Rethinking SERE

Posted By Grim

I spent today sitting through PowerPoint hell, and enduring a near-endless SERE briefing.  Not the full training, this is required for everybody -- military, contractors, DOD civilians, "other" agencies deploying people to the zone -- who are heading to Iraq, as I am on my new contract.  Hundreds of people a week, servicemen and civilians, see this briefing.

There's some good stuff in it.  I wish every American would see the section on the media, and what to do if a family member is taken hostage.  Here's the short version:  you are not helping them by getting in the press.  Terrorists thrive on press.  It is their main strategic weapon.  By helping to feed the press cycle on their hostage (your husband/boyfriend/father), you are helping them achieve their ends.  Although of course your reasons for going on the news are well-intentioned, you are helping their enemies and hurting the chances of them being released.  They're suddenly more valuable to the hostage takers.

With that said, I think it is past time our leadership revisited the SERE issue.  As far as hostage taking goes, the advice given is not physically to resist capture in any way; there is also some caution against attempting escape.  This advice is backed up by numerous interviews with former hostages who returned successfully.

The problem is, all of these hostage situations were from the pre-9/11 period of terrorism.  The game has changed.  Almost all the interviews were from the Reagan era; two were from the early 1990s. 

Nobody interviewed Nick Berg.  You can't -- he's dead.  Nobody interviewed the 9/11 hostages.  You can't. 

I would suggest that our government needs to review the advice it is giving.  The Code of Conduct is discussed at length, in a form that reads "I will never surrender" to mean 'Not physically resisting isn't surrendering, but the best form of resistance because it maximizes your chance of release in the long term.'  That is an odd reading, one that the makers of these briefings thought was best given the data from ten or twenty years ago.  "I will never surrender" was a noble sentiment, but it might get you killed.

In the light of modern experience, "I will never surrender" is not just a  noble sentiment.  It is the better piece of advice.

Meeting Scott Beauchamp

Posted By Blackfive

Yes, I have met and talked with Scott. 

It was a good conversation, and I enjoyed meeting him.  I had heard a lot of good things about him as a soldier from the people who know him, and the leaders above him.

What we talked about? 

That's between us. 

What I can say is that he is not being held incommunicado in an undisclosed location with Dick Cheney, and that I found an interesting person that I enjoyed meeting.

LW (in Iraq)

TFFS- NFL Week 4

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

OK after some laziness and shiftlessness on the part of one of the hosts of TFFS, we managed to knock one out yesterday. In case we somehow forget to mention it the Green Bay Packers, of which I am part-owner, are 3 & 0 and leading the league. So with an obvious language reminder, but surprisingly just in the title, this week TFFS NFL Week 4

Saddam asked to take WMD info into exile

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Bush lied about WMDs so we could invade Iraq and steal their oil, that is pretty much gospel here in the Mad City. The problem I always had with it was if we were lying then why didn't we plant some to be found? I realize they think W is a fool, but if you are gonna cheat the system, then plant a few chem or bio weapons and voila. Now we have a leak of a Spanish transcript from W's meeting with Aznar, which has been used to imply that W was hellbent on war no matter what. Well Jose Guardia does a full translation and it actually shows just how hard we were working to avoid war, while maintaining the realistic view that Saddam was not likely to comply. He also notes this important tidbit.

Several areas of interest emerge in this memo, but perhaps the most interesting is this part concerning negotiations being conducted with Saddam. Bush told Aznar:

“The Egyptians are talking with Saddam Hussein. It seems he has hinted he’d be willing to leave if he’s allowed to take 1 billion dollars and all the information on WMDs.”

All the information on WMDs? What would that imply to Bush and to Aznar? And this was coming from Egyptian Intelligence in direct communication with Saddam. Wouldn’t the normal person assume from that that Saddam had WMDs or at the very least was seriously engaged in creating them? Why would he wish to preserve this information if he didn’t have any forbidden weapons programs is something that war critics should reconcile. I guess all the people who are trumpeting this leak will now stop saying that Bush lied and mislead us on the WMD issue. Can’t have it both ways. But I won’t hold my breath.

The billion dollars is interesting but the request to take all information on WMD's is fascinating. If Saddam had no weapons or programs then what was he asking for here? What reason could he have for making this request if he didn't have some naughty stuff either plans or parts? That right there is a stronger piece of evidence saying we had to take him out than anything else I have heard. He had many opportunities to destroy the stockpiles he had in a verifiable fashion and he refused. He was asking if he could take his plans and precursors with him into exile. Any President faced with that information would be duty bound to act on it and irresponsible if he did not.

Well even if the left is unable to believe Saddam had WMDs he believed it. I wonder where all that WMD info he was going to take with is now? Hmmmmm.

Exclusive- SF murder charges dismissed

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Woo Hoo! While Kev and I were gearing up to talk football, the phone rang. It was the best of news, all charges dropped against MSG Anderson and CPT Staffel for the shooting of a known terrorist in Afghanistan. This was swift justice and sent a clear message about the actions they took. Our troops must know they have the support of their command when they make life and death decisions based on the rules of that same command. Enjoy your weekend BBQs gentlemen you earned them. We will follow up on just how charges of murder came up in the shooting of a terrorist.

Ask The Wolf...

Posted By The Wolf

...anything you want.  I've got a 'light' weekend ahead, so I'll have some time to respond to queries and inquisitive people.

Post a question in the comments, or email me a the.mr.wolf at gmail.  I'll post all here and in comments.

Just remember, a Wolf just may bite...

-W

Continue reading "Ask The Wolf..."

HamNation Omnivorously Yummy

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I so wanted to title this HamNation Tittilation, but I have much more class than that. Go watch MKH as a much more appetizing Alicia Silverstone. People Eating Tasty Animals.

Not Vegetarian

Sniper Baiting & Blackwater Smuggling

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

This week's podcast at Military.com got scrubbed, but here is my bit on several topics of recent days, both of which were distorted when they were reported, shocking I know. 

Sniper Baiting & Blackwater Smuggling

And then we had a bit of minor street theater as one of my usual suspects anti-war types decided to return his service medals to Donald Rumsfeld at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and no I don't know why Rummy. Several of the folks who tried to abridge my freedom of speech on Memorial Day make appearances as well. I really need to help these people juice up their events, new chants, a light show, maybe some hip hop dancers something. If you haven't seen the Memorial Day bit I recommend it highly.

Rush Limbaugh owes a huge apology

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

UPDATE: All right chill out everyone. I listened to the clip at the link below which has at least 3 minutes or so before he says the phony soldiers bit and there is no context that would lead you to understand his use of the phrase. If there is a longer clip and it does show he meant the Macbeths of the world, then I owe a huge apology. I man up when I'm wrong. So Rush, I am sorry I said you owed an apology. You do not. I am gonna stick with most of the names I called you though except "stunningly stupid" and "foolish and disrespectful" as those referred to this non-incident. Audio at Flopping Aces

First things first, I haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh in 20 years or so. The only time I remember, I was driving cross country and there are patches where he was the only thing on the radidio. I decided then that even though I agreed with most of his positions he was such a pompous, jackass windbag that I couldn't stand to listen to him. Bill O' Reilly affects me the same way, honestly they remind me of the things I like least about myself. The problem with running your mouth full time in public is you will eventually say something stunningly stupid. Rush managed that on his show in a confusing exchange (reproduced below) that boils down to one simple thing, Rush said that troops who favor withdrawal from Iraq are "phony soldiers"

That is a foolish and disrespectful statement and Rush Limbaugh owes an apology. Just because these whelps have the audacity to disagree with the giant clown they are somehow phonier than him? BS, if they get blown up by an IED they die every bit as much as a freaking dittohead troop. What an ass. I know we have plenty of folks who listen to him and I understand why. He is a tremendous advocate and an entertaining smart ass. But the one thing we hold, despite the left's false claims, is the moral high ground. We are the ones who defend to the death everyone's right to say what they want. And the opinion of a loudmouth with no skin in the game sure doesn't change that. That is the worst inversion of the chickenhawk argument I've ever seen. The bloated bloviator sitting on his ass calls serving troops "phony soldiers"? Oh Hell No!

This ought to be an easy call people, Rush needs to apologize pretty deeply. I looked at his website and it wanted me to join RUSH 24/7 to email the buffoon, not likely. If anyone knows contact info comment or ping me and I will post it. And I guess you can call his show, tell him I said to man up.

This what he said, and there is a longer audio clip here.

During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." He made the comment while discussing with a caller a conversation he had with a previous caller, "Mike from Chicago," who said he "used to be military," and "believe[s] that we should pull out of Iraq." Limbaugh told the second caller, whom he identified as "Mike, this one from Olympia, Washington," that "[t]here's a lot" that people who favor U.S. withdrawal "don't understand" and that when asked why the United States should pull out, their only answer is, " 'Well, we just gotta bring the troops home.' ... 'Save the -- keeps the troops safe' or whatever," adding, "[I]t's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people." "Mike" from Olympia replied, "No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media." Limbaugh interjected, "The phony soldiers." The caller, who had earlier said, "I am a serving American military, in the Army," agreed, replying, "The phony soldiers."

I really do like to call names when I get wound up, here are my shots in just this bit.

pompous, jackass windbag...stunningly stupid...foolish and disrespectful...giant clown...What an ass...a loudmouth with no skin in the game...bloated bloviator sitting on his ass...the buffoon

And that's in just three paragraphs, good thing I'm always right with talent encoded in my DNA, honed by the adventures that are my life. This is Uncle J from EIB (Expert Infantryman's Badge) Studios saying bugger off wankers.

From Iraq - Obligatory Paul McLeary/Scott B. Post

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

This will be short, but needs to get on out of the way so I can finish preparing to bring you the real stories from this visit. These things need to be laid to rest so we all can move on to what's really important, in terms of both people and events.

I have no idea where Paul McLeary may be.  My challenge to him:

...Since there are some profound and troubling issues that remain, let me make an offer. This fat ol' crip is willing to take a leave of absence, or quit my day job if necessary, to take a trip to embed with the troops. As part of that journey, let's you and I go visit the unit in question, and let the people there tell you the problem with the message. Let's visit a few other milbloggers while we are at it, maybe a few other bloggers period, and see if they can help. I'm willing to put it all on the line right now, especially if the money could be raised to cover the process via PMI, and to ensure I still had a lair to which to return. How about it, are you and CJR willing to put your money where your mouth is? I'm willing to put my body and what meager funds I have on the line for this. How about you?...

And the response:

A few days ago, I issued a challenge to Paul McLeary and CJR, and Paul has accepted that challenge...

He isn't here, and I haven't heard from him in some time. I e-mailed him in the last couple of weeks before I came over, and never heard back. No one over here I've talked to has heard of him or if he is coming to Iraq to cover any story any time soon.

It is true that I am out with the 1/18 and am at the COP where Scott was/is stationed. I haven't seen him, and to be very frank, he has been peripheral to this long before I came over. He was the spark and Paul the catalyst for my coming over here.

Was there a grain of truth around some of Scott's postings? Yes. In talking with various sergeants and others, there were some bones found. Some were apparently cow bones, and what may be/is a gravesite (not mass) was not disturbed once it was found. The people who control/own this area were not aware of any grave here, so the First Sergeant decided just to leave it be in an abundance of caution. There are a number of feral dogs here, and some have been indeed been shot. If an obviously sick dog, foaming at the mouth, is agressive, then it should be shot. So should anything that poses a threat to the troops.

From what I am seeing and otherwise finding out, there are a lot of feral dogs around here and in Iraq in general. It also appears that distemper, rabies, and a number of other diseases are a problem with wild animals including feral dogs, and it is not unusual to see obviously sick animals, and those that have died from various diseases.

Yet, these are largely side issues. There was concern with some that I was coming to do a hatchet job on Scott, but that isn't why I came. I came to report on the reality of day-to-day life here, for Scott has been irrelevant to that story and the larger stories for some time now. As for what happens to him within the Army, what I do know is that he is under a first sergeant who, according to quite a few people, has a reputation for taking problems and making them good.

To be honest, were I to see Scott I would have to thank him, for without what he did, I wouldn't be here. The same is true of Paul, for without his mistaken posting, my challenge to him to come out and report the reality would never have been issued or accepted. Right now, I also have to thank Paul, because by not showing up he has given me some very good exclusives.

Despite some technical glitches, the real stories will be coming out in the days ahead. If I can get some of them fixed in time, there will be photos, video, and audio with them as they post; if not, I will post the photos, video, and audio later. West Rashid is tipping, and the implications are profound.

There is a Captain you should know, because the tip is largely his doing -- and if the Stars have a brain at all, they will be grooming him for higher command. There is a First Sergeant who epitomizes what a good NCO should be, and if I can catch him for the interview you will indeed get to know him. There are a lot of people you should meet, and I hope to introduce you to some of them as well. Not as many as I would like, for my time here is far too short to do even a fraction of them as well as they deserve. There are some bigger picture items that will be headed to PMI for posting, and the small stuff/personal stuff will be over at my place.

Meantime, I'm going to go out and try to get some more interviews done, experience all I can, and try to share some of it with you. There are some very good stories here, and now that this is out of the way, I and the people here can concentrate on bringing them to you.

LW (In Iraq)

Brookings: On Private Military Companies and Contractors

Posted By Grim

Peter Singer of the Brookings' Foreign Policy institute wrote to ask us at BlackFive for a review of his new paper, "Can't Win With 'Em, Can't Go To War Without 'Em:  Private Military Contractors."  We're happy to oblige.

Singer has collected an impressive number of citations of Iraqi opinions on PMCs, and especially Blackwater.  The general impression of the Iraqis cited is deeply negative; Singer himself feels that the effect of Blackwater and company on COIN operations is so negative that the entire COIN strategy is broken by it.  In addition, he thinks that the use of PMCs allows the US government to enter into wars without sufficient popular support, as would be required were they (say) to have to call up some majority of the National Guard.  This violates a key understanding of the volunteer military, the Abrams' Doctrine.  Singer describes it using a drug-addiction metaphor (sections are titled "the enablers," "the pushers").

I have a few minor complaints with it, but they fade away beside the overarching one.  Every single complaint directed at Blackwater and company takes this form:

1)  Blackwater offers the government a power that can be misused;

2)  The government has misused it;

3)  Therefore, Blackwater should be banned.

To use Singers' own preferred drug-addiction metaphor, this places the blame for drunk driving squarely on the existence of beer.  The blame really belongs to the man who chose to drive drunk.

The government of the United States of America is entrusted with far greater powers than Blackwater -- nuclear weapons, for example.  The responsibility is on them to use those powers properly, to insist on proper safeguards, and to be the authority that ensures that all aspects of American power are brought to bear in a coherent fashion.  Blackwater was not hired to win the COIN.  Blackwater was hired to guard convoys.  They've done so with remarkable success.  Most of their members are US military veterans, who are both capable of understanding the UCMJ and American ROE, and willing to participate in an overarching American strategy.  The fact that they haven't been so engaged is in no way the fault of Blackwater as corporation.  It is wholly the fault of the American government.

It is, for example, the fault of those parts of the American government who want to maintain a force protection capacity without being reliant on DOD.  That's understandable, to a degree, although in my opinion the failure of Interagency to be willing to cooperate is right behind a clean majority of the problems we have had in Iraq.  Nevertheless, the US government had the capability of braiding Blackwater into DOD's ROE and overall strategy.  It chose to prefer to allow turf battles, whereby State and others can maintain autonomy from DOD's leadership -- at the cost of their actions not being part of the COIN strategy, and possibly working against it.

None of that is Blackwater's fault.  It was hired to do a job, by lawful agencies in a proper fashion.  They have fulfilled the points of their contracts with efficiency -- ruthless efficiency, by some reports, but that's what they were hired to do.  If you want more ruth, put it in the contract.  Specify that they have to abide by military commanders assessment of appropriate ROE.  Blackwater can adjust their rates accordingly.

If the American government won't or can't use these powers properly, the right solution is not to punish Blackwater, any more than it is to dismantle our nukes or ban beer.  The right response is at the ballot box.  The right response is in electing a President who will force Interagency to work together, and fire whoever necessary to make them do so.  The right response is to write your Congressmen, and vote them out if they don't listen.

The problem isn't Blackwater.  Blackwater is just a collection of talent, which the government can use however it likes.  The problem is the Federal government.  Here as elsewhere, they have failed to live up to their duties.  They have failed to use the powers they enjoy with the responsibility that those powers demand.

I Think I have Fallen Down the Rabbit Hole....

Posted By Deebow

I am in complete agreement with The Wolf and Col. Hunt in his article.  LTG Kearney needs to taken to the woodshed and paddled for this.  When we get to point in a shooting war that Generals are micromanaging individual operations at the tactical UNIT level, then we need to start firing Generals. 

 

When I was in the ATO, I operated my own firebase for the last 5 months I was there.  I had a 9 man squad of infantry soldiers assigned to me and the Captain I was with for our personal security and we 11 Americans (that’s right 11 Americans on a firebase in the middle of the Taliban) lived on this firebase with a company of Afghan Infantry soldiers that the Captain and I mentored, taught and fought the Taliban with in our AO. 

 

As the Senior NCOIC on the firebase, I was the S-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.  I was responsible for an OPFUND that I administered with the Captain.  I ensured that we had all the things necessary to fight and win.  The Captain was in charge of the officer side of all those departments, as well as teaching the Afghan Officers how to plan and execute combat operations. I spent my time, the time I was not doing the above duties, maintaining the indirect fire support assets of our base (the 120 mm Mortar that I borrowed from an SF ODA) and showing the Afghan NCOs how to teach, mentor, and lead their junior soldiers.

 

I managed to do all this, and along with my Afghan compatriots, also managed to kick in a few doors with SF, the 82nd Airborne (who had just got into town) and we chased down and captured/killed a fair share of the Taliban, to include some HVTs that we had been looking for in our area for quite awhile.

 

I am not just tooting my own horn here for the sake of a war story.  I point this out because I managed to do all this without any direct and close supervision by anyone holding a field grade command or holding the rank of general officer.  Yup, did it all by myself.

 

And that really is the whole point.  We won World War II with fewer generals controlling more troops and more resources in more places involving more battles without internet, satellite phones, Keyhole Spy satellites watching the objectives, unmanned drones feeding real-time intelligence to an air-conditioned OP Center where all the action looks like a HALO tournament.  We don't train SF Soldiers to the level we do so that we can assign them their own personal general officer to oversee the tactical level decisions they make in battle.

 

All the generals we have now want to talk about how to win the “3 Block War” as we are now calling it, In order to make this possible, the generals have to “walk the walk.”  “Walking the Walk” means, for general officers, that they need to give their guidance, issue their orders through their staff and then they need to STFU and let the soldiers that are walking the mean streets of bad places that we may or may not see on the news at night do their jobs according to that guidance and those orders.

 

Here are the messages that this action by LTG Kearney sends to men and women serving downrange:

 

“If you shoot someone that I don’t want shot, I will personally charge you with murder”

 

“You should not join the Special Forces, because you could be charged with murder for doing your job”

 

“If you don’t call me and check with me before you take any kind of action against an alleged bad guy, I will charge you with murder.”

 

This is a travesty of justice.  We do not prosecute soldiers for doing their job according to the Rules of Engagement.

 

Terrorists all over with world are laughing in delight at us right now...

 

DROP THE CHARGES!!!  FREE THE SF SNIPERS NOW!!!

Iraqi's/U.S. Army 3, Terrorists 0

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

Some days, life is good.  When you have a majority of days when life is good, you know that you have it good and that things may even be getting even better.

Where I am currently, life is good and there are many signs that it is getting better for everyone here.  The larger reasons are for later, but for now I wanted to share one reason life is good for Echo Company ("Team Easy").  It's good because life is getting better for the local Iraqi's.

"You don't have the people, you don't have it," states Timothy Wilcoxen, Team Easy's First Sergeant.  Here, they are indeed starting to have it.  Iraqi Police Volunteers are staffing checkpoints to protect their homes and communities.  The citizens of the area are stepping forward in other ways as well, by turning in terrorists and report suspicious activities.

My first night here, one such tip came in.  Information was gathered, stories checked, and plans quickly and efficiently made.  Last night, a raid was conducted of the site given, resulting in two terrorists captured, along with a cache IEDs and supplies for making more.  That cache, along with the abandoned building being used as a headquarters and IED factory, were destroyed.  It's not just Easy's area that safer, it's Baghdad as well since the materials may well have been headed there.

Anbar has awakened; but, West Rashid is tipping and the ripples from that are already having an impact -- on several levels -- in Baghdad.

The implications are profound, for the U.S. and the future of Iraq. Yet, on a more fundamental level, the affairs of princes mean little here considered against the basic and most important thing:  we are all safer today because the citizens in this region are stepping forward.

West Rashid is tipping, and if it lands on its feet, the ripples should become waves of change.

More to come,

LW (in Iraq)

COL Hunt Says It Best...

Posted By The Wolf

From his column:

Top Military Officials are a Disgrace to Those They Lead

These poor excuse for officers do not deserve the soldiers they dare claim they lead. We as a nation had better go out and find us another Marshall, who at the beginning of World War II fired hundreds of senior officers because they were not cutting it. We need him today, as many of our senior officers are way overdue for a one-way trip to the woodshed.

Amen, sir.  Amen.

As many of you regular readers may know, I've had it up to here with some of the leadership that is fouling up my Army.  Bad.  Thieving oxygen.  Stealing  pay.  While others go out of their way to do the right thing, no matter what the situation.  They adapt- they conquer.

What started this was what a commenter put in under Uncle Jimbo's bit about the snipers, below.  I looked up the Colonel's column, and he's saying what I'm thinking.  It relates to the the treatment of the snipers...

Continue reading "COL Hunt Says It Best..."

SF Murder Charges Travesty at Ft Bragg

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I had mentioned in a previous piece that I thought I knew MSG Troy Anderson who along with CPT Dave Staffel, now awaits an answer as to whether he will face a Court Martial for the shooting of a known terrorist in Afghanistan. It turns out I do know him and I spoke with him on the phone today. Thanks to his attorney MAJ Lance Daniels and the folks at Ft. Bragg Trial Defense Services for their help in arranging this. In my previous piece I noted that even though two investigations commissioned by then MG Kearney cleared them, he had murder charges preferred anyhow.

I believe that the charges will be not simply dropped, but dropped like poison. It is awful that two professionals scrupulously following the rules would be subject to this kind of selective, command-influenced, hindsight. It is worse when you think about the chilling effect this will have on anyone out in the field wondering whether to pull the trigger or not. That is the true poison now in play. Can any SOCOM operator believe that when he makes a call based on the training and information given by his command he will be covered? MSG Anderson and CPT Staffel believed and they found out the truth is a flexible thing.

This issue is of vital importance to anyone whose mission involves pointing a weapon at our enemies. I am going to do my level best to force SOCOM and DOD as well to deal with this issue of basic trust. It is beyond unfair to ask someone to risk all based on a set of rules and then judge them later on another standard. So here we go, the horn is sounded and I want all y'all to help if you can. If you know anyone who served in Afghanistan in the last couple of years ask them what they think. If you know any of those involved let me know what you think. I can do any level and type of confidentiality necessary so approach as obliquely as is wise. I'm angry about this, but it's too important to treat that way. This requires solid professionalism to ensure that no others are treated this way.

All right deep breath, here is the tale of how I met Troy. I was in Korea with my partner in crime Little Sammy Thistle doing coordinations for some training we were going to do there. We were at Camp Casey and out on the town in Tong du Chon where we were partying like, well you know. But all good things must end and as we meandered back toward Casey eating the occasional dog-on-a-stick fresh off a hibachi, I kept noticing dumbass Thistle had his ID half out of his pocket. I told him twice and then snatched it from him before he lost it. The MPs there were much less than friendly and no ID, sleep in street, so I was helping him out.  Well somewhere along the way he disappeared, I assumed a siren song, but regardless he was missing. Now the gate was gonna close soon for the night and while he was my brother, I carried him as well as I could. So I went in and gave the MPs my name and where I was staying and said if numbnutz shows up come get me.

I caught my few hours of rack time and headed to the chow hall the next morning and as I walked in I heard a bellow:

"Jimmy, you are never gonna f***ing believe this. This is Troy Anderson my Ranger buddy from Ranger School. Seriously man, I haven't seen him since then and he found me last night man. Yeah he found me curled up under a bush on base totally passed out, and then he took me back to his barracks man."

So the maroon had somehow gotten back on base without his ID. He climbed a fence somewhere as his clothes were razor wire shredded, but he had no earthly clue how he got to his resting spot. Now the odds of his being discovered by perhaps the one person on that base who knew him are astronomical, but it happened.

I added the personal note because it is a hilarious and representative story of a lot of the fun I remember. But also because from Sammy before and quite a few others recently I have heard a simple and unmistakable thing, Troy Anderson is  good MF. That means we all should have his back. Much more to come.

Winning in Afghanistan; Part 312,342

Posted By Deebow

I was surfing around YouTube today looking for that series on the Royal Marine Commandos that Mrs. GreyHawk had the write up on and I ran into this absolute piece of tripe that was filmed in 2006 by a reporter from the BBC.  I was in Afghanistan when this was filmed.  I really could not believe what this guy was saying. 

Needless to say, the Liberal Bias was so overwhelming, I had to turn it off.  There was no sneaking it in or leading into something and then springing it on you; the reporter Alastair Leithead started off in the first 3 minutes of the piece with this gem:

The high-tech British Military machine is being drug into a war we were supposed to win 4 years ago against a rag-tag guerrilla army it seems almost impossible to beat

I am certain that we did not hold a gun to the head of Britain and make them come and fight in Afghanistan with us.  I think they saw the threat for what it was and sent their best.  The Royal Marines are some of the best war fighters in the world and I think Alastair is doing them a horrible disservice in his piece by showing them to be under siege, cornered, and unprepared for the fight they were in.  I am not going to link to his piece on YouTube, but of you want to find it do a search of "Royal Marines" and it will come up as "Fighting the Taleban, Part 1 of 4."   

Admittedly, the Taliban did fight hard in the Southern Provinces, because it is the traditional center of gravity for the Taliban and they know that if they lose down south, they lose their money source (drugs) and they lose their base of operations.  Now, I know some of the Americans who fought in the south from the 10th Mountain Division, and even though the Taliban fought hard, when all the dust settled, the Taliban all got to meet a greet their 72 she-male virgins with very little harm caused to American forces.

I spent my time fighting in the eastern section of the country, and we fought along the border to stop the incursion of insurgents from crossing the border from Pakistan and what has that netted us Mr. BBC reporter?  Well it nets us this article by Stephen Brown entitled "Winning in Afghanistan."

The Link is here:  http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=E9107829-DBC4-4DC8-987B-4D516BF6A97A

I am not certain what Alastair was trying to accomplish, but I think his little piece is more propaganda for the Taliban to keep hanging on.  I am glad to hear more and more about how the work we are doing there is bearing fruit and how the people are getting how it is that they can be free.

They are not impossible to beat.  They are not well organized any more and they are desperate for a breather, because they are on the ropes and they have no hope of winning.

Just so you know....

An IED going off you won't forget...

Posted By The Wolf

Imagine seeing THIS go off in front of you....

North Korean Insult Generator

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I can only hope that the Dear Reader is getting his cut of this sweet site. (h/t David Freddoso)

NK Insult Generator

All insult component words direct from NK press.

Man those NK censors must have us in the crosshairs, this was quick. 감​사​합​니다 to Jihad Gene for channeling

Meanwhile somewhere north of the 38th Parallel, in "The Land of the Morning Missile Launch",  Great Reader KIM JONG IL's 
buns-of-"steal"(yeah, s-t-e-a-l), are firmly ensconced in his booster-seat adapted LayGee Boy diesel- powered recliner and wiff Great Reader's "Lazer Eyes" WOK'd on da cumpooter screen...

KIM JONG IL-
Wh,Wha, WHA, WHA, WHA....WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!
I'M GRUNNA KILL DEM!!! I'M GRUNNA KRILL DEM ALL!!! EBERY LAST MUDDER PLUCKER WILL
"PAY-PER-VIEW" FOR THIS!!!

GENERAL WANG- Someting wrong, Great Reader?

KIM- Yoo tawkin to me? Yoo tawkin to me?! ARE YOO TAWKIN TO ME, GENERAL WANG???!!!

WANG- Yes, Most-High Leader of Dear. Now preeze, calm down. What's da matta with you, BlossMan? You run out of "Hemaron" (with Japanese Pagoda Tree Extract!)... or mayblee your inflatable doughnut for hemorrhoids get stuck in booster-seat throne, for da ump-teenth time again?

KIM- I'm ownree wish it was dat. Rook at BRACK 5 on Chi-Mart cumpooter screen...yoo see....

WANG- Da evil Uncle JimBlow at it again, huh?...hmmm...."Random Insult Generator"...my suspicion-ous mind tell me this no product of DPRK, Great Reader.

KIM- I'm conclurr! Da odds of it beeing made here are like those of finding a Gay Bar in Iran!
Now, Me checkie new webslite
(I'm jus made up)...called FictiousShitWeSell@WAL-Mart.com
...hmmm...Just as I'm sluspected!

WANG & KIM- Made in CHINA!!!

KIM- General Wang, reset disgronificators on all 1GB wockets to eight digit Glid Coordinates U812/PRC

WANG- Very glood! Anyting else Great Reader?

KIM- Yeah, see if "Hemaron" makes a Chap-stick!

Nikita and Mahmoud

Posted By Grim

What's the difference between character and statecraft?  This is a question that apparently never crossed the mind of historian Rick Perlstein, who wrote an interesting but badly mistaken piece comparing Nikita Krushchev's visit in 1959 to this week's visit by the president of Iran.

Let me put before you an illustrative example: one week in September of 1959, when, much like one week in September of 2007, American soil supported a visit by what many, if not most Americans agreed was the most evil and dangerous man on the planet.

Perlstein suggests that the respectful welcome granted to Krushchev pointed to a confident, mature American character; whereas the rude reception given Ahmadinajad  at Columbia was the mark of immaturity.  To be specific, he thinks the immaturity comes from the fact that American character has been damaged by years of "conservative rule," which he says is "rewiring our hearts and minds" in bad ways.

Given that hypothesis, I would have liked to have seen some evidence that conservatives exercise some sort of rule at Columbia.  It's beside the point, however, since the analogy is even more deeply flawed than that:  the reception of Kruschev was an act of the United States government, whereas the business at Columbia was an act of a private entity.  The actual US government reception was to ignore the visit as much as possible, so much so that Bush played down the Iranian issue in his own speech at the United Nations.

How to explain the difference in Krushchev's reception and the current one?  It isn't a question of character, but statecraft.  In 1959, the United States was aware that the Soviet Union was increasingly powerful, and not going anywhere.  There was no choice but engagement.  Krushchev got the full reception because the whole point of his visit was to engage him.  We wanted to talk to him, and we wanted to do so with all the diplomatic formalities that smooth the process.

In the current case, the strategy is to avoid doing anything that might legitimize the Iranian president, or increase his base of support within his own country.  His government is not popular with its citizens, and it is in our national interest not to do anything to make them seem more powerful or legitimate.  It's noteworthy that Bush's speech at the UN went on about Zimbabwe and Myanmar, but had fairly little to say about Iran -- at least, directly.

The visit to Columbia, far from being part of the plan, was not welcome because it gave him more attention on the world stage.  I'd say it went about as well as it might have, and in any event, America is a free country whose citizens are not bound by the desires of their government.  That said, the Columbia visit wasn't part of the State Department's vision.

It ought to be fairly obvious that diplomacy is driven by the statecraft aims of a given administration, rather than by our "national character" at large; for that matter, it ought to be relatively clear that whatever "rule" conservatives may exercise in America, they exercise little at Columbia.  Perlstein accuses his country of "bed wetting" at the spectre of having a bad man visit; but really, America was content to ignore him.  It was Columbia that wanted to give him a platform, and it was their administration that chose to be rude to him.  Neither the American character in general, nor conservatives in particular, had much to do with it.

Update on Special Forces murder case

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I spoke with the Attorney for MSG Troy Anderson today, Maj. Lance Daniels (background here). I asked him about the charging document which was signed by an E-7 paralegal whose only familiarity with the case was having read a summary and was unaware that two investigations had cleared them. He agreed that it was a point of contention and said he had requested the Convening Authority to have the case dismissed based on a lack of valid charges and made the same request during the Art. 32 hearing. He said we could expect an answer on the charges in a couple of weeks as they would likely wait until they had a full transcript.

Commando Life

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I was gonna write this up but Mrs. Greyhawk has done it up propah. It's a tale of the training of Royal Marine Commandos, done by a filmaker who jumped in and did the whole training course, Go read. Then go check out In Training, who is an American married to one of those perfectly deranged Commandos and sent the story.

Out and About In Iraq

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

I will not be posting much the next few days as I am now out and about.  The time will be interesting, but contact will be limited.

More, potentially much more, soon.

The Must See Video

Posted By Blackfive

Go to HamNation and watch the video of the Vets For Freedom and Families United Rally in Washington DC.  The interviews are amazing.

I'll try posting the video here, too.

The Attack on General Petraeus - II

Posted By Blackfive

All you have to do is scroll the comments here to see how unhinged the left wing is about General Petraeus.  It continues with lefties defending the ad in the New York Times because the troops first called General Petraeus, "Betrayus".  So, that makes it "okay" to impugn the reputation of a man leading our combat forces in the middle of a g*ddamn war?! 

A few weeks ago, I met with some journos over dinner to discuss the General's testimony about the progress in Iraq.  We talked about the politics of the generals in the Army, and I would bet that many are Democrats (but almost all of them keep their biases out of their jobs, unlike, por ejemplo, the media).  I think you have to have a certain outlook to develop (let alone, understand) a COIN strategy, and a liberal outlook would lend itself there (COL McMaster, LTC Kilcullen, see post below about General Stone, etc). 

Therefore, we thought that there was a good chance that General Petraeus was actually a Democrat.

Then, after a thoughtful sip of Lagavulin 16, I said, "...not after this week, he ain't."

For historical and evidential purposes, below are links about the left's assault on the Commanding General just from September:

Betrayus Ad Polls at 58% Disapproval (Uncle Jimbo)
NYTimes Admits Fellow Traveler Rate (Uncle Jimbo)
Betrayus Okay for Me But Not For Thee (Uncle Jimbo)
The Assault on General Petraeus Continues (Blackfive)
NYTimes Standby Rate for Fellow Travelers (Uncle Jimbo)
Lefty Slur about Petraeus and Fallon Debunked (Uncle Jimbo)
Complaint Filed With FEC over Betrayus Ad (Unlce Jimbo)
Guilty of Contempt of Congress (Uncle Jimbo)
Petraeus Pwns Wexler (Blackfive)
Petraeus Live (Uncle Jimbo)
MoveOn Flings Poo At Petraeus (Uncle Jimbo)
Dick Durbin Leads the Surge Against the Surge (Blackfive)
General Petraeus to the Troops (Blackfive)
General Petraeus to testify on 9/11 - Prediction: Tin Foil Hatters will freak out (Blackfive)

Winning at Counter-Insurgency

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

There are many factors that contribute to turning an insurgency around, the number one is convincing the people that working with you is the way to a better life. After Abu Ghraib you might think it a little odd that some of our best work is being done in the prison system that houses captured insurgents, you haven't met MG Stone. H has decided to use the full attention of the detainees to educate them about civil society and many other things. My favorite bit is this which points out how hope grows all "A Tree in Brooklyn"-ish.

Stone accuses al Qaeda of sometimes using children in their operations, so his detainee population includes more than 150 he considers "youths." These detainees undergo a similar education program to the adults - though the religion classes are "more a civics class" than the adult one - along with sports and art courses.

"I have not approached it from the perspective that it is warehousing," Stone said. "I have approached it as a battlespace ... that needs to be in sync with the greater strategy that Gen. Petraeus has laid out."

One vocational program puts the detainees to use making bricks to help rebuild Iraq's war-torn infrastructure. Each brick made by the detainees is inscribed in Arabic "brick by brick we rebuild our nation."

"We've had 14 or so youth not want to leave when they could have been let go," Stone recalled. "We've had parents visit us and say 'if he's working on his education please don't let him out.' "

I don't care how much the left screams and caterwauls, it is worth it.

SF Sniper

Posted By Blackfive

A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier conducts rehearsal, training and pre-operation conformation, on the MK 12 sniper rifle in Rawah, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sept. 7.  Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Eli Medellin, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.

Update:  In the Comments, there is a discussion about snipers baiting insurgents.  On a different story about snipers, both Uncle Jimbo (here and here) and Deebow (here) have commented on the SF snipers being charged with murder in Afghanistan (they are now at Ft. Bragg).

Betrayus ad polls at 58% disapproval

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

While Markos and the nutroots make the noise and have been getting the Democrat candidates to dance every time they crank the organ, they are danger in an election. A good look at that is reactions to the Betrayus ad, which most of the left thought was too soft on the boot-licking lackey of the Bush crime family. Turns out not everyone is willing to sacrifice the military to the haters of the anti team.

Twenty-three percent (23%) of Americans approve of an ad run in the New York Times “that referred to General Petraeus as General Betray Us.” A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 58% disapproved. Those figures include 12% who Strongly Approve and 42% who Strongly Disapprove.

Self-identified liberals were evenly divided—45% approve and 39% disapprove. However, only 19% of moderate voters approve while 62% disapprove.

The problem with having the hater wing of your party as it's mouthpiece is they are saying things that most Americans find offensive. Most Americans consider it low and contemptible to slander a man who has spent his life making sure these same swine are free to act like petty children. It is also informative they only draw 23% approval, that's gotta sting. I filed a complaint with the FEC, not because I thought MoveOn should be stopped from running the ad, on the contrary I think they should be encouraged to remind people just how freakin' foolish they are. But they shouldn't be allowed to cheat laws that are designed to stop them from exactly the cheating they engaged in.

Americans aren't haters and you cannot appeal to a majority of us with hate and disgust for our country as your message. But keep trying.

OK, I stand corrected.. Well... Sort of

Posted By Deebow

Well, Ahmawhackjob gave his little speech today and I have to say, that I am pleasantly surprised about how the students, OK, only some of the students, responded to the Iranian President.  It wasn't exactly a love-fest, but it certainly was cordial.  Maybe next time, the leader of the Minutemen can receive the same cordial treatment from the students at Columbia.

I hope this demonstration helps to satisfy all of you free speech nuts out there who think it is OK to allow state sponsors of terrorism to speak their minds.  Next, I am certain that Columbia will be inviting Hugo Chavez, another believer in the promise of America.

And for his next trick, perhaps he should have his interpreter shout "FIRE!" on his way out of the lecture hall.

The funniest part of his speech, at least for me, is that Ahmawhackjob says he does not have any "gay people" in Iran.  This elicited quite a guffaw from the crowd, but obviously no real outrage.  They sure have a lot of outrage saved up for the US Military and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and the banning of ROTC from their campus.  This is a disconnect for me.

Pop Quiz:  Which is a worse example of discrimination against gay people; not getting to join the military and get a job being cold, wet and muddy during most of your very long workday, or being killed for your sexual behavior?

Last time I checked, the US Military just doesn't let you enlist if you tell them you are gay.  If you live in Iran, and someone knows you are gay, and they tell someone, you can get beheaded, or hung, or shot, or stoned to death.....  And not by some roaming band of gay-bashers looking for a victim, you get actual government employees who take care of that ugly business.

Ahmawhackjob, at a very minimum, needs some time on the couch with a professional.  The president of Columbia University needs electro-shock therapy.  His little diddy at the beginning did little to assuage me about his feelings.  He could have done one better and just not invited Ahmawhackjob.

I will consider a Columbia degree of any kind as something of worth when they allow the ROTC program back to their campus.

Live Blogging the Terrorist Speech at Columbia

Posted By Blackfive

Frank J. has some selected excerpts from the President of Iran's visit to Columbia University.  My fave quote is:

"You guys are great; I'll kill you last."

Check it out.

Ahm-a-nuttah-job speech

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

NEWSFLASH: NO HOMOSEXUALS IN IRAN. Deranged dwarf wonders where this silly rumor got started, there is simply no man love in his country. This draws derisive laughter from gay Iranian kids and adults in audience.

Bollinger represented his sorry peers in academia better than expected, but you can't fix stupid. They believe that such as Mahmoud should be engaged, I guess that is one technique, but how do you engage with batshit crazy backed by the most virulent religious fanaticism currently in play?

I don't think you really can. But let's have a look at what Mahmoud is peddling.

He says that science is the light that flows from those whom the Allmighty has chosen to understand it. That nothing should come between the scholars and their channeling of the science of God and that some countries control their scientists for their own means.

Now he is accusing us of using our scientists against our own people to create fear and justify spying.

Jesus, now he has lapsed into post-modernists reconstruction BS that even the translator is having trouble spewing accurately.

Now we get some nuke talk, and he pulls the Hiroshima, Nagasaki card. And now some Depleted Uranium BS as well. Ah back to the abuse of science and scholars.

He has completely projected all of the evil shite they do in Iran about science and academia on to us. We don't allow our scientists to bask in the power of his God to lead their research to make the world perfect. Science is divine and must remain pure, so he wants a Religious/ God Science cult to rule all of us. What a complete freaking nuttah.

He believes he is an academic, so he answers as one. I would have to agree with him. He could teach at most of our schools. Now he is whining about the Palestinians, being slaughtered and tortured by the damned Jooooos. 60 years of neocon Zionist expansion.

Nuttah's two questions

How come I can't have a good study of Holocaust denial?

  sub question

    Why can't we chuck the Jews out of Palestine?

Now about our nukes, we are good friends with IAEA stooge, El Baradei and the rules say we can have nukes for peaceful power. We let him see what we want on inspections and he tells everyone we are peaceful power generators.

The state of Iranian Scholar/Nuttahs is solid and crazy as a shithouse rat.

UPDATE: the Q&A

NIce Boos, when he finally STFU.

Do you really want to throw the Jooos into the ocean?

I love Jews, we love everyone. We must allow the Palestinians vote to throw the Joos in the ocean

Bollinger stands up and throws a BS flag. Yes or No on the Jooos? Nuttah-job still tap dances.

Let the Palestinians freely choose to have a Jew free Palestine, so be it.

Next question. Will you stop supporting terrorists?

He goes for the Big Lie and says that Iran is a victim of terror, not a sponsor. Beautiful. Now we are the sponsors and the Kurds are the bad guys. And the idiots there just applauded.

Root causes alert, Root causes alert. Who supports terror, the major powers. Iran is too cultured to stoop to terrorism, Un freaking believable.

The only point Nuttah gets a win on is on Holocaust research. It's stupid to ban it and it gives this chump a single truth in a sea of deranged lunacy.

I am done, my meter is pegged. This man is an evil toad and an unconvincing liar.

"Hello, Juba? This is Hell calling....What?...Virgins?...Oh, no. We're calling to schedule your pineapple fitting."

Posted By Blackfive

The Jawa Report is informing that a Canadian jihad site is reporting that Juba the sniper is dead.  Problem is...I don't believe that Juba ever really existed.  If he did, he was either a short-lived gunman with bad aim or captured awhile ago.  But he's probably an amalgamation of snipers.  Dr. Rusty Shackleford has more at the Jawa Report.  BTW, the Staff Sergeant in the sniper propaganda video lived too.  And he went back to Iraq and is a Blue Spader (who have really taken the fight to the enemy over the last year).  Of course, CNN forgot to mention that in their claim that the propaganda video was news.

I sure hope that hell has an extra large pineapple for Juba.

Combat Medic on Patrol

Posted By Blackfive

Michael Y sends the link to this post by a Combat Medic at Far From Perfect...

...I thought it important to share with the handful of readers I have, and maybe a few others what our enemy is really made of.  I keep reading reports and seeing news broadcasts where the anti-war movement is describing the terrorists/insurgents as freedom fighters and patriots. They liken them to our own ancestors during the Revolution, fighting for their own country against an “oppressive occupying force” determined to shove their ideology down the throats of Iraq.  Well, there is a big difference between the two.  Let me describe a couple of the guys we rounded up lately...

Go to FFP to read the rest.

Apache Vs. Boat

Posted By Blackfive

Pilots from 1-3 Attack Aviation (Operation Marne Torch II) spotted a boat with three suspected insurgents aboard.  You'll see two of the suspects jump from the boat while the third rows furiously to get away from the Apache and then starts dumping some of the gear into the Tigris.  Not long after, the third suspect jumps and tries to hide under some trees along a bank on the Tigris River.  The Apache gets a close up of the gear in the