Archives for the 'Iraq' Category
Dots, Not Connected
Published on 6 Nov 2009 at 1:10 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, America, Iraq, Islam, Jihad, Palestinians, military.
Not in time, anyway. The murders of 12 people and wounding of 31 others by one man with two handguns probably made a lot of things painfully obvious, and probably helped cut through a lot of clutter and red tape pretty quickly.
But when, within a matter of hours, the following facts and suspicions are widely reported, [...]
“We Enjoyed It”
Published on 31 Oct 2009 at 11:09 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
The smallest of the four combat branches leads the Valour IT push as of 10 a.m. this morning. It was Marines, $13,486; Army, $11,910; Air Force $5,060; and Navy, $4,790.
The Fourth Star
Published on 28 Oct 2009 at 9:34 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army by Washington Post Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe. Judging by an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air today, it sounds interesting. The focus is on four generals, their backgrounds, how they were influenced by the military’s Vietnam and Gulf War experiences as they [...]
Standing Tall
Published on 28 Oct 2009 at 6:00 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
I met USMC Lance Cpl. James Crosby in June 2004. He was 19. He was a kid from a blue-collar background in Winthrop, Mass., and his body was a mess. But I could tell within minutes of meeting him that he was no ordinary kid, and I was pretty sure I’d hear his name again. From [...]
Alternate Iraq War Universe … Obama Won!
Published on 25 Oct 2009 at 10:35 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Obama, media, moronocy.
It’s a weird Tom Friedman dream sequence:
Read ‘Alternate Iraq War Universe … Obama Won!’
A Modern War Reader
Published on 27 Sep 2009 at 10:45 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, history, military.
JH Stuart, who you’ll know from his periodic comments here, is a Norwich- and UVM-trained civil engineering consultant in Vermont and former Army engineer in Italy and Vietnam who has attacked our current wars with a engineer’s thoroughness, taking them apart to see how they work with the following course of study. Stuart called it “The [...]
Dismount!
Published on 25 Sep 2009 at 9:51 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, history, military.
Treadheads no more. The unit I rode into Baghdad with, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, is now reflagged as 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 4th Brigade, 3rd ID. Hasta la vista, Bradley! Arrivederci, Abrams. Until we mech again. They’re running around in the dirt in Georgia and getting ready to go to Afghanistan, with about [...]
Not Liked Enough
Published on 14 Sep 2009 at 9:29 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, Obama, al qaeda.
Poor Obama, can’t catch a break. If he isn’t getting it from Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Sullivan over Guantanamo and gay marriage, he’s getting it from Osama over Iraq. CNN:
Good Start
Published on 10 Aug 2009 at 10:57 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Falls apart. Walter Rodgers, formerly of CNN, embedded with 3/7 Cav in the invasion of Iraq, on the latest evolution in the Spanish persecution of Gibson, Wolford and deCamp, spanks the Euro-righteousness that has prompted several Iraq-related political prosecutions. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where we part ways. CSM via Yahoo:
The Spanish case seems to be a [...]
Acute Defense Fund
Published on 10 Aug 2009 at 9:26 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
Teflon Don reports a defense fund has been established for his Army buddy, SSG George Nickel, who brought the war home with him. More from their copmpany commander, Badger Six, who is blogging again at The Long Walk Home.
Shadows Of War
Published on 8 Aug 2009 at 10:39 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, PTSD, military.
Acute Politics on a friend back from the war who ran into some trouble there and more back here.
University Of Combat
Published on 31 Jul 2009 at 10:24 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, academia, media, military.
The University of Alaska J-school is embedding student journalists with an Alaska-based Stryker battalion in Diyala province, one of those parts of Iraq where al-Qaeda remains a problem, posing a reasonable likelihood that the three students and their professor could be exposed to fire. Chronicle of Higher Education:
Spanish Judicial Misconduct Thwarted
Published on 14 Jul 2009 at 10:35 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Spain, justice, military.
Spain’s National Court finds an investigative judge presented one-sided evidence in an effort to railroad three American soldiers, and tosses the murder case against Shawn Gibson, Philip Wolford and Philip deCamp in the April 8, 2003, killing of Spanish newsman Jose Couso in the Hotel Palestine. Again. Reuters:
Read ‘Spanish Judicial Misconduct Thwarted’
Good Stuff Done
Published on 7 Jul 2009 at 8:33 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Bush, Iran, Iraq, Obama, dummkopf!.
By he who must not be named or even indirectly referenced. Not without dismissive derision.
Christopher Hitchens, who was for liberating Iraq before he was for the guy who wanted to abandon it, comes out for the liberation of Iraq and subsequent elections there as the inspiration for the pro-democracy movement in Iran.
Hey, whose idea was [...]
ARVN Nights, IA Days
Published on 1 Jul 2009 at 9:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, military, vietnam.
That’s meant to be a hopeful note, that title, as American forces pull back from Iraqi cities under a neogotiated political deal that will test the new Iraqi Army. Maggie’s Farm glances back for an understanding of current events, looking at the much-maligned and ultimately abandoned Army of the Republic of Vietnam, as an example of what should not be allowed to happen [...]
National Sovereignty Day
Published on 30 Jun 2009 at 1:29 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
It’s a newly declared holiday in Iraq, and a new day as US troops pull out of the cities. Except to the extent they’ll need to be running around the cities training and advising Iraqi troops, and conducting hits on terrorists in the cities and out of them. Which sounds like a wide-open door you could [...]
Read ‘National Sovereignty Day’
Injustice Sought
Published on 21 May 2009 at 11:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, Spain, law & order, military, moronocy.
Again. Spanish judge reinstates charges against three American soldiers in the April 2003 Hotel Palestine incident. AP:
Judge Santiago Pedraz said he had obtained new testimony from witnesses contradicting the U.S. argument that the tank crew was responding to hostile fire when it shot at a Baghdad hotel housing Western journalists.
…
In a new 10-page indictment announced [...]
Small Wars, Big Warrior
Published on 15 May 2009 at 9:39 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, courage, military.
Maj. Steven Hutchison, 60, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. Vietnam veteran, KIA Iraq May 10, 2009. via Ace:
Richard Hutchison said that his older brother wanted to re-enlist immediately after 9/11 but that his wife was against it. He signed up again in July 2007 after she died, according [...]
Read ‘Small Wars, Big Warrior’
Small Wars Writ Large
Published on 15 May 2009 at 9:19 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
Dalton Fury at Small Wars Journal with a somewhat intimate view of McChrystal, aka The Pope, now taking over in Afghanistan, from the perspective of someone who served under him in peace and war. It doesn’t say much about what he’ll do in Afghanistan, but it says a lot about what kind of person is doing it.
Also [...]
Acute Literary
Published on 9 May 2009 at 11:16 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, literary, military.
A Sunday reading list from another mother’s son. Gordon Alanko, aka Teflon Don, home safe at Acute Politics with another simple, wistful, evocative post that reminds me how much I miss him, back when he was the best American combat writer on the ground in Iraq. I knew there was a reason why he was that good.
My parents [...]
Bush Lied, People Were Waterboarded
Published on 22 Apr 2009 at 9:21 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, al qaeda, media, pols.
Great hit for the left! McClatchy-Tribune has the details … some of them, anyway … that among other things, Khalid Sheikh Muhammed and Abu Zubaydah were asked about Saddam-al-Qaeda operational ties during their dunkings. McClatchy and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., are delighted to report no evidence of operational ties emerged from the sessions. But this is the [...]
Read ‘Bush Lied, People Were Waterboarded’
OBushma
Published on 13 Apr 2009 at 8:09 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Bush, Iraq, Obama, military, pols.
Boston Herald editorial: Obama the president pushes Congress for quick, no-effing-around action on his $83 billion warfighting request, to a great wringing of hands among his erstwhile pals in the anti-war left.
“This funding will do two things: It will prolong our occupation of Iraq through at least the end of 2011, and it will deepen and expand our [...]
Re The Power Of Being Dead Already
Published on 12 Apr 2009 at 8:43 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
April 12-15 and after:
But I told my buddy Mike Kirsch, a CBS Miami reporter who would know what I meant, that I was losing the power of being dead already, and I hated it.
That and hanging with the looting party.
Read ‘Re The Power Of Being Dead Already’
Victory At Last!
Published on 9 Apr 2009 at 12:49 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Bush, Iraq, military.
All it needed was the triumphant arrival of the conquering president. via White House:
Under enormous strain and under enormous sacrifice, through controversy and difficulty and politics, you’ve kept your eyes focused on just doing your job. And because of that, every mission that’s been assigned — from getting rid of Saddam, to reducing violence, to stabilizing [...]
Statue Toppled
Published on 9 Apr 2009 at 10:28 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
April 9, 2003:
Late in the afternoon, I called up the Boston Herald to dictate the day’s story. Deputy Managing Editor James MacLaughlin told me there was big news on CNN. The Marines had just liberated Baghdad. They were in front of the Palestine Hotel, where they pulled down a statue of Saddam. Did I know [...]
“A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”
Published on 8 Apr 2009 at 1:09 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
That went badly wrong. April 8, 2003:
The Gold Platoon Bradleys advanced up Haifa Street, engaging the bunkers in the park and snipers in surrounding buildings heavily with their 25 mm cannons and machine guns.
“I love you, Gold,” Wolford said over the radio. “I love you, baby! I love you, Gold!”
…
The Gold Bradleys dropped their ramps [...]
Read ‘“A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”’
Hello & Goodbye
Published on 7 Apr 2009 at 12:09 pm.
17 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Obama.
Obama shows his face in the country he wants to abandon. NYT. Check the AP art at the NYT link. Jumpy looks a little nervous.
Obama, by the way, graciously admits to Turks he was full of it re Iraq:
“I have a responsibility to make sure that as we bring troops out, that we do so [...]
“Peace Be With You” Seemed Like A Good Start …
Published on 7 Apr 2009 at 12:56 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
April 7, 2003:
… We could still hear a lot of gunfire in several directions, but none of it was in our vicinity and we ignored it. By early afternoon, we were getting comfortable in the intersection by the big melodramatic July 14th memorial – a bronze statue depicting one Iraqi soldier slumped dead, two looking [...]
Read ‘“Peace Be With You” Seemed Like A Good Start …’
On Getting Killed And Not Getting Killed
Published on 6 Apr 2009 at 8:49 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Memory Lane takes a pit stop south of Baghdad. April 6, 2003:
The Bradley would be carrying a Psyops soldier who would play pre-recorded Arabic messages from loudspeakers mounted on top of the armored vehicle. When I got back, the Bradley crew was watching as a Psyops team sergeant addressed three or four of his men. He [...]
Read ‘On Getting Killed And Not Getting Killed’
Achtung Baby
Published on 4 Apr 2009 at 1:00 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
April 4, 2003:
Baxter and I were sitting on my cot, backs against the Bradley’s skirt plate, eating MREs for breakfast and talking about Sgt. Lustig. He was the tough platoon sergeant who didn’t talk much and always meant exactly what he said. He was the one with “ACHTUNG BABY” stenciled on his tank’s gun tube. His [...]
“This War Is Gay!”
Published on 3 Apr 2009 at 12:30 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Re the sexual orientation of war. April 3, 2003:
We crossed the Euphrates around noon. I was asleep in the back and missed it. Another brigade, bounding ahead of us, was responsible for all the wreckage around the bridge.
Baxter was bored and annoyed that someone else was getting all this action. He began bitching about the [...]
Events In The Night Sky
Published on 2 Apr 2009 at 1:15 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Remarked upon. April 2, 2003:
Around midnight, a longer stop, again in the desert. We got out, pissed at the side of the track. We decided to do some housecleaning and threw some empty MRE boxes off to one side of the road. Baxter, Smitty and I shared a couple of butts by the track. We [...]
Read ‘Events In The Night Sky’
“That Bitch Just Froze!”
Published on 31 Mar 2009 at 8:15 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Personal anniversary, March 31, 2003:
We came out of the desert at dawn. The tanks kicked up dust by mud hut farms, their skull-and-crossed-saber guidons whipping in the wind.
“This all looks so ancient … Nothing has changed here in 2,000 years,” said the LT, up in his turret hatch. There were people in the doorways of the [...]
Read ‘“That Bitch Just Froze!”’
Joker One
Published on 27 Mar 2009 at 8:47 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
A friend with combat embed experience recommends Joker One: A Marine Platoon’s Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood , calls it “fantastic.”
Dallas Morning News loved it:
Author Donovan Campbell, who now lives in Dallas with his wife and young daughter, had spent a no-obligation summer in the Marines’ Officer Candidate School. And despite his own reservations, he [...]
Living On Homeric Time
Published on 21 Mar 2009 at 9:08 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Iraq.
Six years yesterday. I thought about it a couple of times, thought about what I was doing that morning and about what ensued. Saw some faces in the dark as I drove home. Six years later, I can drive up the highway without the mild g-force of acceleration, forward movement of the vehicle, triggering a flood of armored assault [...]
Book Thrown
Published on 12 Mar 2009 at 9:44 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Bush, Iraq, dummkopf!, stupid criminals.
As the other shoe drops. Muntadar al-Shoedi will be cooling his heels for three years. Hushpuppy hero shouts “Long Live Iraq.” NYT with the agony of de feet. There’s a corner of Florsheim’s that will be forever … never mind. His lawyers say that sentence is a couple of sizes too large, he was just trying to [...]
Manners
Published on 11 Mar 2009 at 9:50 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Britain, Iraq, Islam.
Turns out Obama’s not the only one who’s rude to Brits. UK Telegraph: Muslims shout abuse at returning Tommies.
Bad Old Days
Published on 10 Mar 2009 at 11:30 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, Obama.
Encored as a suicide bomber hits Iraqi Sunni-Shiite peace conference, kills 33, in Abu Ghraib. CNN. Sounds like someone’s sending a message. May want to mull it ahead of making big production exit-plan announcements in future. The towering victory of Bush’s surge doesn’t mean the job’s done, the threat of chaos and genocide has passed, or that strategically, we [...]
Long War, Petty Battle, Cheap Shots
Published on 9 Mar 2009 at 9:48 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, academia, military.
If the world were a perfect place, I’d advise David Kilcullen at Small Wars Journal not to waste any time or energy responding to the intellectually dishonest Andrew Bacevich’s trashing of Kilcullen’s The Accidental Guerrilla. Not least because lately Bacevich has been incapable of managing a coherent essay, not that that stops people from printing them. But Australian [...]
Read ‘Long War, Petty Battle, Cheap Shots’
Shell Game?
Published on 8 Mar 2009 at 9:25 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, Obama, military.
Mudville thinks the Obama admin is playing one, diverting a Stryker brigade that had been preparing for Iraq to Afghanistan amid much fanfare, and shortly afterward, sending a Stryker brigade to Iraq.
Logistical Issues
Published on 6 Mar 2009 at 8:24 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
Special Ops scattered around Iraq are concerned about what they’ll be doing for supply, transport and maintenance … and this article doesn’t mention it, but I’m going to guess backup security and supplemental firepower … when all the “combat troops” are pulled out of Iraq and they are left behind to do the counter-terrorism part. AP.
This Would Not Have Happened Under Saddam
Published on 1 Mar 2009 at 7:43 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Bush, Iraq, al qaeda.
Surber on the Iraq police arrest of AQ’s oil minister: “Thanks to President Bush, we now have an Arab nation that will arrest terrorists instead of funding them.”
Imagine a world where Saddam still ruled. Kind of hard, but here’s the world we’re waking up to this morning:
Read ‘This Would Not Have Happened Under Saddam’
Cast In Stone: War Consigned To History
Published on 27 Feb 2009 at 7:56 pm.
10 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Obama, media, military.
I’m trying to figure out which is more absurd. Obama committing himself to a troop withdrawal by August, 2010, or this AP Peace in Our Time gushfest on his speech:
Read ‘Cast In Stone: War Consigned To History’
(F-Bomb) Iraq, Or Lie?
Published on 24 Feb 2009 at 11:06 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Obama, military.
Obama either plans to shaft the nation our soldiers liberated, or he’s lying. AP: All combat troops out in 18 months. Earlier reporting on deep opposition by military commanders suggested the possibility of a face-saving fudge factor … not refering to combat troops as combat troops, but keeping them on hand, so Obama could have his withdrawal [...]
Iwo
Published on 23 Feb 2009 at 9:53 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, history, military.
64 years ago today, an iconic moment for a war-weary nation, a symbol that it might all be worth something. Gateway with some links and vid. So in these wars of ours, did we get an iconic Iwo moment. Yeah, but it didn’t end up on front pages across the nation. Almost no one noticed.
Mumbling
Published on 19 Feb 2009 at 8:43 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, Islam, india.
Incoherently in Mumbai, it’s Thomas Friedman, with the interesting news that no Indian Muslim cemetery will take the Mumbai terrorist bodies, and the clueless suggestion that what happens in India can influence the rest of the Muslim world.
Two Down
Published on 17 Feb 2009 at 6:36 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq.
It may be quiet, but it isn’t over. Two to be buried in Massachusetts this week.
UPDATE: Went down to my town’s central fire station this morning to get my burn permit, saw the flag at half-staff and asked who it was for. The chief said it was for these two young men, also Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass., [...]
Miracle Cure?
Published on 15 Feb 2009 at 3:22 pm.
11 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, media.
Anti-war scribbler goes to Iraq, starts to get it. Fascinating, if foul-mouthed “Open letter to a craven reporter in Iraq” at Huffington Post denounces a lefty darling’s agenda-driven reporting, praises the military’s practical approach, talks about some harsh facts on the ground, and speaks out for doing the right thing by the Iraqi people. Sort of [...]
When In Rome
Published on 15 Feb 2009 at 10:02 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, history.
Tom Ricks sits in the Forum, mulls the ruins of ancient “Mission Accomplished” arches, and looks at the prospects for renewed war in Iraq.
Big Hollywood Re Small Hollywood
Published on 11 Feb 2009 at 12:05 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Hollywood, Iraq.
John Nolte at Big Hollywood with the Top 5 conservative moments in film in the last couple of decades, and small-minded Hollywood’s tragic failure to record the great moments of our time.
