Veteran ambassador John Negroponte yesterday was sworn in for the world's most dangerous diplomatic job — the first U.S. ambassador to the Iraqi government that takes power Wednesday.
Standing by his side were his wife Diana and their five children — who were all adopted when he was posted to Honduras. Negroponte said he has no choice but to leave them behind because of the danger of the job.
"I will go to Baghdad by myself but I will not go alone," said Negroponte, adding he could not have taken the job "without their love, their encouragement and their support."
Negroponte, 64, is literally putting his life on the line. He was sworn in on the same day that terrorists vowed to assassinate Iraq's new prime minister. And last month a tape from Osama bin Laden offered ten thousand grams of gold for killing U.S. envoy Paul Bremer, whom Negroponte will replace.
Thursday, June 24, 2004
STEPPING FORWARD ON BEHALF OF THE NATION
A COMMUNITY BOND
Tip O'Neill is credited for remarking that "All politics are local". But here, at the local level, international politics don't interfere with the German-American bonds.
Tip O'Neill is credited for remarking that "All politics are local". But here, at the local level, international politics don't interfere with the German-American bonds.
When word started to spread last week that a small advance team of 1st Cavalry Regiment troops was leaving Iraq for the friendly confines of Armstrong Barracks, Claudia Trupp knew it was knot time.
So Trupp, a German who works in Büdingen, drove out of her way that day to buy more than 1,600 feet of yellow ribbon, and then spent the night with four other volunteers making bows for the Joes heading home. By noon the next day, about 150 ribbons adorned parts of downtown Büdingen, from trees to an old castle gate.
The U.S. soldiers stationed in Büdingen “are a part of city life,” said Manfred Hix, the deputy mayor.
Ties run deep between this city of 9,000 people and the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Armored Division. About 2,000 Americans live in the community, according to Wolfgang Niebling, a 414th Base Support Battalion spokesman.
German officials, residents and shopkeepers go out of their way to make their American guests feel at home. In return, Americans are heavily involved in community activities, and have been for nearly 60 years.
Two years ago, when a flood threatened the old city center and its historic walls and gate, about 50 U.S. soldiers volunteered in the dead of night to help local crews fill sandbags and stem the rising water. They succeeded, and were later lauded by the mayor for their efforts.
PEEKING IN ON THE MILITARY POLICE
These guys are in a part of Baghdad that our own 1st Brigade used to patrol.
These guys are in a part of Baghdad that our own 1st Brigade used to patrol.
With only a sheet of cardboard for shade, Spc. Jamel Hawthorne sits atop a sun-scorched roof of an Iraqi police station.
Hawthorne and his squad, soldiers from the 272nd Military Police Company, pull security to deter enemy insurgents from launching strikes against lightly armed Iraqi cops.
“They don’t attack when we’re here,” said Hawthorne, 21, of Baton Rouge, La. “They can come on, but we have a lot of firepower. We’d hold them.”
“These [attacks] are from people who love Saddam, people who come from Fallujah and have relatives here,” Shukur said. “Many bad people, with RPGs and AKs, they shoot us at night then run away.”
On Sunday, a local man with ties to the insurgents brought a warning. If troops did not withdraw from the station, insurgents threatened to kill every Iraqi officer assigned to it.
“We received the same threat four days ago, but nothing happened,” said Sgt. Paul Meyer, 30, of Old Orchard Beach, Maine. “While we’re here, we’ll protect the station.”...
Staring out into the endless rows of tan-colored buildings, the guys chat to stay alert, they said.
“We talk about muscle cars, women and ... women,” Sgt. Stephen Parrott said. “And women.”
Sometimes that talk about friends back home, wondering what they’re doing now as the soldiers pull their tour in Iraq.
“You’ve got to be a talker up here,” said Pfc. Clinton Rope, 20, of Clarinda, Iowa. “That’s what passes the time.”...
Keeping a presence at the Iraqi police stations is more than just guard duty. Marquiss’ soldiers mentor the Iraqis to work professionally, he said. They cover basic police functions; apprehending suspects, conducting investigations and preparing cases for the court.
Helping build the Iraqi force is not without challenges.
Supplies for the Iraqi police are slow in coming. Finding interpreters also takes time. But many police now have uniforms, pistols and numbered badges. Some of their trucks are new Nissan pickups. Bulletproof vests slowly are being fielded.
Looking like police and having equipment brought up the Iraqi’s morale, Marquiss said.
In just a couple of months, Marquiss has witnessed a marked improvement, he said.
“They are going out and doing things on their own now,” Marquiss said.
MARRIED FOLKS IN A WAR ZONE
How does that compare to married couples a couple thousand miles apart?
How does that compare to married couples a couple thousand miles apart?
Is it easier being together in a war zone than leaving spouses behind for a one-year deployment? That’s too simplistic, said two couples.You know what Heather? Me too.
Yes, they’re together, but a marriage in a war zone is basically suspended. No overt affection. No privacy. Certainly no intimacy.
Experiencing what the war zone is really like, and what a spouse is doing in it, heightens some anxieties while alleviating others...
April 30 was the best day of Spc. Cornelius Randolph’s young life. His wife, Spc. Ayesha Randolph, joined him at Camp Black Jack, near Baghdad International Airport, after surviving two months at Camp Cooke in Taji...
His wife’s arrival completed his world, Cornelius Randolph said.
“My wife, myself and my boys, right here!”
Cornelius Randolph is conscious of not flaunting their relationship in front of his brothers in arms, who are desperately missing their wives. That said, he never thought he’d be in a place where people could tell him what he could and couldn’t do with his own wife...
“I’ve got someone right here to protect, someone I love. I’m a little more motivated to catch these [bad guys],” Cornelius Randolph said...
Tom and Heather Fauvell grew up together. They’ve known each other since the fourth or fifth grade, when their families lived a block apart in their central Long Island, N.Y., suburb.
They even went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point together.
Now, Capt. Tom Fauvell, 26, 2nd Brigade utility project manager, and 1st Lt. Heather Fauvell, 25, engineer brigade adjutant, are at war together, assigned to the 1st Cav...
With their Army-mandated platonic relationship, “it’s kind of like being teenagers again … a bunch of friends hanging out,” Heather Fauvellsaid. “I laugh all the time.”
Laughing “keeps us sane,” she said.
The Fauvells said they talk often about the future, about family and travel.
“We crave the future normalcy of life,” Heather said.
LOOKING OUT FOR THE GUARD AND RESERVE
As it should be.
As it should be.
A movement to get all 50 states to enact financial aid measures for Guardsmen and reservists called to active duty got a boost Wednesday when one of its key proponents testified before Congress.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn was among the first to propose a “Military Family Relief Trust Fund” which was signed into law in February 2003...
With more than 150,000 Guard and Reserve members activated in the war on terrorism, the House Committee on Veterans held the hearing to examine federal laws protecting those servicemembers’ legal, financial and job rights while they are away and when they return...
Quinn and others want laws such as those that would prevent schools from charging out-of-district rates for children who have moved in with caregivers when a parent, perhaps a single parent, is called up.
He also is pursuing a public education campaign, citing abuses by employers who are unaware of the law, or unwilling to follow it.
“We want to make sure shop foremen, line supervisors and others understand that when one of their employees is called up, when they come back, they have a job” or are not otherwise penalized, Quinn said...
But the focus is on the trust funds, Quinn said.
“You’re always going to have a situation where [a deploying reservist’s] pay is reduced. Our concept in Illinois is that this is a token of appreciation,” he said. “Anyone can apply for a $500 grant, and if there’s a hardship — your gas is turned off, you’re defaulting on the mortgage — then we can give you as much as $2,000.”
Quinn quotes Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address when pushing legislation: “[L]et us strive on … to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan.”
Servicemembers and concerned citizens can go to www.operationhomefront.org for more information.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
"PUNITIVE LIBERALISM"
An apt term to add to your political lexicon.
I found this article by way of the Opinion Journal, and their daily emailing called The Best of the Web Today.
Over the last couple of years I've signed up for many daily mailings...this one is the only one I haven't canceled. If you aren't receiving it...perhaps you want to give it a try.
An apt term to add to your political lexicon.
I found this article by way of the Opinion Journal, and their daily emailing called The Best of the Web Today.
Over the last couple of years I've signed up for many daily mailings...this one is the only one I haven't canceled. If you aren't receiving it...perhaps you want to give it a try.
And from the commentary that comes as part of "The Best of the Web Today", comes this:
From the time of John Kennedy's assassination in 1963 to Jimmy Carter's election in 1976, the Democratic party was gradually taken over by a bizarre doctrine that might be called Punitive Liberalism. According to this doctrine, America had been responsible for numerous crimes and misdeeds through its history for which it deserved punishment and chastisement. White Americans had enslaved blacks and committed genocide against Native Americans. They had oppressed women and tyrannized minority groups, such as the Japanese who had been interned in camps during World War II. They had been harsh and unfeeling toward the poor. By our greed, we had despoiled the environment and were consuming a disproportionate share of the world's wealth and resources. We had coddled dictators abroad and violated human rights out of our irrational fear of communism.
Given this bill of indictment, the Punitive Liberals held that Americans had no right at all to feel pride in their country's history or optimism about its future. Those who expressed such pride were written off as ignorant patriots who could not face up to the sins of the past; and those who looked ahead to a brighter future were dismissed as naive "Pollyannas" who did not understand that the brief American century was now over. The Punitive Liberals felt that the purpose of national policy was to punish the nation for its crimes rather than to build a stronger America and a brighter future for all...
The punitive aspects of this doctrine were made especially plain in debates over the liberals' favored policies. If one asked whether it was really fair to impose employment quotas for women and minorities, one often heard the answer, "White men imposed quotas on us, and now we're going to do the same to them!" Was busing of school children really an effective means of improving educational opportunities for blacks? A parallel answer was often given: "Whites bused blacks to enforce segregation, and now they deserve to get a taste of their own medicine!" Do we really strengthen our own security by undercutting allied governments in the name of human rights, particularly when they are replaced by openly hostile regimes (as in Iran and Nicaragua)? "This"--the answer was--"is the price we have to pay for coddling dictators." And so it went. Whenever the arguments were pressed, one discovered a punitive motive behind most of their policies.
Punitive liberalism is still alive and well among our liberal elites. It didn't take long after Sept. 11 for various left-wing intellectuals to start positing that America had brought the attacks on itself. The media's obsession with Abu Ghraib and its relative lack of interest in Saddam Hussein's far worse human-rights abuses is another example.
Punitive liberals are often defensive about their patriotism--understandably enough, since their relentless complaining about America often is hard to distinguish from out-and-out anti-Americanism. Their defense is that "true" patriotism consists in acknowledging your own country's faults and exhorting it to improve.
Well, maybe. Certainly there's nothing unpatriotic about criticizing your government or its policies. And since love of country is a matter of the heart, it's presumptuous to question anyone's patriotism. But imagine a man who treats his wife the way the punitive liberals treat America: constantly belittling her, pointing out her faults and never showing her any kindness. He may love her, but most people would agree he has a twisted way of expressing it.
CONFUSED BY THOSE TRUMPETING HEADLINES INDICATING "NO LINK" BETWEEN IRAQ AND AL QAEDA?
Let Cal Thomas explain...he does it well.
Let Cal Thomas explain...he does it well.
Maybe Saddam Hussein didn't speak directly to Osama bin Laden, but he was part of the same "family." Saddam did not personally bomb targets inside Israel (except during the 1990 Gulf War) but he rewarded the families of homicide bombers. Does that prove a connection between Saddam and Palestinian terrorism? The guy who drives the getaway car is as guilty as the people who rob the bank and shoot the teller.Oh...and via Instapundit, here is a 1999 CNN story about those non-existent links
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has offered asylum to bin Laden, who openly supports Iraq against the Western powers.
"HANG MY PICTURE IN YOUR TANK!"
Another soldier proves to be a fine upstanding citizen...and a wonderful teacher provides a valuable lesson for the kids.
Another soldier proves to be a fine upstanding citizen...and a wonderful teacher provides a valuable lesson for the kids.
During the 12 months when U.S. Army 1st Lt. Charlie Barrett was stationed in Iraq, most of the letters he received were from children he had never met.Thank you, LT. Barrett. And you too, Mrs. Barrett.
"Other than letters from family members, I really just get letters from kids." Barrett said. "The kids' letters are always the best letters. They say things like, 'Hang my picture in your tank.' "
Nineteen of the children Barrett corresponded with were fourth-graders taught by his aunt, Mary Barrett, at the Ridgeway School in White Plains. Barrett, who served as an executive officer in the 3rd Brigade combat group of the 4th Infantry Division, has been back in the United States for two months. He met these pen pals for the first time yesterday.
Mary Barrett wanted to teach her students about patriotism. She also had to teach them how to write friendly letters. She accomplished both goals in November when all of her students wrote letters introducing themselves to Barrett and asking him questions about the Army and Iraq.
Barrett, 29, replied individually to each letter...
Barrett's enamored pen pals asked him questions that ranged from the hard-hitting, "Did you ever meet a town in Iraq that was unfriendly to you?" (not usually), to the practical, "Did it get really hot in Iraq?" (yes, up to 130 degrees), to the curious, "Did you get to see Saddam?" (no, but he wishes).
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to Barrett's visit, said Luisa Marin, one of Barrett's pen pals. "We'd seen pictures of him, but I thought he might have looked different after being in the hot, burning sun."
Barrett told the class, to much "oohing" and "ahhing," that he and his team of soldiers "captured 500 bad guys." He showed a photomontage made in his brigade that showed the soldiers giving stuffed animals to Iraqi children, and he gave each child a now-obsolete Iraqi 250-dinar bill with deposed president Saddam Hussein's face on it.
The students said that their pen pal made them feel confident that the soldiers want to help.
"I learned that the soldiers are trying to make it better for Iraqis and give them rights," said Jens Sannerud, one of Barrett's pen pals.
"The soldiers in Iraq are trying to be good to people, giving them supplies," agreed his classmate Louisa Martin.
AGAIN WE PROVE OURSELVES TO BE GOOD GUYS, FOR THE ZILLIONTH TIME
Four and five thousand-year old artifacts from Iraq's multi-cultured past were discovered here when Soldiers of Company B, 65th Engineer Battalion dug into a hill while gathering dirt for Hesco defense barriers in late April...
"Once the engineers found it, they stopped, backed off and notified the brigade tactical operations center," Gianforti said...
"As Americans our policy is to respect the cultures of the country that we find ourselves in," said Maj. Karl Morton, commander of Co. B, 451st CA Bn. "The better the locals understand that, I think the more supportive they'll be to what we are doing overall. That's one of our main missions in Civil Affairs."
Ghaib Fadil Karem, director of Ministry of Antiquities, said he appreciates the efforts of the Army and Air Force in safeguarding Iraq's ancient history.
"I realize how sincere [the Army and Air Force] are to the Iraqi culture," Karem said through an interpreter. "Before I knew about this, I had another idea about this matter where I was concerned about the sites beneath the earth in the area. Now I know they are here trying to protect these sites and are preserving them for the Iraqi people."
WE'VE BEEN WONDERING WHERE THESE VOICES HAVE BEEN
El Paso Muslims on Tuesday called for justice for the three murdered civilians who were beheaded at the hands of Iraqi militants.
Officials of the Islamic Center of El Paso condemned the recent murders of American civilian Paul Johnson Jr. in Saudi Arabia and South Korean civilian Kim Sun-il in Iraq. American Nicholas Berg was beheaded allegedly by the same group last month.
"We support the swift apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators of these barbaric crimes," Mario Omar Hernandez, Islamic Center of El Paso president, said in a statement. "No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam."
The Islamic Center of El Paso said the actions taken by the militant groups were not Islamic actions.
"We dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a small minority acting outside the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."
THAT'S WHY IT IS CALLED TERROR
I'm pretty certain that act of cowardice will be written into the history books.
The beheading of a South Korean hostage by an al-Qaida cell in Iraq yesterday, horrid as it is, was virtually predestined, no matter what efforts might have been made to save him. This show of barbarism wasn't really intended to obtain the concessions the terrorists demanded - Seoul's immediate pullout of its 670 troops in Iraq and the cancellation of its imminent deployment of 3,000 more. There wasn't enough time to fulfill the hostage-takers' demands, even if there had been a willingness to do so. Rather, this grisly spectacle was meant to stir protests in South Korea and elsewhere against participation in Iraq's reconstruction and scare away foreign workers.By the way...I wonder how it feels to be Spain, now held up worldwide as The Great Capitulators, those who can be told what to do by the thugs.
But at least in South Korea, it didn't work. President Roh Moo-hyun, after a meeting with his National Security Council, decided that Seoul would not negotiate with terrorists over hostages and would keep to its plan to deploy troops to Iraq, making South Korea's military contingent the third largest after the United States and Britain...
A capitulation now would only ensure more kidnappings, more death threats and even more, equally untenable, demands later. It would send al-Qaida and its followers the message that democracies can be bent to their will. That's just the message Spain sent after the lethal train bombings in Madrid: The outcome of a close national election days after the attack turned on Spain's confrontation with terror, encouraging the notion that threats to a nation's security pay dividends.
That is the most masochistic signal a democracy can send. We can only hope al-Qaida's inhuman acts eventually generate enough revulsion to backfire against it.
I'm pretty certain that act of cowardice will be written into the history books.
SAY THANKS TO OUR DUTCH FRIENDS...GO BUY SOME GOUDA
A large majority of Dutch MPs on Tuesday night backed the Cabinet's decision to extend the nation's troop deployment in Iraq by eight months.
OH...YOU MEAN THAT HEALTHY ECONOMY...
Consumer confidence surged last week, reversing a month-long decline sparked by rising gasoline prices.
The ABC News/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index jumped five points to -15 on its scale of +100 to -100. In 18 years of polling, the index has only risen that sharply 15 times with the last being just after the fall of Baghdad.
This week's five-point gain also erased any lingering traces of a nine-point drop in the index, from -11 in mid-May to -20 last week.
Confidence appears to have been caught between two opposing forces over the past few weeks--jobs data showing the labor market is on the mend on one end and soaring gas and food prices on the other. With pump prices easing, down from $2.06 a gallon in mid-May to roughly $1.94 now, jobs may be starting to win that tug of war.
"TO CLOSE WITH AND DESTROY THE ENEMY"
The phrase above is a part of the mission statement of the US Military. Good job, guys.
The phrase above is a part of the mission statement of the US Military. Good job, guys.
U.S. military forces continued their campaign to eradicate the al Qaeda-linked terror group commanded by Abu Musab Zarqawi yesterday, launching a "precision strike" on a safe house used by his group in Fallujah.And, as we see here, there is more than good reason, as Zarqawi proclaims he is trying to kill the Iraqi Prime Minister:
Four people were reported killed in the airstrike — the second in four days — that set off loud explosions and flattened a building in the violently anti-American city.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, spokesman for U.S. forces, said the air raid was based on "multiple confirmations of actionable intelligence" that Zarqawi's group was using the building as a headquarters.
"Wherever and whenever we find elements of the Zarqawi network, we will attack them," Kimmitt said...
Yesterday's airstrike took place at 10:30 p.m., about five hours after the beheaded body of South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il was discovered by U.S. troops on a highway between Fallujah and Baghdad.
Zarqawi's group claimed responsibility for that atrocity as well as the beheading of American hostage Nick Berg last month.
An audiotape posted on an Islamic website Wednesday in the name of Iraq's Al-Qaeda-linked terror chief Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi threatens to kill Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad Allawi.
"Allawi ... you have escaped many times, without knowing it, from well organised ambushes that we laid," says the voice.
"But we pledge to go all the way without giving up so that you will meet the same fate as Ezzedine Salim," head of the now dissolved Governing Council who was assassinated in a Baghdad suicide car bombing on May 17.
The purported recording by Zarqawi, who heads the Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War) group, branded Iraqis who cooperate with the US-led occupying forces "the symbols of evil, infidel imams, the sign of betrayal. You are hypocrites."
NEWS ABOUT FALLUJAH YOU AREN'T GETTING ON CNN
A new, larger Internet facility opened recently at Camp Fallujah. The most-requested features are the 10 Webcams, where troops can see whom they are talking with back home while sending real-time text messages.However, for those of you without access to a webcam linked to Fallujah, here is an up close look at one face of the American Serviceman getting it done in Iraq.
“It’s nice seeing my family, and it makes my wife feel good to see me,” said Sgt. John Horner of Okmulgee, Okla., a member of the Oklahoma Army National Guard and the 120th Engineering Battalion.
Michelle McKinney, a Morale, Welfare and Recreation coordinator who helps run the facility, said the 47 computer and 10 phones are used around the clock, with lines of troops waiting to get on most of the day.
“For me the hardest part of the job is telling someone they have to get off the phone when their time is up,” McKinney said.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
OH MY BUT THIS IS GOOD
Go read it all now!
Go read it all now!
We believe in quagmire.(via Sarah)
We believe that when fringe Iraqi groups attack hard targets and are soundly defeated with relatively low Coalition casualties, that this is inescapable evidence of crisis;
We believe that Iraq is Bush’s Vietnam.
THE IRAQI PRESIDENT READS CPT PATTI'S WEBSITE
Quote from him:
Quote from him:
"After all, the real issue is, 'Was (Saddam) a destabilizing factor in the area?' Definitely he was," Yawer said. "He was a weapon of mass destruction by himself."And a quote from this site, over a year ago.
I've said it before...Saddam himself was a weapon of mass destruction.
SIGNS OF PROGRESS
Iraq's once-flourishing date palm groves have been decimated by war, unrest and the collapse of infrastructure under United Nations' sanctions, according to officials and farmers.
But the government's new program seeks to change all that. Indeed, Iraq's Agriculture Ministry is pursuing a policy of trying to restore what was once the world's leading date industry.
According to a May 28 press release from the Coalition Provisional Authority, the ministry has already established 18 date palm orchards in 13 provinces. In one year, the nurseries will provide enough offshoots for 2,800 hectares of trees.
Already, ministry officials say, their offices are inundated by would-be farmers asking about fertilizers, vaccinations, pesticides and other topics.
"We will bring Iraq back to first place in the planting of palms," said Hussein Abbas, who sits on the ministry's program committee.
SOLDIERS BEING SOLDIERS
“Whoever thought of this is a mastermind,” said 20-year-old Army Spc. Robert Swanson, who is assigned to the 293rd Military Police Company, which is currently deployed to Iraq.
Swanson and his fellow 293rd drinking buddies — Spc. Jesse Greene, also 20, and Pfc. Darren “Moose” Ripley, 19 — all like the fact that they could crack a beer every night.
“If I can take a bullet for my country, I should be able to drink a beer,” Greene said.
And the three soldiers have done exactly that, each one of them has been injured in Iraq, and will eventually receive a Purple Heart, Swanson said. That’s the reason their names were put into the mix for those being sent here, they said.
“But enough about that, let’s talk about the beer,” Swanson said with his thick Louisiana drawl.
The beer that’s offered is limited. The troops have their choice between about six different beers, ranging from 12-ounce Budweisers to 16-ounce Holland — Oranjebooms.
The soldiers said they’ve heard some people complain about the taste of the imports, but they don’t mind.
“It doesn’t make a difference [what brand], as long as it does its job,” said Swanson, who prefers the larger imports. “Over here, everyone goes for the size, not the taste.”
And Swanson said that first taste of golden brew was excellent.
“It was like seeing Pam Anderson in real life … it was heaven and I couldn’t resist,” he said...
While the three soldiers completed their R&R time and headed back to their unit Sunday, Swanson joked that it was going to be hard to let go of his 16-ounce friend.
“I’m probably going to cry,” he said. “It will be like breaking up with a girlfriend.”
MAKING A REAL-WORLD DIFFERENCE IN IRAQ
In my opinion proper training of the Iraqi police force is among the most important jobs to be done in that country.
And we've got some super guys doing it.
In my opinion proper training of the Iraqi police force is among the most important jobs to be done in that country.
And we've got some super guys doing it.
The initial part is a three-week basic leadership development course designed to give Iraqi police a working knowledge of proper police tactics and procedures. They will then attend more advance courses as they progress through their career.
These courses include more instruction on general Iraqi police techniques, a SWAT team, weapons training, and a more specialized Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
“We’re trying to make a transition process. We’re integrating a program of the basics in a three-week course, and then continuing to bridge the gap between what many Iraqi police learned under the regime, which basically had no human rights, to basic Western police skills,” Hogan said.
American instructors, who used to be police or security officers, aid in teaching leadership and procedure. Combining their knowledge of international security operations and the social and political issues their students face daily, the trainers present a variety of scenarios that the trainees might realistically encounter.
“I didn’t expect the Iraqi police force to be so open about working with us. I was pleasantly surprised,” said John McGray, a former police chief from New Jersey. “It’s been excellent.”
CUPPA COFFEE SOLDIER?
Starting next year, tired soldiers in the field will be able to quickly cook up a cup of Joe, thanks to a sealable plastic bag that will be put in every Meal, Ready to Eat, or MRE.
The new “hot beverage bag” is designed to be used in conjunction with the flameless ration heater bag included in every MRE.
The warfighter would fill the bag with a cup of water, seal it, place it inside the heater bag, and after six minutes, be able to place the hot bagin a cardboard box and mix in the instant coffee or other beverage mix.
The bag provides a solution to a dilemma that has nagged defense food experts since steel helmets went out of style...
Soldiers used to be able to boil water in their helmets; no more with Kevlar...
In the process of conducting their research into improving MREs, Natick scientists had collected numerous comments from troops saying that a waterproof, resealable plastic bag would be handy — not just for storing uneaten snacks, but also to hold small personal items.
So last year, Natick researchers decided to combine the obvious, Darsch said — a plastic bag for carrying items that doubles as a coffee mug.
The plastic bags were field-tested by troops in Iraq over the winter, and were “an unbelievable hit,” Darsch said.
In response, Combat Feeding officials decided to put the bags on the fast track, Darsch said. Natick’s schedule now calls for the devices to be inserted into all MREs that will be manufactured beginning in 2005, Darsch said.
TUESDAY, JUNE 22D.
This is day 408 of my darling wife's deployment to Iraq.
One year, one month, three weeks.
I talked to my sweet wife last night. It concerns me to learn that she is having a tough time keeping a level perspective.
She tells me that whenever she gets excited over the prospect of coming home soon that her emotions then jump in and send her crashing down again, saying to her "remember what happened last time".
If you've been reading for some time you know that last time she had already begun the journey home...had made the dangerous convoy from deepest darkest Baghdad to the airport...had already turned in her ammunition...and then the word of the extension hit.
I have supposed since then that this was a huge blow, but I haven't come up against evidence of its residual effects until last night.
She tells me that "folks have noticed" that she often isn't her normal spirited self. Given that her spirit is her best asset, this is disturbing. I am concerned that perhaps the pressure has left her more fragile than I anticipated.
I'm praying there are no delays, no changes in plans for her and the others. I know now that even the most optimiistic among them do not look forward with any certainty...and thus life becomes truly day to day. Eliminating the future eliminates hope. Only home and hearth and hugs can restore that.
This is day 408 of my darling wife's deployment to Iraq.
One year, one month, three weeks.
I talked to my sweet wife last night. It concerns me to learn that she is having a tough time keeping a level perspective.
She tells me that whenever she gets excited over the prospect of coming home soon that her emotions then jump in and send her crashing down again, saying to her "remember what happened last time".
If you've been reading for some time you know that last time she had already begun the journey home...had made the dangerous convoy from deepest darkest Baghdad to the airport...had already turned in her ammunition...and then the word of the extension hit.
I have supposed since then that this was a huge blow, but I haven't come up against evidence of its residual effects until last night.
She tells me that "folks have noticed" that she often isn't her normal spirited self. Given that her spirit is her best asset, this is disturbing. I am concerned that perhaps the pressure has left her more fragile than I anticipated.
I'm praying there are no delays, no changes in plans for her and the others. I know now that even the most optimiistic among them do not look forward with any certainty...and thus life becomes truly day to day. Eliminating the future eliminates hope. Only home and hearth and hugs can restore that.
Monday, June 21, 2004
SCIENCE FICTION COMING TRUE?
Weapons that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them are being readied for sale to military and police forces in the US and Europe...
Meanwhile, Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS), based in Anderson, Indiana, will be one of the first companies to market another type of wireless weapon. Instead of using fibres, the $9000 Close Quarters Shock Rifle projects an ionised gas, or plasma, towards the target, producing a conducting channel. It will also interfere with electronic ignition systems and stop vehicles.
"We will be able to fire a stream of electricity like water out of a hose at one or many targets in a single sweep," claims XADS president Peter Bitar.
IN MY NEXT LIFE I WANT TO BE THIS SMART
Victor Davis Hanson puts it all in perspective.
Victor Davis Hanson puts it all in perspective.
I fear that we should expect over the next 50 years some pretty scary things coming out of Europe as its impossible postmodern utopian dreams turn undemocratic and then ugly — once its statism and entitlement economy falter; Jews leave as Arabs stream in; its shaky German-French axis unravels; its next vision of an EU mare nostrum encompassing North Africa and Turkey begins to terrify Old Europe; and its pacifism brings it real humiliation from the likes of an Iran or China. Indeed, despite Europe's noble efforts to incorporate the former Warsaw Pact, we are already seeing such tensions in the most recent EU elections.Do yourself a favor and go read the whole thing.
We all like the Europeans and wish them well in their efforts to create heaven on earth. But in the end I still think we Americans are on the right side of history in Iraq — while they are on no side at all.
YEAH! WHAT SHE SAID!
While I'm out finding the good news, Sarah is doing the heavy intellectual lifting.
I bet you'll think "Man! That's what I was trying to say."
I know I did.
While I'm out finding the good news, Sarah is doing the heavy intellectual lifting.
I bet you'll think "Man! That's what I was trying to say."
I know I did.
STOP THE PRESSES!
The New York Times carries a story that says we got it right!
The New York Times carries a story that says we got it right!
A day after an American airstrike destroyed six homes in this flashpoint city, a senior Iraqi official said today that 23 of 26 people killed in the attack were foreign terrorists, including men from Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen...
"The Americans had very good information," the official said. "It was like trying to catch a sparrow. They had a small moment to catch the fighters in those houses and they did."
QUITE POSSIBLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL WITH THEIR LIVES
Recruiting goes well.
Recruiting goes well.
"The fighting we're seeing has made some parents concerned. It's worried the moms and dads, but it's also galvanized young men and women. We're meeting all our goals for recruiting."
Davis said the patterns seen within the Navy are the same across the military. Army officials said that as of the end of May, 48,939 people have signed up for active-duty enlistment, placing the Army 372 people ahead of its goal. Officials said 11,893 people have signed up for Army Reserves -- 268 people ahead of their mission.
"The war, if anything, has brought young men and women out," Davis said.
SOLDIERS CAN SEE IT. CPA MEMBERS CAN SEE IT. CELEBRITY GUESTS CAN SEE IT.VISITING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CAN SEE IT.
It seems it is only invisible to reporters.
It seems it is only invisible to reporters.
The congressional VIPs visited only U.S. bases, wore body armor and was protected at all times. But Davis said that in visiting Iraq, she learned that the situation is unlike the one portrayed in TV news coverage.AND THERE IS THIS...
"It's not like there's a bomb going off every minute," she said. "People thought I was nuts for going, but that's not what I saw when I got there.
"I don't want to take away from [that] it's a dangerous place," Davis said. "But it's in sections. Are there still people there who want us out? Yes.
"But our men and women, they're learning more every day about how to fight these insurgents, and they're doing a darn good job of it," she said. "We are doing the right thing. It is going to be something that's going to take a while. After June 30 happens, the violence isn't going to stop."
Davis said most Iraqis are going about their daily lives.
Mr. Peschang spent eight months in Iraq helping to restore utility service as part of Task Force RIE, or Restore Iraqi Electricity.And editors of local newspapers can see it!
He returned to the Quad-Cities May 12, full of stories and a bit dismayed over what he feels is a one-sided view being shown in the American media.
``There is danger there, but it is not as dangerous as they show,'' he said. ``At least 95 percent of my experiences with the Iraqi people were good. They wanted us there, they were happy with what we were doing, they could see we wanted to do good things for them.''
He went to Iraq to work on a transmission line from Hartha to Al Kut. It, as well as other power lines, had been torn down by Saddam Hussein's regime.
While there, he worked within a 700-kilometer stretch in seven major cities and more than 100 villages. ``I got to see so many people, and I covered a lot of ground,'' he said. ``What I saw were happy, smiling faces and a lot of hellos and thank yous.''
He said it was easy to become friendly with several of the people he met, including the Iraqi guards who gave protection while he was working on the power lines.
One villager gave him a piece of jewelry to show his appreciation of their friendship. Another man began calling him ``brother'' after Mr. Peschang helped get him to a hospital for medical attention.
IT WAS THE incredible disappearing story, one that seemed to confirm much of the public’s suspicion that the American media are unwilling to acknowledge any good news coming out of Iraq.Geez, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, New York Times et al. What does it take?
Early on Wednesday morning, June 9, National Public Radio’s first news broadcast of the day included brief mention of “a breaking story” —a report that American commandos had succeeded in a daring rescue of three Italians and a Pole held hostage for more than two months by insurgents. No further details were available at the moment.
Apparently no further details were available forever after, because the story disappeared from the radar screen. A steady listener dial-hopping during a six-hour trip from southern Connecticut to northern New Hampshire never heard another word about the rescue, not even so much as a repeat of the previous story.
It can only make a news addict wonder how many other success stories in Iraq are getting short-shrift or deep-sixed.
Many people with family members serving in the military, however, have no doubts.
They are so fed up with what they say is one-sided, bad-news-only reporting that they have set up several Web sites to get the truth out about the many successes and good deeds achieved by their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters in uniform. And in letters to the editor about Big Media’s blatant bad-news bias, the word they often use is “shameful.”
BREAKING THE CODE
On May 1, Ryan called a meeting of all the tribal and religious sheiks at a milk-bottling plant.
The first two hours saw a relentless tongue-lashing from the sheiks, a litany of perceived injustices by U.S. troops. Ryan said it was hard to take at times.
Then for six hours, Ryan did some things U.S. officers say is ``outside the box.''
First, he told the sheiks both sides had made mistakes.
``Just saying we've made mistakes - we've been afraid to say it because people will blow it out of proportion - makes a huge difference,'' Ryan said. ``... Their faces light up and they are ready to talk.''
Then he offered a clean slate, or as they say in Arabic, a white page. If the sheiks took responsibility for security, Ryan told them, he promised that his soldiers would not raid their homes. Further, he said, if the sheiks promised that members of their tribes sought by U.S. forces would stop carrying out attacks, the troops would stop hunting them.
All the sheiks agreed, and the deal has become known as ``The White Page Truce.''
``This is the best move the Americans have made yet,'' said Sheik Sadi al-Khinani, a senior tribal leader. ``The people will see that the Americans have come here to help them, not what others have said, which is that the Americans have come here to abuse them.''
Ryan said that in the six weeks from March 1 to April 12, 28 U.S. soldiers were wounded and two killed. In the six weeks since the truce, there have been no casualties...
Higher officials have sent people to study Ryan's methods. In many ways, he has done on a small scale what the United States will do on June 30: give Iraqis their sovereignty.
TAKING CHARGE!
Well said, Sir!
Well said, Sir!
Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, cemented his credentials as a "strong man" yesterday by warning that he could impose martial law.
He also welcomed US air strikes in Fallujah that killed up to 26 people. Mr Allawi, who will officially take charge of Iraq on June 30, announced a radical overhaul of the Iraqi security forces designed to take on insurgents determined to destabilise his government.
"They are trying to destroy our county and we are not going to allow this," he said. "This struggle is first and foremost an Iraqi struggle. We are prepared to fight and, if necessary, die for these objectives.
THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER REQUESTS MORE BALANCED NEWS COVERAGE FROM THE US PRESS
And how many news outlets I can find carrying that story? One. The Defense Department's public affairs office.
Pathetic.
And how many news outlets I can find carrying that story? One. The Defense Department's public affairs office.
Pathetic.
Iraq's deputy prime minister implored the American press to provide more balanced coverage of operations in Iraq.
Barham Salih, a prominent leader from Kurdish northern Iraq, made his plea June 19 to American reporters traveling in Iraq with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
"I hope you from the American press will be able to tell people back home … that (through) this mission you are giving an entire nation an opportunity to be rid of their challenges," he said.
"These soldiers are helping renovate schools and so on, and very, very little of that is reported," Salih continued. "We have to be grateful to those young men and women who have come from afar, sacrificing their lives to defend our security and our freedom."
He said context is important, and many American papers don't put things in the proper context. For instance, he said, "Many of the op-ed writers before the war predicted that Kirkuk would become the scene of the most vicious civil war," he said, referring to the northern Iraqi city that has been the site of problems between Kurds and Arabs.
"There are tensions in Kirkuk," he said, "but no civil war."
New Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer explained his belief that 90 percent of what's happening in Iraq is good news, and 10 percent in bad. "The media is magnifying the 10 percent, ignoring the 90 percent," Yawer said.
IN SPITE OF THE TERRORISTS
The momentum is building...and the bad guys can make it ugly and difficult, but they can't stop the progress.
The momentum is building...and the bad guys can make it ugly and difficult, but they can't stop the progress.
Iraq has began pumping more than a million barrels of crude per day to Basra’s loading terminal, a US based tanker company said.
“Crude oil is being pumped to the Basra terminal at the rate of 42,000 barrels per hour, which is just slightly more than a million barrels a day,” said Mohammed Hadi, head of operations for Baghdad for Norton Lilly International.
An official in Dubai from Inchcape Shipping Services said a pipeline damaged by insurgents last week had been repaired and had been pumping crude since yesterday.
"THE NEXT CHAPTER IS YOURS TO WRITE"
Between sips on an iced mocha at Shockoe Espresso & Roastery last week, Smith recalled a few harrowing moments in Iraq but said he still supports President Bush's decision to go to war.
"I left feeling very satisfied and proud I served as a small part of the CPA," he said.
Smith said the front-page and TV news images of violence in Iraq are every bit as awful as they appear but are separated by "hours and days" of advancements.
"We are making everyday forward gains," he said. "Those random acts of violence are not the true reaction of the Iraqi people."
Smith views the violence more as a reflection of the strength of terrorists in the Middle East than asmistakes made in the Bush administration strategy.
"We need to be there," he said, "because terrorism is a threat to our generation."...
He said he felt a great sense of accomplishment planning a national conference of Iraqi fire officials. He said last month's conference showed Iraqis of all political and ethnic backgrounds working together with a shared vision.
"That was sort of a capstone moment for me because that's what we were working for," he said. "We looked to the Iraqis and said, 'The next chapter is yours to write.'"
PROGRESS CONTINUES
Some won't appreciate the magnitude of this...believing this is how things are "supposed to be".
But isn't that the point? It wasn't this way under Saddam...even without the maniac insurgent terrorists running around blowing stuff up.
Way to go guys!
Some won't appreciate the magnitude of this...believing this is how things are "supposed to be".
But isn't that the point? It wasn't this way under Saddam...even without the maniac insurgent terrorists running around blowing stuff up.
Way to go guys!
It was an engineering success on the order of stringing the first cables for the Brooklyn Bridge or coaxing the first glimmer of starlight through some giant telescope to help explain the structure of the universe.
But when it occurred late last month, the achievement remained cloaked in absolute secrecy, marked only by a quiet celebration among participants who might remain forever unknown to history.
Raw sewage was treated in Baghdad.
The stream of treated water that eventually found its way into the Tigris River was hardly more than a trickle, roughly 20 million gallons a day from a city that produces raw sewage at something like 10 times that rate or more. But the accomplishment is all but epoch-making in a city where the sewage plants are in such disrepair that for the last 10 to 15 years, every drop of that muck was poured untreated into the river, fouling everything from boat landings to drinking water systems downstream.
Successes like this one were just what Congress envisioned when it appropriated billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq, hoping the improvements would convince Iraqis of America's good will.
THOSE YELLOW RIBBONS
How'd that get started?
If you aren't familiar with the song "Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"...you can find the lyrics here. This song is a traditionial "Jodie Call"...one of those songs sung by Soldiers marching in formation.
Meanwhile, here is another take on the yellow ribbon tradition going back to the Civil War.
How'd that get started?
There is no established genesis of yellow ribbons, which blossomed in January 1981 to welcome the American hostages home from Iran.Look at the latter verses to discover the ribald rest-of-the-story.
A 1981 Library of Congress report notes that in a 1981 CBS broadcast, Penelope Laingen, wife of the U.S. charge d'affaires in Tehran, Bruce Laingen, was shown outside her home in Bethesda, Md. "It just came to me," she said, "to give people something to do, rather than throw dog food at Iranians. I said, 'Why don't they tie a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree?'"
The Library of Congress further noted that a song, copyrighted in 1972 under the title "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," was recorded by 30 vocalists in the late 1970s. The hit version was done by the vocal group Dawn featuring Tony Orlando.
The song sketches the story of a convict riding the bus homeward after three years in prison who is hoping his sweetheart ties a yellow ribbon on a roadside oak tree if she will have him back -- and finds the tree is covered with yellow ribbons.
In 1949, the Library of Congress added, Argosy Pictures released a motion picture starring John Wayne and Joanne Dru, which was called "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." The picture was popular, and the theme song, "Round Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," was a hit.
But according to Gerald arsons, writing for the American Folklife Center News, various versions of the song have been around for about 400 years.
If you aren't familiar with the song "Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"...you can find the lyrics here. This song is a traditionial "Jodie Call"...one of those songs sung by Soldiers marching in formation.
Meanwhile, here is another take on the yellow ribbon tradition going back to the Civil War.
Did you ever wonder where the Yellow Ribbon Tradition came from? Most Music Historians trace the Custom to a 19th Century Civil War Song. The tradition of wearing yellow ribbons may date back to the Civil War when the U.S. Cavalry was symbolized by yellow piping on their uniforms. Women who were married to or dating soldiers wore yellow ribbons as they waited for their sweethearts to return from battle. It served a dual purpose because of the reputation of the calvary soldier: it kept away unwanted suiters and also provided a threat of reprisal from a calvary soldier should any harm come to his girl. The early song was done for cadence as the soldier rode in formation.
TAKE THAT, FLY BOYS!
The ground-pounders finally get their due.
The ground-pounders finally get their due.
The Air Force is no longer America’s overwhelming choice as the most important branch of the armed forces due to the conflict in Iraq, a new Gallup poll shows.
Americans consider the Army or the Marine Corps just as important, while the Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard are far behind, the survey found. However, twice as many people named the Marine Corps as the “most prestigious branch” compared to the rest.
The poll represents a significant shift in opinion, which has traditionally favored the Air Force. The public has long considered the Air Force as the service “most vital to the nation’s defense” dating back to similar polls in the 1940s and 1950s.
But the tremendous amount of media attention zeroed in on ground forces in Iraq has changed public perceptions, Gallup found.
WHY THOSE CARE PACKAGES ARE STILL VERY IMPORTANT!
On Camp Lima, the Post Exchange might just be trying to drive some troops crazy. It sells French onion dip, bean dip, cheese dip and salsa, but there are no chips. It sells three different types of cereals, but no bowls or milk. There are different canned meats, jellies and sandwich spreads, but no bread. And the kicker? They sell phone cards, but there are no phones on the camp that accept the cards.
Camp officials say some products simply sell faster than others, leaving odd pieces to what would be a great snack.
"I'M TRYING TO KEEP MY WIFE'S HOPES DOWN"
Some of our guys...and they say they'll believe they are headed home...well, when they are headed home. If even that.
Some of our guys...and they say they'll believe they are headed home...well, when they are headed home. If even that.
Though there’s talk of going home, the 1st Armored Division soldiers in Karbala said they were extended the first time for a reason: to take care of the bad guys.
And if push comes to shove in the days before the June 30 handover in Iraq, their ability to get those bad guys just might make them too good to send home again, troops said.
Army officials have announced that the Germany-based division should be home by mid-July, but senior noncommissioned officers on the ground said this time their troops are “stone cold” about the buzz.
“There’s no emotion,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Flum, platoon sergeant for Company B, 16th Combat Engineer Battalion out of Giessen, Germany. “We’ve been told many things that have not come to pass.
“Also, you got to think, do we really have faith in the 1st Calvary to get things done?” Flum asked.
The task force built around the 1st Battalion, 37 Armor Regiment, known as “The Bandits,” was sent to Karbala to help fight militia of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In 21 days of fighting, 1st AD soldiers captured militiamen, cleared out weapon’s caches and drove the rest of the militia out the city.
When troops were satisfied the militia was gone, the Army transitioned from fighting to rebuilding.
Since the militia left the city May 21, the Bandits have fixed up public land and buildings and created a safe environment for local businesses, the soldiers say...
Now, with the handover right around the same corner as some dates of departure, troops said they’re going to have to see it to believe it.
“I won’t believe it until I’m home, for about two months, just sitting down. Then I might think we’re really not coming back,” said Sgt. Ketwon Moore, a track vehicle mechanic with Company B, 16th Engineers.
Some troops said they were even trying to quash family hopes of an early extension return.
“We’re a little skeptical about hearsay. I know it sounds weird, but I’m even trying to keep my wife’s hopes down. Last time, it wasn’t too pretty,” said Sgt. Thomas McKnight, another track vehicle mechanic with Company B, 16th Engineers.
1st ARMORED DIVISION BEGINS ITS HOMEWARD JOURNEY
Now it is not for us in 1st Brigade land to get too excited yet...but the first ADVON (Advanced Echelon) elements of the 1AD arrived home over the weekend...not OUR home...but the 2d Brigade in Baumholder. Second Brigade went downrange before us (1st Brigade), so it is right they begin heading home before us as well.
Meanwhile...we cross our fingers...
Now it is not for us in 1st Brigade land to get too excited yet...but the first ADVON (Advanced Echelon) elements of the 1AD arrived home over the weekend...not OUR home...but the 2d Brigade in Baumholder. Second Brigade went downrange before us (1st Brigade), so it is right they begin heading home before us as well.
Meanwhile...we cross our fingers...
At precisely 12:30 a.m., a few hours after their C-17 landed at Rhein-Main Air Base, soldiers and officers marched into Baumholder’s flag-bedecked gym, filled with friends, banners, balloons, bouquets and welcome-home signs.
After a brief prayer, an even more-to-the-point welcoming speech by Capt. Jonathan Cornett, the 2nd Brigade rear detachment commander, and the playing of the national anthem and the official Army song, the soldiers were really home.
Being safe in Germany and out of the unrelenting heat and danger of Iraq is “like starting your life again,” said Spc. John Seawell, 21, with Headquarters, Headquarters Company of the 2nd Brigade.
“It’s like breathing again,” added Pfc. Pedro Vasquez, 23, of the same company. “It’s like you’ve been holding your breath and now you can start breathing normally again.”
Friday, June 18, 2004
INCREASED PROTECTION
Photo courtesy of Point Blank Body Armor
Soldiers in Iraq will start getting an addition to their Interceptor body armor systems this fall: a set of pads that cover and protect the upper arm and armpit area.
Dubbed Deltoid and Axillary Protection (the deltoid is the muscle that runs along the top of the upper arm; axillary refers to the area in or near the armpit), the detachable pads can stop penetration of shrapnel from a large fragmentary round, or a bullet up to 9 millimeter, Brig. Gen. James R. Moran said Monday at the Pentagon.
The Army plans to send 50,000 sets of pads to Iraq beginning in late September, said Moran, who is head of Program Executive Office Soldier (PEO Soldier), the Army’s Fort Belvoir, Va.-based development center for advanced soldier equipment.
Photo courtesy of Point Blank Body Armor
Thursday, June 17, 2004
A HUGE VICTORY BY THE GOOD GUYS
Rebel cleric orders army to disbandLesson for those paying attention: Using your pulpit to raise an Army to make you a "strong man" is no longer an acceptable scenario in this new country.
Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric who has been leading a revolt in southern Iraq for more than two months, yesterday bowed to intense peer pressure and told his followers in his Jaysh al-Mahdi militia to return home.
Mr Sadr's order comes amid intensive efforts on the part of local Iraqi leaders and even the US president to end a bloody insurgency in the run-up to the transfer of sovereignty now only two weeks away.
DEJA VUE
No...Life Magazine, 1946.
The President evoked history yesterday in his speech at McDill AFB. Here is more evidence of that history. And it is worth reading.
Those who stamp their feet and wring their hands over Iraq choosing to dwell on the difficulties while ignoring the significant progress being made their are not unlike children who cry from the back seat "Are we there yet?"
As I've said here a hundred times what we are doing in Iraq is hard to do. And it comes with its competition and its setbacks. But it is worth doing and can be done so long as we have the will to do it.
History proves this over and over. The ante-bellum period of any conflict is hard. Recall the former Confederate states after the US Civil War. Sherman had left a scorched earth in his wake. The economic systems in the South had to be completely revised and reborn. Reconstruction was a bitter battleground between the President and the Congress. It took five full years before the final four secession states were readmitted to the Union. FIVE YEARS!
Take a moment and go read these headlines from the ante-bellum period of WWII: Gloom and despair! Compare them with the headlines you read and hear today. The similarity is startling.
I've been thinking it is frequently more important to know what processes are at work than what symptoms those processes display. Parents do that all the time, attributing certain common behaviors in children to "the stage he's going through" instead of declaring "OH NO! My child is the spawn of Satan himself and is destined to be a criminal and a lout!"
War...post-war...ebb and flow...and of course politics...lets not overlook politics. The processes are at work. And the symptoms are, as history shows us, strikingly familiar (a bad mouthing, hyper-negative press, partisan bickering, predictions of "losing the peace".
It would do me good to remember more frequently that this is normal. I'm disappointed that this is normal...but normal it is.
And with any luck at all perhaps many of the American people will recognize this as normal too.
Never has American prestige in Europe been lower.Recent quote from the New York Times?
No...Life Magazine, 1946.
The President evoked history yesterday in his speech at McDill AFB. Here is more evidence of that history. And it is worth reading.
Those who stamp their feet and wring their hands over Iraq choosing to dwell on the difficulties while ignoring the significant progress being made their are not unlike children who cry from the back seat "Are we there yet?"
As I've said here a hundred times what we are doing in Iraq is hard to do. And it comes with its competition and its setbacks. But it is worth doing and can be done so long as we have the will to do it.
History proves this over and over. The ante-bellum period of any conflict is hard. Recall the former Confederate states after the US Civil War. Sherman had left a scorched earth in his wake. The economic systems in the South had to be completely revised and reborn. Reconstruction was a bitter battleground between the President and the Congress. It took five full years before the final four secession states were readmitted to the Union. FIVE YEARS!
Take a moment and go read these headlines from the ante-bellum period of WWII: Gloom and despair! Compare them with the headlines you read and hear today. The similarity is startling.
I've been thinking it is frequently more important to know what processes are at work than what symptoms those processes display. Parents do that all the time, attributing certain common behaviors in children to "the stage he's going through" instead of declaring "OH NO! My child is the spawn of Satan himself and is destined to be a criminal and a lout!"
War...post-war...ebb and flow...and of course politics...lets not overlook politics. The processes are at work. And the symptoms are, as history shows us, strikingly familiar (a bad mouthing, hyper-negative press, partisan bickering, predictions of "losing the peace".
It would do me good to remember more frequently that this is normal. I'm disappointed that this is normal...but normal it is.
And with any luck at all perhaps many of the American people will recognize this as normal too.
PATIENCE...PATIENCE...
The President has it right.
The President has it right.
I want you to remember this. In 1947, two years after the Nazi surrender, there was still starvation in Germany. Reconstruction seemed to be faltering. The Marshall Plan had not yet begun. Soon Berlin would be blockaded, on the orders of Joseph Stalin. Some questioned whether a free and stable Germany could emerge from the rubble.
Fortunately, America and our allies were optimistic. They stood firm. We helped the German people overcome these challenges and resist the designs of the Soviet Union. We overcame many obstacles, because we knew that the only hope for a secure America was a peaceful and democratic Europe. And because we persevered, because we had faith in our values, because we were strong in the face of adversity, Germany became the stable, successful, great nation that it is today...
With each step forward on the path to self-government and self-reliance, the terrorists will grow more desperate and more violent. They see Iraqis taking their country back. They see freedom taking root. The killers know they have no future in a free Iraq. They want America to abandon the mission and to break our word. So they're attacking our soldiers and free Iraqis. They're doing everything in their power to prevent the full transition to democracy. And we can expect more attacks in the coming few weeks, more car bombs, more suiciders, more attempts on the lives of Iraqi officials. But our coalition is standing firm. New Iraq's leaders are not intimidated. I will not yield, and neither will the leaders of Iraq.
YA DON'T SAY!
The OGA bar has a dance floor with a revolving mirrored disco ball and a game room. It is open to outsiders by invitation only. Disgruntled CPA employees who haven't wangled invites complain that the CIA favors women guests.Fun article about the Green Zone's nightlife.
GEEZ, ITS LIKE WE'RE LETTING THE IRAQIS RUN THEIR OWN COUNTRY...
Just like we said we would...
Just like we said we would...
Iraq's new leadership will take control of a rehabilitated Baghdad International Airport in the next few weeks. The hand-over is expected to open the door for the first normal commercial service since the U.S. invasion 15 months ago.
For the past year, American experts and Iraqi technicians have been working to repair and update the former Saddam International Airport...
Now one of three main terminals has been restored, improvements to the main runway and the radars are underway and Iraqi air traffic controllers returned to the tower two weeks ago. They are handling most of the roughly 50 cargo charter flights a day. There also is a daily charter passenger flight from Jordan.
In advance of the June 30 turnover of sovereignty to the Iraqi government, the U.S. military is handing back the airport's 40 service buildings and 35 acres of land.
By July 15, with the departure of the Army's 1st Armored Division, the commercial side of the airport will be Iraqi-run.
EVENTUALLY A FULL STOMACH WEIGHS MORE THAN FEAR OR HATRED
Yes...it is slow going...but make no mistake about it...it is going...and going in the right direction.
Yes...it is slow going...but make no mistake about it...it is going...and going in the right direction.
Now, he said, the U.S. military is trying to enable Iraqis to do the work for themselves. U.S. and Iraqi elements are choosing projects, such as locations for Iraqi military camps, and Seabees are rough-drafting the projects, putting them out to bid and managing their progress.
“This is to give the Iraqi businesses a chance to develop,” Kubic said.
“It’s going to be slow, but over the long term having a bottom-up strategy will be the key to the future of a successful Iraq. As long as the people in Baghdad can set the political and economic condition, and we can mesh our military strategy with that — allowing [progress] to come from the bottom up — we’ll be very successful.”...
But business is picking up in spite of the danger that sometimes comes with doing business with the U.S. forces.
Kubic said that projects such as building schools, courthouses and police stations used to attract from only two or three Iraqi contractors. That eventually grew to seven or eight bids.
“Now we routinely get 20 to 30 bids for a job,” Kubic said. “For one road project we just ordered, we had 104 bids.”
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
GOOD POINT OF THE DAY AWARD
To Deborah Orin at the New York Post. Go read it all.
To Deborah Orin at the New York Post. Go read it all.
But part of the issue is simply that Saddam's tortures, like al Qaedas tactics, are so awful that they're unbearable to watch.
If I couldn't watch them myself, I'm hardly arguing that others should have to. Yet it raises a very complex problem in the War on Terror. It's worse than creating moral equivalence between Saddam's tortures and prisoner abuse by U.S. troops. It's that we do far more to highlight our own wrongdoings precisely because they are less appalling.
In this era, a photo is everything. We highlight U.S. prisoner abuse because the photos aren't too offensive to show. We downplay Saddam's abuse precisely because it's far worse — so we can't use the photos. And that sets the stage for remarks like Sen. Ted Kennedy's claim that Saddam's torture chambers have reopened under "U.S. management."
Terrorism is sometimes called asymmetric warfare — America had to adjust to new tactics to deal with small bands of terrorists who were able to turn our airplanes into weapons against us. Now it turns out that we also face asymmetric propaganda — where the terrorists gain a p.r. advantage precisely because what they do is so horrific that our media aren't able to deal with it.
The U.S. military hasn't figured out a strategic way to deal with this problem.
But neither has the press.
I WON'T COMMENT
Read this piece and come to your own conclusions.
Read this piece and come to your own conclusions.
At the heart of the tale is the role of the militias, called janjaweed -- "the men on horses." Across Darfur, they have unleashed their fury on black African tribes linked with rebels.(Thanks, Beckie)
According to survivors, hundreds of janjaweed arrived in the Kailek in February. They galloped from village to village, slaughtering hundreds of black Africans, all Muslims like themselves. Truckloads of government soldiers helped them.
They razed houses, crushed mosques and tore up hundreds of copies of the Quran, Islam's holy book. They whipped women and children, surrounded Kailek and took everyone hostage.
"It was a concentration camp," said a U.N. official who visited the area in late April. "They were eating, sleeping and dying in their own feces because they weren't allowed to go out."
There was a method to the violence. Arabs were left alone, survivors said. Some joined the janjaweed to prey on their neighbors.
Sumia Rahman, 16, and her brother Anwar, 10, fled toward the mountains after they saw their younger brothers die. But their stepmother, Fatima, 30, was caught. She was taken, with dozens of others, to the woods and beaten. Then she was raped.
"If I was an Arab, they would not have raped me," said Fatima.
Meanwhile, her husband, Hamid, and several hundred men had fled into the mountains. As he climbed, he heard explosions in the distance. Planes, he realized, were dropping bombs.
Ten days later, the janjaweed sent representatives to urge them to return to Kailek. They brought along an elder to vouch for their sincerity.
Without food or medicines, they had no other option. Soldiers, he said, escorted them down the mountain. But in Kailek, they were placed under house arrest, along with an estimated 1,700 other villagers.
The janjaweed began to execute one or two of the strongest men every day, said survivors. Children died of hunger and thirst, while scores of women endured a living death.
"In the night, the janjaweed would go into houses and select ladies and take them away to be raped," village elder Adam Muhammed Adam recounted as villagers around him nodded their heads solemnly.
YOUR MOST EXCELLENT COWARDSHIP
Spain: more laughable by the minute.
Spain: more laughable by the minute.
Generals don't usually get medals for organizing a retreat.
But in Spain they do, or at least the defense minister did. Jose Bono was recently given a medal for the role he played in pulling Spanish troops (search) out of Iraq.
As you may remember, Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq shortly after Al Qaeda killed nearly 200 people in Madrid. The terrorist bombings were timed to affect Spanish elections and many say they did, throwing out the party that supported the coalition in Iraq and bringing in the Socialists, who called for immediate withdrawal.
The Cross of Military Merit, which Defense Minister Bono was to receive for organizing the retreat of Spanish forces, entitles the recipient to wear a white sash and be addressed as, "Your most excellent lordship."
But Mr. Bono apparently won't get his sash.
The ruckus over his award intensified after a newspaper reported that Mr. Bono had arranged for the medal ceremony himself and had pressured cabinet members who opposed the decoration.
Last week, Mr. Bono returned the medal and the prime minister praised his defense minister as a man of "much sensibility."
OTHER PROGRESS YOU AREN'T HEARING FROM CNN (OR THE DETROIT FREE PRESS)
So today I was taking our lawyer to do some business in companies registry office when he told me that nobody can imagine the number of private companies being established and registered these days, they are more than lawyers can register and more than private chartered accountants can do accounting...Go check out the Iraqi Stock Exchange website...and ask yourself why you didn't get this news from those "professionals" in the "news business".
After I got out of Tahreer Sq. and avoided traffic jam I passed the building of Baghdad Stock Exchange which we (my partners and I) spent a long time in as stock brokers (my basic profession) and I remembered what my partner said last Friday about it “its going to be opened this month and they practiced a test exchange last Saturday, and there was a great job done by the coalition helping the Iraqis old team to reopen as soon as possible”.
Laws was changed, a new board of directors without government representatives, a new place, a new techniques of exchange, and of course many more job opportunities for the market staff and for brokers companies and for the investors.
For us as a stock brokers firm, it’s a dream to reopen and establish stock exchange, especially when the American experts who helped to reopen the market are saying “we are trying to develop new, modern exchange facilities”.
Any way I will keep the site visitors informed about what’s new in ISX (and thats Iraq Stock eXchange)reopening and its all on http://www.isx-iq.net/
SOME MORE OF THAT GOOD NEWS THE DETROIT FREE PRESS CAN'T FIND
With the completion of new transmission projects and the rehabilitation of a turbine unit at Haditha Dam in Haditha, Iraq last week, for the first time since 1990 all six turbines were in full operation and the clean hydropower plant operated at full capacity, generating 660 megawatts.
"The incredible progress at Haditha is just one example of the huge strides made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its partners to increase the overall capacity of the Iraqi power system," said Army Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson, commander of the corps' Gulf Region Division.
SCOUT'S HONOR
Impressive.
Impressive.
For the past month, Beth Frank has been gathering paperback books. "Mostly mysteries," the Courtland High School rising senior explains. "Some fantasies."
At the end of June, Beth will gather all the books, box them up and ship them overseas to her Marine uncle for distribution to the men and women in Iraq serving in the 2nd battalion, 2nd Marine regiment.
Tagging along with the books will be letters written by school children at Courtland Elementary School. Beth thought letters from the youngsters would let the soldiers know that "not only old people" are thinking about them.
The paperback book and letter-writing activities are part of Beth's project for the Girl Scout Gold Award. The Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. It is comparable to the Boy Scout Eagle Award.
The book collection has taken off. As of yesterday, Beth was processing nearly 1,800 books. Drop-off spots were at Borders book store in Central Park, Christ Episcopal Church, and Courtland High and Elementary schools. Boxes are still available at Borders and the church.
When it came time to choose a project, Beth knew she wanted to do something for the servicemen in Iraq.
"Mom knits and sends hats and stuff to the troops overseas during the winter," she said during a pause in processing her books. "I can't knit or crochet, and I wanted to do something."
AND THIS GUY SERVED DURING MUCH OF THE COLD WAR
Those who don't "get it"...that we are involved in a global war (albeit, a global war many are trying to ignore) might want to listen to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for a moment.
Those who don't "get it"...that we are involved in a global war (albeit, a global war many are trying to ignore) might want to listen to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for a moment.
"Past wars have been like having pneumonia. It may leave a bunch of scars on your lungs, but you get cured of it," General Peter Schoomaker told reporters. "This [war] is a little bit like having cancer. You may get it in remission, but it's never going to go away in our lifetime."
The threat from Islamic extremism is particularly worrisome for its potential of an attack involving weapons of mass destruction, he said.
"I can't remember a time that, honestly, was more dangerous than what we're in today because of the nature of this threat," Schoomaker said in a wide-ranging interview with a group of reporters.
JUST WHAT WE'VE COME TO EXPECT FROM THE AMERICAN PRESS
There was some good news about Iraq Tuesday, which is unusual. Of course, there was bad news, too, which is not.I've spent the better part of 13 months culling the good news from Iraq...and I'm just one guy with an internet connection. Too bad the Detroit Free Press doesn't have my endless resources so they can find the good news too.
IRAQ AS A 4-STAR COMMAND
This move denotes Iraq's signficance and the importance of our success there.
This move denotes Iraq's signficance and the importance of our success there.
General George W. Casey Jr., the Army vice chief of staff, has been nominated for a newly created post that would make him the top US commander and only four-star general in Iraq.
ANOTHER GREAT AMERICAN EXPORT: OPTIMISM
Although Iraqis are divided on whether their country is currently better (42 percent) or worse (39 percent) off than before the invasion, “there is striking optimism regarding the country's long-term future” after June 30.
Nearly two-thirds of all Iraqis say they believe their country will be either somewhat or much better off five years from now than it is at present, “while just one Iraqi in 10 foresees the country being worse off five years hence.”
Also worth noting: “the fact that these positive expectations were expressed by Shiites and Sunnis alike.” Only 12 percent say they expected Iraq to be worse off five years from now.
A public opinion poll of Iraqis done by Oxford Analytica (and touted by the U.S. government) showed similar results: a majority of Iraqis feel that they are better off today than they were a year ago. And 70 percent said they think they'll be even better off in 2005.
Americans are a notoriously optimistic people. Are we exporting optimism with our fifths of Jack? As we prepare for this fall’s big vote, and amid otherwise gloomy current polling on Iraq, Americans at the least seem to share the Iraqis’ rosy view of the future.
A Washington Post poll in May found 62 percent hopeful about Iraq, but 67 percent worried. Over half say they’re optimistic about the situation in Iraq.
OUR LAST PERFECTLY GOOD AIR FORCE? BURIED.
The Iraqi Air Force purchased its first new aircraft this week, but the planes will be used for surveillance, not war-making, according to a U.S. official.
U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt announced Tuesday in Baghdad the purchased by Iraq of two of a planned force of 16 observation and surveillance aircraft from Jordan.
The planes are intended to help the country protect its electrical and oil assets from sabotage and help control its borders. An oil pipeline was apparently sabotaged Tuesday near Basra.
The planes will be delivered in mid-July.
Much of Iraq's old air force was found buried in the sand after the war, an apparent attempt to camouflage the planes and keep them from being bombed by U.S. aircraft.
MORE SIGNS OF PROGRESS
Enforcing the traffic laws.
Enforcing the traffic laws.
Traffic police are cracking down on the reckless driving that has thrived on the chaos and congestion that followed last year's U.S.-led invasion with new fines, car confiscations and a media campaign to restore a degree of order.
"We'll return the rule of law to the streets," traffic police Director-General Brigadier Jasim Tahir told Reuters.
"Only this morning I caught someone driving the wrong way down the road, and told my men to arrest him," said the police chief, who sports a pistol in a white leather holster.
"We confiscated his car for 10 days. Now he'll have to walk to work. Every time his legs ache he'll remember not to break the law," Tahir said, speaking at traffic police headquarters.
IMPROVING THE WORST AREAS
The 1st Cavalry's answer is to pour half a billion dollars into Baghdad over 90 days. The money will be distributed through 100 different projects to build sewers, ensure potable water and rebuild electricity infrastructure. Iraqis will be contracted to implement the projects.
"I really take issue ... with folks that say first you have to provide security and then we'll rebuild the infrastructure. Because I can't get there from here. ... I've got to do both of them at the same time," Chiarelli said.
In Sadr City, many power lines are thin, jerry-rigged cables strung so low across roads that U.S. Army vehicles have inadvertently ripped them down. The 1st Cavalry will replace many of them with strong, high-voltage cables, Chiarelli said.
"What we're trying to do is to pull some of these people that are our enemy ... and make them part of the process, and understand that whatever the insurgency is offering, we're offering them something better," Chiarelli said. "Every Iraqi that we can put to work is probably an Iraqi that we may not have to worry about fighting the coalition."
THANK YOU, AMERICA
Wow...someone said thanks.
Wow...someone said thanks.
In an upbeat and emotional speech before Congress, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan thanked Americans yesterday for confronting "a great evil" by removing terrorism and the Taliban, but also alluded to continuing instability and the need for increased foreign assistance.
"You have supported us with your resources, with your leadership in the world community, and most importantly, with the precious lives of your soldiers," he said, later adding: "Ladies and gentlemen, together we have a long road ahead, but we will move forward to make the world a better place."
At a time when instability in Iraq has dominated the attention of many in Congress, Karzai's message of relative stability in Afghanistan received a hearty welcome.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
THEY ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS WAR...WE AREN'T
That's Victor Davis Hanson's thesis in this piece, which deserves your undivided attention.
That's Victor Davis Hanson's thesis in this piece, which deserves your undivided attention.
Nearly three years after 9/11 we are in the strangest of all paradoxes: a war against fascists that we can easily win but are clearly not ready to fully wage.
We have the best 500,000 soldiers in the history of civilization, a resolute president, and an informed citizenry that has already received a terrible preemptive blow that killed thousands.
Yet what a human comedy it has now all become.
PRICELESS
Sarcasm often doesn't play well in print...but in this case I think it hits the mark.
Sarcasm often doesn't play well in print...but in this case I think it hits the mark.
Dear Arabs,Go read the whole thing here.
I am truly sorry that Americans decided to take up arms and sacrifice their own youth in the defense of Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, and the first Gulf War. After we clear up this mess in Iraq, we will refrain from any such activity in the future.
I am truly sorry that I did not hear any of you call for an apology from Muslim extremists after 911. After all, the hijackers were all Arabs.
I am truly sorry that Arabs have to live in squalor under savage dictatorships throughout the Middle East. I am also sorry that the “leaders” of these nations drive their citizens into poverty by keeping all of the wealth in the hands of a select few.
I am also sorry that these governments intentionally breed hate for the U.S. in their religious schools while American schools do the exact opposite...
I am sorry that the U.S. has continued to serve as the biggest financial supporter of poverty stricken Arab nations while wealthy Arab leaders blame the U.S. for all of their problems...
I am sorry that foreign trained terrorists are trying to seize control of Iraq and return it to a terrorist state. I am sorry we have not yet dropped at least 100 Daisy cutters on Fallujah in order to stop that effort...
I am sorry that every time the terrorists hide, it just happens to be inside a “Holy Site.”
I am sorry that Muslim extremists have not yet apologized for the U.S.S. Cole, the embassy bombings, and for flying a plane into the World Trade Center, which collapsed in part on Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which is one of our Holy Sites.
"ITS NOT ABOUT POLITICS, ITS ABOUT PEOPLE"
"I'm proud to have fought for my country and to protect America," she said, "but I'm more proud to help those people have the same freedoms we have."
Schools have been rebuilt, textbooks purchased and hospitals restored, she said.
"Everything we blew up or they blew up, we're fixing," she said.
News reports don't focus on troops' efforts to provide electricity and clean water to Iraqis.
"It's those things that no one wants to talk about. The whole thing is not about politics. It's about people."
"The media will never show you the guy in the street that gives you a hug and kiss and says, 'Thank you, please don't leave my country.' That doesn't get TV ratings."