This Fucking War

Kunar Afghanistan soldiers tell their story

2008-07-24T23:10:00.000-05:00

"I was wondering about this battle, in which nine brave (overused sometimes, I'm sure, but not here) Americans lost their lives defending an outpost, after I heard it in the news. Here is its recounting. The last paragraph, first and then the rest under the fold:

"It was some of the bravest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys," Stafford said, then paused. "Normal humans wouldn’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that — getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head … It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ’ em off."
Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.

"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us.""

Asymmetric Military

Speaking with Sahwa Leaders in Taji - 07.21.2008

2008-07-24T23:00:00.001-05:00

Iraq, Baghdad / Taji – Another neighborhood in the north of Baghdad named Taji is suffering from weak security since the beginning of 2004. Taji was a very dangerous area and overrun by militias. Further, one of the largest joint US/Iraqi military bases in Iraq is in Taji. Because of this there have been many attacks on the convoys coming in and out, attacks on the trucks and drivers delivering supplies to the Taji base.

Lots of raids and firefights were happening in Taji in order to control the security situation. Until late 2007, if you will ask a cab driver to take you to Taji they would refuse because it’s too dangerous for them. If they were Shi’a they may reasonably be afraid of being kidnapped by one of the Sunni militias and found dead a few days later.

The Iraqi Ministry of I established more than 100 police checkpoints in the area of Taji along with checkpoints from the Iraqi National Guard in order to control militias and unknown groups. Another well known problem in the area of Taji were the gangs. It is very common in Iraq that if you are driving a modern car and you are driving in a dangerous area such as that around Taji, there is a high possibility that you will return home on foot, if you were lucky and not killed.

Tribes in Taji such as Al-Tammimi decided to fight Al-Qa’eda and all groups that were related to them. Sheikh Nadeem Hatem Sultan Al-Tammimi, the head of Al-Tammimi tribe in Taji, asked all the sons of the Al-Tammimi tribe to fight Al-Qaeda and to join Al-Sahwa Council in order to restore security in the area. One of the first things this tribe did was to establish checkpoints to search the cars coming in and out of the area around Taji. These new checkpoints were established because there were doubts about the checkpoints belonging to the Iraqi MOI. There were many rumors about the MOI checkpoints not interfering with the work of Al-Qa’eda or stopping cars that were laden with guns or explosives.

Shops and some schools were closed due to the lack of security, students were killed as well as headmasters and teachers. Many families living there decided to stop sending their children to school in Taji in order to keep them alive. Families became especially worried after 50 students were killed on a road near Taji that lead to the area around the Taji military base. Even for students coming from colleges like Baghdad University or others used to be stopped at fake checkpoints and asked for their identity to know if they were Sunni or Shi’a. If they were found to be Shi’a they might be taken to an unknown area and killed the next day, something that happened many times frome 2006 to 2007.

Alive in Baghdad

Watch Video

Great video

Alusi Survives Yet Another Assassination Attempt

2008-07-24T00:15:00.000-05:00

"Liberal Iraqi MP Mithal Alusi’s family home in West Baghdad's Hai Al-Jam’ia neighborhood was reduced to rubble this morning after terrorists had rigged the structure with explosives in an apparent assassination attempt. Alusi, a Sunni, had been leading in recent weeks the drive to repatriate internally displaced Shia and Sunni families back to their neighborhoods in Western Baghdad.

A couple of days ago, Alusi visited the house that his late father, a college professor, had built in the 1970s but did not enter the premises. There is a ‘Sons of Iraq’ checkpoint manned by ex-insurgents directly across from the house. An investigation as to the causes of their negligence (surprise, surprise) is underway by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.

Today’s event is a reminder that men such as Alusi, whose two sons were killed in a previous assassination attempt in February 2005, are still active in Iraqi politics and had never given up on the country despite being embattled and unfunded. He always stood for a secular and non-sectarian patriotic agenda, one that is being emulated by many Iraqi politicians now. It is even being parroted by the Consensus Bloc that rejoined Maliki's cabinet a couple of days ago. They have come a long way since their previous candidate for the Ministry of Culture fled Iraq over a year ago--with U.S. official connivance--ahead of an arrest warrant charging him with the murder of Alusi's sons."
Talisman Gate

Obama, Iraq, the caliphate, Afghanistan and a massive terrorist attack on Europe. It's all here in today's column: Stop Terror's Next Act.

The Surge Is Over

2008-07-23T23:53:00.002-05:00

"It's official! The last of the 5 additional combat brigades sent to Iraq in 2007 has redeployed says the military. While the additional troops isn't the sole reason for improvements in Iraq, it was crucial in providing stability. The statistics speak for themselves:"LT Nixon Rants

Suspicion, terrain are foes for US in Afghan surge

2008-07-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - As violence in Afghanistan escalates, the U.S. is responding by scrambling to get in more troops. But it's far from clear how the strategy will work in a vast, rugged land where hiding places are many and suspicion of foreign forces is deep.

Both U.S. presidential candidates have proposed sending more troops to fight the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, where more foreign soldiers have died than in Iraq the past two months.

Democrat candidate Barack Obama, whose visit to Afghanistan over the weekend underscored its growing importance, wants to move about 7,000 U.S. soldiers here from Iraq. His Republican opponent, John McCain, has not specified how many extra troops he would send.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has suggested an acceleration in plans to shift U.S. forces to Afghanistan next year from Iraq. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says more troops would help cut into insurgents coming across the border from Pakistan.

Besides troops, the Pentagon wants to send some 800 more bomb-resistant vehicles here for protection against a spike in Iraq-style suicide attacks and roadside bombs. NATO is seeking more helicopters and combat units from America's often-reluctant European partners to fight in the country's volatile south.

These plans come on top of a surge in troops in Afghanistan that is already well under way. There are now 60,000 foreign soldiers, including 36,000 Americans, fighting an insurgency at its strongest since the Taliban regime was ousted 6 1/2 years ago. That's up from just 10,000 U.S. soldiers in 2003, when the war in Iraq began.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity said the Western military alliance can now send out more patrols and dot the mountain valleys near the border with Pakistan with small bases that let troops seek to develop relations with villagers in areas that have little contact with the Afghan government.

Laity said the alliance also is working closely with Pakistani border troops and making increasing use of "technical means" to monitor the frontier - an apparent reference to surveillance drones overhead and equipment like vibration sensors buried along mountain paths.

But local Afghan leaders along the frontier with Pakistan consider the reinforcement effort misguided, telling The Associated Press that more foreign troops will only make matters worse.

The officials said an increase in American troops could backfire because suspicion of NATO and the U.S. is strong in the region.

"They are launching search operations in villages, which is completely against the culture of the Pashtun people," said Tajeli Khan Sabir, a university professor who heads the Khost provincial council. "That makes the people very angry. This is causing a schism between the people and the government."

Maulvi Abdul Aziz, a member of the council of clerics in Nangarhar province, said the Taliban and other insurgents are winning support from the local people because of resentment over the foreign presence.

"The people are against the coalition and American forces in our area," he said. "Increasing foreign forces is not the solution. Strengthening the Afghan forces is."

Aziz said the best way to combat the insurgency would be to recruit and arm local tribesmen to defend their own neighborhoods, supported by strengthened Afghan security forces.

"If you have at least 50 local people together with police forces, they can maintain security in their own district, instead of sending foreigners with the police," he said.

Thousands of American soldiers are, in fact, helping train the new Afghan National Army, which now numbers 75,000, not far short of the target of 86,000. But the Afghan army still plays largely a secondary role to foreign forces, which provide air support in battles with insurgents.

The key is to eventually get people on the side of the national government and have the Afghan army and local police provide security, said Andrew Krepinevich, a former U.S. officer who served in Vietnam and is now an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.

But that is not likely to happen for years. So international troops are crucial for propping up the democratically elected but increasingly unpopular government of President Hamid Karzai.

Insurgents aren't the only enemy. Foreign troops in Afghanistan also face a formidable foe in the terrain itself - a vast sprawl of forbidding mountains that are difficult to police.

Nadir Khan Katawazi, a lawmaker from Paktika province, said U.S. troops are overstretched, able to block only one of eight points on the border where insurgents infiltrate from Pakistan.

"It is clear that when Americans are at one door, they (militants) use others," he said.

Analysts also stress that even with better security in Afghanistan, the insurgency cannot be quelled unless Pakistan cracks down on militant havens on its side of the ill-mapped border, which snakes for 1,500 miles through rugged peaks and across deserts.

The U.S. faces a conundrum in fighting an insurgency in Pakistan, where it has no ground forces and public sentiment is strong against ever allowing troops in. It can do little more in direct military action than launch periodic missile strikes on suspected al-Qaida hideouts.

"My impression is that there is very little that foreign troops can do about the situation on the frontier," said Barnett Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan at New York University. "The problem is: What happens on the Pakistan side of the border, and who is responsible for it?"

William Wood, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said Pakistan's government is not doing all it can.

"I think that they are doing substantially more than their worst critics say," Wood said. "That does not mean that Pakistan is doing all it can be doing."

Pakistan denies Afghan accusations that its main intelligence agency is backing the Taliban. An army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said that without the tens of thousands of Pakistani soldiers along the border, militant infiltration into Afghanistan "could have been 20 times more."

But he also acknowledged Pakistan's army is no longer on the offensive against militants and security has deteriorated in some areas on the frontier. He said the generals are waiting for the government to decide if the current strategy of seeking peace deals in militant-infested areas can work to quell extremist activities.

A retired Pakistani general, Talat Masood, said the best strategy is to coax Pakistan's new civilian government - a fragile coalition of the leading secular political parties - into making a strong effort to mobilize public opinion against Islamic militancy and extremism.

The U.S., he added, should fund economic development of the impoverished border region, share more intelligence with Pakistan and work to end mistrust between the U.S. and Pakistan militaries.

Washington has already given more than $10 billion in mostly military aid to Pakistan since it joined the war against terrorism. Proposed legislation being pushed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would triple humanitarian spending in Pakistan - $7.5 billion over the next five years - but threaten to cut military aid unless Islamabad did more to fight extremists.

Masood warned that intensified U.S. military action inside Pakistan trying to stop movement over the border will not work.

"Punitive action will only make things worse," he said. "If they start striking inside Pakistan it will only inflame passions, fuel deeper resentment of America and destabilize the government."
MyWay

America's Representatives in Iraq, Will It Make Americans Not Stupid?

2008-07-23T00:54:00.001-05:00

Listen Up You Civilian Pukes

"Iraq has seen a resurgence in media coverage as Sen. Obama has dropped into Baghdad for situational awareness. I actually think dog and pony shows like this are a beneficial matter for diplomacy, since it highlights America's commitment to our allies, shows the Iraqis that our leadership hasn't forgotten about them, and helps establish long-term relationships (our beloved founding fathers were big on this). But Obama totally bricks on a Nightline interview, according to AllahPundit, and it shows that his visit was just some lame campaign stop:

Q: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?
A: No, because, keep in mind that…

Q: You wouldn’t?

A: Keep in mind… These kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I’m absolutely convinced of, is that at that time we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with.

Can this election get any more stupid? HuffPo had a total stroke-piece about Obama saying he embodies everything great about America and the rest of the world would be jizzing in their pants at the thought of Obama coming to their humble nations. But if Obama is the cumulative sum of the American people, I'd have to be a little concerned."
LT Nixon Rants

Iraqis cast doubt on regional elections this year

2008-07-23T00:08:00.001-05:00

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's parliament pushed through a law Tuesday meant to pave the way for U.S.-backed provincial elections that will redistribute regional power. But the measure was clouded by a Kurdish boycott, and critics predicted the ballot won't be held this year.

The measure still needs to be approved by Iraq's three-member presidential council, which is led by Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, adding significance to the Kurdish objections.

Kurdish legislators, along with the two deputy parliament speakers, walked out of the chamber after lawmakers decided to hold a secret ballot that included in the law a requirement for ethnic power-sharing in the disputed oil center of Kirkuk.

Kurds' opposition to the equal distribution of provincial council seats among Kurds, Turkomen and Arabs in the Kirkuk region - outside Kurdish territory but considered by many Kurds to be part of their historical land - has been a major factor in stalling passage of the election law.

Holding elections for governing councils in Iraq's 18 provinces is seen by U.S. officials as another key step toward repairing Iraq's sectarian rifts. Many Sunni Arabs boycotted provincial balloting in January 2005, enabling Shiite Muslims and Kurds to win a disproportionate share of power.

A preliminary election law passed earlier this year had been touted as a sign that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress on the political front in addition to security gains. But the Iraqis then deadlocked over the follow-up law setting guidelines and allocating funds for the vote, which had been planned to begin Oct. 1.

Deputy parliament speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, said the secret ballot held in parliament Tuesday was unconstitutional and accused lawmakers of "arm-twisting."

He said the presidency council was unlikely to approve the law, meaning it would go back to parliament for further debate - a move that would make provincial elections this year unlikely.

"It is foolish and absurd to pass a law that has been rejected by an entire bloc," al-Attiyah said at a news conference. "Regrettably, after doing this, I do not see any chance for the elections to be held in this year if this process continues."

The passage came two days after Iraq's election authority proposed delaying the start of provincial balloting until Dec. 22 because it was too late to organize the balloting.

Al-Attiyah and the Kurdish deputy parliament speaker, Arif Taifor, suggested that even a December date was optimistic.

Prominent Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said Kurds would raise the Kirkuk power-sharing provision with the constitutional court.

"The draft of the provincial elections law will be referred to the presidential council, which will definitely not approve it. So the elections will be postponed until next year," Othman insisted.

Tensions have been rising in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, as Kurds increasingly press their claim on the city and urge the government to hold a long-delayed referendum in Kirkuk on whether to join the Kurdish region.

A Kurdish journalist, Soran Mama Hama, was killed near the city late Monday. A reporter for the Kurdish-language magazine Leven, he often covered government corruption, and the Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders urged Iraqi authorities to investigate whether he was killed over his work.

"He wrote hard-hitting articles about local politicians and security officials and had received threats from people telling him to stop his investigative reporting," the group said.

Iraq's largest Sunni political party, meanwhile, denounced the shooting deaths of two relatives of a provincial governor Sunday during a U.S. raid north of Baghdad.

The U.S. military said two armed relatives of Salahuddin governor Hamad Hammoud were killed during a raid aimed at al-Qaida in Iraq elements in the city of Beiji. It said the slain men showed "hostile intent" and American troops fired in self-defense.

The Iraqi Islamic Party argued the killings of the governor's son and nephew were unjustified, calling them a "heinous crime."

It also decried what it called "continued violations of the legal and judicial authority of the Iraqi government" by U.S. forces in Iraq.
MyWay

US general warns Russia on nuclear bombers in Cuba

2008-07-22T23:14:00.002-05:00

Russia would cross "a red line for the United States of America" if it were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba, a top US air force officer warned on Tuesday.
"If they did I think we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America," said General Norton Schwartz, nominated to be the air force's chief of staff.

He was referring to a Russian news report that said the military is thinking of flying long-range bombers to Cuba on a regular basis.

It was unclear from the report whether that would involve permanent basing of nuclear bombers in Cuba, or just use of the island as a refueling stop.

In his confirmation hearing to become the air force's chief of staff, Schwartz was asked what he would recommend if Russia were to base nuclear capable bombers in Cuba.

"I would certainly offer the best military advice that we engage the Russians not to pursue that approach," he said.

The newspaper Iszvestia on Monday cited an unnamed senior Russian air force official in Moscow as saying that Russia may start regular flights by long-range bombers to Cuba in response to US plans to install a missile defense system in eastern Europe.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on the Russian report because there had been no "official response from the Russian government."

Conducting long-range bomber patrol to Cuba would signal a reawakening of military cooperation by former Cold War allies Moscow and Havana, and recall the 1962 missile crisis that brought Washington and Moscow to the brink of war.

Over the past year, Russia already has revived long-range strategic bomber patrols in the Pacific and north Atlantic.

The Russian moves come amid rising tensions over the US missile defense plans, and warnings by Moscow that it will be forced them to counter them militarily.

Until now, US officials have shrugged off the stepped up Russian military activity, while insisting that a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors it plans to install in Poland pose no threat to Russia.

White House press secretary Dana Perino recalled assurances US President George W. Bush offered Russian President Dmitry Medvedev two weeks ago at a G8 summit.

"The president repeated that our missile defense system should not be seen as a threat to Russia, we want to actually work with the Russians to design a system that Russia, and Europe and the United States could work on together as equal partners and we'll continue to do that," she said.

"We seek strategic cooperation with the Russians. We want to work with them on preventing missiles from rogue nations like Iran from threatening our friends and allies," said Perino.

But Medvedev has warned that the missile defense project worsens regional security and will force Moscow to consider counter-measures
BreitBart

Hey, Didn't I see something about Cold War 2.0. I guess here it is.

"It's the money"

2008-07-22T23:14:00.001-05:00

Daily Kos

Here is my answer

"It's the money"

No it's the soldier that doles out the money, and does it from a neighborhood FOB, and that cards everyone that gets paid. If it was only so easy as bribing a few Sheiks, we could have fixed the Israeli, Palestinian problem years ago.

Wake up, the coffee is getting cold.

US troops kill relatives of Iraq governor in raid

2008-07-21T00:45:00.000-05:00

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. military says American soldiers have killed two armed relatives of a provincial governor during a raid against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The military says in a statement that the soldiers were acting in self-defense when they shot the relatives of Hamad Hammoud, governor of Salahuddin province. It says the slain men showed "hostile intent."

The raid happened Sunday in Beiji in northern Iraq. The deputy governor, Abdullah Hussein Jabarah, says the slain men were the son and nephew of the governor.

The U.S. military says a financier for al-Qaida in Iraq was wounded and captured during the operation.
MyWay

Strange story to be sure?

Kurdish rebels release 3 German captives

2008-07-21T00:42:00.000-05:00

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Three Germans seized by Kurdish rebels during a climbing expedition on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey more than a week ago were released Sunday in good condition, authorities said.

The hostages were released at noon, the pro-Kurdish news agency Firat quoted the Kurdistan Workers' Party rebel command as saying. The three are in good condition and will be handed over to German authorities after a routine medical check, said Mehmet Cetin, governor of Agri province in eastern Turkey.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the news, saying: "I am relieved."

"I want to thank everyone who played a role" in their release, she said.

The three men were kidnapped from Agri province on July 8, allegedly as a rebel protest against a German crackdown on supporters of the group known as the PKK.

The rebels have been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984 in a campaign that has left tens of thousands of people dead. Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

A PKK spokesman had said the group seized the climbers to force Germany to halt the crackdown on its supporters.

German authorities had refused to be blackmailed into negotiating the climbers' release.

On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan called his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to let him know the Germans were in Turkish custody, the Foreign Ministry said. Officials refused to say where or when the climbers were released.

In Berlin, Steinmeier confirmed the release but did not provide further details.

"Our thanks goes to the Turkish government and local security officials who from the beginning supported our efforts to work toward a solution," he said.

Local media reported that the climbers were being brought to the city of Agri from the border town of Dogubayazit, close to Mount Ararat.

Merkel declined to reveal any details, saying only: "It is a good thing. Many people worked hard for this in the past days and those efforts have paid off."

Cetin said the rebels were forced to free the hostages after being pursued by Turkish troops.

"They left them on a hill and fled," Cetin told a televised news conference. "Half an hour later, paramilitary forces picked them up."

However, the rebel command said the decision to release the Germans was solely taken by the rebels, Firat reported.

The PKK uses strongholds in northern Iraq to wage cross-border raids. Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected rebel positions in northern Iraq and earlier this year also launched a weeklong ground offensive into Iraq to fight the rebels.
MyWay

Running With the Devil

2008-07-21T00:04:00.001-05:00

"I did not smoke while writing this.

A note on timing: I usually write an essay the day something happens while the dialog and events are fresh in my head. If I can't, I take notes and write later. I usually write the essay and then sleep on it. The next day, I read it again and edit it. This helps me prevent OPSEC violations and prevents me from posting something out of anger or spite. When I finally get to the MWR center, I post the essay and edit it again. Then I set a trigger for posting so that a fresh essay appears about every three days. Sometimes I post two or three essays at a time that are stacked up like planes landing at Newark Liberty. Each essay comes in on its own glidepath every two or three days. So the events depicted did not necessarily happen on the day that they were posted.

I say this because of that sappy, tearful crap that I wrote yesterday. I posted that about an hour after the squad leader left my room. That was a reflection of how I felt at that moment. I can’t lie, I wanted to pour my heart out to anyone who would listen, but I couldn’t do that because a leader has to have this façade of fearlessness. Later I called my wife and dumped everything out on her. Then I dumped everything on you. I have a policy never to remove something that was posted, and only make edits after posting for spelling or grammar. This is why you go from one fearful, crappy post to an upbeat, happy essay like today.

But yesterday you got a treat: ten minutes of uncensored, unedited ramblings in the mind of an infantry platoon sergeant who suddenly realized that the Fobbits are really the lucky ones.

So anyway, here’s the essay:"
Big Tabacco

My Pain

2008-07-20T23:34:00.000-05:00

"I don't know how much longer I can live like this. The pain is killing me. No one deserves to suffer this way. I wish it would stop. I've hurt every person that's ever loved me. WHY WON'T THIS STOP? I'm an ugly monster. A self-destructive asshole that doesn't deserve life.

There's only one way to stop this nightmare. I wish I had a friend. I'm trying to be strong, but it's too powerful. I'm weak. My heart and soul is in Iraq with my dead brothers. All that's left is me, a heartless demon that deserves nothing more than life in prison- if that. Please go away...

It won't. It'll just continue to haunt me for my remaining years. It'll continue to destroy every thing I touch. There's no love left in me. There's no where to run.

All I wanted to do was help you, my brothers and sisters, and others like you. But how can I?

Please try to imagine the following scenario:"
Sand Box Vet

US military base near Iran border?

2008-07-20T23:18:00.002-05:00

The United States plans to build a military airport near the northern Iraqi town of Halabja, which borders Iran, Iraqi media reports.

Khadr Karim Mohammad, the mayor of Halajaba, speaking to Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Wednesday, explained how the construction would proceed.

He said the municipality has allocated an estimated 1500 acres of land east of the town for this purpose and provided the necessary maps for the major project.

Meanwhile, an anonymous Iraqi official said the project is likely to be a "cover" for an air base, which could serve the Americans in their military operations in the region.

When asked about the motives of the US in establishing such a large airport so close to the Iranian border, the mayor said that he was not privy to any further details of the project.

However, he did add, “All owners of the lands will be compensated according to the law.”

Another source in the Governorate of Sulaimaniyah noted that the size of the airport indicates it is a large military base “funded by Americans.” The Americans have inspected the allocated land several times, he added.

The official also revealed that a number of US delegations have visited the region frequently since 2003,“They were studying the roads leading to Iran, under the pretext of providing services to the town,” he elaborated.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde in early 2007, Massoud Barzani, the President of the Autonomous Kurdish Government, welcomed the plans on the proviso that there is consensus from the governments in Baghdad and Erbil.

Halabja lies about 11 kilometers from the Iranian borders and it is located in the northern province of Sulaimaniyah which is ruled by Iraq's Kurdistan regional government.
Press TV

H/T Rasti

Success in Iraq

2008-07-20T22:49:00.002-05:00

"14 July 2008

The war continues to abate in Iraq. Violence is still present, but, of course, Iraq was a relatively violent place long before Coalition forces moved in. I would go so far as to say that barring any major and unexpected developments (like an Israeli air strike on Iran and the retaliations that would follow), a fair-minded person could say with reasonable certainty that the war has ended. A new and better nation is growing legs. What's left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the Iraqi people has changed, and the Iraqi military has dramatically improved, so those spectacular attacks are diminishing along with the regular violence. Now it's time to rebuild the country, and create a pluralistic, stable and peaceful Iraq. That will be long, hard work. But by my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won.

I wish I could say the same for Afghanistan. But that war we clearly are losing: I am preparing to go there and see the situation for myself. My friends and contacts who have a good understanding of Afghanistan are, to a man, pessimistic about the current situation. Interestingly, however, every one of them believes that Afghanistan can be turned into a success. They all say we need to change our approach, but in the long-term Afghanistan can stand on its own. The sources range from four-stars to civilians from the United States, Great Britain and other places. A couple years ago, some of these sources believed that defeat was imminent in Iraq. They were nearly right about Iraq, although some of them knew far less about Iraq than they do about Afghanistan. But it's clear that hard days are ahead in Afghanistan. We just lost nine of our soldiers in a single firefight, where the enemy entered a base and nearly overran it."
Michael Yon

Keeping Blogging More Difficult Than Army Missions

2008-07-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

"Keeping Blogging More Difficult Than Army Missions
Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone contacted me by Email for asking, thanks to all readers, thanks Neorotica, thanks MrGhost, I had seen my interview and I like the picture you put it.
I'd like to say big " Hi " to Sam, and thanks God you back to your out post safely, Welcome Back buddy!
During my vacation , I was still thinking about my blog, and I'd like to write in the future,I got lots Email, most of them positive and the others are just bullshit, to be honest with you, I had thought to shut my blog off,and never back to it, many Emails i had been received affect in me, I also thought to create new blog but in Arabic, so may be I can help the people by giving them some helpful guidance and instruction about how to deal with army during any raid or search operations, many Emails had received asking me to guide them to that corporation that hired us, and how to deal with their exam, I helped them by telling them where can they go? and what type of questions they gonna expect!, Email from Media Organization and cyber organization invite me to participate with them making news and various reports specially about Iraq."
Iraqi Translator's Life

I don't know about this guy, his pictures remind me of surveillance tapes.

My Trip Story Back to Work!!

2008-07-20T22:07:00.000-05:00

"hello fellas,
As i did my trip story back home, now i'll do my trip story back to work..
I'll start here from the last day i was in college and it was at 3rd-July-08..
my last day at the college was cool, i realy spent good time with Amy and i wished that i'll keep seeing here and not goin back to work so i wont be absence for god knows howlong!!
then i gave Amy a ride to her home, and in the car i wanted the last day will be lil bit special and i wanted to hold her hand but she didnt let me!! it was kinda alright cuz i understand why she didnt let me holding her hands..
Amy's home far like 15 mins or less driving from the college, i told her i wish u live so far from college cuz we reach ur home in short time and i wish to spend more time with u..
we reached her home and she opened the car door and she told me I love u Sam and i cudnt answer her cuz i was feeling so happy and sad in the same time, happy cuz she said i luv u and sad cuz i knew i wont see her till god knows when!!
she went in her house and i drove my car and i cried lil bit cuz i missed her..
in the meantime i called my guys that i work with and i told them that i wanna go back at sunday but our CO (Commander Officer) said Sam shud be back at Saturday not Sunday, i said alright..
Anyways i reached home and at then i called Amy's dad and i told him that i wanna see him..he said alright.."
Interps Life

Burning Fever

2008-07-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

"Yesterday Sadr city; before that Amara; tomorrow God knows what place we would look at only to find people in different states of misery, poverty and fear.

It is better - It is better, everyone chants in an effort to strengthen their resolve to live on and not die in despair - And it is.

Not tens upon tens killed every day.

Not stunningly violent as it used to be - but still a long way from reaching square one.

We have a saying in Arabic that goes, "He who comes face to face with death is content to have a burning fever."

We now have a burning fever and people have no choice but to be "happy" not to be dead. Is that really what we can call good?

What are our ambitions? What happened to them? They have become so humble.

Just to stay alive. We are supremely happy just to stay alive"
Inside Iraq

There was no Baghdad..

2008-07-20T21:39:00.001-05:00

"I went to visit my parents in Baghdad, I did not see them since December . I felt really depress and homesick so I decided to make them a visit with my kids and two dentists friends. The road was secured by 85 check points ,they were polite ,although they asked very stupid questions “where are you coming from?, where are you going?, do you have weapons in your car?”. I wonder why do they expect armed men to admit their direction, intention, and belongings?!!!!!.
Anyway when we reached Baghdad, the streets were crowded, the driver switched off the A.C ,the kids were exhausted. the very first sight that upset me and filled my eyes with tears , was the large no. of beggars in the streets, they were old women under the burning sun , with four or five years old skinny kids."
Emotions...

Backpedaling in Baghdad

2008-07-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

If evidence were needed that Iraq’s nascent government is at last ready for prime time, it seemed to come these past few days in two episodes of backpedaling by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s government.

Like every U.S. administration, Maliki and his cabinet now have an echo chamber to obfuscate any thoughts they might utter with too much specificity, or inexactitude, while improvising on the world stage.

Maliki touched off the message massagers by talking to the German magazine Der Spiegel about the sensitive topic of a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.

In a Q&A published Saturday, he also inadvertently stepped into U.S. presidential politics. The magazine quoted him endorsing the 16-month timeline for withdrawal proposed by the presumed Democratic nominee Barak Obama.

Not that it implies any behind-the-scenes pressure, but the U.S. military took the unusual step today of translating and distributing a clarification written by Maliki spokesman Ali Dabbagh.

It wasn’t exactly a retraction. Dabbagh blamed everything on Der Spiegel, which he said “misunderstood and misinterpreted” Maliki’s comment.

Dabbagh referred back to joint statements by Maliki and President Bush last week as the definitive — if achingly vague — word on U.S. troop withdrawals. He spoke of “horizons and timelines agreed upon in the light of the continuity of positive security developments on the ground,” as the operative trigger for withdrawal.

In addition, to silence the chattering of those who presumably misunderstood or misinterpreted Der Spiegel itself, Dabbagh denied that the prime minister had endorsed any candidate for U.S. president.

A quick look at Der Spiegel’s website would seem to make such a denial redundant.

“Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama,” the magazine said, following its own words with this Maliki quote:

"Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business."

The Maliki kerfluffle mirrored another clarification issued a few days ago by the prime minister’s National Security adviser, Muwaffak Rubaie. He came to regret a widely quoted remark that Iraq would not accept a new security agreement with the U.S. unless it contained specific dates for U.S. troop withdrawals. Rubaie made the comment a day after Maliki addressed the same subject in more qualified terms.

Offering no explanation, Rubaie distributed an e-mail to reporters the following day.

“You can quote me saying the following,” he said. “Iraq is developing planning time horizons for the end of the requirement for U.S. combat operations in Iraq and for the presence of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq. ..."

Sound familiar?

In Iraq, the art of political word-parsing can have an especially devious appearance because literal English translation of Arabic prose often is hard to track.

The key phrase in Dabbagh’s statement, issued only in Arabic, was translated by the military this way: “the positive developments of the security situation and the
improvement witnessed in Iraqi cities makes the subject of U.S. forces'
withdrawal within prospects, horizons and timetables …”

After poring over the same line, two Los Angeles Times translators rendered it differently: “The positive developments for the security situation and the improvement Iraqi cities are witnessing makes the issue of the withdrawal of the American forces within horizons and timelines….”

The Arabic, in fact, had only two qualifiers, one of which could have been either “prospects” or “horizons.”

The military translator decided to throw both in. Whether that made the statement clearer or fuzzier is a little hard to tell.
Babylon & Beyond

that same news that everyone else is writing aboutd

2008-07-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

"I've been too busy to write much the last week - a couple of big projects with suddenly looming deadlines, and a proliferating number of smaller ones (and of course watching Dr. Horrible and taking the kids to the pool!) are taking up all my time these days. But it's hard not to at least marvel at the rather remarkable changes in the official position of the Iraqi government culminating in Maliki's reported remarks favoring Obama's withdrawal plan and Bush's agreement on a 'time horizon.'

The best response thus far comes from an unidentified senior adviser to the McCain campaign, via Marc Ambinder: "voters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders." That's a bit of 'straight talk' which I'm sure will play well with the Iraqis.

It's surprising, no doubt. I know that I'm not the only one who has generally assumed that Maliki and most of the ruling elite preferred McCain's vision of endless, unconditional American military support. Prevailing explanations as to why the change seem to divide into three main groups: one thinks that he doesn't really mean it and dismisses its significance; the second sees this as an outcome of Maliki's growing strength (real or perceived), after the last few months' military operations / spectacles and the wave of oil revenues; the third sees it as an outcome of Maliki's real political weakness, forcing him to bend before a rising public storm over the terms of the proposed agreement."
Abu Aardvark

From Nation Building To Net Roots

2008-07-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

"It's a strange concept to me, being home ten months, yet I left for Iraq more than two years ago. To put that into perspective, I got on that big, beautiful plane as a clueless twenty year old. This week, I'll be turning 23.

These days, I have a less deadly (and therefore less exciting) job in a warehouse. A regular 9-5 until I wait for school to start. I was always a quiet guy, never really the kind to strike up a conversation with someone I didn't know well. Introverted as all get out.

Lately, I feel that personality trait rearing its head again. I thought it was gone; anyone from my platoon can tell you that I absolutely loved to debate anyone and anything with my partner in crime, Steve. We were an arguing force to be reckoned with, and I always carried a big voice when we discussed everything from capital punishment to evolution.

Now in the break room, civilian as hell, I can barely muster a hello or keep a conversation going. It's not shyness, it's a breakdown of understanding the culture I left and readjusting to it. While deployed, we knew society moved on without us. What we didn't realize is that it would keep going even after we got home, still without us."
Army of Dude

A desperate fight

2008-07-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

"The Taliban attempted to overrun a newly established U.S. outpost in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan, launching a complex attack at approximately 4:30 in the morning. As of right now, the coalition confirms that nine U.S. soldiers have been killed in the attack, with 15 more US troops and 4 Afghan troops wounded.

Bill Roggio has more details, including information about a separate incident in which the Taliban was able to mass in company strength and conduct an ambush.

This engagement ended better for us, with US Marines and allied Afghans killing 40 screaming moojies in the Helmand province in Southern Afghanistan."
CounterColumn

Battlefield commanders act as judge and jury in dealing with former insurgents who have attacked U.S. soldiers

2008-07-19T18:41:00.001-05:00

"Salah Ad Din Province, Iraq--
Over 256 Iraqis have laid down their arms in the provincial capital of Tikrit. In Balad, over 500 former insurgents have pledged to stop attacks against the coaltion.

In order to reconcile, former insurgents who are suspected of attacks against Iraqis must turn themselves in to the Iraqi judicial system. However if insurgents admit to only attacking U.S. soldiers they are "forgiven" according to battlefield commanders in Salah Ad Din province.

Lt. Col. Robert McCarthy of the 1st/32nd Calvary out of Patrol Base Paliwoda, where the province's reconciliations started, said if former insurgents have committed Iraqi crimes they will get a court date.

“If they were only on our list, they walked out the door,” McCarthy said. “It’s similar to Anbar province, but here they’re not getting paid (to reconcile) simply because we can’t grow the Sons of Iraq program any more than we have.”"
IN-iraq

Iraq Leader Maliki Supports Obama's Withdrawal Plans

2008-07-19T16:59:00.001-05:00

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: "US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business," he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain's more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems."

Iraq, Maliki went on to say, "would like to see the establishment of a long-term strategic treaty with the United States, which would govern the basic aspects of our economic and cultural relations." He also emphasized though that the security agreement between the two countries should only "remain in effect in the short term."

The comments by the Iraqi leader come as Obama embarks on a trip to both Afghanistan and Iraq as well as to Europe. Obama was in Afghanistan on Saturday to, as he said prior to his trip, "see what the situation on the ground is … and thank our troops for the heroic work that they've been doing." The exact itinerary of the candidate's trip has not been made public out of security concerns, but it is widely expected that he will arrive in Iraq on Sunday to meet with Maliki.

Maliki has long shown impatience with the open-ended presence of US troops in Iraq. In his conversation with SPIEGEL, he was once again candid about his frustration over the Bush administration's hesitancy about agreeing to a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. But he did say he was optimistic that such a schedule would be drawn up before Bush leaves the White House next January -- a confidence that appeared justified following Friday's joint announcement in Baghdad and Washington that Bush has now, for the first time, spoken of "a general time horizon" for moving US troops out of Iraq.

"So far the Americans have had trouble agreeing to a concrete timetable for withdrawal, because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat," Maliki told SPIEGEL. "But that isn't the case at all. If we come to an agreement, it is not evidence of a defeat, but of a victory, of a severe blow we have inflicted on al-Qaida and the militias."

He also bemoaned the fact that Baghdad has little control over the US troops in Iraq. "It is a fundamental problem for us that it should not be possible, in my country, to prosecute offences or crimes committed by US soldiers against our population," Maliki said.
Spiegel