000, with the government paying the premiums for the first $150,000 for military personnel serving in a combat zone, also retroactive to October 2001.

So you say you support the troops? Then as soon as you finish reading this, start hammering that keyboard and let your two senators and your congressman know that you expect no less than their full support for early passage of the HEROES Act. To a person, they all swear they support the troops, regardless of party affiliation or individual positions on the war. Let them know, their future electoral efforts will, in your mind, be dependent upon their actions on behalf of those troops and those families who have given that last full measure of devotion, to their nation.

Want a place to start? For a list of sites with congressional contacts, go here:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-16,GGLD:en&q=contacting+congress

Get off your butts, America and show you really do support the troops.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne DivisionVietnam 65-66

Paulette Supports the Troops

An excellent email from our friend Paulette Nelson:

Hey !! I wanted to share something with you. Last night I went to Hunter Army Air field, here in Savannah. I went as a volunteer for the USO. It was first trip and I sort of nervous. I get really emotional when it comes to certain things. And our troops as you probably know happen to be one of those things. There were a couple hundred troops from the 3rdID leaving last night. So I went to help. My job was hand out Krispy Kreme doughnuts! OH NO not Krispy Kreme!! I LOVE those sugar balls!! Anyway, I was so amazed at how relaxed and young these guys were!! They were ready to do their job. I watched them line up and board the plane. I was lucky enough to be on the tarmac when they left. I stood in the 30* temp waving a tiny flag. I watched a plane filled with American pride disappear into the night sky. I watched the lights until I could no longer see them. I wish I could describe what I saw and the feelings that I felt. I am overcome by the emotions today. I hope I can go back many many more times. I wish I could have thanked each one of them. But instead I had several actually thank ME! Thank ME for standing there and handing out doughnuts. They made a special effort to come and say thank you. There are just no words to express my gratitude to them or to you. Take care my friend.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the best. Thanks, Paulette- and thanks to all the other great Americans who take the time to send us off and welcome us home. I know there are lots of you out there, because I'm a multiple beneficiary of your efforts...

Back In the Saddle

Thanks for all the kind words- it's really great to be back. Let me try to catch up with a few things that I missed during the hiatus:

1) Charles Graner: I agree with Black5- he should've gotten the max. Still, I won't complain. Kudos to the military jury that saw fit to ignore the outrageous defense thoery that he was "following orders." As if somebody would ever give the order to play naked twister with a bunch of prisoners and expect it to be followed. If I had been given such an order and been dumb enough to follow it, I'd be ashamed to admit it. Anyway- my heart goes out to the child that Charles and Lynndie conceived. Good luck, kiddo...

2) To everybody who's been asking me about what's happening in Fallujah: It should be obvious. You're not hearing anything about it on the MSM. Draw your own conclusions. Remember when Najaf was the hottest topic of the day? Whatever happened to Najaf?

3) Brad and Jennifer: I'm just as stunned as everyone else. To the best of my knowledge, the Pentagon had nothing to do with this unfortunate split. That doesn't mean that Rumsfeld won't have to answer some questions about it- stay tooned.

4) To anyone who sent me an email during the last 2 weeks: I'll respond, I promise. Please give me a couple days. Thanks for caring enough to write. I greatly appreciate all your emails and comments.

More Current Stuff

I watched the exchange between Condi Rice and Barbara Boxer today. It reminded me of my last post before the hiatus- that big debate we had. I think Ms. Rice handled it well. We'll hear more about this...

The Iraqi Election is coming up. It will happen, and it will be historic. I'll devote all of next week's post to this subject, and I have a "Cut to the Chase" interview set up for the 24th. It'll probably be available for streaming on the 25th. I promise to deliver the most honest and informative assessment possible.

Has anyone heard Sean Hannity's new Weekly Wrap-up segment? It's some of the funniest stuff ever. I love the guy who does the Ted Kennedy impression. They're all really good with the voices. There's a free link on his site right now. Go check it out...

Long Time Gone

Has it really been almost 2 weeks? I think time flies faster in the US. It sure is nice to be back home. Thanks for all the nice comments and emails.

I didn't mean to imply that I was "retiring" from the blogosphere- I'm just not sure what direction I'm going to take with this thing as I make my big transition into the civilian sector. No big deal- I'm sure I'll figure something out. There's plenty of time for all that.

In the short term, we've got some work to do. The Iraqi elections are coming up. I've got some ideas.

Somebody suggested that I renovate the site- give it a big facelift or something. I'm open to change. We'll see what happens.

On Tuesday the 18th, the Forum will once again be open for business. Hope to catch you then...

Begin Hiatus

Well, folks- the time has come at last. In just a matter of hours, I'll be climbing aboard a great big piece of tin foil that will somehow transport me to my beloved homeland. I'm obviously very excited, and of course I'll be taking some time off from the ol' blogosphere whilst I tend to personal matters. I'm not sure what will happen to this blog in 2005. I like the Commissar's indefinite light blogging idea, but I'll just have to see how it goes.

Some of you may not know this, but in two months I'll be a civilian for the first time since I was 17. Yep, I'm getting out of the Army. It's an Unqualified Resignation from Active Duty- no National Guard, no Reserves. A clean break. This is a decision I made a few years ago, so it's not like I've been doing a lot of soul searching or anything like that. I've enjoyed every minute of my time in the service, and the Army's done more for me than I'll ever be able to put into words. I'm just ready to move on and enjoy other things in life. That doesn't mean I'll stop supporting the cause. I'll just be serving in a different way.

In the meantime, please visit the sites on my blogroll- I put them there because I really like them, and I think they're run by great people. Also, please continue to check the Desert Sky website for updates.

If you're ever in the mood for something "different"- I invite you to check out my brother's site. Yes, we have very different political philosiphisies (my word- I invented it), but we're the best of friends and we both want to help make the world a better place. He is the "yin" to my "yang"- and he's the smartest kid I've ever known. Listen to his music- the kid's a genuis. You might laugh when you see his "optimistic" plans for the Acoustic Circus, but trust me when I tell you- he'll be laughing all the way to the bank when he pulls it off! Most of my family believes he'll wind up being a wealthy Republican Senator after he gets tired of showbiz...but I digress.

Many have asked what I'll be doing and where I'll be living and all that- the truth is I just don't know. I'm sure I'll find something great out there, but it's really not something that anybody needs to be concerned about. As I've said before, this blog was never meant to be about me (today is just an anomoly)- it's supposed to be about the troops who are deployed, who have been deployed, and those who will be deployed. If I can use my combat experience and things I've learned on Active Duty to help debunk fascist mythos or help people understand what's going on over here, then I'm honored to do so. Mostly because I know that it will ultimately help those who chose to answer the call- as well as those who care enough to support them.

Thanks to all of you for making this last "mini-deployment" so much more enjoyable (and rewarding) than it otherwise would have been...

Hang Your Head in Shame

I wasn't going to touch on this topic, but the outrage has become more than I can bear. How can anyone- I mean anyone- find it in their heart to politicize or in any way agendicize (my word- I invented it) the Tsunami Disaster? It boggles the mind to think that anyone (other than maybe Osama bin Laden) can do this. But it happens. I won't rant about it. It's been done already. Here's what John Podhoretz had to say about the Bush-bashing opportunists from hell:

The political and ideological exploitation of perhaps the worst natural disaster in all our lifetimes is almost beyond belief — were it not for the fact that nothing these days is beyond belief.

Even as tears spring into the most hard-hearted person's eyes at both the unimaginable scope of the tragedy and at the wrenching individual stories of loss, opinion leaders just can't help themselves.

They are using this cataclysm as little more than cheap debate fodder about the nature and character of the United States, its president and its citizens.

Don't misunderstand.

It is fine and proper to have a debate and discussion about the degree of generosity the United States could, should and must show in the wake of this literally earth-shaking event.

But at this moment, the United States is not the issue.

The foreign-aid budget of the United States is not the issue.

Our government should not be the focal point of the discussion right now.

Don't we owe the dead, dying and injured the minimal grace not to convert their suffering into a chat-show segment — the latest left-right clash over the Bush Presidency?

And couldn't the editorialists at The New York Times have forborne — even just for a week — making use of the tsunami to complain about U.S. government spending on "development aid"?

There's more.

Here's what Neal Boortz had to say about the anti-American opportunists from hell:

In the meantime, certain people aren't missing the opportunity to use this disaster to attack the United States and President Bush. CNN was carrying a video clip yesterday showing a disaster survivor screaming "Please tell the world, where is America?" Bear in mind, there is no way in the world that this individual could have had any idea as to who was doing what insofar as relief efforts were concerned. He had just survived a terrible natural disaster and may well have lost members of his family, and there he is asking "Where is America?" His screams just validate what most of us already know ... when times get rough pretty well anywhere in the world the people affected look to America for help. One day they may be demonstrating outside an American embassy demanding for the withdrawal of all things American from their part of the world, and they next day they reflexively look to America for rescue.

America will once again show its generosity and goodness to the world as this disaster unfolds. Ironically it is the very strength that allows us to help at times like these that will insure the continuation of the animosity against our country. It might be a good time to remember that poll that was taken just prior to the presidential election. A surveyed showed that 58% of the various nationalities polled wanted to see the United States and its role in world affairs weakened. A weakened United States could not respond to this disaster in as meaningful a way. These people will put aside their desires for American weakness until this tragedy is passed. Then it will be back to business as usual.

There's more to this one as well. Make sure you go and check out the picture he shows with this post. Make sure you have a barf-bag handy.

If you find anyone spouting off with any of this nonsense, then by all means- command them to hang their head in shame. There's just no excuse...

Meet Logan, Iraqi Boy Wonder

This just in from my new favorite Milblog- In Iraq for 365 (thanks, Andre):

Iraqi boy assists Soldiers as an interpreter and a friend
MOSUL, Iraq – If the Army had an adopt-a-child program, Logan would be the poster child. For more than a year, the 13-year-old boy, who contends he’s 13 and a half, has lived and worked with Coalition forces at a forward operating base in Mosul. The boy speaks four languages and his official title at the FOB is translator and supervisor, but he is a Soldier at heart.

“I want to be an American Soldier when I grow up,” he said. “I really want to be a specialist because those are the guys doing all the work.” With tours with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division and the Stryker Brigade, when Logan enlists, he may be the most experienced private to ever join the Army.

Go read it. Quick!

Back to the War

Great debate about my last post- if you haven't read the comments, please read them. I believe that the most valuable information and perspectives come out in debates. Real debates- not scripted dog and pony shows.

Chalabi

There's a great post about Chalabi at the Iraqi Elections Blog. I met him when he visited Mosul last year (before he "fell from grace"). I'm not sure what to think of the guy. When the professors complained about pay, he blamed it on the US. We had been breaking our backs trying to fix the pay issues- but the red tape disaster that existed in Baghdad was difficult to overcome. We weren't to blame- Chalabi was. But he ducked the shot and laid the blame on us while we were standing right next to him! Unbelievable. On the other hand, Geraldo Rivera likes the guy. I'm so confused. Anyway- read the article before you form your own opinion. And make sure you bookmark this site! It's important stuff, I assure you.

And Finally

Hope everyone is enjoying a spectacular New Year!

What Went Wrong?

Heres a good question I get from time to time- "What went wrong with the plan for Iraq?"

It's a fair question, but I do think that people today lack a true understanding of the nature of war. There seems to be very little historical perspective these days. Everybody wants a "quick and dirty" smackdown followed by immediate withdrawal. "War is fine as long as nobody gets hurt." It just doesn't work like that- in fact, it's never worked like that. As a people, I think we Americans have become a little bit spoiled in that sense. Having said that, I do think there were some "miscalculations" made in this war- here's my take on it...

When I was home between tours, I saw a Bill O' Reilly segment where he boasted that he had the "real scoop" on what went wrong with the pre-war planning. His premise- "Chalabi said the Iraqis would welcome us as liberators and immediately take charge of their country and yadda yadda." But the Iraqis didn't do this- and disaster followed. Well, Bill was close- but he way oversimplified it, and he made no effort to talk about what we were doing to fix it- which was a little disappointing coming from Bill. And I'm not sure why he continues to call the current situation a "disaster" (compared to what, Bill?), but I digress...

It is true that we were mislead by the "uberintellectual" Iraqis (Chalabi is the most often cited), but my experience tells me that these people (even Chalabi) were not lying. They actually believed that the Iraqi people would rise up, thank us, take charge, and live happily ever after. This was an elitist view. Most of these "elites" were exiles who could speak freely and give us their honest assessment- some were Iraqi citizens who were using the Internet and communicating their thoughts at great risk to their own lives. In any case, they were all well-educated, but they proved to be pretty out of touch with the less-educated masses.

Saddam never took many polls during his reign, and I'd be pretty skeptical about any that he did take since he won every "election" by a 100% margin (uncontested of course- they were all "Saddam- yes or no"). He certainly never took a poll that asked "OK, Mr. Joe Iraqi- the US invades and chases me out of power. What will you do?" The fact is nobody really knew what they would do, and so the only thing we (or anybody else) had to go on was the assessment given to us by the Iraqi elites.

As I mentioned, the elites were convinced that Iraqis would stand up for "love of country" and unite against evil. They were wrong. Sure, there were some brave souls who did exactly what was expected- but for the most part, "Joe Iraqi" wanted food for his family and he'd prefer not to be killed. That was pretty much it. He'd grown used to the idea that if he keeps his mouth shut and does nothing, then he's got a better chance of living. The insurgents reinforce this idea several times every day (just watch the news).

In retrospect, I'd say it's pretty silly to think that the overwhelming majority of Iraqis would have had this great "love of country," since the overwhelming majority were brutally oppressed by this country's government for the better part of 30 years. Nobody's going to love such a country. We would have done well to understand that these Iraqis needed a whole new country to love- and it takes a great deal of time to build a whole new country. But I won't fault those who didn't realize this initially- I sure didn't see it. I read books and all that- and I believed Chalabi and the gang. Hindsight is indeed 20/20.

Many Iraqi "intellectuals" were still in denial, even after the invasion. I remember in the first months of the occupation- whenever a car bomb went off or insurgents slaughtered civilians in a school yard, the Iraqi professors that I worked with would say, "They're not Iraqis. Iraqi people simply wouldn't do that"- they just couldn't fathom that Iraqi people would do such things. Well, now we know better.

Sure, there are terrorists from foreign lands in the mix. But there are many Iraqis who are fighting in this insurgency as well- and most of these insurgents (re: terrorists) are serving former regime officials and terrorist thugs like Zarqawi for the very reasons that Dr. Harari spelled out for us- "they promise them the delights, mostly sexual, of the next world, and pay their families handsomely after the supreme act is performed and enough innocent people are dead." But there is also another element here- intimidation. Many Iraqis are forced to make a choice for which they are ill-informed to make- side with the Coalition/IIG, and the insurgents might kill me- side with the insurgency, and the Americans might kill me. Unfortunately, many Iraqis believe that their odds are better if they side with the insurgency. Watch Al Jazeera or (even worse) read any news article from the Associated Press, and you'll understand why they believe this. It's not just the propaganda coming from radical clerics and former Saddamites- it's propaganda (under the pretense of "news") that comes to them from our very own United States of America. Furthermore, Americans won't threaten a man's family if he doesn't join the Iraqi National Guard or agree to "sell out" a terrorist financier. Insurgent leaders, however, will execute a man's entire family just for making a financial transaction with Americans. This is pure intimidation, and it works better than we'd like to think.

Iraq's long term success will be defined by improvement in education, the economy, infrastructure, etc. These are super-long term projects, and they won't have any real impact on whether or not we can get out of Iraq in the next 5-10 years. The only thing that's going to get us out of Iraq sooner than later is improved security. What the Iraqis need right now are courageous leaders to step up and lead these people out of this "beaten-down in the dark ages" mentality. These leaders exist in Iraq- they step up every day at great peril to their own lives. Assassinations are rampant. It's bloody and it's ugly. Sort of like a revolution. This is what's happening. Good people like Ali and the guys at Iraq the Model are shining examples of why there is indeed hope.

I will tell you that our greatest hope for improved security in Iraq is a little-known operation based in Baghdad- LTG Petraeus and his Multinational Security Transition Command- Iraq (MSTC-I). Petraeus isn't just churning out thousands of Iraqi troops- his focus is on creating Iraqi versions of George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and George S. Patton. He's producing leaders- people that Iraqi soldiers (and Iraqi people) can look up to, admire, respect, and believe in. This hasn't even come into play yet, but it will- sooner than you think. It's the most important project that we have going on there- Colin Powell said it yesterday on Fox News- did anyone catch it? Didn't think so. It's like a big secret that everyone's telling, but nobody's hearing. Stay tooned, because I think this is about to change. I used to work for LTG Petraeus, and I believe he will succeed in this mission- he has never failed at anything. Just watch...

Your Support is Killing Us!

Thanks to Sparkle for directing my attention to one Jeff McMahon of Rutgers:

Vehicles in New Jersey are covered with decals representing little ribbons inscribed with the legend: "Support Our Troops." I have done a lot of driving recently and have noticed geographical disparities in the distribution of these symbols. There are fewer in the Midwest and very few at all in the LA area. They are also disproportionately displayed on SUVs and vans, which isn't surprising given that the owners are disproportionately reliant on the oil supplies that our soldiers are in Iraq to protect (among their other purposes).

What is it exactly that these decals exhort us to do? How can I, or anyone, support the troops themselves? What can we possibly do for them? It seems that the message is really an exhortation to support the war. Why then don't we ever see bumper stickers urging us more straightforwardly to support the war? It seems dishonest, manipulative, and coercive to assert an equivalence between support for a war and support for the participants in the war. The aim of such an effort is to make it seem that to criticize the war is to criticize our young soldiers and perhaps to increase their peril by weakening the war effort.

I'll say nothing. Please feel free to visit him and sound off with your comments. Many people already have...

Update: Jeff shut off the comments on that post. Couldn't take the heat? Hey, you can still email Rutgers!

Let's Hear It For the Youngsters!

In 2008, these young kids will be old enough to vote. Be afraid, Hillary. Be very afraid!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Tsunami Help

This is looking to be the worst disaster of our time. I just found this site. I'm sure lots of people want to help.

Liberal Voice in Iraq

It's not what you think, I promise! This guy is a "real" liberal- much different than the "fake" liberals that you'd find in Hollywood (end controversial potshot). He believes in helping people and making the world a better place. Check it:

I was watching al Arabiya yesterday and they showed a report about the American families that came with supplies they gathered to help civilians of Fallujah. It was very refreshing and heart warming even for guys like me who have firm belief in the American people's good will. To see families who had their son's, daughters and beloved ones killed in 9/11 and even in Iraq cross all this distance and take all this risk to help Iraqis left me speechless.

There's a lot of distrust and fear among Iraqis and Americans in Iraq (this holds true only in the centre of Iraq, as the situation in the north and south is much better than here) and what these families have done come in a very critical stage and bares a great significance and I just wish it gets more exposure than what it's getting now. I wish you could see the look on my friend's face as he was telling me about how surprised and impressed with the efforts of these great people. These guys have built a strong bridge of compassion and love even though they are the ones who paid the most through this struggle, and I hope there will be more bridges from both sides to help restore the trust and love that means so much for the future of the whole world. God bless you and God bless your beloved ones' souls.

Go to his site, and welcome this great Iraqi to the blogosphere. His name is Ali, but he's not the same Ali that just left ITM. Thanks to Michael Totten for the tip.

News Doctoring 101

Michael Totten also did a nice job deconstructing a recent AFP article. You have to go see it to believe it.

I Think I Might Watch This

Decision 2005- Iraqi style!

Insurgents Come Up Short in Mosul

Check out the latest from Slobodan Lekic- he writes about a recent battle in Mosul that didn't go so well for the bad guys. Looks like he's backed off a bit from the terrorist-propaganda stance that he took with this article that caused me to write this rebuttal. Maybe he knows we're watching him now, because I didn't find anything all that appalling in his most recent piece. Let me know if I'm wrong...

Holy Rotorheads, Batman!

I had no idea so many of you were so well-versed on the superior mode of flight. I was incredibly impressed, and I'll willingly admit that many of you know a good deal more about this stuff than I do. Especially Quilly and Mike- the guys who noticed the 4 blades instead of 5. When I saw Mike's comment, I thought- "Yeah, I remember them having 5 blades, too!" So I opened up my photo file, and I saw some more pictures with only 4 blades. Guess what? They just hadn't hung the 5th blade yet. I finally came upon a shot that we took yesterday morning that shows all 5 blades hanging proudly:


Nice catch!

Tsunami Videos and Charity Links

Our friend Jordan at Cheese and Crackers is providing some unbelievable amateur video footage along with some great links that can help you to help the victims. His great work was even recognized by Drudge. Nice job, Jordan.

For the Last Time- Leave the Guy Alone

Bryan G. Whitman sticks up for his boss:

Re the Dec. 21 story Rumsfeld is faulted for Iraq abuse: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld never has approved interrogation methods for Iraq. As they have testified before Congress, military commanders approved the procedures in use in Iraq, and it is within their authority to do so.

The FBI document mentioned in the article attributed Iraq interrogation guidelines to a presidential executive order. But the document made no mention of Rumsfeld. The headline conveying that the order came from the secretary was based not on the FBI document itself, but on two anonymous sources who claimed that the FBI official was really referring to the defense secretary.

BRYAN G. WHITMAN, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, Washington, D.C.

Mark Shields Gets the Smackdown from Lawrence Di Rita

Mark Shields stepped on it- and got caught:

Mark Shields' Dec. 18 op-ed column ["Our 'Best Equipped' Army? Baloney!"] distorted or ignored statistics and history to make baseless assertions about how our troops in Iraq are equipped and protected.

Because he cited figures only for armor installed on Humvees in factories, Mr. Shields would lead readers to believe that less than a third of the Humvees in Iraq are protected. In fact, when counting vehicles that have had armor added in the theater, that figure rises to about 75 percent. Military commanders have noted that not every vehicle requires armor at all times, such as those confined to operating within military bases.

Mr. Shields' praise of the manufacturing prowess of the "greatest generation" -- which built America's military might and industry essentially from scratch -- is well founded. His attempt to belittle the performance of today's effort by comparison, however, is invalid.

Consider what the Defense Department, working with industry, has done since the Iraq insurgency -- and with it, roadside ambushes and bombings -- started last year. The production of armored Humvees has increased from about 35 per month to about 450 per month. In addition, since March 2003, the department has spurred production of body armor from 1,200 sets a month to more than 25,000.

Officials in this department at all levels, military and civilian, are doing their best to ensure that our troops in combat have the best protection available. The president has budgeted more than $1 billion in additional funds to ensure that we have sufficient armor, and defense spending overall is up nearly 40 percent since 2001. As our adversary adapts his tactics, military commanders are revising their own procedures and rethinking their equipment requirements. Mr. Shields' op-ed did a disservice to those responsible for providing for the national security.

LAWRENCE Di RITA

Pentagon Spokesman

Washington

Yeah, what he said.

Oops- I Married a Terrorist!

Like many people, I found this unbelievable story at LGF. She claims that she "tried to tell everybody, but nobody would listen"- that just rings a little hollow with me. Her son supposedly went to "terrorist meetings" with the guy. How about bringing a tape recorder or wearing a wire? There are a million different things they could have done, but the truth (as I see it) is that this woman was sad and desperate and she allowed herself to be a victim.

She's now coming clean in an effort to clear herself of any complicity. Again- my $0.02.

Beautiful Atrocities has my all-time favorite take on this one. You must go there and check out the pictures and read the comments.

Mission Accomplished

Thanks to all who inquired- my mission went well. It will be my last mission during this deployment, as I am set to leave in just a few days. I am happy about that. Best thing about this last mission- I got to sit in this cockpit:


Anyone know what this is?

Moore Joke for the Day

I love this.

Out for the Day

Won't really be able to post today. I just picked up a late mission that will keep me busy all night. Thanks for the feedback about the RSS stuff. Sounds like things are pretty much fixed. Anyone who still has problems can probably blame it on their computer- seems to be working for everyone else.

Looks like Omar at ITM has entered the war against the AP.

Here's another winner from VDH.

My dear mother sent me the following rant by our friend Charlie Daniels. Thanks, Ma! Many of you have probably seen it before, but it's worth another look (my emphasis added):

The Straight Scoop from Charlie Daniels

I've just returned from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Naval Air Station base where we did three shows for the troops and toured several locations around the post visiting with some of the finest military personnel on planet earth. The kids seemed to really enjoy the shows and especially liked "This Ain't No Rag, It's A Flag" and "In America". We had a great time with them.

We saw Camp X-Ray, where the Taliban detainees are being held only from a distance, but I picked up a lot of what's going on there from talking with a lot of different people.

The truth of the matter is that this operation is under a microscope. The Red Cross has an on site presence there and watches everything that goes on very closely. The media is not telling you the whole truth about what's going on over there.

The truth is that these scum bags are not only being treated humanely, but they are probably better off health wise and medically than they've ever been in their lives. They are fed well, able to take showers and receive state of the art medical care. And have their own Moslem chaplain. I saw several of them in a field hospital ward where they were being treated in a state of the art medical facility.

Now let's talk about the way they treat our people. First of all, they have to be watched constantly. These people are committed and wanton murderers who are willing to die just to kill someone else. One of the doctors told me that when they had Taliban in the hospital the staff had to really be careful with needles, pens and anything else which could possibly be used as a weapon. They also throw their excrement and urine on the troops who are guarding them. And our guys and gals have shown great restraint in not retaliating. We are spending over a million dollars a day maintaining and guarding these nasty killers and anyone who wants to see them brought to the U.S.A. for trial is either out of their heads or a lawyer looking for money and notoriety. Or both.

I wish that the media and the Red Cross and all the rest of the people who are so worried about these criminals would realize that this is not a troop of errant Boy Scouts. These are killers of the worst kind. They don't need protection from us, we need protection from them. If you don't get anything else out of this soapbox, please try to realize that when you see news coverage much of the time you're not getting the whole story, but an account filtered through a liberal mind set with an agenda.

We have two fights on our hands, the war against terror and the one against the loudmouthed lawyers and left wing media who would sap the strength from the American public by making us believe that we're losing the war or doing something wrong in fighting it. Remember these are the same people who told us that Saddam Hussein's Republican guard was going to be an all but invincible enemy and that our smart bombs and other weapons were not really as good as the military said that they were.

They also took up for Bill Clinton while he was cavorting around the Oval office with Monica Lewinsky while the terrorists were gaining strength and bombing our Embassies and dragging the bodies of dead American heroes around the dusty streets of Somalia. It's a shame that we can't have an unbiased media who would just report the truth and let us make up our own minds.

Here I must commend Fox News for presenting both sides much better than the other networks. They are leaving the other cable networks in the dust. People like being told the truth.

Our military not only needs but deserves our support. Let's give it to them.
The next time you read a media account about the bad treatment of the Taliban in Cuba, remember what I told you. Been there done that.

Footnote: I got an e-mail from a rather irate first cousin of mine the other day who has a daughter who's a lawyer and she seemed to think that I was painting all lawyers with the same brush. Please understand that I'm not doing that at all. That would be like saying that all musicians were drug addicts. There are a lot of good and honest attorneys out there. I happen to have one of them. But it seems that they never get any airtime. It's always the radicals who get their opinions heard, who fight the idea of the military tribunals and cite The Constitution and the integrity of America as their source of justifying their opinions. Well, first of all The Constitution says "We the people of the United States", it doesn't mention any other country.

And secondly as far as integrity is concerned, I don't think some of these folks would know integrity if it bit them in the posterior.

What do you think?

God Bless America.

Charlie Daniels

Good words, Charlie. We appreciate it.

Earthquake

Obviously the earthquake/tsunami disaster is the big story right now, and I simply can't fathom the amount of sheer horror that's been going on in those countries that were hit. So many dead- it really puts things in perspective. I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, so I won't comment except to say that my heart goes out to those who have been affected by this disaster. Drudge has a comprehensive round up.

The Professional

Papa Ray pointed me to a site called In Iraq for 365. What a great site. This guy is a Public Affairs soldier and he's currently stationed in Mosul. His writing is excellent, which isn't surprising since it's what he does for a living. It's an absolute must read if you want to know what's really going on in Mosul. And thanks again to Papa Ray for pointing out the story about the two Iraqi soldiers.

No Surprises Here

I direct you to this new Military Times poll:

-63% of respondents approve of the way President Bush is handling the war.

That's pretty much what it was right before the election.

-60% remain convinced it is a war worth fighting.

Yep.

-67% of combat vets say the war is worth fighting.

Makes sense- it's easier to understand it if you've seen it.

-nearly half say they expect to be there more than five years.

I include myself with that half- although I don't think we'll be at the current strength of presence in 5 years. I doubt we'll be in Afghanistan in 5 years, but I could be wrong...

-87% say they're satisfied with their jobs.

Sounds about right.

-25% say they'd leave the service if given the choice today.

Hopefuly, they'll be able to get out soon.

Compared with last year, the percentages for support for the war and job satisfaction remain essentially unchanged.

If nothing else, we're consistent.

-A year ago, 77% said they thought the military was stretched too thin to be effective. This year, that number shrank to 66%.

Wow. Imagine that- we believe in ourselves more and more each day.

-75% oppose a military draft.

It's bad enough that we have those 25% who don't want to be there (some of these soldiers do a fine job anyway, but many of them are what we call "leadership challenges")- a draft would boost that number to well over 40%. That would be awful. Nobody wants that. I'm willing to bet that the same 25% who want the draft are the same ones who said they'd leave if given the choice today.

-60% blame Congress for the shortage of body armor in the combat zone.

Especially the ones that vote for the appropriations bill, before voting against it. Here's the best one of all:

-12% say civilian Pentagon policymakers should be held accountable for abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

I wonder how the NY Times staff of writers would compare to this. My guess is that it would be a mirror image of this number. 88% of them would say that Bush and Rumsfeld are to blame- citing the fact that no soldier would ever sink so low as to play "naked twister" with a prisoner unless he or she was "specifically ordered" to do so by a mean ol' bastard from D.C.

We know better. We know that our fellow soldiers are just as human as anyone else. We're just as human as a former President who likes to play cigar games with interns. We're just as human as the stoopid criminals who do stoopid things in every one of our 50 great states each and every day.

We soldiers are smart enough to know that the Army does not have a "special screening process" that keeps out the morons- we take who we can get and hope for the best.

We are smart enough to know that Boot Camp is effective- not magical. Our ratio of criminal morons vs. good people is better than what it is in the general public- but we'd be foolish to believe that the military is "completely free of idiots."

We are smart enough to look at those pictures and see that those idiots (especially Lyndie England) were getting some sick "kicks" out of what they were doing. Most of us hope those clowns get the book thrown at them.

We are smart enough to know that the Army catches it's criminals, prosecutes them, and punishes them when they're found guilty- just like in the real world!

If only somebody would educate the good folks at the New York Times- they just don't seem to get it.

Update

Thanks to epador for pointing out the follow up to the "Rob story" at the Banty Rooster.

War Against the AP

You've probably noticed some commenters talking about other blog sites that have taken a stance against the AP. It certainly is looking more and more like the AP has taken sides with the terrorists in order to fatten up that bottom line (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here- they might just be a bunch of terrorists themselves). I was going to point you to some of the places that these commentators were referring to, but I found that Kate at Small Dead Animals has already done it. Make sure you read the last few posts at the Belmont Club- I really think Wretchard nailed these clowns. Thanks, Kate.

Admin Note

I've gotten a bunch of complaints about my RSS feeds. I'm not very smart about these things. I do know that my template crashed a few days ago, so I had to replace some things. Maybe you have to reset your feeds? I don't know. All I know is that I have my feed on MyYahoo! and it's been working fine. Any ideas? If anyone is having trouble with their feeds, please email me with the RSS service you're using, your browser, and anything else that might help me solve this problem. Thanks!

Must Read Email

Hello All-

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend with friends and loved ones. Thanks so much for all the kind words- please know that you are all greatly appreciated over here.

I'm going to enjoy my day off today, but I wanted to make sure everybody sees the must read email at The Banty Rooster. Here's a snippet:

...The soldier was in a bit of disbelief, because he couldn't see with one eye patched and the other swollen shut. He said he wanted to talk to Rumsfeld. That's when I said "He's standing right to your left, Rob, that's his voice you hear. You can talk to him." The kid was nervous at that point, but sputtered out how honored he was to talk to him. Mr. Rumsfeld replied, "No, it's an honor for me to talk to you."

Then remarkably, the young soldier, who had just lost his left hand and right eye from an explosion, came to the defense of the Secretary of Defense, stating "Mr. Rumsfeld, I want you to know, that you are doing a fantastic job. I know that you are taking a lot of heat for the problems with getting armor for vehicles. I want you to know that things are vastly improved. Our vehicles are great, and I have never searched through junk piles for scrap metal."

At this point, Rumsfeld looked choked up, and I had a lump in my throat and watery eyes. It was moving. What makes a man who has been so close to death, and maimed for life, come to the defense of the Army's highest ranking official? Loyalty, I dare say. Did Rob think Mr. Rumsfeld was having a self-esteem problem? In his greatest hour of need, his thoughts went to the emotional needs of another. I found it quite amazing, and moving. The Secretary took out a coin and gave it to a bystander for him, as if he didn't know he could touch him. Finally, the soldier said, "Man, Donald Rumsfeld, I wish I could shake his hand..."

Read the whole thing. It will make you proud to be an American.

Holidays Abroad

Well, folks- it looks like I'm spending the holidays away from home. I've spent 5 of the last 7 years in some strange land during the holidays, and (believe it or not) I'm totally fine. You all may think that such craziness would be unbearable, but I think you'd be surprised. This post is not a play for sympathy- it is, in fact, an attempt to help you all understand something about this sort of thing.

Being at war during the holidays is tough, but it's probably not as tough as you think- and that has everything to do with the good people who constitute the majority of our great nation. The way you provide us with warm wishes and heartfelt support- it really makes us feel closer to home. If you want an idea of what I'm talking about, just look in yesterday's comments (thanks all). And the emails- you wouldn't believe how many emails. I shared them with everyone here at the office, and we all appreciate it greatly- thanks so much for that.

I've been watching Fox for the past few hours (slow day at the office), and it seems like everyone and anyone is thanking the troops for "leaving their families and fighting for freedom during this holiday season." Well, that's really swell- and I'd just like to say "you're welcome!" and "thanks for the support!"

And now I'd like to thank a few people (if I may):

-Thanks to all those WWE wrestler folks who came out here a few weeks back.

-Thanks to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders for coming to visit me during the holidays for 3 consecutive years ('98-'01) while I was in Korea. Apologies to the girl who "hurled" in the back of my Black Hawk in '99 (I should have gone a little easier on that turn). Many of you may not know this, but the NFL sends football stars and cheerleaders overseas every year to support the troops during the holidays. John Elway was in Iraq recently. The Redskins Cheerleaders were right here in Kuwait a couple weeks ago. So really, I'd like to thank the NFL for everything they do for us.

-Thanks to the following entertainers who came out to entertain us over the years: Chely Wright, Blues Traveler, Taylor Dayne (remember her?), Charlie Daniels (he played an impromptu concert in my office!), Rob Schneider, Wayne Newton, Kid Rock (didn't really see him, but my old boss took pictures for me at the Baghdad concert), Robin Williams, Leeanne Tweedon, David Letterman, Paul Schaefer, Quiet Riot, Al Franken (didn't meet him either, but my current boss had him sign a picture of Bill O'Reilly for me), Ben Affleck, Ted Nugent, Alyssa Milano, Arnold Schwartze...the Governor of California, and all the other American stars who are carrying on the proud tradition of Bob Hope, Ann Margaret, and many other legends who have given so much to our deployed soldiers. Please feel free to credit any others in my comments. I really could go on forever.

-Thanks to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for visiting me in Mosul last year, and for going back to Mosul (and many other places in Iraq) yesterday.

-Thanks to President Bush for coming to visit the troops in Baghdad last Thanksgiving.

-Especially thanks to all of you, the good people of America, for supporting us the way you do- day in and day out- not just during the holidays. It makes more of a difference than many of you might realize.

Yes, it certainly hurts to be away from loved ones during the holidays, but as you can see, there are plenty of things going on here that help to keep our spirits up.

And speaking of friends and loved ones:

-I'd like to thank all the great soldiers (especially those who are wounded or no longer with us) who I had the honor of serving with during these crazy times so far away from home. We may not have our families out here, but we have each other- and that makes a huge difference.

-I'd like to thank my friends and family for putting up with my never-ending deployments and always letting me know that I am sorely missed.

-And of course most of all- I'd like to thank the most beautiful and amazing woman in all the world- the future "Mrs. 2Slick"- for putting up with way more than one person should have to put up with these past two years. Thanks for believing I'm worth it. I Love you, Sweetie!

Merry Christmas and Happy (belated) Hannukah!!!

Holiday Photoblogging

As promised, I'll leave you with some pictures that I brought back from Mosul last year. According to a recent article from the AP, these Iraqis no longer exist:



Kids mobbed us every single time we stopped somewhere. I now know what it feels like to be a member of a boy band.




This is me sitting down at at one of the schools we helped to rebuild. The children all belonged to a couple that worked at the school (dad was the janitor). Mom was just about ready to deliver number 6, and she looked all of 22 years old. They're all in my video. Cute kids, huh? Some people think I look like Mel Gibson, but I don't see it.




Soldier having a discussion with the local grocer while his troops go inside to buy some Cokes. Grocer's 6-year-old son just comes out of nowhere, sits down next to the soldier, and puts his arm around him. How cool is that? We barely knew them when this picture was taken. Before we left, we were all very close friends. We'd have lunch together and everything. Good people.

I'll post more some other time...Seasons Greetings!

Can't Miss Interview

Last night, I stayed up late and called a guy named Marshall Masters (of YOWUSA) for a radio interview- his show is called Cut to the Chase:

An American officer who fought his way into Iraq in 2003, during his first tour of duty is now serving his second tour of duty in Kuwait. Known to netizens as Captain 2Slick, he spends his days fighting the war and his nights fighting the injustices of the American media on his war blog <2slick.blogspot.com>. In this interview, he unravels the agenda-driven spin of the American media, many of who seem to view their blatant mismanagement of the war news as means to an end. The collateral damage that their efforts are causing is deadly to our war fighters and to our chances of achieving victory. Yet, what is truly history making about this interview is that it is unfiltered and direct.

His site can only be described as "outside the box"- and our discussion was excellent. I enjoyed it (if I seem a little tired, it's because I was up way past my bedtime), and I thank Mr. Masters for helping to get the truth out. Please listen to it and let me know what you think.

UPDATE:

Thanks for all the amazing feedback! I'm glad you all got something out of it. I've already scheduled another interview which we'll do about a week prior to the Iraqi elections. I plan to discuss the growing relevance of Iraqi blogs among other things. Really- thanks for listening, and thanks for all your incredible support...

Rumsfeld's Surprise Visit

Fox just showed a meeting that Rumsfeld just had with some troops in Tikrit- the meeting followed his recent "failure to support the troops" while visiting them in Mosul on X-mas Eve. Smiles all around. Soldiers thanked him and said they appreciated his leadership. Therefore, this has no chance of getting any circulation in the press. Prove me wrong press people. Please prove me wrong.

Whenever someone suggests that Rumsfeld doesn't care about the troops, please ask that person how many times they've visited wounded troops at military hospitals. Then ask them if they should be saying these things about a man who practically lives in those hospitals. Tell them to go visit a military hospital just once. It's not an easy thing to do. It would be tougher if you were one of the people who sent them into combat. But the SECDEF does it- all the time.

Back to his meeting with the troops- SECDEF lashed out at the press- specifically Al-Jihada, but he expressed confidence in the American people and their ability to filter out the garbage and find the truth for themselves. I agree with him. Let's see how much coverage this gets.

VDH Watch

Victor Davis Hanson agrees with me- about Rumsfeld and the rogue MSM. Good!

This is Cool

Dave Letterman will be taping his show in the building next to mine in about 2 hours. I will be there. Maybe he'll have "Stupid Milblogger Tricks?"

UPDATE:

Just returned from the show- Dave, Paul, and Biff were hilarious! Very good of them to come out and see us. The troops LOVED it! That place was jam packed and everyone was going nuts the whole time. It wasn't a real "show" (it wasn't taped or anything) it was just sort of a "talent show" hosted by Dave and Paul. Very funny and entertaining. I took some pics and I'll try to post them tomorrow.

Some of you may have seen a comment by "gun toting liberal" yesterday- he did have a point. It'll be a while before any of you see my video (which is separate from the footage that I'm including in Desert Sky), but I do have some good pics from Mosul that I can post. I'll post them tomorrow. I apologize if I came across as obnoxious in my response, Mr. Liberal- wasn't my intent. I was just having fun. Thanks all- and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

About the CW5 in the Franken Picture

I promised "the bronze" that I would write about our new CW5 today. He showed up to our unit about 10 days ago. I went and picked him up at the bus stop. First thing I noticed about him (besides the fact that he could have been my long lost grandpa) was his 101st combat patch. I said, "Hey man! I've got a 101st combat patch," which I turned and showed him, "and our Section Chief, LTC %#%, has one, too! Mine is from OIF last year, and the Chief's is from Desert Storm. Which one is yours from?"

He just looked at me funny. I knew that look. It was a friendly enough look- but it was a look that carried an unspoken message- "I was flying choppers through bullet-storms before your candy a$$ ever saw the light of day."

"Vietnam?"

He nodded. Right then it hit me. I was going to be working with a guy who's been putting himself on the line for his country since well before I was born. What an unbelievable honor. We just don't find many Vietnam Vets around here anymore. He's got some amazing stories, as I'm sure you can imagine. I got to know him pretty well during a recent drive to Camp Doha- he's a really great guy, and I'm glad he's on board.

AP: Mosul Celebrates Suicide Bombing

So it turns out that it was a suicide murder. This doesn't change anything in my eyes, but it certainly answered some questions I had. I couldn't comprehend how they could have scored a direct hit on the DFAC without any other rounds dropping anywhere else (at least initially). It just didn't add up. And we knew all along that ball-bearings were used, and that's not normal for a rocket or mortar blast.

Every DFAC that I've ever been to has a "no bags allowed" policy. Somehow this terrorist got through with a backpack. As we all know, a determined suicide murderer is going to find a way to blow up a bunch of people. We can take all the precautions in the world to prevent it, but as long as the will exists, it will happen. It will continue to happen as long as we allow this murderous and psychopathic pseudo-culture to fester in the Arab world.

Never before, in all my years of reading the news, have I seen such obvious terrorist propaganda passed off as legitimate "news." This article was the first one on Yahoo's list of "Top News Stories." I opened it this morning, and I could not believe my own eyes. I don't want to beat around the bush, so here goes:

There was little apparent sympathy for the dead Americans on Mosul's deserted streets, where hundreds of U.S. troops, backed up by armored vehicles and helicopters, blocked bridges and cordoned off Sunni Muslim areas of Iraq's third-largest city.

The hard-hitting reporter then goes on to prove this by providing three quotes from the locals:

1) "I wish that 2,000 U.S. soldiers were killed," declared Jamal Mahmoud, a trade union official.

2) Sadiq Mohammed, a grocer, expressed concern that the U.S. military would use the attack as a pretext for a major crackdown in the city. "Yesterday's attack on the American base will for sure lead to an escalation in U.S. military activities in Mosul," he said.

3) Izdihar Kamel, a civil servant, praised those who had carried out Tuesday's attack. "It was a heroic operation," Kamel said. "This is jihad and he who carried out this attack is a hero."

This is what the AP wants you to know about how the locals feel about this suicide murder-which also claimed the lives of 3 Iraqis. One guy wishes thousands had died, one guy is an armchair General, and one guy thinks the terrorist was a "hero." Not a single quote from anyone else in Mosul. Not one. Must be that everyone in Mosul was either happy about it, disappointed that it didn't kill more people, or just simply didn't care. Un. Be. Lievable.

I am here to tell you that if I were to go into downtown Mosul, the University, or just about anywhere else in the city- the overwhelming majority of Iraqis would be expressing their heartfelt condolences. I know this for a fact, because it's exactly what happened during the days following our incident with the 2 Black Hawks. The people felt absolutely terrible about what happened, and many of them were tearful when expressing their sorrow. I am going to make an accusation here, and I need you to know that this accusation is not based on an assumption- this is something I know for a fact:

This AP reporter deliberately sought out pro-terrorist/anti-American Iraqis to quote for this article.

If you were to travel through Mosul, and ask 3 random people how they felt about this event, at least 1 of them (more likely 2 or all 3) would express shock and outrage. If, by some miracle, you find 3 random Iraqis and all 3 of them happen to condone or dismiss the act, then you would be absolutely irresponsible to include them all in your story without making any effort to find even one Iraqi with opposing views.

Imagine how outraged we would be if they published a story that suggested that Americans didn't really care about the attack- proving it by publishing 3 disdainful/apathetic quotes from renegade "Americans" like Tim Mcveigh or Terry Nichols- and neglecting to present one quote from the obviously overwhelming majority of Americans who are shocked and outraged. Well, this is exactly what happened- they just did it in Iraq.

I've had my problems with AP in the past. Many others have as well. But this is the first time I have ever seen anything like this. They should be humiliated and ashamed for allowing this piece to be published. That's all I have to say about that.

UPDATE:

You'll notice that the story that I linked to has completely changed. The whole article is different, and I can't find the original story (from which I pulled the quotes) anywhere. I wonder if the AP bigwigs are reading my site? Could they have possibly realized the error of their ways? I wonder...

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Bob Anderson (thanks, Bob) confirms that the story was pulled. He found this story, which looks like a watered-down replacement- trying to make their efforts a little "less obvious," no doubt.

AND ANOTHER UPDATE:

Flight Pundit found the original article at Salon. AP can run, but they can't hide their Islamofascist propaganda. Somebody should seriously have to answer for this...

AND FINALLY:

Charles from LGF weighed in here- and he managed to find the original article on Yahoo! (he's good at that). Thanks, Charles.

Bashing Moore

Most of you know Michelle Malkin. She's on Fox News a lot, and she's one of the best bloggers in the business. Obviously, I'm a sucker for a good Moore-bashing, and Michelle- well, let's just say Michelle has the "skinny" on Mike's latest crockumentary.

And of course there's this and this from LGF.

Chaplain's Take

Thanks to Jeffrey at Iraqi Bloggers Central for pointing us to Chaplain Lewis' first-hand account of the attack. As I said yesterday, we hate days like these.

I can't speak for those who experienced this attack yesterday, but I can offer some thoughts from my own experience with what is now the 2nd deadliest incident of the war thus far- when two of our Black Hawks collided over Mosul in November of 2003. I was in the Brigade TOC that night. I can tell you what we felt and what we did not feel. We felt anger, we felt a sense of loss, and of course we felt the obvious gut-wrenching pain that comes with finding out that we just lost a lot of fellow soldiers. It's worse when you find out that some of them were close friends.

When the dust settled and the memorial ceremonies were over, we wound up with feelings of resolve and determination to complete the mission. We did not feel sorry for ourselves, but we felt sympathy for the all the people who were so terribly affected by the loss of their loved ones. We did not blame rogue politicians or anti-war protestors back home, but we examined every aspect of what happened and took every possible measure to prevent another similar occurence. This is what I would expect is happening up in the Stryker AO right now.

It's easy to lose faith during times like these, but I would ask that you pay your respects to the victims of this attack, and continue to help the survivors by supporting the mission that these brave heroes gave their lives for.

Thoughts on Najma

Thanks for all your thoughts on the "Najma Situation." I understand that many of you disagree with my handling of the whole thing. I fully expected this, and I respect your opinions. I don't think it should surprise anyone that I'd pull a link to a site that suggests American soldiers should shoot themselves. To those who argued that she is confused and scared and all that- I hear you. I just think she's had more than enough information to go on (including plenty from soldiers who have risked everything in order to help her), and I believe that she is taking the all-too-familiar Islamofascist route- "it can't be Muslims like me- so it must be the American's fault." I won't support that line of thinking, and I won't waste my time debating it. In my opinion, her brainwashing is all but complete. Yes, she called the terrorists "stupid"- but only as an afterthought that followed her nonsensical diatribe about exploding bullets and "irresponsible soldiers." She is a young Islamofascist- and soon she'll be a grown-up one.

We can't be afraid to call Islamofascism what it is. I'm sick of the PC BS, and I'm just not into the "lets just be sensitive and try to understand them" kind of thing. We've been doing that for decades, and that's why we find ourselves in the mess we're in. Having said that, I'll be quick to point out that this doesn't mean that I support the "kill 'em all, sort 'em out later" BS either. We simply need to work with the "good" Iraqis (and there are lots of them) in order to establish a new social fabric that encourages freedom, toleration, education, and understanding- while discouraging the "old culture" that has prevailed for so many years- Americans/westerners are demonic infidels, anyone who disagrees with us shoud be shot, etc. Some people will grow old and die with these arcane beliefs- nothing can prevent that. We just need to make sure they are the minority when they die. This same sort of social revolution happened in Germany and Japan, and soon it will start happening in Iraq and beyond.

I know what Islamofascism is, and I'm going to call it when I see it. As I've said- I really hope she comes around someday. That's all I have to say about that.

Operation Al Franken

Here's a shot of Al and my boss (posted with permission). My boss was kind enough to execute the mission for me, since I was away during Al's visit. Remind me to tell you about the "older" gentleman in the background (wearing a flight suit)- it's a great story.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...



Here's "big Al" signing my picture of Bill O'Reilly. Now I ask you- how many people have a picture of Bill O'Reilly signed by Al Franken? Sorry, but I just think that's way cool...