FIGHTING BACK

Taking the media to task for their spinning the truth and expecting us to buy it.

Read the whole thing here.

No one that I spoke to in the administration who supported the war quibbled with the use of the term "imminent threat." It's simply not a quotation - it's a summary of the president's assessment.

Boston, Mass: No, Martin: it's a bold face lie, an untruth from beginning to end

(via Instapundit)

WELL THIS ISN'T RIGHT

Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.

A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Rock," in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.

The Olympian received two identical letters signed by different hometown soldiers: Spc. Joshua Ackler and Spc. Alex Marois, who is now a sergeant. The paper declined to run either because of a policy not to publish form letters...

It's not clear who wrote the letter or organized sending it to soldiers' hometown papers...

Sgt. Todd Oliver, a spokesman for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which counts the 503rd as one of its units, said he was told a soldier wrote the letter, but he didn't know who. He said the brigade's public affairs unit was not involved.

"When he asked other soldiers in his unit to sign it, they did," Oliver explained in an e-mail response to a GNS inquiry. "Someone, somewhere along the way, took it upon themselves to mail it to the various editors of newspapers across the country."

However, given the nearly uniform response by soldiers to the negative media coverage of their efforts in Iraq, it doesn't surprise me if a soldier tries to battle that by such means.

YA DONE GOOD, MR. PRESIDENT

"Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power? Surely not the dissidents who would be in his prisons or end up in mass graves," Bush told a military crowd.

"Surely not the men and women who would fill Saddam's torture chambers or the women in his rape rooms . . . There is only one decent and humane reaction to the fall of Saddam Hussein: Good riddance!"

Bush's remarks, in Portsmouth and Manchester, could be seen as a slap at leading Democratic candidate Howard Dean, who once dismissed Saddam's fall by saying, "I suppose that's a good thing."

AND THE IRONY IS...

...among the whole bunch only one is duly elected by the people.

A conference of government leaders from the world's Islamic nations has begun with a call to end "foreign rule" in Iraq.

Instead the United Nations should take over the administration of Iraqi affairs, said the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) secretary-general Abdelouahed Belkeziz.

The conference of the 57-member OIC is taking place in Malaysia and comes ahead of next week's summit, when heads of state from up to 35 countries are set to gather.

GIVE 'EM HELL, DICK

The Veep takes off the gloves.

After several weeks of domestic and international criticism of Bush's policy of pre-emptively attacking potential threats, Cheney struck back forcefully by calling the U.N. Security Council's 50-year tradition of giving permanent members a veto a "policy of doing exactly nothing."...

Cheney blasted the criticism "that the United States, when its security is threatened, may not act without unanimous international consent," a clear reference to U.N. procedures, under which "the mere objection of even one foreign government would be sufficient to prevent us from acting."

"Though often couched in high-sounding terms of unity and cooperation, it is a prescription for perpetual disunity and obstructionism," Cheney said, adding that this would "confer undue power" on dissenters "while leaving the rest of us powerless to act in our own defense. Yet we continue to hear this attitude in arguments in our own country - so often, and so conveniently, it amounts to a policy of doing exactly nothing."

Cheney's speech was an uncompromising argument that far exceeded what other figures in the administration have asserted. Cheney, for example, dismissed a dozen years of inspections, patrolling of no-fly zones, and strikes against military targets in Iraq, saying "all of these measures failed."

THE MARSH ARABS RECLAIMING THEIR WAY OF LIFE

Thin reeds now sprout on the glassy surface. Aquatic birds build nests on tiny islands. And lanky young boys in flowing tunics spend the first few hours of each day as generations of adolescent males in their families have: gliding across the water in narrow wooden boats to collect fish trapped in homemade nets.

"The water is our life," Kerkush said as he gazed at the marsh that now comes within a few feet of his house and stretches as far as the eye can see. "It is a gift from God to have it back."

Well, yes it is. And He used the Brits and Americans as His delivery agents.

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS

By the way...I've never actually heard one of these on the radio. Have you?

Following World War II, it took three years to institute a new currency in West Germany. In Iraq, it has taken only six months. And the new currency symbolizes Iraq's reviving economy.

Iraq has a strong entrepreneurial tradition, and since the liberation of that country, thousands of new businesses have been launched. Busy markets are operating in villages across the country. Store shelves are filled with goods from clothing and linens to air-conditioners and satellite dishes. Free commerce is returning to the ancient region that invented banking.

With our assistance, Iraqis are building the roads and ports and railways necessary for commerce. We have helped to establish an independent Iraqi central bank. Working with the Iraqi Governing Council, we are establishing a new system that allows foreign investors to confidently invest capital in Iraq's future. And we have helped restore Iraq's oil production capacity to nearly two million barrels a day, the benefits of which are flowing directly to the Iraqi people...

Americans are providing this help not only because our hearts are good, but because our vision is clear. A stable, democratic, and prosperous Iraq will no longer be a breeding ground for terror, tyranny and aggression. And a free Iraq will be an example of freedom's power throughout the Middle East. Free nations are peaceful nations. By promoting freedom and hope in other lands, we remove direct threats to the American people. Our actions in Iraq will increase our safety for years to come.

NOW THAT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERYDAY

"A line of ululating women"

Look it up...I had to.

The wedding party was streaming out of the Al-Hamra Hotel Thursday night in Baghdad, with the bride's white train trailed by a line of ululating women in sparkling dresses and a cake bearer balancing a huge coconut-frosted sphere.

GLAD THEY ARE SAFE

This was a big story over here.

After spending three cold nights outdoors, two missing (American) 13-year-olds were returned to their families Thursday, after being spotted by a German woman at a shopping center.

The teens, Bryan Enochs and Reagan Womble, went missing Monday from Benjamin Franklin Village. They were found Thursday morning at the Kurpfalz Centrum in Leimen, a Heidelberg suburb, according to Joerg Hofer, a Heidelberg police spokesman.

“The teenagers have been reunited with their parents,” said Christine Gebhard, a spokeswoman for the 293rd Base Support Battalion. “We are so glad they are home safe. They appeared in good health. They were tired, but other than that they were unharmed.”

German police said the couple’s odyssey began when Bryan arrived home late and feared punishment. The two fled together, spending Monday night under a bridge in Mannheim, police said.

DANKE SCHOEN

Very cool.

Blaring oompah music, bratwurst sizzling on the grill, the strong aroma of sauerkraut and a sparkling mug of Bavarian beer — all the elements of a typical day at Munich’s Oktoberfest.

Except these — minus the beer — were to be enjoyed in the sands of Iraq.

Family Readiness Group members of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment out of Friedberg figured since their soldier husbands couldn’t make it to the biggest beer-drinking festival in the world, they would send the festival to them.

All the fixin’s for a portable Oktoberfest were sent to Iraq, except the beer. Decorations, T-shirts, mugs, music CDs and lots of food were packed up, along with instructions on how to cook it the Bavarian way. Even some traditional games of strength were added to the boxes of goodies to help lifts soldiers’ spirits...

They asked ways of getting the necessities to the troops without any spoiling. A butcher responded by specially making bratwurst and canning them so they would be good for up to a year, making shipping much easier.

Breweries in Munich provided authentic T-shirts, mugs, coasters and decorations.

“I just explained to them what we were trying to do and they said ‘OK, sounds like a great idea. We like Americans and Americans like this fest and beer.’ They gave us everything for free,” Lowe said.

And yesterday the mayors of the German communities in which the 1st Brigade lives threw a free Oktoberfest for all of us "left behind" by our soldiers in Iraq. There was music, games, beer and food.

This wouldn't seem to square with the German governments fierce antiwar position, but there is a direct connection between the Germans and the Americans living among them. And although I missed the remarks made by one of these mayors at the opening of yesterday's event, I was told that he expressed his support for what our soldiers are doing in Baghdad...and the Germans in the audience (who understood what he said before it was translated) applauded loudly.

Ain't that just a kick in the pants?

GOOD NEWS FOR THE GUARD AND RESERVES

The overwhelming senatorial support for a bill to extend military health care benefits to activated Guard and Reserve members and their families just might be what is needed to get the White House to do an about face, two senators said.

“This train has left the station, and in some ways, I think they’d have no choice but to hop on board,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said of the administration’s leadership.

Extending the health coverage to Guard and Reserve units has been a contentious topic, and one that in the past, has not been supported by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld or the White House.

In April, the Pentagon tweaked its system so that, when mobilized for more than 30 days, National Guard and Reserve forces and their families are eligible for coverage under Tricare, the military’s health insurance.

The benefits extend for 90 days after the unit’s demobilization, and extend up to 120 days for those with more than six years of service.

PHONE HOME

But do it as cheaply as possible.

“I got a 500-unit card that’s not AAFES,” he said. “I talk 28 to 29 minutes on that. On AAFES’ 200 unit cards I get 15 minutes [of talk time]. I save money having these compared to Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club cards.”

AAFES wants military members to know what Bernal already has found out — purchasing less expensive phone cards may end up costing more in the long run because of hidden fees and charges.

A sign outside the Baghdad airport’s main exchange compares Wal-Mart and AAFES cards. It says that a 500-minute Wal-Mart card costs military members $1 per minute, but a comparable AAFES 550-unit card costs 90 cents per minute...

AAFES is working with AT&T to open permanent phone centers at bases throughout Iraq. Six satellite phone centers are already operating. The latest, on the airport’s west side, opened Friday with 48 telephones...

An AAFES press release states that the land-line costs will drop to as low as 35 cents per minute to the United States, but only if callers use the exchange phone cards.

Costs to Europe will be more expensive than those to the States, about 43 cents per minute, because the calls are routed through the States.

And guess what! Even if you are not an authorized PX user, you can still help your soldier make these calls using the AAFES Exchange cards. Go to www.aafes.com and click on "Gifts from the Home Front" or simply follow this link.

CENTCOM NEWS RELEASE

October 10, 2003
Release Number: 03-10-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NINEVAH PROVINCE SCHOOLS BENEFIT FROM SEIZED IRAQI ASSETS

MOSUL, Iraq – Coalition soldiers and non-governmental organizations partnered to rebuild more than 800 schools in the Ninevah Province, current home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

The division’s Commander’s Emergency Relief Program, which draws from Iraqi government funds seized after the first Gulf War, has to date spent $2,040,513 on 330 completed school projects including the recently opened Ninevah Province Education Headquarters in Mosul.

The 101st has made nearly a daily hobby of opening schools throughout Northern Iraq since August. Lt. Col. Kevin Felix, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery commander, opened three schools in the town of Tal Abtah Monday.

Oct. 1 marked the first day of school for all public primary and secondary school students throughout Iraq.

Schools in need of simple supplies and new windows, or a complete renovation, have received a helping hand from 101st Airborne Division CERP funds and Non-Governmental Organizations working with the soldiers.

“The students are eager to go back, especially those who are going to new, renovated schools,” Sgt. First Class Rocky Upchurch of New Deal, Texas, 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, said. Upchurch has worked with the education headquarters and numerous schools during the summer rush to rebuild schools

Upchurch has also worked with several NGO’s all over the globe, including the United Nations Development Program. The NGO’s have provided additional muscle with “a lot of the little stuff.”

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11th. The 153d day of CPT Patti's deployment.

SOUNDS LIKE HE READS CPT PATTI'S WEBSITE!

Six months from the day Baghdad fell to American troops, George W. Bush told Americans yesterday that the situation in Iraq is "a lot better than you probably think."

101st IN CHARGE

And it sounds as if they have found a nice balance.

But to visitors from Baghdad the city is a breath of fresh air.

It operates without a curfew unlike the capital and its streets throng with people until late evening, when Baghdad residents fearing criminal attacks have long since gone home...

Mosul is a much smaller and less complex city than Baghdad. It is also outside the heartland of support for Saddam north and west of Baghdad where attacks on U.S. forces are most common.

''People know each other here. It's a smaller city,'' Akil Haydar, an employee at a factory making propane bottles, said in a small store selling shiny black olives in the city centre.

But the 101st Airborne has also gone out of its way to try to ensure anti-American hostility does not build up.

After troops mount nightime raids to arrest someone, they return next day to explain the operation to local people. If a door has to be broken down, soldiers will fix it later.

Often troops surround a house and then knock on the door and ask the occupants to come out. Petraeus says only Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay, killed in a gunbattle in the city on July 22, have put up a fight when faced with that situation.
'
'Based on what happened to them, I don't think there will be too many more that will do that,'' he said.

GOOD IDEA

America is creating jobs for Saddam Hussein's "nuclear mujahideen" and weapons experts to stop them selling their expertise to others, a senior US official said yesterday.

John Bolton, an under-secretary of state responsible for international security, said America planned to offer mid-level scientists immunity if they agreed to divulge Saddam's arms secrets...

Mr Bolton said that Saddam had developed his programmes "as close as possible to a weapons capability without being detected".

This included keeping about 1,000 scientists, known as "nuclear mujahideen", ready for the day when they could resume work on an atomic bomb after sanctions were lifted. The coalition fears that this know-how could be "sold to the highest bidder".

OH OH

Location indicates these might be 1st Brigade guys.

Needless to say we all hold our breath when such reports come our way.

Two U.S. soldiers on a routine patrol in Baghdad's Sadr City were ambushed and killed Thursday night, according to the Coalition Press Information Center...

Four other soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were wounded in the ambush, CPIC spokeswoman Nicci Trent said...

Thursday's suicide attack was the first of its kind in the sprawling neighborhood, which used to be called Saddam City but was one of the places where the former Iraqi leader was most hated.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10th. The 152d day of CPT Patti's deployment.

I MEAN, HOW BAD CAN THINGS BE?

If they have time for this sort of stuff...

Iraq's top gym changed its name yesterday to "The Arnold Classic" to honor Arnold Schwarzenegger's win in California. From the man in the street to aspiring bodybuilders, Schwarzenegger has long been a near icon in the country.

"Before anything he is a champion," owner Sabah Mehdi said at his gym, where the country's top athletes have trained.

"He was a star of the movies. So it is no surprise that he is a champion politician. We need a strongman, a leader like him, in our country at this moment," said Mehdi.