When I found out that Jamie McIntyre was going to be the guest with me on CNN I had to take a look to see if I had written anything particularly wicked about him. I assumed I had since he is CNN's Pentagon correspondent and they are my favorite target after the AP. Surprisingly nothing. I knew immediately who he was because he was one of Rummy's most frequent antagonists during press briefings, but somehow he had not forced me to lay a smackdown on him.
After the show I sent an email thanking him, the producer and host and kinda half apologizing for the sniper shot, but noting I have to take the open ones. Mr. McIntyre replied noting they had filmed a retort to my bearding of the lion in his den, but apparently decided not to air it. I would love to debate that point with him, certainly on CNN or anywhere else for that matter. I have fairly strong & well-supported thoughts that it amounted to airing enemy propaganda and would be interested in and will request a chance to make that point.
The reason I instantly knew who he was is his perfectly skeptical look. He used to lay this on Rumsfeld and you could see the burn. It looks like he has thrown his BS flag as soon as you start talking. It would have been a shame for him to be anything other than a reporter or maybe a defense attorney. I have come up with a name for a blog for him and I think it's spot on.
THE SKEPTICAL EYE(brow) by Jamie McIntyre
That look was right after I made the point about their aiding the bad guys by playing the sniper video. The CNN vids are here.
So here is my cry across the internets asking for a shot in the ring on the topic of US and other media and their role in enemy information operations and strategies.
a a CNN jihadi sniper video AP's associated w/Sunni terrorists Bilal Hussein Adnan Hajj Fauxtoshops and Hezbollah press control in Lebanon
To name a few, your suggestions are invited as always.
Greyhawk has some results from the week while General Petraeus was discussing strategy with the democrats, house leadership, politicians who talk to state sponsors of terror but not our commander in the War on Terror, anybody who'll listen...
FORT BENNING, Ga.--April 21, 2007--Master Sgt. Walt Zajkowski and Maj. Liam Collins, of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., show remarkable determination and skill on day three of the Army's Best Ranger Competition. The team finished first at the Camp Darby obstacle course and the Helocast, making them the winners of the 2007 Army Best Ranger Competition. Photo by David K. Dismukes, Fort Benning Public Affairs
The 2007 Best Ranger Competition 2007 is the 24th anniversary of this
grueling three day athletic competition. It featured the best
athletes in the world; our United States Army RANGERS! The competition
has evolved over the past twenty years from one that was originally
created to salute the best two-man "buddy" team in the Ranger
Department at Fort Benning, GA, to a competition to determine the best
two-man team from the entire United States Armed Forces. The Best
Ranger Competition is held on Fort Benning and is open to the public.
Here's some of the highlights from this year's competition which wrapped up on April 22nd:
And the two winners, Master Sgt. Walt Zajkowski and Maj. Liam Collins, of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, interviewed on Fox and Friends:
Aussies Receive Airdrop in Iraq - Pictures of the Week
Posted By Blackfive
All photos taken by Pfc. Robert Baumgartner of the 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.
Australian Capt. Paul Manoel talks to an American Air Force C-130 aircraft while coordinating the airdrop of supplies. His soldiers watch and wait for the cargo to land before embarking on the recovery.
Australian Capt. Paul Manoel looks through his binocualars while he and his men wait for a cargo drop.
An Australian soldier watches as airdropped cargo comes down in the barren wasteland of the Iraqi desert.
Colby Buzzell's "Men In Black" from Operation Homecoming
Posted By Blackfive
I watched Operation Homecoming on PBS a few weeks ago. I sent Colby an email telling him that he did a good job on camera (he did) and the producers did a decent job of portraying his work honestly.
Then, Robert MacNeil comes on (the Crossroads after piece) and talks about bloggers and how they were the ones who let us know about Abu Ghraib. He points to the screen and it's Acute Politics there. I wasn't too happy about MacNeil portraying all milbloggers, let alone the Teflon Don's blog, as all about Abu Ghraib...that struck me as seriously disingenuous.
Here's the link to see "Men in Black", IMHO, done very well...
A reader sends this story about the United States Military Academy:
Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck is the Superintendent at the U.S. Military Academy and previously served as the Director of Personnel for the Army. “This is the best Army that America has ever had” he tells me. “The kids that sign up are extraordinary. Two out of three of the males in America today between the ages of 18 and 24 are not even qualified to walk through our recruiter’s door in any of our military services. Now maybe that’s an indictment on our society, perhaps so, maybe both, but about a third of those who are qualified, they are coming through the door at unprecedented rates, and I can't say enough good things about them."
There are also some young ladies coming through that door:
Deanna Comstock says she’s wanted to be a West Point cadet since her Dad brought her to the campus when she was six years old. Now she’s in her second year. “I was enamored from that point on. I bought a patch in the gift shop. It’s still on my desk now, and I'm 22 and so it’s been a long time,” she said.
Deanna’s already served as an MP in Iraq before starting her West Point stint. “I'd love to play video games and sit in my room, I just don't have time. Right now my country is at war, it suffered some pretty horrendous attacks and I'm from New York so that really hit home. I could be a part of this to advance freedom in the world, and I went for it, and decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
If you're of that age and you can meet the standards, there's little better that you can do with your life.
Uncle J on CNN's This Week at War- There I was....
Posted By Uncle Jimbo
My guest shot on This Week at War went pretty well I thought, and I finally wrangled the video onto the internets. The topic was the hero-making around the Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman stories and CNN's Jamie McIntyre did my street cred no help by saying my take was pretty much on, especially since last time on CNN Arwa Damon and I were agreeing too. I would feel bad about that, even though he just agreed 'cuz I was right but then at the end the host teed one up and I whacked it.
The whole bit is embedded below, if you just want the propaganda/sniper vid exchange it is right here. I think Jamie McIntyre should have a blog called the Skeptical Eye(brow) eh? I love the look he gives me after. I emailed a thanks to him, the host and producer and Jamie shot back that he only agreed with me because I was right (true) and that he didn't agree that the sniper vid was propaganda. He said they filmed a rebuttal after I was done, but apparently didn't air it. Probably smart, more ammo.
FOREMAN: Let me ask you quickly, Jim, there's been a lot made of the
media improvements by the insurgents, that they're doing a great job of
getting their message out. What are we going to see from our military
as we move forward against that press machine, when they try to balance
it?
HANSON: You make a good point, You force me to point
out you guys did put out a pretty heinous video of snipers, of the
insurgents killing U.S. troops on CNN, so you guys to some extent
helped them with their own propaganda.
OK the title was me indulging me. I used to love being in a Navy pilot bar and then starting to tell stories with the hands showing how I would get on their 6 and take 'em out in a 4 g negative dive, oh yeah did I mention we were inverted. Now eventually real pilots would start to get chafed so I would end by asking the ladies what their favorite part of Top Gun was. When they predictably answered "When Mav threw Goose's dog tags in the ocean" I would say yeah that was all right but, and then I would imitate Goose mashing the canopy and hanging limp in the harness. A laugh riot I tell you. I am gonna burn in Hell huh?
Speaking of navy fighter pilots, what is wrong with John McCain? Every time I try to cut him some slack he pulls another "throw the other team a bone" stunts. Now he says he would close Gitmo and bring the detainees to say, Leavenworth. Why? That is the question here, why would we grant the left their bone of contention and offer them the argument that we closed it because it was somehow outside of the law. We gain nothing I can see other than proof to the left and the rest of the concerned world community that they can override US law, custom and even our Constitution if they wail and moan long enough.
I am working on the CNN video, I have it on a Tivo that won't give it to my computer. Pause to curse parasitic corporate subscription-based business models. I have posted the transcript after the end of this piece. I scored with the sniper video shot.
"Grab it before the Pentagon orders it burned..." - Vanity Fair
"...nonpartisan patriotism is the common thread tying together these reflections, love letters and stories of combat. They make for riveting reading." - The Washington Post
Winner of the 2006 Gold Medal for Anthologies - Military Writer's Society of America
"This collection is an excellent introduction to an emerging form of war reporting." - Booklist
"...there is much to tell, and celebrate, in the tough, day-to-day work that our soldiers are doing in one of the most challenging environments any army has ever faced..." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"...the collection is riveting...a worthy tribute." - The American Prospect
Click here
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Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com
Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, Jim Hanson ("Uncle Jimbo") is now focused on writing about the military, politics, intelligence operations and foreign policy. Email: jimbo AT unclejimbo DOT com
Writer, photographer, and raconteur C. Blake Powers is the Laughing Wolf. He is independent in politics and covers topics including journalism, military, weapons, preparedness, space, science, cooking, food and wine, product and book reviews, and even spirituality. Email: wolf1 AT laughingwolf DOT net Laughing Wolf's Amazon Wish List
Grim -- an Old Norse name that means 'one who wears a mask' -- blogs on issues of intelligence, information operations, and foreign relations. Email: grimbeornr AT yahoo DOT com
Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net
Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.
In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com
Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.
McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net
Chris Carter is a former USAF firefighter and now civilian firefighter who covers military history, national security, and baseball. Find out more at his website.
Twitter: @CrushingChris EMAIL: crushnik AT yahoo DOT com
Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.
Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.
Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View. Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com
Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.
Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.
COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.
That look was right after I made the point about their aiding the bad guys by playing the sniper video. The CNN vids are here.
