Dawn Patrol

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.

IRAQ

First Iraqi Comedy in Wasit since 2003 -- [MNF-I]
Actors from the popular Iraqi sitcom, “Mud House,” performed the first comedic play May 4 in Wasit Province since 2003.
“People and People” conveyed Iraqi life from a comedic perspective to entertain the Wasit audience and give them hope and optimism for the future, as described by the actors, An’am al-Rubay’ai, Ali Dakhil and Majid Yasin.
Fifteen hundred people filled the Municipality Hall in al-Kut to see the play, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in coordination with the 214th Fires Brigade and the Iraqi Police.

Peaceful interaction between US Troops on patrol and Iraqi Civilians

Holy shit...This sorta thing really happens...You mean when we arent getting blown up, and sniped out we are trying to solve everyday Iraqi citizens problems and interacting with the local population, to include the children in an effort to to win the hearts and minds. Thats just plain crazy huh

4th Bde Establishes School -- [Blog-ah]
BAQUBAH, Iraq – As the situation in Diyala continues to improve, the mission is changing from clearing the province of al-Qaida in Iraq, to ensuring it remains secure and free of criminal elements. The improved security has allowed the Iraqi police to focus on other issues. One of the larger issues the force is addressing is the training of newly hired policemen that have not received the schooling required by the Ministry of Interior.
The solution to this training issue is a temporary academy that recently opened on Forward Operating Base Grizzly, near Ashraf, Iraq.

MND-B soldiers foil criminal rocket teams -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers engaged two criminal rocket teams and fended off an attack by armed criminals during night operations against in Baghdad May 8.
At approximately 6:30 p.m., MND-B soldiers monitoring an aerial surveillance system witnessed two Special Groups criminals gathering around a rocket rail that had been used for an indirect fire attack earlier in Sadr City.
The criminals then loaded two carts and pushed them down a street. An aerial weapons team was called in, engaged the individuals with one Hellfire missile and killed both criminals.

UAV Predator Fires A Missile At Five Insurgents in Iraq

UAV Predator Takes Out Five Insurgents In Iraq.

Too Short For This Shit -- [Iraq: The Purgatorium - in Iraq]
It was a whiz, a zooming, a whistling, kind of like a low flying jet. You know, until it exploded.
[Sgt DolphLundgren] locked eyes in a moment of idiotic disbelief, just as that adrenaline ice-water-in-the-face feeling took over. We were taking incoming. And close.
We stumbled out of his trailer and outside was complete insanity, everyone running in different directions. One of the impacts was DAMN close.

Criminals Killed After Indiscriminate Rocket Attack Against Iraqi Citizens

Footage of a Multi-National Division – Baghdad aerial weapons team that killed two criminals and wounded four who were hiding in a building in the Sadr City district of Baghdad at approximately 2 p.m. May 8, after the criminals had earlier launched a rocket attack.
The criminals launched an indiscriminant rocket attack at approximately 1:30 p.m. that killed two Iraqi citizens, injured eight more and damaged a house in central Baghdad.
An unmanned-aerial vehicle conducting a surveillance mission in the area of the point of origin observed the criminals moving rocket rails from the rocket site to an alley near a building. It then maintained positive identification as the criminals entered a building, where six criminals were observed on the rooftop. Provided by Multi-National Division Baghdad.
An aerial weapons team was dispatched to the area and engaged the criminals. The AWT fired three Hellfire missiles into the building, one at the first floor, one at the second floor and one at a shack on the roof, and killed and wounded the criminals.

I'M NOT ANTI-WAR -- [Trying to Grok]
Dragonfly found an interesting opinion piece called Anti-War Wounds. I don't relate to every opinion in the article, but it's well-written and makes a good point about "being the 'we.'" And about how it feels when people don't get that.
My husband fights this war. He risks his life every day. We have both made sacrifices for it. And to hear them say that it’s “a waste of time,” that it “will never make a difference,” that “we should call the whole thing off” — well, if that’s true, I’m not sure I’ll get out of bed tomorrow morning. There has to be a reason that our family — and thousands of others — are enduring this.
Yesterday someone called to say goodbye to my husband before he left, not knowing that he'd been bumped forward. And in the conversation, this person asked if my husband thinks that being in Iraq is worth it, if his job means anything, and if he thinks we should've gone there in the first place. How do you answer that question 1) politely and 2) succinctly? And then what do you do when that person says, "Well, I don't think it was the right idea in the first place"?

ISF detain criminal cell leader, three al-Qaeda in Iraq -- [MNF-I]
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Security Forces detained a Special Groups cell leader and three al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists in two separate operations, May 8.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces conducted an operation in Baghdad and detained an al-Bayaa district Special Groups cell leader believed to be responsible for kidnapping operations and indirect fire attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces. Two additional suspects were detained.

Numb -- [Kaboom - in Iraq]
The days bleed into nights and the nights bleed into days and there’s really no point in acknowledging the difference anymore. The sun just means we drink more water, the night just means we live in the green world of night vision rather than the grey world of day vision. Patrol. Eat. Sleep. Patrol. Go to meeting. Patrol. Eat. Make phone calls home and ignore the strain in their voices since they're doing the same. Patrol. Sleep. Get woken up in a panic, it’s time for a new and Fragolicious. Patrol.

Huge Firefight in Sadr City, Night.

US and Iraqi Special Operations Forces conduct a combat operation inside Sadr city, Baghdad

Iraq News (9 May) -- [LT Nixon - in Iraq]
The Good: 6 militia thugs have been killed in Sadr City after firing at US soldiers. You'd think these guys would change their behavioral patterns as every time they shoot, they usually get greeted with retaliatory fire from US ground forces or hellfires from the air. The cell that launched a mortar attack last afternoon in Baghdad that killed civilians met an non-triumphant end from 3 hellfires shortly after the launch. Colin Powell is backing the GI-Bill sponsored by Sen. Webb, which is a pretty high-level endorsement.

U.S. Soldiers Operating UAV Destroy Rocket Rail in Sadr City District of Baghdad

Footage of a Multi-National Division – Baghdad unmanned aerial vehicle that destroyed two rocket rails in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on May 6.
MND-B Soldiers operating an unmanned aerial vehicle launched a hellfire missile and destroyed two rocket rails in the Sadr City district of Baghdad that had been used earlier to launch a rocket attack that landed in residential areas of central Baghdad.

Like parole officers, but with better 'intelligence' -- [IN Iraq]
Shehabi, a town in Salah Ad Din province, used to be crawling with insurgent activity, but this week soldiers of Archangel Platoon of the 2/320th battalion rode in with boxes of school supplies instead of battering rams.

Shiites maintain strong nationalistic ties to Iraq, says amb. -- [Voices of Iraq]
Baghdad, May 7, (VOI)- Iraqi ambassador in Washington said on Wednesday that the majority of Iraqi Shiites maintain strong nationalistic ties to Iraq, noting that they in fact present a threat to the Iranian state rather than the other way around.

Abu Ayyub al-Masri Reportedly Captured (UPDATE :FALSE ALARM) -- [Jawa Report]
We're hearing all over that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq has been captured. He also holds the position of Minister of War in the fictional Islamic State of Iraq. This guy has been reported dead or captured more times than a dog has fleas. I'd take it with a grain of salt until confirmed.
...Update by Vinnie Since some are skeptical of our skepticism, here's what we received from our sources on the subject:
From a buddy over there hunting that dipshit right now:
By the way...wrong guy. The stupid Iraqi General screwed up the guys kunya (Abu name). Oops. Looks like an Iraqi General has hummous on his face.

Iraq: Al-Qaeda used 6,000 suicide bombers, say documents [AKI]
Baghdad, 6 May (AKI) - Al-Qaeda has used 6,000 suicide bombers in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, according to records discovered in a terrorist training camp in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad. ...

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi Revealed? -- [Talisman Gate بـاب الطلــسم - an Iraqi blog]
This is a response I posted to a comment earlier today about whether Abu Omar al-Baghdadi's true identity has been revealed:
...This account has credibility in so far as the Zawis of Haditha and Anah claim descent from Al-Hussein [much disputed by genealogists], and AOB in his last speech singled out the Jughaifis in his last speech and seemed to be knowledgeable about the tribes in that area above Haditha. He even mentioned the Zawiyeen even though they are a very small clan.
In fact, I remember reading a year ago, around the time when Muharib al-Juburi was killed, that someone on a jihadist chatroom made the assertion that al-Zawi was AOB.
So it could be Hamid al-Zawi afterall. However, ...

U.S. forces did not take part in closing Sadr's radio station-army -- [Voices of Iraq]
Baghdad, May 9, (VOI) – A U.S. army's media advisor on Friday denied the participation of its troops in the raid that took place yesterday on the Sadr's al-Ahad Radio Station to enforce orders to close the radio.
"U.S. forces did not participate in the raid that closed Al-Ahad Radio Station on Thursday," U.S. army media advisor Abdellatif Rayan told aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI) on the phone.
On Thursday, Al-Ahad (Pledge) Radio manager Abid Abu-Zahra told VOI that U.S. and Iraqi forces closed his station's office, and stopped its broadcast, at orders from the Iraqi government.
"An Iraqi-U.S. force stopped al-Ahad radio station's broadcast, according to a memo that carried Premier Nouri al-Maliki's signature," Abu-Zahra told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"The force did not show a legal memo to stop the station," he said.
"This step made by the government is a dangerous measure that deprives people from the voice that represents their pains," he added.

How the Outcome in Sadr City Led to Today’s Clashes in Beirut -- [Talisman Gate بـاب الطلــسم - an Iraqi blog]
...I believe Iran needed to show the United States and its Arab allies that it can humiliate them by overrunning the government they back in Beirut and that they’d be unable to do anything about it, and I believe that Iran needed to make this point now because the Mahdi Army in Iraq has collapsed.

Baghdad, Iraq: Camp Cropper

A look at a theater internment facility in Baghdad, Iraq

Congressional Action Request -- [Fraiser - in Iraq]
Lets talk about steak! As Americans we all LOVE steak. We love to BBQ steak, broil steak, cut it up and make shish Kabob steak. We have “Steak Night” here once a week, and as much as I love steak, I take a pass on it every week. The steak here is ungodly horrible. I really believe they BOIL their steak before they heat it up. (I know, I know. “Shut up! You’re getting steak! You should be happy!”)
BUT THIS STEAK SUCKS! I have never seen anybody do what these people do to a steak. It looks and tastes like shoe leather. There is no pink anywhere. It’s brown and dry all the way through. The first time you get it you think: “This steak is horrible. It must just be a bad night for steak.” But it is a bad night for steak anytime they serve steak! You can drown it in A-1, Ketchup, soy sauce, or formaldehyde, and it will taste exactly the same - like boiled steak.
It may be part of a weight-loss program secretly initiated by the military.

AFGHANISTAN

Rapid Reaction Force(RRF) -- [Cheese's Milblog - in Afghanistan]
I just got off of Rapid Reaction Force(RRF) and am surprised to not be heading right back outside the wire, for once! RRF was much more interesting this time, mainly because we just got a Wii in the mail. For those who are unaware, RRF is where we get all of our stuff ready to roll out the gate, then we sit around and wait for something to happen. Think firefighter...with guns. Normally the RRF shack is a place to watch old DVDs...but not this time. One by one, each guy who made fun of us as we whacked away at digital tennis balls ended up joining in. Seeing guys in ACUs swatting WiiMotes around in an under-sized RRF shack is beyond hilarious.

Paras Return to Afghanistan

Two years on from the fierce fighting in 2006, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment return to Afghanistan.

Gates: No extension of 1/6 in Afghanistan -- [Military Watch]
Marines in Afghanistan, due to rotate home this fall, will not be extended, Defense Secretary Gates indicated this afternoon.
"There is no plan to extend the Marine deployment beyond this winter, November," Gates said Friday at a Pentagon news briefing.
"We are still going to be looking at what the options are in terms of augmenting our presence" in Afghanistan beyond 2008, Gates added. "As this point at least, as far as I know there is no specific planning going on along those lines.''
The 2,500 Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which includes the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, were diverted from a planned deployment in Iraq to Afghanistan, where they arrived ini March.

Marines ignore Taliban cash crop to not upset Afghan locals -- [From the ’stan - AP journalist in Afghanistan]
...The Taliban, whose fighters are exchanging daily fire with the Marines in Garmser, derives up to $100 million a year from the poppy harvest by taxing farmers and charging safe passage fees — money that will buy weapons for use against U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.
Yet the Marines are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers the poppies won’t be touched. American commanders say the Marines would only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated the impoverished Afghans’ only source of income.
Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the situation.
“It’s kind of weird. We’re coming over here to fight the Taliban. We see this. We know it’s bad. But at the same time we know it’s the only way locals can make money,” said 1st Lt. Adam Lynch, 27, of Barnstable, Mass.

U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Hezbollah's Endgame? Pt. 2 -- [Michael Totten - in Lebanon]
“Iran has suffered some pretty serious defeats in Iraq, foremost is that the Shiites there kind of turned on Iran. May they not need to pull back and focus on their role as the champion of the Shiites right now, even at the cost of compromising their efforts to jump the Sunni-Shiite divide? They may actually be in no better a shape among Lebanon's Shiites as they are among Iraq's. Second, there were these really odd nasty exchanges between Zawahiri and Iran, which may have been born of Iran's desire right now to solidify its own role as Shiite champion.

Civilization ends: 10-year-old gives birth after being raped by suspected illegal immigrant -- [Hot Air]
Emphasis on suspected: Early reports claim that he’s here illegally but cops are still investigating. My deepest apologies to amnesty shills everywhere for even bringing his status up. Hopefully it’ll turn out he’s a citizen so we can all breathe a sigh of relief and be comfortably outraged by the crime; otherwise this is destined to end up on “Geraldo At Large” as one of those segments in which our fearless host spends six of the seven minutes devoted to it explaining why immigration politics have absolutely, positively nothing whatsoever to do with the matter — even though in theory stronger enforcement would have kept this guy out of the country in the first place. Click the image to watch.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

Jihad and U.S. Intelligence Resources -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
...On May 8, Congressman Peter Hoekstra attempted to strike a blow for reason and sanity in the war against global jihadism, by making the rational and consistent definition of our enemy a priority in allocating budget resources for U.S. intelligence programs. Specifically, Congressman Hoekstra was seeking an amendment that "would prohibit the intelligence community from adopting speech codes that encumber accurately describing the radical jihadist terrorists that attacked America and continue to threaten the homeland."

Freed Gitmo detainee, struggling to adapt to life on the outside, blows himself up in Iraq -- [The Monkey Tennis Centre]
Politicians, anti-war groups and the mainstream media complain ceaselessly that America should close Guantanamo Bay, and either return the terror suspects being held at the camp to their home countries or put them on trial in civilian courts in the US. More than 400 detainees have indeed been returned to their countries, where they’ve either been tried for offences committed there, kept under some form of supervision or freed without charge.
One such detainee was Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti who was repatriated in 2005 and subsequently acquitted of terrorism charges.

Nice Boy Update -- [Greyhawk]
CBS/AP: Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner ID'd As Iraq Bomber. The story includes a picture borrowed from this link (wonder how they found it?) along with this amazing spin:
Wilner called the alleged suicide attack a "tragedy" that could have been avoided with court hearings for prisoners held at Guananamo [sic], where the U.S. now holds about 270 men.
"The lack of a process results in tragic mistakes on both sides," the lawyer said.

Gitmo’s Guerrilla Lawyers -- [9/11 Families...]
...Mr. Mutairi was among 12 Kuwaitis picked up in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo Bay in 2002. Their families retained Tom Wilner and the prestigious law firm of Shearman & Sterling early that same year. Arguably, it is Mr. Wilner’s aggressive representation, along with the determined efforts of the Kuwait government, that has had the greatest influence in the outcome of all the enemy combatant cases, in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. The lawsuit filed on their behalf, renamed Rasul v. Bush when three cases were joined, is credited with opening the door for the blizzard of litigation that followed.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Over 1000 deployed service members waiting for adoption -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany] We might have to close the submissions page if we don't catch up with adoptions. Please consider standing up and becoming a Soldiers' Angel, or help spread the word.

Update from Afghanistan -- [Jake's Life - in Afghanistan]
I just received an email from Jake. He is unable to post to this blog for the reasons he explained earlier.
He has asked me to pass this on to all who have asked how they can help.
Dad- could you put up on the blog that we could use- jerky, sunflower seeds, gum, drink mixes, AAA/AA batteries, old books/magazines, protein powder packets (individual packets), copenhagen (not for me obviously), crossword/word game books, boot socks.

Giving ’til it hurts -- [Neptunus Lex]
Sometimes it hurts right away.
Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Matt Damon collaborated to make “Saving Private Ryan” a few years back, the World War II blockbuster featuring the costly and heroic rescue of a “sole survivor” deep behind enemy lines. Devin Nunes, a California congressman, asked them to throw their star power behind legislation codifying the rights of actual sole survivors, since one of his constituents, having lost two brothers in Iraq, requested and was granted a return to the US. Upon his return, Army Specialist Jason Hubbard got exactly what he was entitled to by law: Nothing. No benefits, no GI Bill, no separation counseling. He was asked to pay back his enlistment bonus.
Would the Hollywood power trio care to lend a hand?
They would not:

Occupational Therapy -- [jrsalzman - injured in Iraq]
...The little blip of me was taken when I was learning how to write left handed.

The Occupational Therapy Department at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has produced a 90 second video to showcase some of the many rehabilitation services that are provided to wounded soldiers. As advances in battlefield medicine save more soldiers' lives than ever before, the science of occupational therapy is providing rehabilitation that allows America's wounded warriors to return to full participation in life. The video is the latest educational tool that the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is promoting in support of Occupational Therapy Month 2007.
"Critical work for our nation is being conducted by hundreds of therapists in Veterans Administration Hospitals, military facilities, private practices and community re-entry programs, says AOTA President M. Carolyn Baum PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA. "This video produced by the practitioners at Walter Reed will help focus attention on the important work being performed there, and the innovations in rehabilitation that will benefit all of society."

A few things out of San Antonio -- [Miss Ladybug]
...Our Lady of the Lake University, in appreciation of our military, was offering tuition assistance to qualifying personnel. I'd been too busy with other things to write up a post about it. In checking their website this evening, it's a "Military Scholarship Program" that will cover the difference between the government tuition assistance of up to $250 per semester hour (I assume this is the GI Bill?) and OLLU's rate of $628 per semester hour, so a military member can go to school (for either a Bachelor's or Master's degree) for free (not counting books & fees). The scholarship of $378 per hour is also open to military spouses. Our Lady of the Lake University should be applauded for their generosity to our military and their spouses.

Soldiers tell their Alive Day story from Iraq - Brian Williams & James Gandolfini

Soldiers tell their Alive Day story from Iraq on this HBO special by James Gandolfini. Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News interviews Gandolfini.

Witches to Attack Troops in Berkeley -- [Move America Forward]
You're not going to believe this - well, actually you just might - but the anti-military organization, Code Pink, is bringing witches out to the Berkeley Marine Recruiting Center this Friday to:
"cast spells, weave magic, invoke the foremothers, share wisdom, lead rituals to banish war and violence and to bring peace to the MRS, to protect our youth from the powerful spells of pro-war forces, to lead the men of the marine recruiting station off into the oceans of peace!"
So we here at Move America Forward decided to have a counter-event. We're calling it a "Witch-Hunt" and we at MAF will be out in front of the Marine Recruiting Center this FRIDAY, May 9th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 Noon.

Departing Dancing with the Stars Celeb Tips Hat to Military -- [Amy Proctor]
Mario, the 21 year old multi-platinum selling R&B /Pop singer on Dancing with the Stars, made a point during final remarks as he left the show last night to thank the men and women serving in our Armed Forces overseas as he reflected on comments by a Dancing with the Stars judge that he was an inspiration to young people.

Shelia Ross - Texas State Manager Says Goodbye After 5 Years -- [SOLDIERS' ANGELS TEXAS]
Dear Angels,
It is with much sadness that I am resigning my position as the State Manager of Texas. I have been involved in all areas of Soldiers’ Angels for nearly five years and I have loved every minute.
As many of you know, my precious mother passed away in January and I’m having a hard time disposing of her personal effects and making sure all the bills are paid. Also, last fall my husband of nearly 37 years, was diagnosed with alzheimer’s disease. Due to the stress of going through his own grieving process and work issues, his alzheimer’s has worsened to the point of retiring now. We will be in the D/FW area for a while, but we will be moving out of state to be closer to our children.
I am still doing things for SA, so if any of you have questions or need help anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

MILITARY

Milestones -- [Neptunus Lex]
There are two sets of paperwork sitting on my desk just now. One is a packet of documents formalizing an offer of post-naval employment. The other is a packet of documents that will end my active service. I can’t seem to make a start on either of them.
I rationalize to myself that my last day in the uniform of the country I have served for the last 30 years is not yet certain - my approved retirement date is 1 AUG 2008, but I’ve requested a modification to those orders moving it up to 1 JUL 2008. It’ll be approved of course. No reason for them not to approve it. Probably on the way. But it’s not here yet, and so I dither.

Retirement -- Full Circle -- [The Gunner's World]
1 March 2008 the day I was retired from the Marine Corps after 25 years. I spent my first 8 years on active duty and the last 17 as a reservist. I have come a long way since I first set foot on Parris Island back in Jan of 1983. I still remember asking myself "What have I done" as a Sgt jumped on the bus I was on and proceeded to scream obscenities at us and to get off his @#$$% bus, Hell I did not know he owned the bus!
In the end, I could not have made a better choice. What the USMC has done for me is immeasurable.

IN MEMORY OF...

`Miracle' Marine dies; badly burned in 2005 Iraq blast -- [AP]
A Marine sergeant who became a symbol of resilience as he strove to recover from a roadside bomb blast in Iraq that blanketed 97 percent of his body with burns has died, the Defense Department said. He was 22.
Sgt. Merlin German died April 11 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he was continuing treatment for the injuries he suffered in combat on Feb. 22, 2005, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The former turret gunner was dubbed the "Miracle Man" for his determination in facing his wounds, which cost the former saxophone player his fingers and rippled his face with scars. He endured more than 40 surgeries, spent 17 months in a hospital and had to learn to walk again.
Meanwhile, he started a charity, Merlin's Miracles, to aid child burn victims and considered college and a career.
"Sometimes I do think I can't do it," he told The Associated Press last year. "Then I think: Why not? I can do whatever I want. ... Nobody has ever been 97 percent dead and survived, and lived to walk."
...German had been stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the state Capitol's flags would be flown at half-staff in German's honor, saying the sergeant's "courage and unfailing loyalty serve as an inspiration to Americans everywhere."

WELCOME HOME

Safe In the Arms Of Love -- [Badger Forward - home from Iraq]
I'm home.

Update -- [Sgt Hook - homeward bound from Iraq for R&R]
Just checking in and wanted to send a very big THANK YOU to all of those who have shown tremendous support to the Soldiers serving over here. My unit recently received a ton of Girl Scout Cookies from three troops in Texas with the help of the local firefighter’s union and longtime supporter Anthony.
I also want to thank all those who sent birhday wishes and checked up on my well being. My apologies for not replying to your comments and emails, but thank you so very much.
In a few hours I’ll be heading home for a little R&R leave.

Homeward bound -- [Yellowhammering Afghanistan -- coming home from Afghanistan]
If all has gone according to plan, as you read this we should be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.
We are on our way to Fort Riley, Kansas, where we will spend the next five days or so turning in equipment, clearing paperwork and sitting in on briefings designed to make sure our heads are on straight and our expectations about going home are realistic.
It won't be home, but it will be in the greatest country in the world. That counts for a lot.

Campbell County Guard unit back from Iraq -- [Knox News]
Members of three Tennessee National Guard units are back in the United States from Iraq.
About 300 soldiers of the 1175th Transportation Co. from Jacksboro, Tullahoma and Brownsville left a year ago for duty in Iraq. They returned to Fort Bragg, N.C., this week.
Plans call for the soldiers to come home next week.
The units spent most of the past year hauling equipment through Iraq. They covered more than 1.6 million miles, according to the National Guard - all without a single casualty.

POLITICS

'Blue Dog' Democrats Join GOP in Opposing War Bill -- [WaPo]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday postponed consideration of a bill that would continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a bloc of conservative Democrats balked at the high cost of including several of Pelosi's favored domestic spending programs.
Pelosi (D-Calif.), who also faces Republican stalling tactics in protest of unusual parliamentary procedures, predicted that the complaints of "Blue Dog" Democrats would be addressed and that the bill eventually would receive unanimous support from Democrats.
"I am very confident that, next week, we will come to the floor with a bill that has the full consensus of the Democrats and hopefully can attract a large number of Republicans, as well," she told reporters.

White House renews veto threat against troop funding bill -- [My Way News]
...Most significantly, Jim Nussle, director of the White House budget office, said House Democrats' plan to add unrelated legislation extending unemployment benefits, at a cost of $16 billion over two years, and boosting education benefits under the GI Bill, at a cost that could reach $51 billion over the next decade, would provoke a veto even though they are popular politically.
Nussle also issued a more predictable veto promise against a Senate bill that adds spending in excess of Bush's $108 billion request.
"To just pile them into the troop funding bill because the troop funding bill is necessary is a cynical process that the president has already been very clear about - the fact that he would veto," Nussle told the Associated Press.

GI Bill Update -- [Greyhawk]
Another attempt on my part to get the early facts straight - before the spin machine hits overdrive. I find it amazing that Democrats could destroy any chance for a new GI Bill, then get 80-90 percent of the military/veteran vote (Note veterans - that's a BIG number) this fall for doing so - but it's a likely outcome.

This Will Be The #1 Issue in the 2008 Elections-- And, It Goes to Republicans -- [Gateway Pundit]
Over the past 30 years:
Which party blocked the development of new sources of petroleum?-- Democrat
Which party blocked drilling in ANWR?-- Democrat
Which party blocked drilling off the coast of Florida?-- Democrat
Which party blocked drilling off of the east coast?-- Democrat
Which party blocked drilling off of the west coast?-- Democrat
Which party blocked drilling off the Alaskan coast?-- Democrat
Which party blocked building oil refineries?-- Democrat
Which party blocked clean nuclear energy production?-- Democrat
Which party blocked clean coal production?-- Democrat
...Democrats like to attack evil American oil companies and block them from drilling off our coasts.
But, it doesn't seem to bother them when China starts drilling for oil in these same areas 50 miles from Key West.

THE MEDIA

McClatchy News Agency Purposely Distorts Quotes, Publishes Unattributed Gossip -- [Talisman Gate بـاب الطلــسم - an Iraqi blog]
McClatchy Newspapers put out a news wire on April 29 under the byline of Hannah Allam (McClatchy’s Middle East bureau chief in Cairo, who traveled to Iraq for this story), with Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel—two reporters known for their sources within U.S. intelligence, specifically the CIA—reporting from the United States. Landay and Strobel are also known as two activist reporters with a strong bias against the Iraq war.
The report tried, with plenty of hyperbole, to paint General Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, as the most influential man in Iraq.

Insurgency, the Media and the Propaganda of the Deed -- [Insurgency Research Group]
IRG member Neville Bolt, who is completing a PhD on the Propaganda of the Deed in the War Studies department at King’s, has added the following to the debate regarding the role played by the media in facilitating insurgent exploitation of the POTD strategy, and the difficult question of how best to respond.

CNN.com Needs to Brush Up on Its Military Hardware -- [Newsbusters]
CNN has an article posted this AM about the on-going misery in Myanmar resulting from the recent cyclone that devastated the Irrawaddy delta and has left as many as 100,000 dead. The country's paranoid military dictatorship is hampering aid efforts, and as a result, is no doubt adding to the number of dead and injured.
In writing about the U.S. forces in the area poised to help if the dictatorship will only allow international aid, CNN makes the following curious claim (in bold):

Iraqi activist in Time's 100 most influential people list -- [Iraq Updates]
Iraqi activist Madeeha Hasan Odhaib has been named among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world list.
Odhaib arrived for the gala in New York on Thursday, carrying an Iraqi flag. She got the 32nd slot in Time's list.
The 37-year-old seamstress has devoted much of her time helping the poor and homeless in Iraq. Some people have begun calling her the Mother Teresa of Baghdad.

Pulling Punches: WaPo Cancels Article for Being 'Too Critical' of Islam -- [Newsbusters]
Left-leaning journalists don't just pull their punches when it comes to criticizing liberal politicians, they also seem paradoxically inclined to do so when it comes to discussing radical Islam. This curious phenomenon has repeated itself many times over the years and is really one of the most bizarre behaviors I've seen in politics.

Dan Rather: No One Likes Me Anymore -- [Newsbusters]
The bloodletting from Dan Rather's ongoing lawsuit at CBS continues, although this time, Rather is going after himself saying that no one wants to hire him after his forged document scandal:

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

Obama Cites McCain War Record as Key Weakness -- [ScrappleFace]
(2008-05-08) — Sen. Barack Obama bolstered his standing as the Democrat presidential contender best able to defeat Republican rival Sen. John McCain today with what progressive pundits agree was a crippling attack on the Vietnam P.O.W.’s military service record.

(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)

Beating the Odds

Glenn Reynolds:

IN TENNESSEE 300 National Guard soldiers from Campbell County just got back from Iraq, after a year in which they suffered no casualties. Congratulations, and welcome back.

The units spent most of the past year hauling equipment through Iraq. They covered more than 1.6 million miles, according to the National Guard - all without a single casualty.

The Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, sergeant was responsible for more than 800 convoys during his deployment in support of OIF. His expert leadership resulted in the convoys traveling more than 450,000 miles across Iraq without a single casualty or injury.

Elsewhere, JP Borda prepares to pop smoke:

You'll be happy to know we've completed our final mission just a few days ago. All Bad Voodoo soldiers are safe and off the road.

Back to My War

Colby Buzzell:

Since the Army was kind enough to send me an invitation to go back to Operation Iraqi Freedom, I decided to R.S.V.P. to it by writing a little Op-Ed piece about it for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Good News/Bad News

Looks like somebody's got some politickin' to do:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pulled the bill from the schedule Wednesday night after conservative-to-moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats revolted over Democratic leaders' insistence on including in the war funding bill an unrelated provision to sharply increase education benefits for veterans under the GI Bill.

The new GI Bill — designed to give Iraq war veterans enough help to finance a four-year stint at a public college — would cost $51 billion over 10 years. It runs afoul of a rule designed to prevent new benefit programs from causing the deficit to spiral.

The Democratic rebels are the House's top supporters of "pay as you go" budget rules that require that new benefit programs be financed with offsetting spending cuts or new taxes so as not to cause the budget deficit to increase. The war funding bill is an emergency appropriation, but the veterans education funding is a new mandatory benefit program that's supposed to be subject to the budget rule.

"It's the principle involved of not putting a mandatory program of any kind on an emergency supplemental," said Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.

Meanwhile, White House budget director Jim Nussle weighed in Thursday with renewed veto threats against rival House and Senate Iraq funding bills, saying the add-ons for veterans and an extension of unemployment benefits were unacceptable.

"To just pile them into the troop funding bill because the troop funding bill is necessary is a cynical process that the president has already been very clear about — the fact that he would veto," Nussle told The Associated Press.

"It does not honor veterans to borrow Chinese yuan to pay for these benefits," said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., a leader of the 47-member House Blue Dog Coalition, which opposes deficit spending.

Budget experts outside Congress were even more incensed. David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general who has said the nation faces $53 trillion in unfunded federal liabilities over the coming century, called it "morally reprehensible." Criticism also came from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Concord Coalition deficit watchdog group.

"No matter how laudable the intended purpose and no matter how important the targeted population is, the absolute last thing we ought to be doing is expanding entitlement benefits," Walker said.

Veterans' groups reacted warily to the moderate Democrats' intervention. "I think their bark is a lot worse than their bite," said Patrick Campbell, legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "I don't think any one of these people want to be on the record for voting against the GI bill."

If the bill becomes law, it would be the third time that House Democrats have violated the rule they passed last year to pay for new spending or tax cuts. They did not pay for the two-year, $168 billion economic-stimulus package passed in February or a $50 billion tax cut last December.

Negotiations over the next few days will focus on how to pay for the education benefit. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday she wants to keep it in the bill. "We are going to say 'thank you' to our vets. 'Now you can go to college if you wish,' " she said.

The war-funding bill needs to be passed by next month, or the Defense Department will begin sending furlough notices to civilian employees.

Awaiting Confirmation,

...nice if it's true:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

Spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province. There was no immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces on the arrest.

The U.S. military in Baghdad said "we are currently checking with Iraqi authorities to confirm the accuracy of this information."

Update:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A man seized by Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul is not Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday.

"He has not been detained," the official told Reuters, without giving further details. Several Iraqi officials had earlier said Masri had been captured in an operation late on Wednesday.

Nice Boy Update

Nice to see this story catching on - even if the spin begins...

Headlines:

CBS/AP: Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner ID'd As Iraq Bomber. The story includes a picture borrowed from this link (wonder how they found it?) along with this amazing spin:

Wilner called the alleged suicide attack a "tragedy" that could have been avoided with court hearings for prisoners held at Guananamo [sic], where the U.S. now holds about 270 men.

"The lack of a process results in tragic mistakes on both sides," the lawyer said.

Al-Ajmi's American lawyer said incarceration at Guantanamo may have turned the Kuwaiti into a terrorist.

Al-Ajmi is not the first former Guantanamo detainee to reportedly return to the battlefield after being released. Pentagon officials say there are more than 10 people once held by the U.S. at Guantanamo who have been killed or captured in fighting after being released from the detention facility.

"Our reports indicate that a number of former [Guantanamo Bay] detainees have taken part in anti-coalition militant activities after leaving U.S. detention. Some have subsequently been killed in combat," said Cmdr. Jeff Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.

The Pentagon has publicly identified 13 former Guantanamo detainees who have gone back to the fight since their release.

But a Defense Intelligence Agency report dated May 1, 2008 says that 36 former detainees are "confirmed or suspected" of having returned to terrorism, said a US defense official who asked not to be identified.

Fears case will harm civil rights bid to free inmates

The involvement of an ex-Guantánamo detainee will make it harder for civil rights lawyers in the US and Britain, who have been fighting for the release of the remaining prisoners at the camp complex in Cuba.
<...>
The Democratic and Republican candidates to replace President George Bush in January next year have promised to close the camp.

Hat tip: Tim Sumner of 9/11 Families - who are following this story closely.

Previous entry: Such a Nice Boy

Update: The New GI Bill

Here's the latest on the GI Bill for the 21st Century. (Links to earlier related entries are provided at the bottom for those who might need to catch up.) I'm going to steal Lt Nixon's good, bad, and ugly format for this one, because it fits perfectly.

The Good: The House will vote on the new GI Bill today (more on that shortly). Meanwhile, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee conducted hearings yesterday:

At Wednesday’s hearing, three major veterans’ groups — the American Legion, AmVets and Paralyzed Veterans of America — are expected to endorse S 22, the benefits bill sponsored by Sen. James Webb, D-Va., over the Republican bill, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Veterans’ groups also are expected to directly contradict Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ opposition to S 22 on the grounds that it would hurt the all-volunteer force by encouraging people to get out of the military.

The bad - back to those Senate hearings:

The Department of Veterans Affairs seemed to be standing in front of a fast-moving train Wednesday when a top official said VA would need two years of preparation to come up with a payment system for a proposed overhaul of GI Bill education benefits.

The warning flags were waved by Keith Pedigo, VA’s associate deputy undersecretary for policy and program management, who said meeting an Aug. 1, 2009, effective date for the benefits increases, under what lawmakers are calling the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights, would be extremely difficult.

Because the proposal calls for the maximum benefit to be different in each state, payments would have to be manually, rather than automatically, processed, Pedigo said.

“VA does not now have a payment system or the appropriate number of trained personnel to administer the program,” Pedigo said, predicting it would take two years to develop a payment system to provide the new benefits.

Pedigo also warned of fundamental unfairness in a proposed housing allowance that would be based on where a school is located, rather than where a student lives, which could encourage veterans to enroll in online learning programs offered by schools in high-cost areas.

The Pentagon, VA and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget oppose S 22, either as a separate bill or combined with the supplemental.

The Ugly - meanwhile, over in the House...

Setting up their last major battle over war policy with President Bush, House Democrats yesterday unveiled a plan to link their favored domestic spending projects and a troop-withdrawal timeline to additional funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan requested by the White House.

House Democrats, defying President Bush's threat of a veto, will offer a supplemental appropriation bill tomorrow that continues funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but includes other provisions opposed by the White House. The three amendments include:

Amendment 1:

· $162.6 billion to continue funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan well into 2009.

Amendment 2:

· A requirement to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 30 days of passage, with a goal of having all troops out of Iraq by December 2009 (except those providing embassy security).

· A mandate that any unit deployed to Iraq must meet Pentagon requirements that it be "fully mission capable."

· An anti-torture provision that requires the CIA to comply with interrogation techniques in the Army Field Manual.

Amendment 3:

· $1.2 billion for global food aid.

· $5.8 billion to repair levees in Louisiana.

· An additional $11 billion over 10 years for unemployment compensation.

· An expansion of education benefits for returning troops.

But Democrats are less interested in passing a new GI Bill and more focused on creating political advertisements for the upcoming campaign season. Any House or Senate Republican who opposes the "Big Bill" for reasons other than the GI education benefits can (and will) be accused of voting against the new GI Bill. And the Democrats have spent years developing "Veterans Groups" who are actually political wings of their party and are now standing by to aid and abet the effort through a very willing and supportive media. Democrats win, veterans lose (in a big way - there will be no chance of a Bill in a non-election year like 2009) and Republicans won't know what hit them.

Previous entries:

GI Bill for the 21st Century

How Republicans "lost" the Military Vote

Such a nice boy

A sad tale...

Three years ago, Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, a Kuwaiti soldier who deserted to fight in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban, sat in a detention cell at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while lawyers argued whether he was an "enemy combatant."
<...>
U.S. counterterrorism analysts argued in a review of al-Ajmi's activities that he should not be released or returned to Kuwait based on the following:

— That he deserted from the Kuwaiti army to participate in a jihad in Afghanistan;

— The Taliban supplied him with arms, including grenades;

— He admitted fighting with the Taliban, including engaging in two or three firefights;

— He was captured by coalition forces in the Tora Bora region, an area once thought to be a hideout of Usama bin Laden;

Al-Ajmi denied all charges that he was an enemy combatant and a jihadist, and that documented statements were untrue.

He was repatriated to Kuwaiti authorities on Nov. 3, 2005.

Last week, a Dubai-based television channel reported that al-Ajmi was killed carrying out a homicide bombing in Mosul, Iraq.

It might have been one of these incidents

Three suicide bombers and a car bomb have struck the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing at least nine people and wounding 31 others, police said.

Iraqi soldiers foil suicide bomb attack in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi soldiers at a military base in Mosul, the capital of the northern province of Nineveh, foiled a suicide tanker bomb attack on their base, said the provincial police.

The incident occurred at about 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) when a suicide bomber tried to drive his booby-trapped tanker into the army base in the al-Tanak area in western Mosul, Brigadier Khalid Abdul-Sattar, spokesman of the provincial security operations office told Xinhua.

The soldiers at the entrance of the base ordered the tanker driver to stop before they opened fire with rocket propelled grenades and machinguns, causing a powerful explosion in the tanker which was heard on all over the city of Mosul, Sattar said.

Only one soldier was injured by the blast because the soldiers blew up the tanker b