Bill Roggio does an excellent job of reporting the finer details of al-Qaeda’s demise. I say that with confidence because al-Qaeda is having a difficult time right now. They’re getting their collective butts kicked by former “friends” or “alliances” in Diyala Province and the Taliban aren’t up for it in Afghanistan - it’s back to Tora Bora.
Speaking of Diyala province, Roggio quotes the MNF in his post:
In an unprecedented combined action in Diyala Province, Iraqi police and citizen volunteers defeated a coordinated attack of approximately 40-60 al-Qaeda terrorists in the southern Burhitz area of Baqubah, Wednesday, and killed an estimated 21 insurgents, wounding more.
As the terrorists entered the city of Burhitz, a group of concerned local citizens, called ‘Baqubah Guardians,’ and IPs stationed in Burhitz engaged the first wave of attackers, killing seven. At least two suicide bombers were killed before they reached their intended targets, with the bomb vests detonating prematurely.
The IP notified the Provincial Joint Coordination Center and requested Coalition Force attack helicopter support after the first engagement. Attack helicopters arrived and engaged another large group of heavily armed fighters staging near the first attack site, killing or wounding an estimated 14 terrorists.
In another post, Roggio notes that the Taliban, always expounding on fear and intimidation, are taking it on the chin in Tora Bora - though we have lost three soldiers.
US-led troops in eastern Afghanistan kicked off a major offensive Sunday designed to root out Taliban, al Qaeda, and Hizb-i-Islami-Gulbadin fighters hiding in southeastern Nangahar province. So far, the fighting has killed at least three American GIs, two of whom were Green Berets. Local government officials say up to 50 militants are dead with another 40 “under siege.” The fighting has forced as many as 100 families in the area to flee. Early reports say at least seven civilians have been killed. The US troops, augmented by the Afghan National Army and close air support, are targeting “hundreds of foreign fighters” who are well-entrenched.
August 17th, 2007
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Badger 6 over at Badgers Forward wrote what I thought was a great post yesterday. It’s worth repeating so go there and read the rest:
At home people are demanding we leave; that some sort of timetable be set; that we announce to the world when we will leave Iraq. How can people who make those demands honestly say they want what is best for Iraq and Iraqis? The idea that our presence here makes Sunni kill Shia, Shia kill Sunni, or Arabs kill Kurds, is utterly preposterous. That’s like saying that if the Saint Louis Police Department were to quit patroling North Saint Louis drug gangs would cease killing each other.
I am tired; I am tired when I need to be most on too. I need to get my Soldiers out of theater safely and I need to continue to help bring the word about how successful we have been out here home. The other day one of our platoons did “go kinetic” along with the local land owner and killed between three and ten AQIZ. Why does it feel so much harder to fight my fellow citizens who seek to prevent us from being successful than to do a Route Clearance mission?
Why indeed?
August 17th, 2007
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Grim has a great post at Blackfive on this week’s blogger roundtable discussion (.pdf file) and the evidence in Iraq of a grassroot’s movement that may lead to reconcilitation - i.e., a stable Iraq. The roundtable guest was Brigadier General Kevin Bergner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Effects in Iraq.
I liked this part of Grim’s summary:
Things are changing in Iraq. We’re seeing the first waves of the gravity well we’re building there, a well whose pull extends far beyond the borders of Iraq itself. It’s already strong enough to begin to exert its pull on the United Nations, which is suddenly willing to hedge its bets on success; and Sens. Durbin and Levin, who want to hedge theirs. I’ll say they are all welcome to do so. If we can ask political reconciliation of the Iraqis, we can ask it of ourselves. Anyone who wants to join us now in trying to help build success in Iraq, and stand against those who fight by murder and war crimes, is welcome aboard. I don’t care why they come, what their motives are, so long as they are willing to join the fight.
What we are seeing out of the Surge is a hint that success is possible — including the least likely form of success, the kind many even on the right wrote off: a democratic sea change in Iraqi society. Watching the local communities and tribes start to bring about the reality they want, leading rather than following the central government, is inspiring.
Like all of us, Grim acknowledges that we still have to wait. But the signs are encouraging nearly two months after Arrowhead Ripper started. Read Grim’s post here.
August 9th, 2007
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You gotta read this. Michael Totten interviews an Iraq interpreter - code named “Hammer”.
MJT: How did you feel when the U.S. invaded Iraq?
Hammer: Happy. It was like I was living in a jail and somebody set me free. I don’t want Saddam ruling me. Never. I was just waiting and waiting for this moment.
MJT: What do you think about the possibility of Americans leaving?
Hammer: It is like bad dream. Very bad dream. A nightmare. Worse than that. Like sending me back to jail. Like they set me free for four years then sent me back to jail or gave me a death sentence.
MJT: Tell us about living under Saddam Hussein.
Hammer: It was crazy life, like feeling safe inside a jail. If they sent you to an actual jail nothing changed. They arrested everyone, literally everyone, for no reason and sent them to jail for two weeks just so they could see the jail.
I went there three times. The first time because I worked for a movie company. They sent all of us to jail. It had nothing to do with me.
I was given a three year sentence. My family has money, so I paid the judge 50,000 dollars. I gave it directly to the judge, plus four new tires for his car and a satellite TV. He gave me a three month sentence instead of a three year sentence. He scratched “3 years” off my sentence and wrote “3 months” in by hand.
They sent me to Abu Ghraib. I saw so many things. If you want me to talk about that I would need a whole newspaper.
Read the whole thing - this guy is the real deal.
And if you can help support Michael Totten, please do so.
August 9th, 2007
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Remember Vietnam? Remember when Kerry tried to paint the US in defeat and General Giap of the NVA later said they were ready to throw in the towel?
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that an unamed Hezbollah officer, interviewed on Jerusalem’s Channel 10, stated that Hezbollah would’ve surrendered if the war with Israel late last summer would have lasted 10 more days.
“The cease-fire acted as a life jacket for the organization [at the end of the Second Lebanon War],” a Hizbullah officer said in an interview aired by Channel 10 on Tuesday.
In the interview, the unnamed officer said Hizbullah gunmen would have surrendered if the fighting last summer had continued for another 10 days.
His statement sharply contrasted with those made by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah on several occasions since the monthlong war.
At the end of the war, Nasrallah said his organization had gained a “divine victory.”
The officer shown on Channel 10 said the organization’s gunmen had been running low on food and water and facing rapidly diminishing arms supplies.
The officer also said that many Hizbullah commanders were ordered to hide before the war started, and that the gunmen who remained were forced to fire Katyusha rockets from inside urban populations because of the IDF’s efficiency in destroying launchers minutes after a launch had been detected.
(Linked from The Fourth Rail).
**********
The Taliban take another blow in Afghanistan - from Bill Roggio at The Fourth Rail
Coalition forces struck another blow to the senior Taliban leadership in Afghanistan. On July 23, Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops killed Qari Faiz Mohammad, the chairman of the Taliban Military Shura, or council, during a targeted raid in Helmand province. Mohammad was also a close associate of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and a chief financier for the Taliban.
Sweet.
July 31st, 2007
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I mentioned Michael Totten previously as a great blogger to get an up close look at Iraq - and actually a lot more than Iraq since he has reported from many places - a real world traveler. But regarding Iraq specifically, Totten had written a previous post alluding to near boredom while on patrol with some good soldiers - experienced soldiers, many on second and third tours. One of the comments Totten received became worthy of a post itself - and I thought it worthy to re-print. Michael is currently embedded with the 82nd Airborne near Baghdad.
From Steve B, who has his own blog called Educated Soldier:
Having served with an infantry battalion much like the one subjected in the post during a year in Ar Ramadi when Ar Ramadi was at its most conflicted, I can assure you that the violence is not as you might expect. Our unit suffered pretty massive causalities during our year. However, we patrolled every single day of that year. Those patrols lasted many hours. And, typically, even in then “chaotic” Ramadi, most patrols followed the same peaceful format as the one described in Mr. Totten’s post.Even in the worst places, day-to-day activity is mundane and quiet. When attacks occur, they do so viciously. In my case, these resulted in my unit’s heavy causalities. Nonetheless, I rarely patrolled in fear. I knew that on most days, our patrol would result in an absence of action. Again, this was in a city considered to be one of the most violent of the war. This peculiar dynamic of the situation in Iraq is lost on Big Media.
It’s not totally their fault either. They can’t be privy to such conditions because most Big Media types don’t patrol everyday, get to know the citizens, or understand the social dynamics. They are reactive types instead of proactive. But we can’t necessarily expect them to be otherwise.
I just wanted to do my part to make everyone aware that Mr. Totten is not reporting the exception, but is instead becoming aware of the “rule.” I base this on my two years experience in the country, on the streets. I implore you to trust my judgment and, because of it, trust Mr. Totten’s assessment as well.
Ramadi is not the environment today that Steve served in. It is certainly considered a success story and a pleasant surprise. Perhaps even some of that “Law of Unintended Consequences” stuff worked in Ar Ramadi also.
But Steve suggests the Antique Media can’t do a decent job - generally because they are mostly reactive than proactive. Ok. I’ll agree. But the reactive “opinions” aren’t any more intelligent than their reactive reporting. Steve may understand their difficulties but the Antique Media doesn’t have a clue about their own shortcomings. Kind of a spin on the old country overwork ethic - “Don’t worry about the mule, just load the wagon.” Don’t worry about the content, just write something - anything.
Thankfully, Totten and other independent embeds don’t see it that way.
Don’t forget - Michael Totten supports his own embeds. He’s not funded by the Antique Media. If you can help him out, go here.
July 27th, 2007
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Harry Reid’s take at the policy level - i.e. the political events - in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post:
“On reading the July 21 editorial “The Phony Debate,” it became clear why The Post’s editorial writers have been such eager cheerleaders for the Bush administration’s flawed Iraq policies — the two share the same disregard for the facts en route to drawing dubious conclusions.
The editorial was an inaccurate commentary on the nature of the Senate debate, the reality in Iraq and the president’s stubborn adherence to failed policies.
Your editorial wrongly asserted that “a large majority of senators from both parties favor a shift in the U.S. mission.” While a majority of the Senate voted again last week for a plan that would keep U.S. forces in Iraq for counterterrorism and troop protection and launch a diplomatic effort to help stabilize the region, Democrats were joined by only a handful of courageous Republicans — far from a majority of Republicans and not enough to break the Republican leadership’s filibuster. And if the president truly supports changing course, as your editorial implied, he needs to do much more than tell us “it’s a position I’d like to see us in” — he must drop his irresponsible veto threats and tell Republican leaders to stop blocking votes on proposals to carry out this change.
Finally, it was disingenuous to assert that Democrats are using Iraq to stir voters’ passions; the American people are sufficiently disappointed on their own. Three-quarters of Americans recognize that the war is going badly, three out of five support further funding only if it includes a timetable for transitioning the mission, and nearly all expect their president to work with Congress to do something to change course.”
HARRY REID
U.S. Senator (D-Nev.)
Given that invertebrate Reid has already thrown in the towel (”We’ve Lost!”), it seems unlikely that he would have anything good to say about Iraq. His “truths” are borne with the same ideaology of a hungry dog smelling food. Doesn’t matter what the food is, eating it is supreme - though it may be laced with poison. His inept attempt to show “solidarity” with “courageous Republicans” (conservatives call them RINO’s) is as disingeneous as his claim that dumocrats aren’t using Iraq to stir voters passions. He is a product of the same media he criticizes - he knows no more of the situation in Iraq than any other policy based (i.e. political) Congressman or most of the “three quarters” of Americans that think the war is going badly. Their source is ABC, CBS, NBC, Reuter’s, AP, or FOX (sorry, I don’t see FOX any diferent than the other members of Antique Media).
The DOD has not done a very good job of Public Relations - in large part due to the desire on the DOD’s insistence to not appear one-sided or biased. And to be clear of the “political” charge. That is changing, though ever so slowly - we now have Gen. Petraeous running the show and he likes to talk. And he likes his subordinates to talk. The DOD still holds itself to a higher standard - in fact their structure in reporting information is basically ho-hum and appears pretty boring. The devil is in the details we get which overcomes 90% of what’s reported by antique Media. For instance, we now have “Blogger Roundtables” (see the last edition here) that (for all of Glenn Greenwald and Mr. Silverstein’s dislike of hearing from boots on the ground) give us a particular insight of what is working and what is not from both a short term and long term perspective of recent history.
None of what is blogged on conservative blogs and milblogs bears any resemblance to invertebrate Reid pronunciations about defeat and justifying timetable demands. The data simply doesn’t agree with the cut-and-run crowd. And that’s a clash in perception, for me. We have two main sources of information - Antique Media and Alternate Media - Alternate Media including milblogs, some conservative blogs, the DOD channels (Multinational Forces in Iraq, Blogger Roundtables, etc.), and some secondary news channels (PMI, a new one created by Bill Roggio, et al). When I weigh the information from Antique Media with the Alternate Media sources, two things jump out - bias and facts.
Milblogs have a bias, surely. As much of a bias that any left wing, hate-America-for-what-it-is blog portrays. But the incredibly large difference in the two types of blogs comes, not from the opinions of each side, but from the facts presented. As much as I can stand it, I read left wing blogs to see what the other side is thinking (or, more correctly, how they insult reason). The overwhelming issues on left wing blogs all seem to gell around party politics (dumocrats are the saviours) and conspiracy theories. Both of these issues seem to have a total vacuum of facts in play to advance their worth. While both the left and conservatives play with polls to justify their outcomes, polling data always seems to be skewed based on the writers interpretations (I’d like to include myself on that). Eliminating the polling justifications leaves me empty handed in trying to understand what it is the left doesn’t understand.
What I have found in the milblogs is a repetition of discussing the facts. There is certainly some interpretation of what the facts portend the future to be but that plays out as well (Bill Roggio’s The Fourth Rail is very good at this), generally holding up the writer’s predictions. But a consistent theme of discussing the facts is what keeps me going back to those sources. They have facts - though quite different in most cases to what is articulated by the Antique Media. Or, to be more accurate, what isn’t articulated by the Antique Media. But the information is not presented in any high-handed fashion. It’s generally boring without the sensationalist claims that one reads on the left or from the Antique media. To be sure, the facts aren’t always what one likes to hear but it isn’t hidden. When it’s going badly, that’s reported as well.
I am listing some of the blogs I read (a more complete list is on the sidebar). But these blogs consistently have useful information that is generally never reported in the Antique Media.
Blackfive
The Fourth Rail
Michael Yon
Small Wars Journal
The Counterrorism Blog
Acute Politics
Badgers Forward
Victory Caucus
Michael Totten
Acute Politics and Badgers Forward are active duty personnel currently in theater in Iraq. Of course, Michael Yon seems to be constantly embedded in Iraq. And what great dispatches he has. Michael Totten has just arrived for another embed and has this for his latest.
Enjoy.
July 27th, 2007
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We have lost a good one this time. But what he did while alive will live on for many years to come. Gen. Wayne Downing, 67, was one of America’s best military men in history, having developed and commanded the entire Special Operations Forces thinking and the Army Rangers, of which he was not only a member, but was also the soul. Michael Yon has an excellent dispatch on General Downing here. I read all I can of Michael Yon and I well remember this part:
Among his many other accomplishments, General Downing had commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion, one of the most difficult and prestigious jobs in the entire military. Today, LTC Erik Kurilla, formerly commander of the Deuce Four and totally recovered from his last gunshot wounds, is now commander of 2nd Ranger Battalion. Small world.
You can read about Ltc. Kurilla here - and it’s well worth it.
Blackfive also noted Gen. Downings passing.
While General Wayne Downing is gone, what he has left us with is immeasurable. Thank him for his service.
July 24th, 2007
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You’ll like this. Mike Kaminski did a resurrection of Patton for the War on Terror. The link is to Soldier’s Angel Germany. H/t to Mudville Gazette. Enjoy.
July 23rd, 2007
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Teflon Don at Acute Politics has a neat post up on how effective the PSYOPS operations are going. As part of COIN, these units use what we use to call “riding speakers for politics” when I was a kid. The village Teflon Don refers to is in Anbar province and the Marines who cover this AO have been working hard to get the villagers over to our side. A fortunate incident helped it happen, as TD writes about the “Neighborhood Watch” effect:
The second time I saw a local militia form, it happened almost overnight. The region was an agricultural area northeast of Ramadi- it was a bad area, one that we frequently patrolled and often found IEDs in. Blast holes lined the roads, and at some places nearly blocked the narrow, elevated lanes. Two companies of Marines had spent months trying to gain control of the area- mainly on foot, because the roads were continually seeded with IEDs. One day, the ever-elusive enemy launched mortars at us while we paused at a Combat Outpost. None of the rounds hit our patrol or the COP- however, at least one hit a school. We took four children and three adults to Camp Taqaddum, near Habbaniyah, for medical care. One more little girl died later at TQ, and more had been killed down in the village. In all, twelve children died.
The next time we patrolled the route, later that week, there were militia fighters standing alongside Marines all along the road. We never found another IED in the area. I recently spoke with a Chief Warrant Officer who had been serving at the COP during the transformation. He did not know it had been our platoon in the area that day, but he directly credited our aid and the PSYOPS followup as the events that sparked the transformation. The Marines had spent months laying the groundwork- interfacing with the villagers, offering aid, and sweeping for bad guys. The Iraqis weren’t buying into it. In one day, that changed. I was told that the Army PSYOPS unit attached to the Marines put on “the show of a lifetime”. They went out onto the roads proselytizing via loudspeaker: “The insurgents say they are here to help you, but they only kill your children. The Americans are the only ones you can trust to help.” They opened the mike up to the villagers, and the response was overwhelming. People came from their houses to tell the insurgents “You killed my daughter. I will not sleep, I will not eat until I see you die!”. Iraqis came up to tell about the strange men that had appeared, threatening to kill families if they were not provided with shelter. They led Marines to caches and IEDs. Perhaps most importantly, they began to work with the Marines to secure their villages. Now, the Marines are gone, save for a small contingent left on the main road to the south. (ed.-Bold highlites are mine)
Don’t tell Reid the Invertebrate about this. He thinks we already lost and nothing good is happening in Iraq.
July 22nd, 2007
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There are sometimes bad choices made by warriors in battle. It usually gets people killed that you didn’t want that to happen to. It’s usually referred to negatively. Sometimes, operational guidelines are invented as a result. But this is due to carelessness and not bad policy.
But the Army is doing all it can to screw that up by making “bad policy” a cornerstone. A new policy the Army has placed on military bloggers - those guys like Badger 6 and Acute Politics - now attempts to silence those people. The damnest thing is - milbloggers are the only ones who get out good news. The antique media won’t be punished with this policy. Only the good guys.
There’s plenty to read on it - start with Badger 6’s opinion. Then check out Blackfive and Michelle Malkin.
I was able to IM my son today. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to tomorrow. That would really, really suck.
UPDATE:
Well, so far so good. Doesn’t look like the Army’s got their panties in too much of a wad over this but it’s early. Victory Caucus is carrying a post that has an opinion by Army Lawyer that this may not be a big deal.
I hope he’s right. But I suspect there’s more to come.
May 2nd, 2007
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A few news items - with a twist.
From COBdanny - Pelosi doesn’t appear to have read the bill before she signed it.
John Cornyn (Tx-R) announced that the reason the bill had not been sent to the President earlier is because Nancy Pelosi (Ca-D) wanted to read it.
What the hell kind of idiocy is this? Pelosi votes on a bill she has never read and now that she has already voted on it, she is going to read it? Is there anything that tells you that this bill was nothing more than partisan politics using our troops as a battering ram to run over the President?
When are the Democrats going to finally at least be honest enough to change their name to the Democratic Socialist Party of America?This is unbelievable. What a complete waste of oxygen. Again I ask, how can a person with a soul ever vote Democrat again?
And from Bill Roggio in his Weekly Standard column comes some interesting news related to the possible killing of al-Masri, Zarqawi’s replacement for al-Qaeda in Iraq:
If al Masri was killed, and was killed by tribal forces, the likelihood is the Anbar Salvation Council , which has battled al Qaeda in the province, crossed the provincial boundary to cooperate with a local anti al Qaeda group. The Anbar Salvation Council has recently asked for permission from the government “to pursue militants across provincial lines,” according to IraqSlogger. “Recent reports suggest that such clearance may have been granted.”
This is reaching beyond their previous span of control. Something has changed the Rules of Engagement for the Anbar Salvation Council - and that could be a good thing.
And Roggio adds that a new reason to gain control of al-Qaeda and drive them out is the new Oil Revenue Bill:
On the political front, the Iraqi cabinet has approved the draft oil law, which will ensure an equal distribution of the oil wealth, and the law will go into effect by the end of May. “The oil sector’s profits will be put in a central account and distributed [to the provinces] according to population.” The oil law has been seen as a major political stumbling block between the Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions. Iraq’s oil reserves are believed to have been understated by half, and the recent discovery of vast oil reservoirs in Anbar province has given the Sunni tribes a new, unconsidered source of wealth if development on the oil fields can begin.
Time will tell. But Roggio’s giving us two pieces of information that, while unrelated, may make a huge difference.
May 1st, 2007
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