Happy Natal Day, SugarButtons!

It's time to celebrate the birthday of our buddy Bill, and the joy of the blogosphere is that it doesn't matter that he's gone halfway around the world to fly again. Well ... it does mean that the GA squad is on stand-by, waiting to put out the fire from the candles, of course ... but I digress.

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Birthday, Bill! Whether we call you Chief, or SugarButtons, or Twitchy Bill, or Bigfoot, we'll try not to call you late-for-dinner.

The Castle Kitties love you - and wish for you a happy day :-)

My gift for you is a nice suit, since you need to be able to dress nicely for those "don't embarrass us" functions ... heh!

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[sticking this addendum on because I *can* ...]

Awwww, thanks, kids -- beats a CARE package, in my book.

'Nother incipient power failure, so I'm doing this by candlelight

*whap!* Owwwwwww!

Okay, okay -- *not* doing this by candlelight.

A quick update before the short-term memory loss kicks in:

The way things are looking over here, I'll need a bunch of GAs lookin' like this. What I've actually got is --

And it's my turn to give *you* a present. In keeping with John's fascination with Stuff You See In The 'Stan, here's a more modern Whatziss for ya,,,

Well, I *told* you it was a present, didn't I? We now return control of this blog to --- uhhhhh -- hmmmmm -- yeah, "control" is kind of a silly notion, in this place...

-- Bill

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And *also* because I can...

Here, Bill. Pick out some decent body armor that fits. My treat. -the Armorer

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A Dissertation Upon the Differences Between the MSM and The MSM

Well, between the MSM over here and the MSM back home, anyway.

Today's below-the-fold headline from The Nation:

250 militants, 60 troops killed in one month

End of dissertation.

Emails like this are fun.

I get at least one email a week along these lines - last week it was about our Carl Gustav from a guy who is making a replica for Airsoft combat games.

I’m a collector of ww2 British militaria, and have run into the “too late to find cheap militaria” wall. I collect ww2 Commonwealth/British military items, and was quite happy to find your website with the abundance of photos of weapons and vehicles. I found a couple of shots of a British 2” mortar that I’m using as a general reference for building a replica for a ww2 British Para display. Do you have any additional close up photos and dimensions for the mortar? I would be greatly appreciated.

Also. I am under the impression that you are based out of Leavenworth , KS . Is this true? I work for defense contracting firm in [deleted for OPSEC], so I’m in town daily. I’d be interested in establishing a militaria based relationship with your and your buddies if possible.

Regards,

{Someone in my Office}
Leavenworth, KS

I responded:

Snerk. Yer gonna be surprised.

John of Argghhh!

He responded thusly:

About what?

Why would he be surprised? Simple. All he had to do when he was writing that email was stand up, step out of his office, turn left, walk ten feet down the hall to the central corridor, turn left, walk 30 feet down to the next corridor, turn right, walk down that hall to the 5th office, and say, "Hey, can I look at your 2" mortar?"

He figured it out pretty quickly (we don't hire no dummies where I work - heck, Dusty used to work for us before he decided flying delivery trucks was more fun than flying a desk - and neither of us knew that until after I'd invited him to post here - different office in a different city -but same firm.)

OH, THAT John Donovan! Now you know I’m a closet militarian.

Amazing what you don't know about the people you work with.

Since I was at home letting the Exterior Guard do their thing in the back yard when I got his first email, I sent him this when I got back to the office:

I've got the mortar in my truck. See me when you get back from wherever it is I saw you headed when I drove in.

John of Argghhh!

Now, If I'd decided to dig out the transit box for the mortar, I would have just carried it in and stuck it on his chair. But since I didn't do that, he stopped by my office and we went out and transferred the mortar out in the parking lot.

Oh, and for Those Who Care About Stuff Like This - it's deactivated, so it's not a weapon, so no rules, corporate or otherwise, were broken in the genesis of this post.

H&I Fires* 24 Aug 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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The Dissident Frogman runs a school for the Agence France Presse on the difference between bullets and cartridges... and why their war correspondents and editors are incompetent bumbling buffoons. Hey, ignorance is okay, it's fixable for heaven's sake. If you're reading this and don't know the difference between a bullet and a cartridge, that's okay. That doesn't make you a buffoon. It just means you have a life and are interested in rather more important things. And after you watch the Frogman's video, you will be over-qualified to work for AFP, so if that's your dream, DON'T CLICK THAT LINK! If you are trying to "report the news" influence world opinion and affect US policy, well, if you don't have basics like that down... you're an incompetent bumbling bufoon. BTW - the Frogman's pretty good racking, clacking, and catching... bet he'd never get M1 Thumb.

Those who know, know. -the Armorer

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Never give up your dream - hey, I'm only 9 years away from my comeback! -the Armorer

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A fellow who wears a Canadian Forces uniform, who spent a year in Kabul working for the Strategic Advisory Team - Afghanistan (SAT-A), has finally had enough of the misinformation in the press, and goes on a rant. It's worth your time.

On a bit of a side-note, for those of you who don't know about SAT-A, follow this link - it's a very interesting idea being executed quite well. The basic idea is that a number of years ago, Hamid Karzai expressed a need for staffing expertise in a private conversation with our Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier (who was then then a lower ranking general commanding our forces in Afghanistan), since the Afghan civil bureaucracy was close to non-existent. Hillier took some of his brightest staff officers and "embedded" them with various Afghan civilian ministries in Kabul. It was such a success that when Hillier became CDS, he formalized the arrangement on an ongoing basis. Not many people have heard of SAT-A, though, because the personnel keep a low profile (live communally in a big house in Kabul, grow beards, wear civilian dress to work, etc). But it's tough to over-estimate the good they're doing with long-term capacity-building as well as the short-term impact on the Afghan government. - Damian

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Soldiers' Angels at the VFW Convention: I know, you're thinking, "How exciting can a VFW convention be?" Well, four presidential candidates, two medal of honor winners, one president and scores of heroic men and women returned from various wars including the current. It was pretty darn interesting. Lots of pictures.

Also interesting, we met lots of vets who told us there stories. Some let us video tape. I recall a book recently out and a story in the paper claiming that the "baby killer, spitting" stories were myth. Everyone that I talked to could remember the date and place that they returned from as well as the event whether they were spit at, called names, or various other activities. To these guys, it is no myth. Basic theme here? Never again.

General Sir Richard Dannat appeals to the British: Shake the Hand of a Squadie!

Then, you always have to wonder where these reporters have been the last few years when you read something like this:

"We simply cannot as a nation stand and continue to put our troops at continuous risk of loss of life and limb without beginning to take some decisive action," he told reporters after a White House meeting with Bush's top aides.

Warner's new position is a sharp challenge to a wartime president that will undoubtedly color the upcoming Iraq debate on Capitol Hill. Next month, Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are expected to brief members on the war's progress.

Warner's NEW position? I mean, I try not to dog on the media unless it is really egregious, but these little subtleties where they try to make some statement an anti-Iraq Republican made seem like "new" so they can bolster their meme that the war is losing support (just as it is starting to turn) is either deliberate or the reporter pool was a little low this week so they had to pull a new one out from under the rock they congregate under. I mean, Warner has been anti-Iraq for almost two years now suggesting we should leave. This is not "new". Unless, of course, you've been hiding under a rock for two years.

-Kat

Apropos of nothing whatsoever...

Some of you might recognize a name or two here.

BOYDA ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS ADVISORY COUNCIL

COUNCIL MEMBERS APPOINTED FOR THEIR EXPERTISE AND UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES

TOPEKA, KS – While in Kansas for the August Congressional Recess, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) held the inaugural meeting of her Kansas Second District Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Council (VMAAC) on August 10, 2007, in Leavenworth , Kansas .

The Council consists of respected community leaders in veterans' and military issues and is devoted to gathering ideas from Second District soldiers and veterans, generating ideas for improvement, and providing policy guidance to Rep. Boyda.

The following are the founding members of the Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Council:

LTG (Ret.) Richard Keller, Leavenworth
MG (Ret.) Jack Strukel, Tecumseh
RADM (Ret.) Mike Sulivan, Lawrence
COL (Ret.) Bob Ulin, Lansing
COL (Ret.) William R. Moyer, Bonner Springs
LTC (Ret.) Mark Uhart, Lansing
CSM (Ret.) Larry Smith, Leavenworth
MAJ (Ret.) John Donovan, Leavenworth
SFC David E. Burgoon, Auburn
SSG (Ret.) Henry Johns, Lawrence
SGT Laura L. Wright, Wellsville
Paul H. Kindling, M.D., T.A.C.S., Topeka
Mrs. Elke M. Dunlap, Topeka

Rep. Boyda said, "In a time of war, it is critical that elected representatives listen to the expert guidance of our soldiers and veterans. The insights of the new Veterans and Military Advisory Council will help me better serve current and former military personnel across Kansas ."

The Veterans and Military Advisory Council will meet regularly with Rep. Boyda and her staff to provide ongoing guidance on issues affecting soldiers and veterans. The first order of business will be examining veterans’ benefits, especially health care, with an eye toward speeding up eligibility determinations and improving service delivery.

As I promised the people on that list - what's said in council stays in council, that's not bloggable. But the results might be.

And, in a sense, all y'all helped - by helping me make this place what it is.

And, since I serve as a conduit into Representative Boyda's staff on issues of that nature - feel free to hit the email link in the sidebar and send your concerns about issues.

If you need actual assistance with something immediate -vice input on policy, legislation, etc - contact her District Office directly.

A simple whatzis...

Simply identify all the items in this picture. Sorry to block the pretties with that hogleg on top, Neffi...

This one will be easy for the geeks, challenging but doable for naifs.

This is another pic of what's available in the markets of Afstan. Stateside, my budget and the availability of that type of pistol haven't matched yet. Over there, it probably costs what a Happy Meal does... Just another reason I can't go to Afstan!

For people like Wolfwalker, who *like* the big-sized pics - click here.

News from our Man in the 'Stan.

Which is not Bill, he's our Man in a different 'Stan... this would be Joe, the Landlocked Sailor.

There has been some news about al-Qaeda re-energizing on the border. Some of that is true. The Pushtun people live on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and both sides don’t recognize the border, but consider themselves a part of Pushtunistan. So there is a lot of traffic across the area, and the part of Pakistan near the border (Waziristan) is pretty much run by the local tribes and not President Musharraf. That adds up to a perfect safe haven for the enemy. It’s easy for them to get across the border into Pakistan, and it’s pretty much impossible for us or the Pakistanis to get them there. That being said, being able to rest easy in a cave for a week is not the same as being able to plan, organize and operate. I think that after the revolt of the Red Mosque, the Pakistanis may have changed their minds about the “live and let live” agreement they have there. Time will tell, the concern here is still the Taliban, and the related militias, but ISAF and the Afghans are ready.

I’m browsing through about four books on Afghanistan now. “CROSSLINES Essential Field Guide to Humanitarian and Conflict Zones –Afghanistan”; “Afghanistan – The Mirage of Peace”; A Dari dictionary and proverbs book; and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (from the author of “The Kite Runner”) It helps get a broader sense of what’s happening here and how the history and culture shapes the place.

In one of the books, I can’t remember which one; they interviewed a European man who was doing agricultural aid in Afghanistan since the early 80s when the Soviets were here. He said “The best agricultural aid the Americans sent were Stinger missiles. The missiles got rid of the helicopters, and with the helicopters gone the people could go out in safety and work the land.”

I think that’s a good overview of what we are doing. There are plenty of really good people with agencies like OXFAM and Children’s Charities here doing really good things to help the Afghans, (like Shanna’s friend with “Women of Hope.”) With the exception of some projects requiring bulldozers and helicopters, the military really can’t do humanitarian aid better. Unfortunately there are some people here that require help of, shall we say, a more kinetic nature. That’s what we are for, helping the good people by killing the bad. (As far as I know, Catholic Charities doesn’t do that - maybe if it had more Jesuits in it.)

I went to the gym last night for an hour’s kickboxing class. Half was hitting pads and the other was us sparring with each other. (“Hit the other guy in the stomach for 30 seconds…go!”) I got kicked in the chest so hard it knocked my religious medal off. It was a great workout however. By the end I could barely lift my boxing gloves up high enough to protect myself. A fact my sparring partner reminded me of every time he hit me in the head (I think it was a lot). They have it again tomorrow; I’ll have to see if I’m healed up and stupid enough to go back. (Editors Note: No, I’m not that stupid, being seen as a quitter may hurt, but being kicked in the face hurts more.)

On the job front, the staff seems ready to give us a chance to work the tools we brought. I don’t know what the commander will say, but we cross that bridge when we come to it. We spent quite a lot of time recently preparing a briefing on the costs and benefits of both programs. Lots of long nights for us and early mornings for the team back in Norfolk. We’re continuing to do the best we can to help the staff here, but I still feel a bit like Schrödinger’s cat. I won’t know if we are alive or dead until General McNeil opens the box.

Funny bit of trivia, Colombo filmed a two part episode at the Citadel. In one scene Peter Falk is looking at the grass on the parade deck and a golden retriever comes bounding over to play, followed by an apologetic cadet and his girlfriend. That cadet is Capt Grayson. He said they were walking the dog when it got loose and ran into the shot. Peter Falk stayed in character, and they kept filming.

Castles Still Have Their Uses...

...and not just as storage facilities for a certain Armorer's chump change superb coin collection (see yesterday's H&I comment thread -- skip past the nose-whacking parts).

From this morning's below-the-fold:

Troops foil attack on Hangu fort

PESHAWAR (AFP): - Pro-Taliban militants attacked a paramilitary camp in northwestern Pakistan overnight in a clash that wounded a dozen soldiers, officials said Thursday.

One militant was killed in the hour-long shootout following the raid on the fort by more than a dozen heavily-armed men...[who] attacked with rockets, hand grenades, and Kalashnikov rifles, but were beaten off.

It gets more interesting.

[Hangu police chief Ghulam Mohammad] said the body of a militant killed in the fighting was lying in the fort. Others fled in the darkness...the attackers are thought to have come from the nearby tribal region of North Waziristan where the army is hunting pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda militants who fled Afghanistan...

The fort at Hangu is a two-story Brit edifice -- if you read any of Kipling's ghost stories from the Raj, you can probably visualize it. Mud brick, loopholes, parapet, the whole nine yards. *No* moat, *no* massive wooden main gate, night assault with modern weapons into -- for all intents -- a barracks with a sentry box and a couple of roving fireguards. At least one attacker, who may (or may not) have been wearing a boom-belt, penetrated and was promptly dispatched.

Attacking a castle, even when most of the inhabitants are asleep, is not a good idea.

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Thanks for all the offers of CARE packages (both here and via e-gram), but I dragged all the need-to-haves over with me, and, given the Byzantine routing of our mail (more on that later), we'll be out of here before anything from stateside arrives at Shangri-La.

One need-to-have suite I was *specifically* told -- in writing -- to bring was dress-me-ups so that I wouldn't embarrass the United States of America at Ambassadorial functions.

Kids, *that* is funnier than you could ever possibly imagine.

Those Who Know, Know.

H&I Fires* 23 Aug 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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Guess who's birthday it is today? Wounded Marine DJ Emery, *and* his Soldier's Angel, Maryann! Good that DJ *had* another birthday, and, well, Maryann being a Hawt Chica, I'd have to say the years are bearing lightly on her. [Looks around nervously for SWWBO with a cluebat] H/t, Carrie the Snark. -the Armorer

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Betcha didn't read about *this Iraqi citizen* in the MSM, didja? -the Armorer

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Greyhawk on the NYT Op-Ed by the 82nd Airborne NCOs. -the Armorer

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Regarding the Armorer's post above: I don't think the MSM talked to this Iraqi, either. But independent embed Bob Calvert did.

And speaking of Birthdays, one of the B-day people has a fascinating look at the marked drop in MSM coverage of Iraq. I'm reminded of Blackfive's report of an MSM journalist in Iraq who said the only time his submissions made it past his editors was if there were casualties.

Finally, a little humor: Ten Perks that Come with a Civilian Job on a Military Base... especially if you're a woman. - FbL

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Another reminder - if you like guns, and you like bloggers or blogging - especially gun blogging, you should make plans to attend the Gunblogger Rendevous in Reno this October. SWWBO and I went last year and are planning on going this year, too. Fun times! -the Armorer

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Updating the Greyhawk entry above - Greyhawk has posted the reaction of the anti's to the NYT Op-Ed piece, written by the NCOs from the 82nd. It's amazing (I know, they say the same thing about our side) how some of them think. They're sure the "brave soldiers" will now be the target of directed friendly fire. I use the quotes because I suspect for the person quoted, the only brave soldier is one they think agrees with them. The rest of us are just loser killers who couldn't find better work. -the Armorer

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More reasons I can't go to Afstan.

Another picture from the bazaars, sent by Joe, the land-locked sailor.

From top to bottom - French Mle 1886 Lebel rifle, what I believe is a British Lee-Enfield Mark I* (vice a Lee-Metford), followed by a Snider conversion of the Tower 3-band Enfield musket, and a Martini-Henry carbine, that has seen some local decoration, or is in fact a "Khyber rifle" of local manufacture. Hard to tell without really giving the weapons a good look. The partial rifle, well, I haven't taken the time to see if I can figure out what it might be.

If you'd like a closer look so you can argue with me about something - click here. (It should work right the first time, this time, Wolfwalker)

Life with our Man in the 'Stan.

...in which we learn he's a softie. Oh, he's a warrior, no doubt, as this Motivator of his suggests...

Well another day at the bazaar, and apparently I walked in with “all day sucker” on my forehead again. Still I got some decent deals, and some interesting things, and was served some hot green tea in a glass. I’ve got about four kids that I buy from now, plus my scarf guy, my wood guy, and my carpet guy.

One of the kids tried to sell me pictures of Ahmad Shah Masoud. He was a Northern Alliance commander who fought the Russians, fought the Taliban, and ended being killed by al-Qeada (coincidently) on September 9th 2001, and is now a national hero His picture is everywhere, on rugs, posters, in car windows and on the sides of buildings. Since before the beginning of this war, we have been fighting with more Afghans then we have been fighting against.

Other than the fun of going to Camp Eggers on Friday, every day is the same. I think we made some real progress this week, and got some good comments out of the staff. We were working with a German captain from the humanitarian and civil affairs department (I know, right?) He’s a weightlifter and looks and talks like a young Arnold. The German Army wears pretty much the same rank, same hats, and same spotted camouflage that they had in WWII. If you gave Uncle Joe his M-1 and told him to pick out someone to shoot, he’d probably have no trouble.

Today is Bastille Day, there apparently was wine, cheese and song last night. The French have a pretty decent contingent here. The chief of plans here is General Khone, an excellent officer. I don’t know if there will be celebrations tonight or not. Since I can’t leave this topic without a little bit of snark. I would observe that we celebrate the end of our revolution (which would not have happened without the French) and they celebrate the beginning of theirs. That’s because ours ended up so much better.

Two stories before I send this, one quick, one not so quick.

I was at breakfast this morning, and in front of the bins where the sausage and bacon was a hand lettered sign saying “PORK”.

My first thought was “Good, they are being respectful of the Turks and Pakistanis and other Muslims here.”

My second thought was “Oh my God, what HAVE they been making the bacon out of!”

I don’t think I want to know…still tastes good though.

Before I left Chip came up with a great idea to keep connected. I won him a large penguin at Busch Gardens, so for a few weeks I slept with the penguin, and he slept with a smaller stuffed animal. Then when I left we traded, and true to my word I have it on my bed. Now I know that at least my Army Colonel roommate and a couple of Italian sergeants who traded out my mattress wonder why a seventeen year Navy veteran sleeps with a stuffed blue whale, but they are too polite (or too weirded out) to ask. I think I’ll keep them guessing.

Joe

One Approach to Fire Safety

There are two types of electrical power interruption here in Shangri-La -- planned and unplanned.

An example of the first type: a typed note -- "Our engineers will be performing normal maintenance on the generator. This is an emergency which will take three or four hours" -- slid under the door during the blackout. You track the messenger's progress down the hall by counting the number of objects he bumps into in the dark, then listening for the *skkkt* of paper sliding on tile and retrieving and reading same by flashlight.

An example of the second type: *thwoooom -- papppffffft!*

One of us contractorslug pilots never had the advantage of acquiring military rotary wing flight time, so he also never acquired the military rotary wing flyer's habit of keeping a flashlight within easy reach (it only takes one total electrical failure during a night flight to instill the habit). One of the Shadows observed that John's room (I'll call him John because three of the guys here are named John and you don't know any of them from Adam, anyway) was the only one without artificial illum during one recent blackout, so the next morning, he brought a candle to John's room.

Shadow: "For power failure, sir."

John: "Well, thanks, but there aren't any candle-holders in the room. If it falls over, it'll start a fire, and when the power is off, the fire alarm won't work -- there'll be a *big* problem."

Shadow: "Do you have matches, sir?"

John: "No."

Shadow: "Then there is not a problem."

And he walked out.

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A quick background brief -- both North and South Waziristan were granted a semi-autonomous status by the Pakistani government in return for keeping a lid on al-Q and the Taliban. The current dust-ups (since February, anyway) are a result of those organizations refusing to be kept lidded.

Monday, "Taliban spokesmen" (unnamed in the article, but definitely not "pro-Taliban tribal spokesmen") declared that the modus vivendi (see the background brief) in South Waziristan was null and void. South Waziri tribal council chiefs slapped the spokesmen's noses on Tuesday and reminded them that it was the tribes, not the Taliban, who made the agreement with Islamabad and it was the tribes, not the Taliban, who would announce any change to the status quo. And, since the alternative is a full-blown confrontation with a central government which already has 90,000 troops on their turf, the tribes prefer to keep the status as quo as possible.

Pashtuns will tolerate some failings in their guests, but they draw the line at creating a nuisance which draws attention from iron sights.

In the Op Area: Pak Cobras in North Waziristan conducted gunship raids yesterday, pounding the daylights out of terr strongholds around Miramshah with the objective of making local Taliban sympathizers realize the jirga's pronouncement of zero-tolerance for terrorists wasn't just political lip-flapping. An aerial op outside Mahsud in South Waziristan -- a four-ship tag-team -- hit three al-Q staging areas Tuesday; ground followup found fifteen late members of the Uzbek tribe. There's also an ongoing ground sweep in SW to recover fifteen troops captured by pro-Taliban terrs who ambushed their convoy (they were travelling in civilian vehicles, unarmed). There were sixteen survivors, originally, but one was found the next day, beheaded, outside the airfield the Cobras were using as a refuel/rearm point. The terrs are demanding the release of ten of their brethren scooped up in Islamabad and intel reports from locals focused Army attention on the Mahsud region.

The three most-recent VBIED incidents against guard posts in the Northwest Frontier Provinces involved high-end SUVs rather than junkers or the traditional white minivans -- the bombers figure an expensive vehicle is less-likely to arouse suspicion at the checkpoints. Judging by some changes I've seen around this area, the troops already got the word on that.

On the Street: Security forces penetrated a nascent terror cell in Islamabad, arrested two organizers previously connected with the Red Mosque and charged them with training and launching suiciders -- local police arrested two of their trainees separately (and rapidly) in a nice display of interservice cooperation.

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On the front page of today's paper (Really-Early Edition). Maulana Merajuddin, chief of the tribal council for Mahsud (the same council delivering the Talib Smackdown on Tuesday), announced the "militants have agreed to the unconditional release of the fifteen kidnapped personnel." Sole condition of the "unconditional" agreement is that the Cobras remain on the ground during the release proceedings.

My guess is that the troops were local militia going home on leave (civilian cars and no weapons, remember?) and had relatives who leaned on the council, who quietly reminded the "militants" that their continued well-being depended on whether or not the council considered them guests or nuisances.

Like I said, Pashtuns will tolerate *some* failings in their guests...

H&I Fires* 22 Aug 2007

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place...

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John Hawkins at Right Wing News has the right-of-center blog temperature check for August up. I was out of step on two questions, and put in a "none of the above" for another. You can amuse yourself by trying to guess where I was off the reservation.

ISG Keith - on soldier-daddies. Take a tissue.

CAPT H will appreciate this one... even if they are Ozzie Leos. MajMike will like it. So will Neffi. Heck, so did I.

-the Armorer

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More erosion from Democrats of "Cut and Run"...

Democratic Lawmakers See Progress During Visits To Iraq. "Rep. Brian Baird of Washington saw enough progress on the ground that he will no longer vote for binding withdrawal timelines. Baird, a House whip, also contended that Congress’ debate over the war has destabilized Iraq by sending wary Iraqi politicians back to their sectarian bases, 'and if we withdraw, it could have a potentially catastrophic effect on the region.' Rep. Jerry McNerney of California suggested that his trip to Iraq made him more flexible in his search for a bipartisan accord on the war, and Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida said the troop increase 'has really made a difference and really has gotten al-Qaida on their heels.'" (Keith Chrostowski, "The Buzz: Not All Democrats Support A Quick Drawdown," Kansas City Star, 8/22/07)

One hopes Nancy Boyda is at least listening, though Uncle Pavian of West Neanderthal Drive is probably sceptical. -the Armorer

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Excerpts from the speech the President will deliver today in Kansas City.

There are many differences between the wars we fought in the Far East and the war on terror we are fighting today. But one important similarity is that at their core, they are all ideological struggles. The militarists of Japan and the Communists in Korea and Vietnam were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of humanity. They killed Americans because we stood in the way of their attempt to force this ideology on others. Today, the names and places have changed, but the fundamental character of the struggle has not. Like our enemies in the past, the terrorists who wage war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places seek to spread a political vision of their own – a harsh plan for life that crushes all freedom, tolerance, and dissent. Like our enemies in the past, they kill Americans because we stand in the way of their goal of imposing this ideology across a vital region of the world. This enemy is dangerous, this enemy is determined, and this enemy will be defeated.

We are still in the early hours of the current ideological struggle, but we know how the others ended, and that knowledge helps guide our efforts today. The ideals and interests that led America to help the Japanese turn defeat into democracy are the same that lead us to remain engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq. The defense strategy that refused to hand the South Koreans over to a totalitarian neighbor helped raise up an Asian Tiger that is a model for developing countries across the world, including the Middle East. And the fruit of American sacrifice and perseverance in Asia is a freer, more prosperous, and stable continent – whose people want to live in peace with America – not attack America.

Since there's already a lot of words on the page today - the rest of this is in the Flash Traffic/Extended entry.