MSM Haditha weaseling

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Hartdorf Courant
Investigators have had months to measure the moments. But in war, motive is immaterial. The military courts don't measure right or wrong, just whether troops follow the rules. The Uniform Code of Military Justice gives a lot of leeway to infantrymen in combat. Whether their killings are gleeful, angry or calculated, as long as they fit into the Rules of Engagement, they aren't murderous.

I have a question, where do you have evidence of US troops being gleeful about slaughtering innocents? Do you have any? If not did you just add that to imply that as an option absent any evidence?

If not then STFU with that comparison, because it implies that there are such incidents that should be considered.

Man you guys cheat. Losers.

Drudge headline on Venice show's war horror film

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

The gargantuan headline at Drudge shouts, actually they just used al Reuters phrase, but everything looks so much bigger and louder on Drudge.

FILM ON ABUSES BY TROOPS IN IRAQ STUNS VENICE

I gotta disagree, I don't think the film stunned anyone who was there. I think that the vast majority of those watching had long ago determined that Americans are base and that our jack-booted thugs rape, kill, pillage and burn all over the planet. Sadly they have us confused with UN "peacekeeping" troops. What it did was confirm their pre-conceived notions in a glorifyingly horrifying manner; they get to have their violence and condemn it as well.

I despise the scum who did this infinitely more than my "betters" in Venice because unlike them, I know the truth about our troops. The few that get the attention are vile, but they get the full crushing might of the military justice system and these vermin now make small rocks from large ones. The rest of our troops would better serve as ambassadors for what is good and right about America than every Brooks Brothers wearing weasel conducting formal lying in formal wear in our diplomatic corpse.

I have lived in both Europe and Asia for more than six years, I've been around the world twice and seen goats float in a boat. There ain't nothing you can tell me that will shock me. And I will take the good old USA over any of the other options on this, the crappiest planet I have ever lived on bar none. Just out of curiousity we have a huge waiting list of the planet's best and brightest signed up to immigrate here, how many folks are trying to get into Europe, aside from Muslims doing the leg work for the new Caliphate. Never mind I know the answer. Europe is cool because as comedian Eddie Izzard says "It's where the History comes from", but I care less than little what the Elite Euros think about us. Plus I figure Sarkozy and Merkel will forge a new pact soon since it's been a couple of generations since the Germans have marched on anybody, so they're due. They will scarf up the intellectuals and smarty arts farty type usual suspects just like clockwork.

Goose Creek- Bombers or Maroons?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

H/T the Mighty MM

The two men arrested near the Naval brig at Goose Creek are facing serious charges. The apologists began immediately explaining away the items in their car as fireworks. That was a very dumb explanation and would have meant the two men were basically fools. If your name is Ahmed Mohammed and your buddy is Youssef Megahed (Clark AFB ref anyone?) and you are driving around the US with a bunch of illegal fireworks you are a fool. It doesn't take much racial profiling to throw a flag on that play. Now as it turns out what they had was not fireworks but pipe-bombs and related accoutrements. Mohamed is charged with teaching how to make bombs, but we don't know who he taught, if it was his buddy or if it spreads wider than that.

Either way I can find no way to classify the two as anything but bombers or maroons. If they thought that a couple of young Muslim men be-bopping across the country occasionally blowing off steam by cranking off a couple of pipe bombs would be written of as youthful pranks, then they are maroons. Barring that they are bombers, that thought should not give you a warm fuzzy. We live in an unsecured country, and I mean less our lack of border control, than our open, unscrutinized existence. We can't even discuss a national ID card because women and minorities are too oppressed to get one, not to mention all our nudge, nudge, wink wink guest workers.

I have a piece I will polish up over the weekend stating what should be obvious, we will not and can not actually secure this country, period. That is why our efforts to kill or interdict them overseas are so vital. We have too many soft targets in this country. Just count the number of malls, stadiums and govt. buildings where you live. We will never be able to guard our insecurities. And even if we fenced our border to the South, does anyone really think we'll do the same up North. And even if we did, our student visa programs let in tens of thousands of young men from countries that historically provide terrorists.

I will see if I can come up with any solutions or positive notes about this, but really it points out vividly how much work we have to do in the spying and tango whacking portions of our game.

Bombing Maroons on the left, innocent men fascinated by ferrys in Seattle. Hmmm, minus the beards.......maybe?

Happy Birthday to the ROCK OF THE MARNE!!!

Posted By Blackfive

As a member of the 3rd Infantry Division Society, I wanted to wish a Happy 90th Birthday to my former division.  For all of you former Marne soldiers out there, Major General Lynch has a message for you:

ROCK OF THE MARNE!!!

Calling All Angels!

Posted By Blackfive

With the Surge in full swing and fighting escalating in Afghanistan, there is a growing need to help our wounded, and the families of the wounded and the Fallen soldiers.  Soldiers' Angels is there for them and they need your help to keep providing support.  Funds are drying up.  Soldiers' Angels needs donations now.

If you can't donate cash, you can Adopt a Soldier or a Platoon of Soldiers, you can join one of the teams to help support our troops with your valuable time, donate your airmiles to help a soldier and his family reunite, donate your cell phone or even your car....I could go on and on.

If you've been around here for awhile you know how I feel about these people.  They need our help.  Here are some of the things that they do that you may not know about:

This is a request for a flight for a soldier injured in Germany:

...Situation was a soldier in Germany fell off a bridge landing on his head and is in very critical condition and not sure if he will survive or not.  He is currently at BAMC DC. He needed flights for the parents, which Fisher House wouldn't do because his injury didn't occur in Iraq or Afghanistan...so I went ahead and took care of that for him.  It was approximately $500 for each ticket and I did get travel insurance with it as well, given his status is so touch and go...

This is from a Major about a unit in Afghanistan:

...A unit was on patrol and was engaged by hostile fire.  The company commander was killed along with another soldier.  In the ensuing fight numerous other soldiers were wounded.  Two of those soldiers were medevac'd to Walter Reed.  One lost an eye and will continue to have corrective surgery for probably sometime.  The other had his leg shattered and will have a steel rod surgically implanted.  After the company commander was killed, the senior ranking officer became a young Lieutenant who had to make some quick decisions to save the lives of the rest of his young soldiers.  This Lieutenant was very good friends with the company commander.  The unit is based out of Germany, but the Lieutenant and the family of the deceased Captain are from the DC/Virginia area.  To make a long story short, the unit in Afghanistan sent the Lieutenant to the DC area to act as the unit representative. He departed with little guidance and no advance travel pay.  He paid for his own ticket to get from Dallas to DC.  He called this office from Ireland to seek guidance and incurred over 300 dollars in phone charges.  He is strapped for money at this time.  He also asked if there was anyway to possibly borrow some class A uniforms for the 2 soldiers at Walter Reed so that they could attend the graveside services of their company commander.  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated not only by me, but by all of Americas Hero's...

Soldiers' Angels is also trying to get that Company Commander's family to the funeral at Arlington, too.

This is what the Soldiers' Angels do.  Anywhere, anytime, whatever the need is, they take care of our military family.

Yes, there are plenty of things our government could do better.  But you can sit around and listen to politicians whine about it and take care of their own self interests.  And while that happens you can be the one to make a difference.

Please donate now.

Haditha feature piece up at Pajamas Media

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

The last Marine facing murder charges from the shootings in Haditha started his Art. 32 hearing yesterday. I doubt it will receive much coverage in the MSM, because the whole massacre story has fallen apart and charges have been dropped on all others involved in the shooting. SSgt Wuterich was the senior member of those who committed the killings, but unless something unexpected happens the murder charges against him should be dropped as well. The piece at PJ Media is fairly comprehensive and I welcome any thoughts comments or ideas. If you want to comment over at PJM it is a slightly different crowd than we have here, but entertaining.

Was a crime committed at Haditha?

The Ny Times had a piece up yesterday and the writer was lamenting the fact that these cold-blooded killers were getting away with murder. It seems impossible for him to consider the possibility that they acted in good faith, being stuk in Irak you know. Here is the letter I sent to the NYT Public Editor. H/T Armed Liberal

Dear PE,

The piece in your paper yesterday about the incident in Haditha seemed more like advocacy for the punishment of the marines involved than a look at whether it was a massacre or not. There is considerable material available about the incident including most of the investigation reports. I have read all of them and do not believe they committed a crime, maybe your writers should try reading up on some of the source material rather than simply grabbing quotes like:

"We can't say those guys didn't commit a crime," said Michael F. Noone Jr., a retired Air Force lawyer and law professor at Catholic University of America. "We can only say that after an investigation, there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute."

No kidding, I can't prove that Mr. Noone didn't kill Kennedy, only that we don't have enough evidence to prosecute. What a stupefyingly dumb quote. It is simply an effort to turn presumption of innocence on it's head. The writer seems saddened that the prosecutions have fallen off track as they don't jibe with his view, apparently universally shared in the US and Iraq that.

"In Iraq and in the United States, the killings were viewed as cold-blooded vengeance. After a perfunctory military investigation, Haditha was brushed aside, but once the details were disclosed, the killings became an ugly symbol of a difficult, demoralizing war. After a fuller investigation, the Marines promised to punish the guilty.

But now, the prosecutions have faltered. Since May, charges against two infantrymen and a Marine officer have been dismissed, and dismissal has been recommended for murder charges against a third infantryman. Prosecutors were not able to prove even that the killings violated the American military code of justice."

What a bummer, we may not even get to frog march any of the cold-blooded killers. You ought to keep the Op-Eds on the correct page eh?.

This piece is up today as a feature on the Pajamas Media portal. I am retired Army Special Forces and a former hostage rescue and building clearing instructor, i.e. I know a bit about the rules in play here.

Was a crime committed in Haditha?

Cordially,

Jim

Reading "House to House"...

Posted By Blackfive "House to House" - Available on September 4th from Simon & Schuster

RE:  "We're Not Gonna Die!" - Showdown - The Battle of Fallujah - Part 14
RE:  Hero Goes Back to Iraq
RE:  Someone You Should Know Radio (podcast)
RE:  Staff Sergeant David Bellavia's "House to House"

I am now reading "House to House" and I can't put it down.  Seriously, folks, this is one of the best books I've ever read about the combat experience.  I read about 120 pages tonight instead of doing homework.

The way David Bellavia captures the soldiers hearts and their individual characteristics is amazing, the descriptions of combat action are pure adrenalin, putting a lump in your throat and a hit to your gut.

Anyway, if you've wondered why I've been somewhat absent around here, blame Staff Sergeant Bellavia...order it now.

Coasties Kick Ass

Posted By Blackfive

"...6.  If you witness someone calling the U.S. Coast Guard non-military, inform them of their mistake...and THEN bust their chops...." - [Blackfive] Rules for Non-Military Personnel

The United States Coast Guard has saved over a million lives and that mark was honored during the US Coast Guard's 217th birthday.  EagleSpeak has a great post about it and a video of the Top Ten Coast Guard Rescues.  Go and watch that video.

Then check out this from the Blackfive YouTube Channel:

Why are we letting Iran shell Iraq?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Can someone explain to me why we would allow the Iranians to fire artillery into Iraq for any reason at all?

Bueller? Anyone? They are shelling villages they say are harboring Kurdish guerrillas who are thying to secede from Iran. That's nice, but you can't shoot into Iraq? Or if you keep it up you might start hearing some strange unexplained explosions at the bases where you have been outfitting the punks who are killing my friends.

Why don't we just move an Arty unit with counter-battery capability up there, and the next time they try it we will have radar proof. Plus we will get to enjoy blowing their guns up, pluses all around in my book.

News about a fiesta in Vegas, Blog World Expo is kicking off Nov. 7th thru 9th with the following industry luminaries participating. More important than industry bigwigs is the Milblog track where titans of the milblogosphere will bestride the Vegas Convention Center like Colossi.

I just received the latest info from Andi and the folks at Military.com. This is an all star lineup. The panelists will include Matt and Uncle Jimbo from Black Five, John Noonan from Op-for, Tim Boggs, and many more.

Michael Yon has agreed to do a live video feed from Iraq (as long as we can get the technology to work).

You have to hear MAJ Chuck Ziegenfuss tell the story about how Project Valour-IT run by the amazing ladies at Soldiers Angels was created after MAJ Ziegenfuss suffered wounds to his hands in Iraq.

This event is open to anyone who thinks blogs are interesting and lots of interesting new ideas will get made up and then implemented. I go in a dual role, obviously the Milblog thing is very cool, but I am also Dir. of BD for Pajamas Media and will be meeting with many people about our amazing network and products like our syndicated online wire service, which will feature content from PJ Media blogs on major sites right next to AP syndicated content. Take that dino media. Anyhow if anyone has questions about this let me know, everything is on the table.

Request for Information: USFK / DPRK

Posted By Grim

I'd like to talk to any readers with particular expertise in, or experience serving with, USFK; and also any readers who are particular experts on the North Korean situation.  I'd like to bounce an idea off you, and get the feedback of people with direct experience dealing with the problem.

Email me at grimbeornr at yahoo dot com.

Navy F18 Tests Countermeasures

Posted By Blackfive

An F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the 'Knighthawks' of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, tests its flare countermeasures system prior to heading into Iraq on a Close Air Support (CAS) mission in support of U.S. and coalition ground forces on Aug. 17. VFA-136 is part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 embarked aboard nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in support of maritime security operations and the Global War on Terrorism. (U.S. Navy photo)

The Sheikh & The Editor's Podcast

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

The Editor's podcast is up at Military.com. Ward is shmoozing way above his pay grade with Maxim radio's Diana Falzone. Too bad for him it was by phone. I pipe up after with a look at Haditha since the last Marine facing charges SSgt Wuterich has his Art. 32 hearing Thursday Aug. 30.

Reader and poet Paul Z sends this very cool bit.

SHEIKH
by TSgt (Ret) Paul Zimmerli, August 2007

The muezzin's cry that splits the dawn...
       Reminds you it's time for bed...
You've done your work in darkness...
       Now, let others count the dead...

Your men are cheered and happy...
       Their bombs have slain a score...
In the city's marketplace...
       Such a pity, it wasn't more...

They were, of course, your countrymen...
       But all must chance that fate...
It's Allah's will they're targets...
       For the weapons of your hate...

So housewives seeking vegetables...
       And men out doing their work...
Are blasted into bloody pieces...
       By faith that's gone berserk...

Continue reading "The Sheikh & The Editor's Podcast"

Protein Wisdom Hits The Bullseye

Posted By Subsunk

I had to post on this one. Karl at Protein Wisdom has a methodical and thorough post regarding the failures of news organizations to accurately print stories on the War in Iraq since 2003. I can remember no more thorough and well documented post on why we should not believe our own media when they claim Defeat, and subvert Victory in the War on Terror.

Excerpts below:

The Big Picture(s) [Karl]

In the midst of the still-lingering controversy over the truthiness of The New Republic’s “Baghdad Diarist,” more than a few people suggested that war supporters, unable to discredit the real bad news coming from Iraq, targeted the Scott Thomas Beauchamp stories as a weak link. I cannot speak for everyone who supports the mission in Iraq, but I would submit that Beauchamp’s apparent fables and embellishments are not a “weak link” to be attacked, but simply an egregious example of the establishment media’s flawed coverage of the conflict. Accordingly, what follows is an over view of the establishment media coverage of the conflict in Iraq.

Though public opinion polls consistently show that Americans consider Iraq to be the most important issue facing the country, establishment media has slashed the resources and time devoted to Iraq. The number of embedded reporters plunged from somewhere between 570 and 750 when the invasion began in March 2003 to as few as nine by October 2006. The result was the rise of what journalists themselves call “hotel journalism” and “journalism by remote control.” Janet Reitman, reporting for Rolling Stone, described the state of the media in early 2004:

When I arrive in Baghdad in April, most American journalists are holed up in their rooms, reporting the war by remote: scanning the wires, working their cell phones, watching broadcasts of Al Jazeera. In many cases, they’ve been reduced to relying on sources available to anyone with an Internet connection… While Arabic and European media such as The Guardian and Le Monde manage to cover the war on the ground, American reporters seldom interview actual Iraqis. Instead, they talk to U.S. officials who are every bit as isolated as they are, or rely on local stringers and fixers, several of whom have been killed while working for Americans. “We live in a bubble,” grumbles one AP reporter. “If we know one percent of what’s going on in Iraq, we’re lucky.”

There are exceptions of course, though the number of establishment embeds shows they are literally exceptions. I do not discount the very real danger to Western journos in Iraq, though independent bloggers like Michael Yon, Bill Roggio, Bill Ardolino, and Michael J. Totten seem to have been able to embed outside Baghdad with nothing like the institutional support available to journalists from the establishment media… and that the number of such bloggers is growing. Moreover, I cannot ignore the consequences of “journalism by remote control.”

I don't think I can ever again believe the vast majority of news stories I read about a number of subjects, especially regarding War, Politics, the US Military, and Terrorism as a subject. If reporters AND their editors would just do their jobs professionally and accurately with an eye towards improvement and non partisan behavior and attitudes, as the US military does, we'd all be better off. And the world would truly be a better place.

For you military folks who read this blog, please remember your duty. Do your job as you've been trained to do it. Don't let your actions bring dishonor on you, your family, your service, or your country. The whole World watches you, and expects you to be better than anyone else in the World. It is because the standard is so high, and so many of us have met that standard in the past that they expect perfection from you. We know how hard it is. But we know you can do it, because we see how wonderfully proficient at doing your duty you all are every day, in every way.

Do your duty, for it is the noblest word in the English language. Press on, to Victory.

Subsunk

Soldier's iPod Winning Hearts and Minds

Posted By Blackfive

An Iraqi child listens to music from U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Fernando Santos's iPod in Rashid, Iraq, July 11. Santos is with 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Wash.

Mike Yon's - The Ghosts of Anbar (Part 2)

Posted By Blackfive

Michael Yon's second part of his series of dispatches on his month-long embed in Anbar Province with US Marines is now posted - The Ghosts of Anbar Part 2.

Mike quotes from the new Counter-insurgency Manual (COIN) and demonstrates that the success being made on the ground is not due to a surge in numbers of soldiers, but to a complete change in strategy and tactics.

The Marines have really taken the lead on adapting to the new strategy (and shown in Anbar):

...Arrowhead Ripper was merely the latest experience that underlines the Army’s rapidly growing expertise. Yet the Marines have adapted faster and seem poised to win the war in their battle space. In fact, it’s been Army officers who have told me repeatedly over the past several years that nobody is successfully morphing to meet this war faster than the Marines. Of course, Army officers who compliment Marines always say, 'But that didn’t come from me.'...

Mike embeds with the Marines and Iraqi Police:

...The entrances to the culvert were easy for the enemy to reach unobserved, and mines, bombs or other boobytraps could have been easily planted. SSG Lee could have ordered one of the Iraqis to clear the culvert, and I’m sure that an Iraqi would have done so. Many are very courageous. But SSG Lee was mentoring these men, and without hesitation, he entered the culvert himself to check it out. This was my introduction to MiTT 8.

People at home want to know what our Soldiers and Marines are doing in Iraq, and the only way to tell their story is to follow them.  So deep inside the culvert, crawling on all fours, using my camera as a walking chalk (it’s pretty tough), I crawled behind SSG Lee who was using his rifle as a walking chalk.  The day was hot.  The body armor made it hotter.

I said, “I only met you for the first time like 20 minutes ago.  What’s your name Staff Sergeant?”

“Staff Sergeant Lee, Sir,” he answered while crawling forward.

“United States Marine Corps,” I said.

“Semper Fi,” he answered, and kept clearing the tunnel.

Check it out and please don't forget to support Mike's dispatches by making a donation.

Reconciliation: Praising Juan Cole

Posted By Grim

I often praise the work of David Kilcullen, so the last post from me is probably no surprise to anyone.  On the other hand, I don't think I've ever befored praised the work of Juan Cole -- but I shall do so today.  His defense of Prime Minister Maliki in Salon today is the best thing I have ever seen from him.

Maliki has been unafraid to mount his own defense against his American critics. On Sunday, he slammed Sens. Carl Levin and Hillary Clinton for calling for the Iraqi parliament to oust him. He accused the senators of acting as if Iraq were "the feudal estate of this person or that," a metaphor that went over the head of most American observers. Modern Iraqi political parties such as the Islamic Call were formed in part as a reaction against the landlord class that dominated Iraq under the British-installed monarchy. Maliki was saying the senators were bringing back colonialism and disregarding the Iraqi political process. "They are Democrats," he quipped of Clinton and Levin, "so they should respect democracy and its results."

There are things in the piece to disagree with, but there is also quite a bit there that is valuable and insightful.  The general idea is correct:  the Iraqi government is far from perfect, but is operating under tremendous strains and difficult conditions.  It is important to build Iraqi trust in the process by respecting it, and being seen to respect it:  attempting to play puppeteer undermines what we seek to accomplish in the long term.

Meanwhile, the reconciliation package that Maliki is pushing offers some genuine reasons for hope -- if he can actually enact it at the parliament, which is far from certain.  Cole offers a good explanation both of what the package contains and why it is important, as well as why it may still face difficulties in coming about.

Reconciliation is difficult, for the Iraqis and for us.  Perhaps for us, it can start with recognizing good work from people we've disagreed with vehemently in the past.  This is a piece of good work of that kind:  though we may disagree with parts of it, it makes for informative reading. 

Mookie, Mookie, Mookie!

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

BAGHDAD - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganize the force, and it will no longer attack U.S. and coalition troops, aides said Wednesday....

Asked if Mahdi militiamen would defend themselves against provocations, he replied: "We will deal with it when it happens."

Well you better work out a policy there because Sadr City is on the list and your clowns better figure out which team they are gonna play on. Mookie has pulled this, what three times now? Whenever he sees a little red dot on his chest, he declares a cease fire, or more properly a hudna, meaning his troops rest and refit and wait for more advantageous times.

Well that ain't  gonna fly this time. In or out Mookie, no sitting in the stands heckling. Now we have been making deals with quite a few Sunni Sheikhs, with pretty unpalatable backgrounds, so I'm not saying we can't cut a deal with him. But any deal needs to be on our terms and involve some shows of loyalty to the central government. Second biggest mistake of the occupation after disbanding the Army, not martyring Mookie the first time he poked his head up.

COIN: Dr. Kilcullen on SWJ

Posted By Grim

Lt. Col. David Kilcullen has a new piece on operations in Iraq at Small Wars Journal.  As always, you should take time to read his thoughts.

UPDATE:  Kilcullen's description of the cause of the "flip" in Anbar are familiar to readers of MilBlogs.  The causes he describes were predictable in 2004, when I wrote Clausewitz & The Triangle (which, due to apparent problems at the Mudville Gazette, is available currently only as a Wayback cache):

[T]he Sunni Triangle, as mentioned, is largely tribal in culture. People who grew up there are strongly attached to the tribal system, which to them seems as natural and morally right as the sun rising in the east and the moon waxing and waning. The enemy of the tribe is your enemy -- and it is not our side that is wrecking the tribal strength....  It is the guerrillas in Iraq who are undoing the tribal structure, scorning the traditional authority, and bringing chaotic change to the Sunni Triangle.... We overthrew a national government that enjoyed some broad support in the Sunni triangle, but we did not try to overthrow the tribes.

Confer with the actual cause as Kilcullen describes it:

Marrying women to strangers, let alone foreigners, is just not done. AQ, with their hyper-reductionist version of “Islam” stripped of cultural content, discounted the tribes’ view as ignorant, stupid and sinful.

This led to violence, as these things do: AQI killed a sheikh over his refusal to give daughters of his tribe to them in marriage, which created a revenge obligation (tha’r) on his people, who attacked AQI. The terrorists retaliated with immense brutality, killing the children of a prominent sheikh in a particularly gruesome manner, witnesses told us. This was the last straw, they said, and the tribes rose up. Neighboring clans joined the fight, which escalated as AQI (who had generally worn out their welcome through high-handedness) tried to crush the revolt through more atrocities. Soon the uprising took off, spreading along kinship lines through Anbar and into neighboring provinces.

Read the whole thing, and get a sense of what has been, and what is yet possible.  "Of course," he says, "this is motivated primarily by self-interest."

Again, this is utterly standard behavior for tribal leaders pretty much anywhere in the Arab world: you can trust a tribal leader 100% – to follow his tribe’s and his own interests. And that’s OK. Call me cynical, but I tend to trust self-interest, group identity and revenge as reliable motivations – more so than protestations of aspirational democracy, anyway.

Quite right.  That's another thing milbloggers have been saying for a long time -- since 2003, in fact. 

Non-Mastermind of Col Nick Rowe's killing scarfed up

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I always hate when they call criminals or terrorists masterminds; it is a grotesquely inflated title for someone who would more properly be called a treacherous bastard. If you want to see some master minding, turn a couple of our Spec Ops types loose with the same rules the terrorists play by and $50 seed money. You would watch selected parts of the Middle East spontaneously discombobulate all the while receiving hourly updates from poolside at an undisclosed, 5 star location. It is criminally easy to be a criminal.

So they caught the murderous thug responsible for ordering the assassination of Col. Nick Rowe (pic from Vietnam), and others as Wretchard notes. Col Rowe is an icon in the Special Forces community, first for his actions detailed in Five Years to Freedom, likely the most compelling of many stories of horrifying torture and finally escape from North Vietnamese prisons, then later as a very successful liaison to the Filipino government. So much so that the New People's Army, a communist terror group, had him killed on his way to work.

I was in the PI the day he was killed April 21, 1989.

Nick Rowe was a tremendous example of a Spec Ops warrior and I met him about two weeks before he was killed as we began our work with the Filipino Army on my first SF deployment. Here is what happened:

We had a lot of coordination to do prior to heading for the sticks to train the Filipino Army. He showed up to make sure all went smooth and we had several chances to enjoy BBQ style festivities with him. Later during that trip, the New People's Army (NPA) assassinated Col. Nick Rowe, the US Army Special Ops liaison to the Philippines.

His death set every one off at our camp. There was no way we were going to let them get away with that shite. Shortly after the incident a Filipino Special Forces officer, that members of my team had a long and good relationship with, came by and told us they had located an element of the NPA and were leaving that evening to go get them. We were invited because they knew we wanted to go even though it violated the Filipino Constitution and every letter of our orders to have us involved in combat operations. Neither they nor we really cared much about that restriction at that point. We said we definitely wanted to go and began getting our gear together. We packed and loaded up in a deuce and a half and were heading out of our compound when SGM P came barreling toward us and stopped the vehicle. He screamed, "Where in the expletive deleted do you idiots think you're going?" Since it was kind of hard to say we were going bowling with all our guns and ammo we were stone busted. He confiscated everything but our side arms and sent us back to our hooch. The Filipino SF faced no such restriction and we eventually saw the photos from that mission where 21 NPA terrorists were killed. Man I love dead tangos.

Blue Skies to Col. Nick Rowe and all victims of terror around the world.

Biometrics in Afghanistan

Posted By Blackfive

August 27, 2007, U.S. Soldiers using devices to gather biometric information on Afghan nationals to help discern the good guys from the bad.

At the Torkham Gate

Posted By Blackfive

Bakersfield, Calif., native, Army Sgt. Michael Espejo of the 66th Military Police Company stationed out of Fort Lewis, Wash., pulls security at the Pakistani border at Torkham Gate during the Afghan independence day ceremonies held Aug. 19.  Photo by PFC Daniel Rangel.

My new favorite old ally

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

We can really use a little Sarkozy right now, him and his Foreign Minister. It has been a major pain to listen to the left crowing about how W has ruined our previously stellar international reputation. Well having spent a good chunk of my adult life traveling and living overseas, trust me we have been hated since at least the '80s. But you do need friends and right now France is throwing a brother a line.

The money quote is this:

France's Sarkozy raises prospect of Iran airstrikes

Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and that major powers should continue their policy of incrementally increasing sanctions against Tehran while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities.

"This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," he said, adding that it was the worst crisis currently facing the world.

A little help with the whole nation-building thing would be greatly appreciated and if Germany wanted to throw in that wouldn't hurt either. We could let that whole Old Europe thing go. Both of them have big problems with unassimiliated Muslim immigrants and they could really use a good example for them. No western democracy is helped by a victory for the forces fighting to restore the Caliphate and that may be a big enough self-interest. The French could certainly use a win.

The Dissident Frogman is guesting at Jules Crittenden's blog along with some other worthys. And reader Phillippe notes the 82nd ABn NCOs Op Ed got picked up.

Hello Uncle Jimbo:

I am not sure if you've heard of this, or if there is the same letter in a US paper, but some AB troops (not sure what rank) have published in the leading french daily Le Monde, a long article stating that the surge is not working at all and that reports of progress are pure exaggeration.

Here is the link.

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-947957@51-943359,0.html

I would be happy to translate for you.

American French living in the Left Coast. Boy, somedays I miss Tennessee.

Vive le France as I have said before

 

Blogger Goes Airborne

Posted By Blackfive

Congrats to LtCol P of Op-For (probably the oldest Leg in the class) for graduating from the US Army Airborne School...

The "Petraeus Report"

Posted By Grim

There has been some talk in the press and on the blogs that suggests the White House intends to tamper with -- or simply write -- General Petraeus' assessment to Congress.  In a discussion today with a DOD Legislative Affairs expert, we got the truth.

Congress itself mandated by law who will assemble each of the several reports due in September.  It also, separately, mandated that General Petraeus be available to testify to them at this time. 

Public Law 110-28 specifes that "the President, having consulted with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, and the Commander of U.S. Central Command, will prepare the report and submit the report to Congress."

The law separately requires that:  "[T]he United States Ambassador to Iraq and the Commander, Multi-National Forces Iraq will be made available to testify in open and closed sessions before the relevant committees of the Congress."

So, in answer to the question:  there is a report, and there is a separate assessment.  The law requires the President to prepare the report, and General Petraeus to consult with him on that.  The law also requires the General to testify separately before Congress.

There are no political games here:  the US military is simply complying with the law as passed by Congress.  The full text of that law is in the extended entry.

Continue reading "The "Petraeus Report""

John Warner's Christmas present

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Oh boy troops guess what? Sen. John Warner has a  present for you. He wants us to bring some of you home by Christmas, YEA! Not all of you, and not for any real reason, just to, ya' know, send a message.

Well it would be a message of foolish weakness Senator. What is wrong with you? You are usually a minor bastion of reasonable, sober thought. And now we get this bit of bush league (heh) political fluff. Did you have a Schumer-like need for cameras and lights? Now listen up Senator and the rest of you pack of shabby mongrels all sprawled on the porch of the Capitol blissfully clueless, but chock full of great ideas and cunning plans. Well let me remind you clowns of something, if you wanna play Army then join up or run for President. Because you bastiges do not have a role in war-fighting beyond paying for the damn bullets. And once you vote to have a war, you don't get a vote on what we shoot with them either.

When I voted for W in 2004 I did so happy in the knowledge that he would be Commander in Chief until Jan. 2009. I had hoped it would not take his entire second term to reach stability in Iraq, but it has. Unlike the left I don't look at that situation and declare "We're doomed Christopher Robin". We have not really even challenged ourselves as a country in this fight. Although every life lost and every wound is taken with the utmost gravity, it still shows a scary lack of will that we may be thwarted and actually defeated by the losses we have incurred.

Time after time our enemies have known that the way to defeat America is at home. You cannot take her by force of arms, but you can sap the will to fight. The media provides a knowing and helpful ally in this as they ensure that death and destruction dominate our news. The Vietnamese leaders have said explicitly, as did their Chinese and Soviet handlers, that their strategy was to defeat us at home via the media. Worked out  pretty well for them. They went all in with Tet, got their asses handed to them and lost virtually all their combat capability. Great victory for us right? Ha, nope turns out the narrative says that this was a tremendous win for the North and the Viet Cong. The narrative won, Congress cut off funding, helicopters on the Embassy roof.

Well they are trying the exact same shite again. They wanted their Vitetnam metaphors, well OK! Except I'll raise your quagmire with a combined US/Sunni/Shia defeat of Al Qaeda in what they have claimed is the central front of the global jihad. Don't be shy push your chips all in for cut and run and defeat. I think I know which the public will choose given the real stories. And we can overcome your propaganda, you don't own the information war any more.  Yeah that is the real defeat.

"There just wasn't certainty."

Posted By The Wolf

Here is an excellent article from Newsweek (MYRIH) about our actions in Afghanistan and the hunt for AQ.  Leadership, Leadership...

Article HERE

UPDATE:  To my comment about leadership, is this companion piece from the NY Times (MYBIH) that addresses some changes needed in how leadership is selected; it is further commentary on a recent article by Lt. Col. Paul Yingling titled “A Failure in Generalship.” (HERE )  I'll comment further on these, and how they may tie together, in a bit...

NYT Article:  HERE

-W

Badger 6 with a sign of optimism among Iraqis

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

It is the very simple things that carry the most weight. Go read what CPT Colson saw while on jackal escort duty.

Paratroopers Rising....

Posted By Blackfive

You should take ten minutes, sit down, grab a cup of coffee and read Michael Totten's latest post from his embed with the 82nd Airborne...best read of the weekend.

Operation Tafarquoi - Video Air Assault and Follow Up Interview

Posted By Blackfive

Paratroopers of Charlie Company, 3/509th, conducted Operation Tafaraquoi on the 23rd of August. The Paratroopers air assaulted into the area - their mission was to find mortar cell operatives. The below video gives you a look at what it's like to air assualt via Chinook.

And here's an interview with a platoon leader in Charlie Company, Captain John Henry, where he describes what the paratroopers found...

[The Blackfive Military Video Channel on YouTube is located here (attacks, memorials, briefings, rescues, and some Guinness.]

[Uncle Jimbo's YouTube Channel is here (for righteous Freeflys among other things).]

Around the Battlefield

Posted By Blackfive

Produced by MC2 Rufus Hucks, this video includes scenes of a Stryker patrol, Iraqi Soldiers and Gazaliya Guardians, and General Petraeus conducting a pre-assessment briefing...

[The Blackfive Military Video Channel on YouTube is located here (attacks, memorials, briefings, rescues, and some Guinness.]

[Uncle Jimbo's YouTube Channel is here (for righteous Freeflys among other things).]

Insurgents Try to Kill Soldiers, Kill Children Instead

Posted By Blackfive

Sadly, the insurgents don't care who they kill if they have a shot at soldiers. Mike Yon's iconic photography is one of the sources about it. In another, Major Joe Sowers writes of a recent incident:

By Maj. Joe Sowers
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Insurgents who target coalition and Iraqi security forces sometimes miss the mark – with grave consequences for Iraqi civilians.

Soldiers from Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, were targeted by insurgents while patrolling in Jisr Diyala, southeast of Baghdad, Aug. 21. U.S. Soldiers were unhurt, but two local children were caught in a roadside bomb explosion, killing one child and injuring another.

Capt. Darrell Melton, Troop C commander, a native of San Antonio, described the incident.

“The trail Bradley gunner was waving at two kids who were riding their bikes and were waving at my guys,” Melton said. “The next thing the Bradley commander knew, one of the kids was gone in a puff and he was thrown backward in the hatch. When he looked back, the other kid was crawling on the ground.”

Melton said his Soldiers immediately dismounted their Bradley Fighting Vehicle and cautiously approached the wounded child. It is not uncommon for improvised explosive devices to be emplaced in groups and detonated on first responders coming to provide aid.

“He (the wounded child) crawled a few feet, when the medic on site, despite the danger, ran out to him, picked him up and ran back to the Bradley to administer first aid,” Melton said.

The medic was able to stabilize the wounded child, Melton said. Troop C then evacuated the child to a U.S. Army medical facility nearby.

Such incidents are not unique to Troop C. Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, came upon a grieving family in the course of a routine combat patrol, Aug. 13, in Salman Pak.

Capt. Chris Pearson, of Birmingham, Ala., met with a local banking official in Salman Pak to discuss issues and prospective solutions concerning the banking industry in the local area. After the meeting, a town councilman approached him with a father who had lost his son earlier in the day to a roadside bomb.

Pearson said he did not talk directly to the father, but the councilman explained the father just wanted to bury his son in accordance with Muslim tradition.

“I expressed the coalition’s condolences,” Pearson said. “Even though the IEDs target police or coalition forces, they can hit children and families. They are the ones that suffer.”

The councilman informed Pearson that the family was having trouble getting through checkpoints and requested U.S. Soldier assistance in traveling to the cemetery.

“Just to make it easier, we had them travel with us,” Pearson said.

After dropping off the family, Pearson’s element began movement to Combat Outpost Cahill, north of Salman Pak. While traveling to COP Cahill, Pearson’s unit received word that the grieving family had run into another IED as they were returning from the burial. No one was seriously injured in the second incident.

Pearson further explained that national police, local Iraqi police, governmental leaders and coalition forces all play a role in maintaining security in the area. When Pearson’s unit arrived in March, the local populace and Iraqi security forces had not yet developed a trusting relationship.

“There are still a lot of improvements that need to be made,” Pearson said. “Everyday it gets better. There are highs and lows. They’ve begun attending meetings together and as long as they are communicating, it’s helpful.”

USS Grunion, on Eternal Patrol, Detected

Posted By Subsunk

65 Years Later, her Commanding Officer's sons lead the search, find their father's ship, and shed light on their father's last hours. CDR Mannert Abele was lost with USS Grunion, but the definitive history of World War II submarine operations, a book called Silent Victory, by Clay Blair, lists the type of man CDR Abele was.

On the way from New London to Panama, [immediately after her delivery and on the way to the Pacific for battle] Grunion -- manuevering in a heavy gale -- had rescued sixteen men in a lifeboat from a merchant ship torpedoed by a German U-boat, dropping them in Panama. One of the survivors, George F. Drew, the ship's engineer, later wrote, "I have never seen such wonderful seamanship as Abele executed when he rescued us."

Such is the stuff which prides a submarine officer. I've personally spent many weeks in the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea. Kiska is a difficult piece of real estate to support and to find. I even spent a week on Adak while there for one day. Tough place to live. The weather sucks. Always.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The mangled remains of a World War II submarine were found in the Bering Sea on Wednesday night, more than six decades after the U.S. Navy vessel disappeared with a crew of 70 off the Aleutian Island of Kiska.

Continue reading "USS Grunion, on Eternal Patrol, Detected"

Other notables

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Matt & Uncle Jimbo,

Nathan Hubbard was killed on Wednesday in the Blackhawk crash.  He is the second in his family who gave his life for this Country.
Please see the article here

Clovis California is a very pro law enforcement pro military city in Central California.  This is truly a loss for not only the Hubbard family but also for the Community.

I hope that you will be able to spotlight the Hubbard Family on your Blog. 

Thank you for everything you do.

David E

Clovis, California

Thanks and condolences to the Hubbard Family. We will remember them with you.

The Soldier's Angels were doing some hero hob-nobbing as well as candidate watching at the VFW Convention.

Bob at Confederate Yankee is just bein' cruel to the "editors" over at TNR.

And to end on a laugh the Dissident Frogman,  a Frenchman who didn't get the cheese-eating surrender monkey memo, does a highlarious video teaching a course on ammunition and weapons to AFP regarding the  magic bullets pics. Remember AFP is Agence Frances Presse. He boomstick slaps 'em. Warning guns, bullets, cartridges, brass and a terrorist all make appearances. Vive le France as I have said before.

Haditha Marines exonerated

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

UPDATE:I would like to add that I don't believe a crime was committed at Haditha, that doesn't mean I believe the best judgment was exercised.

I've been doing a bit of interesting reading, specifically the Investigating Officer's Report for Lcpl Tatum who was one of those charged with murder in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in two houses in Haditha.

Many have sounded off about this, Rep. Murtha went so far as to say these Marines had killed in cold blood. How actions in response to a fatal IED attack could occur in cold blood I will leave to the lummox to explain. The report has testimony from those involved both US and Iraqi, and this is the conclusion the investigating officer came to.

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I will write an in depth look at this tragedy over the weekend, but here is the short, sad truth. An IED went off killing one Marine and wounding others. Upon dismounting the Marines came under fire and the LT leading the patrol identified the house the fire came from and ordered SSG Wuterich to consider it hostile and to clear it. This is extremely important as this designation means they do not have to make positive ID of targets prior to engaging them. This may sound strange but consider this, if there are hostiles inside they have the option to simply flatten the building with a 2,000 lb bomb. Instead they place themselves in jeopardy and assault the first building directly. Upon entry they shot adults they immediately encountered, then they came to a closed door. They heard a sound consistent with an AK-47 being charged and then threw grenades into the room, after those exploded they entered the room and engaged targets inside. This was all in accordance with the Rules of Engagement for clearing a building designated as hostile.

At this point SSG Wuterich saw someone flee the rear door and head toward a second house. He directed his team to follow and clear this house as well. This building becomes an extension of the first as they were continuing the same mission. Upon entering the second house they threw a grenade into the first room and then began clearing additional rooms. Lcpl Mendoza states that he found a room with women and kids in it and told Lcpl Tatum this. Tatum disputes this and says that he was clearing one of two back rooms when he heard shooting from the other. He moved there and saw SSG Wuterich engaging targets in the back corner so he joined him in firing.

One of the legal questions was whether Lcpl Tatum had an obligation to identify specific threats before firing into the room, and the answer is no. First of all in a hostile building he already had authority to throw a grenade in a room prior to entering. I am unaware of any grenades able to distinguish between hostiles and civilians in a room, so there was no requirement to identify targets. In addition since SSG Wuterich was already engaging the room, he can reasonably assume that there was cause to fire on the room.

While running through this scenario take into account they had just been ambushed and had one dead, then once the first round is fired there is smoke and noise and chaos, then start throwing grenades and you cannot expect anyone to be able to identify targets with any degree of certainty. That is why you designate a building as hostile. You recognize that it is a threat, and you use appropriate tactics to clear it. This is done to minimize the danger to your own troops. Sadly this means that being in that building is a very unlucky thing.

If the Marines took fire from that building and the gunmen fled out the back, then those gunmen bear primary responsibility for the deaths of those civilians. If there were no gunmen in the building, the Marines who assaulted them truly believed there were, and they had been ordered by competent authority to consider them hostile and to clear them. In that case the Marines are responsible for the deaths and a horrible tragedy occurred. In either case no crime was committed by the Marines in the assaults.

More on Haditha:

What makes a shooting a massacre

Good men pushed too far?

Waiting for Haditha by Grim

Military Justice: A Brief Primer by Greyhawk

Drown but not out

Posted By Blackfive

Hey, lots of flooding, downed power lines, rain, mud, etc. here.  Everybody is okay but I'll be absent from posting while reminding my bride that it was her idea a stroke of genius to move from the 11th floor condo...