Breaking News in Iran

From al Jazeera
Several dead in Iran mosque blast
Got a little domestic terrorism problem there, do ya?

Maggie

The President's Radio Address.

In case you missed it - here's the text of the remarks as prepared for delivery.

ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Fifteen months ago this week, I announced the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave Congress a detailed report on the results.

Since the surge began, American and Iraqi forces have made significant progress. While there's more to be done, sectarian violence, civilian deaths, and military deaths are down. Improvements in security have helped clear the way for political and economic progress. The Iraqi government has passed a budget and three major "benchmark" laws. And many economic indicators are now pointed in the right direction.

Serious and complex challenges remain in Iraq . Yet with the surge, a major strategic shift has occurred. Fifteen months ago, extremists were sowing sectarian violence; today, many mainstream Sunni and Shia are actively confronting the extremists. Fifteen months ago, al Qaeda was using bases in Iraq to kill our troops and terrorize Iraqis; today, we have put al Qaeda on the defensive in Iraq , and now we are working to deliver a crippling blow. Fifteen months ago, Americans were worried about the prospect of failure in Iraq ; today, thanks to the surge, we've revived the prospect of success in Iraq .

This week, General Petraeus reported that security conditions have improved enough to withdraw all five surge brigades. By July 31, the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq will be down 25 percent from the year before. Beyond that, General Petraeus says he will need time to assess how this reduced American presence will affect conditions on the ground before making recommendations on further reductions. I've told him he'll have time he needs to make his assessment.

Our job in the period ahead is to stand with the Iraqi government as it makes the transition to responsibility for its own security and its own destiny. So what would this transition look like? On the security front, we will stay on the offense, continue to support the Iraqi security forces, continue to transfer security responsibilities to them, and move over time into an overwatch role.

On the economic front, Iraq 's economy is growing. Iraq is assuming responsibility for almost all the funding of large-scale reconstruction projects, and our share of security costs is dropping as well. On the political front, Iraq is planning to hold elections that will provide a way for Iraqis to settle disputes through the political process instead of through violence.

Our efforts are aimed at a clear goal: a free Iraq that can protect its people, support itself economically, and take charge of its own political affairs. And no one wants to achieve that goal more than the Iraqis themselves.

The turnaround that our men and women in uniform have made possible in Iraq is a brilliant achievement. And we expect that, as conditions on the ground continue to improve, they will permit us to continue the policy of return on success.

I'm confident in our success because I know the valor of the young Americans who defend us. This week, I commemorated the sacrifice of Michael Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who gave his life in Iraq , and became the fourth Medal of Honor recipient in the war on terror. On September 29, 2006, Mike and two teammates had taken a position on a rooftop when an insurgent grenade landed on the roof. Mike threw himself onto the grenade. One of the survivors put it this way: "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'"

It is heroism like Michael Monsoor's that pays the cost of human freedom. Our prayers remain with Michael's family and with all the men and women who continue his noble fight. We look forward to the day when they return home in victory.

Thank you for listening.

Provided as a public service of the Castle. Discuss to your heart's content.

A Compressed Compendium

The walking areas around the IqAF Flight School are all covered with river-rock -- "small jacks" -- if you're from the Nor'East. Smooth, rounded, water-washed pebbles varying in size from thumbnail to tie-it-to-a-stick-and-it's-a-sledgehammer. Mostly dove-gray with chunks of Concord-grape purple.

It's there so the inside of the classrooms don't wind up covered with three inches of outside every time the wind blows.

Hussan saw me snapping pix of the flightline and walked up with a grin on his face. He picked up a stone and said, "This is *Iraqi* rock!"

Go read what John wrote here, then come back. It's okay, I'll wait.

Hassan continued. "In the old days, this area would have been left open. Breathe at it and you would get a face full of dust. Look at the part of the base that is still as it was in the old days. Bare. It is dust waiting to blow in your face. But here, where the Flight School is, where learning is happening, it is covered to keep the dust down. Here. Covered with Iraqi rock."

He closed his fist over the stone like it was a five-dollar gold piece and grinned.

"*This* is Iraq."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I was gonna send this out by e-mail, but I figger I'll eliminate the middleman and post it instead:

I'm gonna be busier than a one-legged man in an a$$-kicking contest for the next two weeks, and Generator Cutoff Time will prolly kick in before I get the chance to show up and play. *Good Deal*-type stuff, so don't go spreading rumors that I eloped with the Warrior Princess (she hangs out with me because her *dad* flew in Vietnam, too) or that I got nailed by a bottle rocket. It won't involve thongs or thinging -- thorry, Cathth.

Later, guys.

So, Bill sends me a note... containing a note.

Heh. Why do all the flak chicks send this stuff to *me* -- *you're* the one with connections!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Subject: DNC: John McCain is Wrong on Civil Rights
To: Da Rotorhead-In-Eyerak.

Hi there Bill -- I'm your media relations rep for PR Newswire, which offers political bloggers public interest breaking news via email. We are the exclusive newswire for this year's DNC and RNC. The release below just crossed our newswire. This is a free service through PR Newswire for Journalists. To register for PRNJ, just reply to this email, letting me know that you'd like to be signed up for the public interest press release emails. We cover a variety of subjects, including foreign and domestic policy, political campaigns, federal and state legislation, energy, and financial services. Just let me know your preferences.

I'd also like to invite you and the Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys Blog to subscribe to our news release feed via RSS. PR Newswire distributes releases from hundreds of campaigns and public policy groups at every level. Here's a link to the RSS feeds: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/rssInstructions.jsp. You must be registered with PRNJ to subscribe, but the service is always free.

Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me at 201-360-6072.

Thanks and have a great day.
Christine

Heh. Flak-chicks. To an aviator, that's a double-entendre!

I responded...

Don't feel too special, flyboy. 27 inch zipper, #82, it's all the same draw. Lefty chicks dig us tripod myrmidons.

Christine.Cube@prnewswire.com wrote: To: johnbethd@yahoo.com
Subject: DNC: John McCain is Wrong on Civil Rights
From: Christine@prnewswire.com
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:45:24 -0400

Hi there Armorer -- I'm your media relations rep for PR Newswire, which offers political bloggers public interest breaking news via email. We are the exclusive newswire for this year's DNC and RNC. The release below just crossed our newswire. This is a free service through PR Newswire for Journalists. To register for PRNJ, just reply to this email, letting me know that you'd like to be signed up for the public interest press release emails. We cover a variety of subjects, including foreign and domestic policy, political campaigns, federal and state legislation, energy, and financial services. Just let me know your preferences.

I'd also like to invite you and The Home of Two Jonah's Military Guys blog to subscribe to our news release feed via RSS. PR Newswire distributes releases from hundreds of campaigns and public policy groups at every level. Here's a link to the RSS feeds: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/rssInstructions.jsp. You must be registered with PRNJ to subscribe, but the service is always free.

Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me at 201-360-6072.

Thanks and have a great day.
Christine

Hey, I take the HuffPo's stuff, why not this? Gad, I only subscribe to the enemy's stuff. The RNC doesn't love me...

Now I remember why I get the HuffPo digest email every day.

So I can get these gems... like this bit of reportage from Mayhill Fowler. She gives Kat and Ry a run for their money on being... verbose. Some of which, I suspect, is her wanting to show us how educated and observant she is. Heh. Not like I don't suffer from that, now and again.

Anyway - Ms. Fowler is reflecting on following the Obama campaign through Pennsylvania, and more specifically, Senator Obama's fundraiser speech to rich Californians where he lays out what's wrong with Pennsylvania.

These qualities of hospitality, patriotism and endurance are exactly what Californians need to hear about Pennsylvanians. And when he spoke to a group of his wealthier Golden State backers at a San Francisco fund-raiser last Sunday, Barack Obama took a shot at explaining the yawning cultural gap that separates a Turkeyfoot from a Marin County. "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Emphasis mine.

Ms. Fowler continues:

Obama made a problematic judgment call in trying to explain working class culture to a much wealthier audience. He described blue collar Pennsylvanians with a series of what in the eyes of creamy Californians might be considered pure negatives: guns, clinging to religion, antipathy, xenophobia.

I'm not sure this is what at least this lot of Californians needed to hear about Pennsylvanians. Such phrases can reinforce negative stereotypes among Californians, who are a people in a state already surfeited with a smug sense of superiority and, as an ironic consequence, a parochialism and insularity at odds with the innovation, prosperity and openness for which California is rightly known. (Of course, this is a generalization, and as such does not fit everyone; but as a state characteristic I stand by it.) Californians might be better served by hearing that Pennsylvanians have a strong sense of their place in American history, for here California is wanting. California needs to hear that other Americans have gone through hard times and survived, humor intact. Since Barack Obama sees himself as the candidate best able to unify the country, these are the messages he needs to carry and his frank words about Pennsylvania may not have translated very clearly.

Heh. Or perhaps they translated *very* clearly, Ms. Fowler. Those of us who cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment do so only because government has failed us.

And if we elect the Enlightened Senator from Illinois to lead us from the morass of armed superstitious bigoted populist thought in which we wallow, all would be sweetness and light, and we would cast off the shackles of faith and shift ourselves to Bill Maher's worldview, becoming *smart* in the process, beat our guns into iPods, take illegal/legal immigrant families into our homes and provide for them...etc. Heh. And we'd send what was left of our income to the government to send to other poor people the world over. Or something like that.

Heh. Could it be, possibly, that perhaps we cling to those things because we had them all our lives, and our parents had them, and we're stubbornly cling to them because people like "creamy Californians" (a frankly somewhat creepy description) superciliously and paternalistically, and patronizingly pat us on the head and tell us we're stupid and bigoted, and should just do what we're told - when... as in the litany of governmental failure laid out by the Senator... government is as often the problem as it is the solution? That they've worked better for us than government has... And that rich people, who will be comfortable pretty much regardless of what happens, rarely suffering the consequences of their policy failures, just have a credibility problem with the people who *will* suffer? And you, Senator, thus far, are just another glib, gifted orator who isn't really proposing anything really new, but are able to tell us we're superstitious bigoted rubes. Heh. Bill Maher has that niche already, Senator. We don't care that much for him, either.

There are kernels of insight into the Senator's statement. Both into we superstitious bigots and the patrician Senator. So far, I'll stick wth my tribe, Senator. I don't feel welcome, much less respected, in yours. But then, I'm a middle-aged white male, and we're personally responsible for everything that's wrong in the world, since the beginning of time. I know, I went to college, and they told me so.

Or, as Senator McCain's campaign staffer Steve Schmidt put it:

"It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking," Schmidt said. "It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

Ayup.

Iraqi Journalist 'Abd Al-Jabbar Al-'Atabi: Despite It All, April 9 is a National Holiday

From the invaluable resource of MEMRI comes a series of translated articles from Arab liberals regarding Operation Iraqi Freedom. For the next few days, I'm going to publish an article a day, which will be excerpts from the Arab liberal e-journal Elaph

In an April 9, 2008 article in Elaph, Iraqi journalist 'Abd Al-Jabbar Al-'Atabi wrote:

"Here is Baghdad, still smelling the odor of smoke, hearing the sounds of fright, seeing the tongues of flame, and tasting the bitterness of violence. And nonetheless, with our fingers we feel the face of hope – with the voices of the birds who have not left the city and still chirp and grow in number; with the winds that carry the pollen of the palm trees to the orchards to produce fresh dates; with the glimmer of the predawn, whose appearance gladdens the city's residents and moves their spirit to rebuild and renew what has been destroyed…

"Yesterday – one day before the anniversary of April 9 [2003] – I spent the early morning hours devoting all my attention to what has been and what will be. I jumped up, eager to visit the places, to walk in the streets and on the sidewalks, allowing my gaze to take in what it may. Oddly enough, as I was doing so I found myself reciting a poem by Nazar Qabbani from 1962:

"Baghdad, oh rhythm of anklets and adornments,

"Oh store of lights and fragrances,

"Do not do me wrong, as you see the rebab in my hand.

"The desire is greater than my hand and my rebab .

"Before the sweet meeting you were my beloved,

"And my beloved you will remain after I leave."

"I walked in the public street and observed the faces of the people I passed by – those sprawled on the sidewalks, selling goods, those who make their livelihood in the souks and the parking lots, and the beggars. I imagined them five years ago. I might not see a great change in their appearance, but there was something written in their facial features that showed that these people have their freedom to deal with things. As one of them said to me, no one comes and scatters their wares, or chases them away, or demands bribes. They come when they will and leave when they will.

"At the start of my journey I stopped by the newspaper seller to ask how he was after five years of change. He said: I will sum up what you ask in a few words. Despite everything that happened and is happening, I feel pride in the fact that the years of dictatorship are gone. There were no worse years than those, when we were afraid of our own shadows and our own children. I won't claim that the situation now is ideal, but compared to the past, it is much better, without any comparison… Despite the sorrows I find in our present situation, I feel relieved. In the days [of the dictatorship] I didn't feel optimistic. Now, I am optimistic about what is to come. What is happening now is passing; while it has gone on long, it will end – it could end in the twinkle of an eye.

"The residents of Baghdad, who recall the days from before April 9, 2003 and up to today – 1,727 days and nights, one after the other, together with all that has befallen and befalls their city – profess nothing but fidelity to it, even though it is engulfed in dangers. They reject those who say 'Baghdad fell,' and will answer you sternly if you say this, saying 'it was the regime that fell'…

"I called a friend who lives in Sadr City and asked him how things were under the traffic ban in force now for a week. He said: I feel love, and then laughed, and continued: There are some things I fear, but I do not fear the coming days. People [here] are in a lamentable state and are afraid of evils that may befall them, but they are not despondent. They are awaiting a change for the better.

"Five years of Baghdad's new life have passed… and there has been much talk of Baghdad. This is because it is not a city like other cities; it is exceptional, as is everything in it…

"You see that people, despite their proud grief, are talking about hope, and optimism, and the happiness to come. Despite the confusion, the anarchy, and the unconceivable occurrences, you hear the words: the breakthrough is at hand. They speak of the democracy that they had misunderstood, and they emphasize that these five years have taught them a lot and enriched their experience. They have come to know the true from the false and to distinguish between the good and the evil. You hear people saying: April 9 is a national holiday, despite the imported terrorism, or that concocted by the former regime, that came in its wake."

Reprinted with permission.

H&I Fires 11 April, 2008

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...

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).
**************************************************

This video should be all over the internet: Iraqi MP - America brought democracy to Iraq against our will. Allah bless America

For those who can't get there, a little taste: "Before America came...we were like slaves, born sons of slaves, born sons of slaves...for 1,400 years. People who never dreamed they could be ministers have become ministers through free elections."

Woman (hostess?) asks him about the "civil war" and the "bloodshed". "Is this the price of democracy and freedom?" (Every good free man knows the answer is "Yes.") He replied, "We were like birds born in cages. The Americans came and broke our cages open...We did not know how to use our wings. How to use our freedoms." (I had to watch it again. I think Bill sent a mini-sandstorm this way and it got in my eyes.)

And, someday, the free people of Iraq will remember that they shed their blood to be free and that blood made freedom have a value no slave living in tyranny could ever comprehend: priceless.

Of interest and relation to some characters around here: The Iraqi Air Force lifted by Support Missions:

The number of assigned personnel in the Iraqi air force increased from 915 in February 2007 to more than 1,300 last month. About 90 percent of the nation's training is conducted in Iraq, officials said.

Iraq: those who rushed to write its obituary

After unending, hysterical negativity and hand wringing in the press about the current strike against Sadr's militia, the media begins its slow move back towards cautious middle ground: Fight for Sadr City a Proving Ground for Iraq Military

Sadly they still get a lot of things completely wrong with their view from the fifth floor at the Palestine Hotel. Iraq Status Report notes that they "completely botched Basrah"

And a certain Major o'er Iraq way, says that the Scots are his new best friends. Oh, and the IA is ready to dance again whenever Muqy decides he likes the beat.

If you haven't seen this before: Married Soldiers Live Together in Iraq What next? Cats and Dogs?

Don't forget, April is the month of the Military Child

Something I didn't catch until a later video of the Vets for Freedom on the Hill, Sen. Lindsey Graham hits the nail on the head:

“You want to know who wants you to come home more than anybody?” Graham continued. “Al Qaeda because you’re kicking their a$$!”

And my favorite "Oorah!" moment: Marine loses leg and returns to duty...in Iraq

Last year, Universal picked up the rights to Marcus Lutrell's Lone Survivor. Peter Berg is scheduled to direct the movie. Which means it might actually be treated half way decent. I just caught Berg's "The Kingdom" on DVD the other day. I actually liked it though I think he could have left out the last scene of moral equivalence. Otherwise, I think it did a half way decent job of presenting the good, bad and ugly of fighting the war on terror (though, the Abu Hamza reference is a little untimely and wrong location.)

Wounded Vet Goes to the Olympics

Contrast that to utter an utter coward: LCpl Laurean captured in Mexico -Kat

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Work work work work work work work. Wish this place paid well enough to just do this and some freelance writing! Anyway - watch your 6 - Ninjas are everywhere!

H/t, Mike L. -the Armorer

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Over at Right Wing News, John Hawkins has a right-of-center bloggers poll (including yours truly) on who the blogs would like to see/not see as Veep candidates. The Right speaks with a mixed voice! -the Armorer

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A Canadian in Iraq

A couple of weeks ago, thanks to a Canadian friend of The Castle, I read about a rather unusual person--a Canadian soldier in Iraq. Thanks to MAJ Conway of 3rd Infantry Division's Public Affairs Office, I interviewed him last Tuesday.

Canadian LTC Darryl Mills has been part of the U.S.-Canadian officer and NCO exchange program since 2004, and so deployed with the 3ID in 2005-2006. He was supposed to finish up in 2007, but with 3ID about to deploy again, he was asked to stay on. Today he's serving alongside American soldiers in Baghdad as the division's Deputy Chief of Staff, assuming the same responsibilities in the position as an American soldier would.

“I'm treated just like a U.S. officer,” he says. As a deputy chief, he is helping to synchronize the entire range of daily activities for the division--from combat operations to humanitarian assistance, to personnel administration. He seems particularly glad to have the educational opportunities available in such a high-level position. The Canadian army is divided at only the battalion level without any divisions above, so this is “great exposure…giving me a full range of understanding of what a U.S. Army Division does in Combat,” he explains with appreciation. It has also introduced him to hardware and resources that he wouldn't encounter in Canada.

The military exchange program has been in existence for quite awhile, but it's not something well-known in the civilian world. According to LTC Mills, there are currently about 300 Canadians working within their allies' armed forces, a not-insignificant number when one considers the size of Canadian Forces. Canada's goals in participating so strongly are two-fold: to increase their knowledge/skill/experience in ways they can use to improve their own military, and to improve the Canadian military's ability to integrate effectively with allies in both war and peacetime exercises. “When we come back, we’re able to bring back to our country…what we’ve learned abroad,” LTC Mills says. He also points out that it is important for Canada to improve integration for future coalition operations with allies because they recognize that due to their modest size, “We will always be fighting alongside someone else.”

LTC Mills describes the Canadians and Americans as very similar armies. The biggest difference is obviously in scale--Canada's entire combat forces (the “Field Force”) would fit within the U.S. Army's 3ID. A related difference he has noticed is that due to the limited size of Canadian forces, there is less specialization for the average Canadian soldier than for Americans. For example, an American soldier might be trained primarily to fire a 50-caliber machine gun, but a Canadian would be expected to be thoroughly competent with 4 or 5 different offensive weapons ranging from handguns to mortars. However, “We share a lot of things,” he reports. "Different acronyms, but basic soldiering and training for combat and combat itself is standard across the board.”

On the cultural side, the biggest change for LTC Mills has been the difference between the regimental system of Canada, and U.S. attitudes toward staffing a unit. Once someone is assigned to a Regiment, he/she tends to be there for the duration. They “don't move around so much,” said LTC Mills, and so there is a very strong personal connection to the home regiment and the people in it, “more of a family feel." Having American soldiers move through 3ID during his time with them has taken some getting used to for LTC Mills.

When LTC Mills deployed to Iraq with 3ID in 2005, he was Operations Officer for the Deputy Commanding General for Maneuver and Operations. It meant he was “outside the wire” on a daily basis, and had the chance to develop intimate knowledge of the people and situation on the ground. “It was an eye-opening and professionally rewarding experience,” he says. In the current deployment he's been tied to desk, and expresses a certain amount of frustration that he must rely on the reports of others for information about what is happening outside the walls. He reports a lack of comfort about that, and feeling a sense of isolation--the lament of many a staff officer who would rather be on the front lines.

[The rest is in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry]

The Deployed Guy's Guide to Dining Hall Etiquette

The first time the Deployed Gentleman (DG) enters the Dining Facility and encounters, in order,

1. The Lady Contractor, clad in either shorts or spray-on jeans,

2. The Lady Contractor, clad in full-up battle rattle and spray-on cargo pants, and

3. The Warrior Princess, clad in full-up battle rattle, packing enough heat to fight (and win -- single-handed) the Napoleonic Wars, and displaying more cutlery than Emeril ever owned,

the DG is faced with a quandary. How to comport himself during Polite Social IntercourOOOPS Conversation with his Feminine Potential Dining Companion.

They didn't cover *that* at CRC.

To correct that unfortunate, but forgiveable, oversight, The Castle has instituted still *another* One-Off, Never Go There Again chapter in its miniseries of Public Service Symposia.

Lesson One: Mastering Polite Table Talk

First, the DG should be aware of the length of time his Dining Companion has In-Country, which will enable him to expand upon their mutual experience. Fortunately, the Gentler Sex communicates this information through body language, and the astute DG should key on these subtle signs.

Been Here One Week: Observes DG in peripheral vision, recoils.

Been Here Two Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, recoils.

Been Here Three Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, shrugs.

Been Here Four Weeks: Makes inadvertent eye contact with DG, smiles.

Been Here Five Weeks: Makes deliberate eye contact with DG, smiles.

Been Here Six Weeks: Asks DG to get her a cup of coffee when DG gets up to refill his.

Been Here Seven Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of stationery.

Been Here Eight Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of military accoutrements.

Been Here Nine Weeks: Mentions that the PX has just received a new shipment of combat cutlery, but it consists of "the same crappy Chinese KaBar knockoffs" as usual.

Been Here Ten Weeks: Slams tray on table, says, "Geez! What a farking day *this* -- hey! Don't you *dare* move! -- has been! I swear to..."

Ahem.

Next Lesson: Complimenting the Warrior Princess on Her Choice of Fighting Knives...

Bellavia On Glenn Beck: I got my Ph.D. from the university of Fallujah

[Kat]

Bellavia was attacked the other day for an innocent comment during an introduction of Sen. John McCain. He said, (I paraphrase) "you can have your Tiger Woods. I want my two sons to look up to men like John McCain." That after noting that McCain had spent five years in Hanoi Hilton being tortured and refusing to come home before any of the other men who were there before him.

That set off a storm of scurrilous accusations of racism. Glenn Beck had Bellavia and the other Vets for Freedom on his show Wednesday night.

I introduced John McCain at this rally and what I basically said was, was that I was making a comparison of heroes, that all ages and races can look up to, referring to Senator McCain as more -- someone that, you know, should be on a pedestal for my two little boys to look up to, someone like Marcus Luttrell, Michael Mansoor. These are American heroes, compared to professional athletes or entertainers. I looked in the audience. I saw a guy with a Callaway golf hat on and I automatically thought of the most famous golfer who is Tiger Woods and I said, you can have your Tiger Woods as your heroes. We have men like Senator McCain. That's who my boys will look up to.

As usual, the nut bags got Bellavia's personal information and went crazy:

The first response I thought was ridiculous and then it just got more and more absurd with these bloggers getting my personal information out there calling me a bigot. In my world, I have an 8-year-old and a 1-year-old and I'm raising these kids to know that a man who sacrifices.

and...

They have been not only the e-mails that come pouring in but someone leaked, you know, phone numbers and everything else and locations of where people attend school and how they want to educate my kids and save them from their bigoted father. It's just absolutely ridiculous.

Bellavia has often noted in his speeches that there is no place for political persuasion on dog tags and also often noted that he has fought along side of every representation of America:

We are fighting as Americans. We're bleeding next to African-Americans. I fought with Muslim Americans, Glenn, in Iraq. This was never about religion or ethnicity. It's about Americans defending our culture and our way of life and I am proud to say that our legacy, we are the greatest humanitarian organizations ever lived in the United States military and we have nothing to apologize for...

My favorite line, when Glenn is asking him about his upcoming announcement about running for congress and how he'll fair or keep his principles:

my whole thing is, look, man, I faced down six guys in a house. That's my -- you can have your Princeton degree. I got my Ph.D. from the university of Fallujah and to me it's like if I'm not going to back down from Islamo terrorism, I'm certainly not going to back down from a special interest group.

Watch out, David. You keep making comparisons, next thing you know they are going to call you an anti-education troglodyte. ;)

JD Johannes writes about Olbermann's slandering of Bellavia on MSNBC.

Others, stung by their own fears and failing and whose ego will not allow them to acknowledge they are wanting, will ignore and marginalize the hero.

They find the comparison too unsettling.

Many, if tortured the way John McCain was, would not have chosen fortitude--and they know it and it hurts them.

Get JD's movie, Outside the Wire '07 and learn about the real war in Iraq.

H&I Fires, 10 April 2008

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.

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).
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Dobroe utro! Dobro požalovat! mnE nrAvitsa Russkiy, so I figured why not start the day with something a little, different, da?
It's the not-so-early morning, rainy day Soviet edition! With your host, your ever lazy, barely blogging, crazy leg BloodSpite! Oh and PiridAyte DzhOnu ot minyA privEt :)

On to the show:

A Finnish Band
Named After Leningrad
With funky hairdo's
And the Russian Red Army Choir singing back up
And the Red Army
Singing Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sweet Home Alabama, no less!
Ahh, Western influence....I do love it so :)

I present, The Leningrad Cowboys!

Russia comes under fire for supporting totalitarian regimes in Iran and Syria.

Russia to supply support for Peace talks in Cyprus. Now theres a thought!

And headline you don't excpect to see....Russia to watch investigation of Butt case in Thailand...

And Becky Hammon, Point Guard for the San Antonio Silver Stars a 9 year WNBA Basketball Player, tall, lithe, good looking, female, and blonde, a graduate of the Rapid City South Dakota High School decides to play in the Olympics at age 31....for Russia!

“This is a once in a lifetime chance for me. Come August, I would be staring at two doors. One would lead to Beijing, and the other to my apartment......“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in the Olympics, and it was always a dream of mine to play for my country,” Hammon said. “But at the age of 31, I had to let that dream die.”

Russia, or the US, if your playing in the Olympics all I can say is good on you girl.
*cough* and..uh..*cough* kakoy u vas nomer? ;)

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Ahhh - 'Tis a beautiful morning here in Eastern Penna. Just the sort of morning to take your honey for a leisurely stroll ACROSS the railroad tracks - BOQ

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24th Marines Expeditionary Unit is in Afghanistan ready to start operations. For those who know, the Marine Reserves of 24th MEU are from just south of our Fair City and I know a few good souls from there. Good luck and good hunting.

Remember those "controversial" ads that equated using drugs with supporting terrorism? Well, it does. And, while one might feel sympathy for the addict, it is somewhat mitigated by the fact that a $10 baggy of heroin just contributed to the death of one of our soldiers or some other innocent civilian.

Bulgaria’s Government was accused of high-level involvement with organised crime gangs yesterday, in a hard-hitting report that highlighted the failure of the ruling coalition to stamp out corruption or convict anyone for 150 gangland killings.

Government secrets were leaked to mafia figures involved in drug trafficking and a senior minister met alleged underworld bosses regularly, according to the investigation by MPs into corruption in the Interior Ministry. The profits of the drug trade were channelled to terrorist groups in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

“Bulgarian crime groups engaged in trafficking . . . drugs sometimes work together with Arab citizens linked to terrorist organisations,” the MPs said.

“We can make the conclusion that part of the money accumulated from drug trafficking is used to finance the work of terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Christian militias.”

By the way, the "Christian Militias" he is talking about are down Africa way where a group who calls themselves the "Lord's Army" (nothing godly about them) routinely steals children as young as six to indoctrinate and turn into "child soldiers". They rape, murder, destroy and all the other things that any other terrorist group does. They are a terrible scourge. -Kat

Er...and Bay concurs with "What Powers a Terrorist Organization?"
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I keep seeing "failure in Basrah" memes in the press (do they have only one editorial board? is this this month's "talking point"?), yet, in the Iraqi Press, Iraqi Security Forces are rounding up weapons and munitions in huge numbers. Is that failure and defeat? I'm so confused. ;) -Kat
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“You can’t be against the war and for me -- because I am the damn war.”

On FFDO's*, Pistols, Holsters, TSA Regs, and holes in aircraft.

Check out the link on how you can discharge the FFDO firearm, given holster design and TSA regs mandating how/when you can have the weapon available for use.

For what it's worth, I hate what we've created to address the terrorist threat in the skies. It's so inept it's laughable.

- We refuse to concentrate assets on the most likely suspects.

- We hire the least competent types of staff to "screen" out potential threats.

- We saddle both these staffers and the front-line troops (aircrews) with asinine regs. Like the man said, the Captain is the Captain of the whole airplane, not just the cockpit. My flight defense training culminated with a full-blown fist fight OUTSIDE the main cockpit door. It was pretty realistic, too. Even with all the padded gear, my left forearm was numb for two weeks after using it to ring the "assailant's" bell. I want to be packin' heat from before push to
after block in no matter what I'm doing in between.

- We put more effort into discouraging these last-line-of-defense individuals from carrying firearms than into making sure the defense is so massive it deters the threat (TSA wants the airborne struggle to be a fair fight. I don't believe in fair fights.)

- We engineer a gun holster that is so frickin' hard to put on and use that it makes the firearm more dangerous to the user than it does to the assailant.

I'm amazed MORE pistols haven't gone off while putting them on/taking them off.

Jeebus.

BTW, I'm 54 today.

Sh*t. ;)

Dusty/Attila of Argghhh!!!

*FFDO: Federal Flight Deck Officer

DUE SOUTH IN REVERSE

Remember that mid-'90s TV show set in Chicago (and filmed in *heh* Toronto) featuring a Mountie who came south to help The Neighbors (us) battle injustice?

Got the sequel ramping up, even as we speak. In reverse.

It seems The Neighbors (us) are irked about what's happening to some of Fraser's compatriots. Got an e-gram last night from the blogfirm of Potfry and Williams, better known as the guys from TNOYF:

Hey Bill -- we're selling Ezra Levant t-shirts and donating all profit to the Canadian blogger legal defense fund.

R.J.'s been on this particular case for months -- he raised the initial hue and cry with one of his Patent-Pending Top Nine Little Known Facts gems:

The Top Nine Little Known Facts About Richard Warman

9. Has never been able to recapture the glory he achieved after he defeated Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes."

8. Once played lead air guitar in a Milli Vanilli tribute band.

7. Only needs to file 137 more lawsuits to finally gain complete and utter revenge on the ruffians who used to steal his lunch money in grade school.

6. Performed an interpretive dance entitled, "The Genius of Alan Alda" for his high school talent show.

5. Coined the phrase, "You can't spell 'team' without 'm-e'."

4. Is perpelexed that his former employer refuses to change their name to the Human Lefts Commission.

3. Is so sensitive that after watching prescription drug commercials on television, frequently comes down with at least two of the major side effects.

2. Would never admit it, but secretly wears Mark Steyn footie-pajamas.

1. Feels very inadequate because…because…well, let's just say that if he had a blog it would be named "3 Inches of Fury."

Heh. R.J. doesn't call a spade a spade -- he calls it a farkin' shovel...

Now, I don't shill for something unless it's a worthy cause or a noble fight (in which case, like John, I'm a total pushover), and IMHO, this is worthy. Stop in at TNOYF's shop -- it's worth the trip just to see the shirts. And when casting starts, I got dibs on the role of Diefenbaker.

I've got the hair for it -- and the eardrums...

Red Legs to the Rescue

[kat]

MOSUL — The urban terrain of Operation Iraqi Freedom limits the use of large cannons and field artillery units. The days of all out destruction and artillery raining down from the skies seem to be over. But there are still uses for these Soldiers and instances in which destruction with precision accuracy is vital to the U.S. Army’s mission success.

The Redleg Soldiers of Howitzer Battery, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment are one of the few field artillery units executing their area of expertise in Iraq today.

The term “Redleg” comes from a time when Cannons were much simpler and the field artilleryman’s uniform was much different. The Army blue uniform for artillerymen had a two-inch red stripe on the trousers and horse artillerymen wore red canvas leggings, distinguishing themselves from other Soldiers.

The Cannons used by Redleg Soldiers were towed by man, horse or mule, providing no protection to the crew operating it. Misfires, muzzle bursts and exploding weapons were not uncommon. Accuracy and reliability were questionable.

Today, the U.S. Army’s M109A6 Paladin self-propelled 155mm howitzer is a tracked vehicle that can reach out and touch a target accurately from 30 km away.

Read about their mission to shed some light on the enemy here

I Was Prescient: Sistani Says it's Up to Sadr to Decide

[Kat]

To disband the Mahdi Army or not.

I was going to blog that yesterday as my prediction, but the whole Bellavia thing side tracked me. There are so many reasons Sistani was never going to say "yes" or "no" directly. No the least of which, to do so would have given the impression that Sistani and the rest of the clergy had ordained it in the first place, bringing Sistani's wasta into Sadr's court yard and Sitani is simply not going to do that. It also gives Maliki cover for on going operations (there is no religious edict or other concept preventing him from hacking up Sadr's forces). On the otherhand, he's not going to say anything because he is still working on the goal of an undivided, if sorely cracked, Shia people and government.

Sistani gave a suitably vague edict that would allow operations to continue against Sadr and still give the militia the role of defending the neighborhoods, thus not jeopardizing future elections.

He has done this so many times, it is not really prediction, but statistic probability.

H&I Fires, 9 APR 2008

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.

Time to add a new caveat, because from email it's not clear to some folks (mind you, if you don't read this it won't matter...) Being an open post, people (collectively, the Denizens) other than I post in the H&I. They sign their work (most of the time) - keep that in mind when you want to flame someone in email please - if it doesn't say "The Armorer" or "John" then I didn't write it! And honestly - if you don't like something said or posted... leave a comment, and hash it out (within the context of The Rulez which are clearly posted on the comment form, I would add).

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*Someone* is not keeping us informed!

The Iraqi air force's newest Cessna 208 Caravan lands for the first-time at the Iraqi Flying Training Wing March 29 at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. The Cessna 208 is the advanced fixed wing training aircraft for the Iraqi Flying Training Wing. Iraqi students spend approximately six months learning to fly the Cessna 208 and receive pilot wings upon completion of the training syllabus. The Iraqi Air Force Flying Training Wing inventory will have a total of five Cessna 208s by the end of 2008. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Master Sgt. Don Senger)

Just an observation... -the Armorer

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Ummmm -- silly me. That's the new *advanced* trainer -- I don't have anything to do with the High End of the flying program, although I'm *ahem* Emergency Essential to the Instrument Training Course for the beast. Which means I have to write a lot.

The *other* three 208s are Operational, not Training, so I figured I'd make Maggie happy and save 'em for a Whatziss.

By the way, just *who* among you has been spreading the word that I know my way around here in the dark? Last night, I rescued provided assistance to

1. an artilleryman looking for the J-TOC ("Down that road, hook a right at the barbed wire. When you see the tubes, follow the fence around to the gate"),

2. a pair of Force Protection-type Munchkins searching for the Cav FARP ("Go three klicks down past the skeleton hangar, turn left at the tower with the fifty-cal in it, go forty feet towards the runway and look for the big sign reading 'If you ain't Cav, you ain't -- ummmm -- Cav'.") and

3. a Navy signal-type (male -- Down, Maggie!) looking for the 208 hangar ("Turn around -- you're standing in front of it.").

Giveth. Unto. Me. A. Break... -Bill

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Heh. We just attract strays, Bill. That's all. There's some invisible mark on our foreheads. That and we don't look like we'll eat you alive for just looking at us. Don't make eye contact, that *sometimes* works. Owhell, it doesn't work, either. -the Amorer

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Got it. No more making eye contact in a sandstorm after dark.

In related news (related to kat's Basra Punditry Post, anyway), here are a couple more items to add to Sadr's list of Things Making Me Increasingly Irrelevant In Iraq But Not In The NYT:

1. The anti-AQI Sahwa militias -- Shi'a -- helped out in Basra *against* the Mahdis -- Shi'a -- at the behest of Iraq's central -- Sunni -- government.

2. The Kurds -- who have no particular