SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22d.

CPT Patti has been in Baghdad for 195 days...and hasn't seen her mother in an even longer period.

Me, I'm sitting right here with my mother...teaching her to blog.

SOMETHING I'M NOT NEARLY SMART ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN

In the new Iraq even the Communist Party has adopted the politics of religion.

Karl Marx may have denounced it as the opiate of the masses, but Iraqi communists are promoting religion as a central part of the national fabric.

"We are a country where the absolute majority are Muslims and we cannot ignore the fact that Islam could be in many ways important for us," said Minister of Culture Mofeed al-Jazaeri.

Jazaeri, a member of the Communist Party's politburo, says the priority for Iraq today is not the secular separation of religion and state, but promoting a culture of democracy that accommodates Iraq's delicate ethnic and religious mix.

"We are trying to create a new democratic Iraq," he told Reuters in an interview.

Religion? "A new democratic Iraq"? Communists???

GOOD WORK, GUYS

A home-made launcher fitted with 30 rockets has been found in a street near the Italian embassy in Baghdad, Iraqi police chief General Ahmed Ibrahim told AFP.

IN OUR SECTOR

But according to our rear detachment commander, no soldiers were injured.

More than a dozen rockets fired from donkey carts slammed into Iraq's Oil Ministry and two downtown hotels Friday morning — brazen, coordinated strikes at some of Baghdad's most heavily protected civilian sites that defied a U.S. crackdown.

Two more rocket launchers mounted on donkey carts were found within hours, one of them 30 yards from the Italian Embassy, the other near the Academy of Fine Arts, both in the Waziriya neighborhood north of downtown. Neither appeared to have been fired.

And because noone was hurt, allow me this bit of levity.

Does this give a whole new meaning to the phrase "Blow it out your a*s"?

And then there is this:

Ziyad, a 25-year-old Iraqi man who was staying with his bride Rownaq at the Palestine for their wedding night, was two doors down from one of the areas hit on the 15th floor.

"We were sleeping when we heard the sound of a rocket," he said. "This is our wedding present."

Note to Ziyad: Dude, I hope you weren't intending on a career as a honeymoon travel consultant...

ONE OF OUR OWN

And by all personal accounts with the folks I've spoken to, he was an exceptional young man.

First Lt. Benjamin J. Colgan always stood out.

“Superhuman and fearless,” is how Lt. Col. Bill Rabena described Colgan, 30, of Kent, Wash. Rabena, battalion commander with the 1st Armored Division’s Giessen-based 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, tried to define Colgan by his long list of achievements, but concluded that words “fall woefully short.”

“To me, Ben was the bravest, most decent and selfless man I’ve ever known,” Rabena wrote in Colgan’s eulogy, which was read Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at Colgan’s funeral in Aurora, Mo., his wife Jill’s hometown.

CENTCOM NEWS RELEASES

November 20, 2003
Ma Barker?

Release Number: 03-11-35

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

82 AD CAPTURES SEVEN ANTI-COALITION CELL OPERATIVES

FALLUJAH, Iraq – Soldiers from 1st Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment captured an anti-coalition cell leader and six others in a cordon and search yesterday in Fallujah.

Kurdia Turkey Ali and her six sons were operating an independent anti-coalition cell. The group is responsible for planning attacks and disrupting coalition activities. They are also suspected of coordinating an attack against a civilian convoy near Fallujah that killed two government contractors.

The seven individuals are currently being held for further questioning. Kurdia Ali, the female, is being guarded by female military police.

LITTLE OR NONE

Posting today, that is.

In a few minutes my brothers and I will gather up Mom and head down to Clinton, SC to see her father who just yesterday turned 92 years old.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21st.

CPT Patti has been physically outside the family circle for 194 days during her deployment to Baghdad.

Me, I had dinner in that family circle last night. There is magic in that circle.

DON'T LET THIS SLIP UP ON YOU

Families hoping to send a Christmas package to soldiers in the Middle East have only two weeks to get the items mailed so they show up in time for Christmas.

The Postal Service said last week the deadline for packages sent to the Central Command area for Christmas delivery must be mailed by First Class or Priority Mail by Dec. 4.

LIBERAL DRIVEL

A fraction of the cost of the Iraq war would be enough to feed the world's poor and help boost peace and security, the head of the United Nations food agency said yesterday.

"We look at tens of billions being spent today in Iraq, the conflict... (With) even a small percentage of the commitment that the world has made to Iraq, you could feed every hungry child in the world," James Morris, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told a news conference.

Oh, good point Einstein. A fraction of the cost of the Iraq war will feed the world?

What about a fraction of the freakin' UN budget of which the USA pays the lions share?

How about a fraction of what Osama Bin Laden has spent to finance Islamofacism around the world?

How about a fraction of the billions poured into Saddam's garish houses as a result of the United Nation's own "Oil for Palaces Program".

All you have established Mr. Morris, is that a fraction of a very large number can still yield a very large number.

Where you are an idiot, Mr. Morris, is that you choose to imply that the liberation of 25 million oppressed Iraqis is an opportunity cost to the feeding of the world's hungry.

Mr. Morris, a fraction of the oxygen that you breathe would sustain newborn babies for days. But that doesn't make it a sensible argument now does it?

LTC WEST UPDATE

God help us if we convict this man.

An Army officer fought back tears Wednesday as he acknowledged threatening to shoot an Iraqi detainee to extract information about a planned attack, saying that to protect his troops he would "go to hell with a gasoline can in my hand."...

During breaks in the hearing, sympathetic soldiers approached West and offered support. Some asked that their picture be taken with him. A female soldier approached West and hugged him outside the hearing room.

West also got some support from Washington. Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, said unless new information emerges, he thinks the officer "should be commended for his actions in interrogation that prevented an attack on the soldiers of his command. That's my feeling, and I think others may share it but may not want to say it."

WE FAILED ALL OUR MARKETING AND PR CLASSES

If there's one thing Country Insurance and Financial Services has learned after a Carol Stream employee's second extended military leave in two years, it's this: Never say you fired him.

"We're very, very sorry this has caused confusion," said Country Insurance spokeswoman Cathy Oloffson. "Our intent has never been to hurt anyone on active duty."

Wednesday, the Bloomington, Ill.-based insurance company dropped a longstanding policy of firing servicemen on tour for longer than nine months.

Even though the firm said those fired while serving military duty have been rehired when they return, the company nonetheless retracted its policy after news reports that an employee had been fired twice while on active duty.

Anthony Marcukaitis, 56, of Carol Stream has been serving in Iraq with the Army Reserves 814th Military Police Company since February. Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, the insurance adjuster had never been away from work at Country's Schaumburg office for an extended period.

BIG MONEY

Let's hope it brings big results.

U.S. authorities on Wednesday offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture or killing of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the most wanted man in Iraq after deposed dictator Saddam Hussein.

A FINGER ON THE PULSE

Reading grafitti in Baghdad.

Hussein loyalists shout their yearning for the deposed dictator - "Saddam will come again" - followed by the coda on the same line from a detractor: "Through my behind!"

There are other good lines here...such as

"Saddam the dirty, the son of the dirty, in which septic tank are you hiding now?"

Read the rest here.

"IT WAS THE SAME FEELING I HAD WHEN I WENT TO DACHAU"

Mecham told of going to a part of the prison that Saddam Hussein used as death row.

“It was a run down prison, very surreal,” he said. “It was the same feeling I had when I went to Dachau. You could almost hear the voices of the people as you saw the Arabic writing on the walls.

The Arab translators told us it was emotional writings honoring the people who were being put to death wrongfully. Saddam took the life of about 300 Iraqis a day by hanging them.

The ‘Death Room’ had these huge rings welded to the ceiling. They had huge metal trap doors that would just clang after they opened. The whole prison could hear the doors clang open. If the people didn’t die, they would be dropped down to a floor below and then thrown into a room and gassed.

The Iraqis plan to make that part of the prison a memorial.”

This guy says it was immoral. The prison and the murders? No...stopping it.

Anti-war protesters did manage to make their voices heard. As Mr Bush was introduced to dignitaries, demonstrator Joe Gittings produced a loudhailer and heckled him until he was drowned out by the band playing the US national anthem.

Mr Gittings, 32, a physics PhD student, said: "This is a completely immoral and unjustified war that is already having disastrous consequences."

Disasterous consequences such as the estimated 60,000 not being killed by Saddam Hussein since he was toppled .

Bonus points to the British musicians who "drowned him out" by playing the Star Spangled Banner.

Touche'

WHO REPORTS ON THE REPORTERS?

Bloggers, apparently.

I feel sure if learned the United States Army was responsible an incident such as this you would feel obligated to publish the story and condemn the act.

In this case I respectfully suggest you have an obligation to do somewhat more.


Find out what the NY Times obligation is here.

EVIL

A car bomb exploded outside the home of a tribal leader in a city west of the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, killing a child, in the latest in a series of attacks aimed at U.S. allies.

The explosion in Ramadi targeted the house of Amer Ali Suleiman, according to his cousin, Yasser Ali. Suleiman is a leader of the Duleim tribe, one of the largest Sunni Muslim tribes in Iraq. He is a member of the city council and is close to the Americans. Suleiman was not injured but at least one child was killed, Ali said.

And more evil

Bomb blasts have hit the British consulate and a London-based bank in Istanbul, Turkey, and officials say at least 25 people have been killed and nearly 400 injured...

The explosions came five days after 25 people died in suicide bombings outside two Jewish synagogues in Istanbul. The bombers in those attacks have been identified as Turkish men who share the philosophy of the al-Qaida terrorist network.

An unidentified caller to Turkey's Anatolia news agency claimed that al-Qaida and a Turkish Islamic militant group jointly were responsible for Thursday's blasts. The claim could not be confirmed.

Bombings. Iraqi city councilmen. Turkish synagogues. British banks in Turkey. Bali night clubs. And on and on.

The war is global, whether you've joined it or not.

And consider this...if they are striking this regularly outside of the USA...it says to me that we are doing something right in making it damned difficult to strike within the USA.

RAMPING UP

1st Infantry Division gets ready for their rotation.

“The things that are happening here [at the training area] are the same things happening in Iraq. Are they happening with the same intensity? Probably not.”

Among the Iraq-specific scenarios were encountering improvised explosive devices and convoy ambushes, and clearing mines from roadways, Naifeh said.

A REUNION OF SORTS

And it involves one of our own!

Cruikshank’s mother, Teresa, is married to Lateef Al-Saraji, who fled Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. When Cruikshank arrived in Baghdad in May with the 1st Armored Division’s 16th Engineer Battalion, she had an interpreter call her relatives, who live 10 minutes from her camp.

“The next day they ended up showing up at the front gate and asked to see me,” said Cruikshank, a Portsmouth, Ohio, native based in Giessen, Germany, with the 1st AD. “I was really surprised; I didn’t think they’d show up that quick.”

For the next two weeks she met with her stepfather’s brothers, using a dictionary and drawing pictures to communicate. On her 22nd birthday, they threw a party and brought a three-tier cake and kebabs to the base, located at the former Baghdad Island amusement park.

During their daily meetings, the Iraqis offered to help the soldier. But it was she who helped them by talking to her first sergeant and others about finding them work. In June, the family opened a general store on base — next to the post exchange — to sell snacks, cigarettes, rugs and DVDs.

CENTCOM NEWS RELEASES

November 19, 2003
Release Number: 03-11-32

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TF “ALL AMERICAN” CAPTURES ATTACKER OF POLICE CHIEF’S SON
AR RAMADI, Iraq – In a raid last night, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment of Task Force “All American” captured the individual believed to be responsible for the attack on the Ar Ramadi police chief’s son two nights ago.
Coalition forces believe the captured man has also been carrying out attacks on soldiers in the region.
Local Iraqis tipped off coalition forces on where the attacker was located. Tips on anti coalition activities have increased six times since last month. Iraqis continue to take security into their own hands by cooperating with the coalition.
In a separate incident near Iskandariyah, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment captured 16 individuals in the act of preparing an improvised explosive device. The men were found preparing multiple mortar tubes, mortars, grenades, and rocket propelled grenades for an attack.


November 19, 2003
Release Number: 03-11-33

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OPERATIONS MAKE IRAQ SAFER, IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE

AR RAMADI, IRAQ – The 82nd Airborne Division conducted operations to seek out those that destabilize the country and try to prevent coalition forces from carrying out their mission in Iraq. By accomplishing their missions, coalition forces continue to make Iraq a more stable and prosperous place for its citizens.

In the past 24 hours, soldiers from the 82dAbn. Div., also known as Task Force “All American,” went on 160 patrols, nine of which were joint patrols with members of the Iraqi Border Guard and Iraqi police. Five offensive operations were also conducted; all were cordon and searches. These operations resulted in six enemy killed, three wounded, and 15 captured.

Soldiers engaged two criminals who were looting a munitions factory, near Iskandariyah. One looter was killed and the other was wounded. The wounded looter was taken to Forward Operating Base Chosin for further treatment. Following treatment he will remain in the custody of Coalition Forces. The incident is under investigation.

Tomorrow, the Al Anbar Trucking Company contract will be signed at 1 p.m. This initiative will create employment opportunities for hundreds in Al Anbar and generate additional revenue for the local economy, as local contractors will now begin moving non-essential supplies for coalition forces.

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Infantry Division, and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment continue to combine their efforts with the new local Iraqi government to make a safer place for its inhabitants and coalition soldiers.


November 19, 2003
Release Number: 03-11-34

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OPERATION IVY CYCLONE II

TIKRIT, Iraq– The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse conducted 42 planned attacks last evening as part of “Operation Ivy Cyclone II.” Utilizing, 155mm artillery, 120mm mortars, AH-64 “Apache” attack helicopters and direct fire from Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A1 “Abrams” tanks, 4th Infantry Division soldiers destroyed 12 anti-Coalition safe houses and buildings and suppressed 14 mortar-firing locations, as well as, four ambush sites.

Additionally, in six separate coordinated raids 4th Infantry Division soldiers captured 36 individuals suspected of anti-Coalition activities.

During several specific missions Task Force Ironhorse soldiers diminished the capabilities of anti-Coalition forces by targeting specific locations known to be used as platforms for coordination and control of enemy operations.

4th Infantry Division AH-64 “Apache” attack helicopters targeted an athletic field in Samarra that is a known mortar firing point. Three other locations in the same area were also targeted because of their proximity to Coalition positions and the fact that the locations have been used to launch mortars against the Coalition in the past.

As a part of the AH-64’s standard armament, 30mm cannons were used to hit enemy targets, as well as, two 500 lbs. bombs from F16 “Falcons”. Additionally, an artillery battery from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor fired numerous 155mm artillery rounds at specific targets in the same area.

In the Tikrit area Coalition Forces employed artillery, mortars and attack helicopters to target locations that are used by former regime loyalist and insurgents to attack 4th Infantry Division positions.

Operation “Ivy Cyclone II” is the ninth operation associated with the elimination of non-compliant forces with in the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse area of operation.