Record ROTC class for USA- al.com

In today's Mobile Register is this item:

Record ROTC class for USA.

USA is the University of South Alabama, located in Mobile, Alabama. More than 250 public universities in the U.S. have Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Many of them have seen record enrollment the last two years.

Upon graduating from the four year program, Cadets become 2nd Lieutenants and go onto train for their selected specialty. To them, I offer a HOO AH.

Just a little item to counter the left's mantra that this nation's young people do not want to be part of our Armed Forces during a time of war.

General Pace Denies LA Times Story

Gen. Pace: LA Times is Full of Reconstituted Organic Matter


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday denied a newspaper report that he will urge President George W. Bush to cut U.S. troop levels in Iraq next year.

"The story is wrong," Marine Gen. Peter Pace said through a spokesman. "It is speculative. I have not made nor decided on any recommendations yet."

Heh...

The eastern Afghanistan offensive

The Fourth Rail: Could Bin Laden be the Target?

Bill Roggio of the Fourth Rail reports heavy fighting in the Tora Bora region of Eastern Afghanistan. Dr. Amin al Haq, who serves as Osama bin Laden's security coordinator, was reported to have been wounded in the fighting.

In previous engagements with Taliban and Al Qaeda forces believed to be protecting or traveling with bin Laden, his "Black Guard" security detail has been involved.

This offensive bears watching closely.

The Thunder Run: Web Reconnaissance for 08/24/2007

The Thunder Run: Web Reconnaissance for 08/24/2007

"A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day..."

The blogosphere's best compilation of news and commentary.

Don Surber: Vietnam sucks

Don Surber of the Charleston Daily Mail writes:

By injecting the aftermath of Vietnam into the post-Iraq War debate, President Bush opened the refrigerator door — and that sent the apologists for Ho Chi Minh and Pol Pot scurrying. Somehow the millions of boat people and the millions sent to concentration camps — re-education camps — are glossed over. One man’s death a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic, as Josef Stalin said.


The Great Big Lie is that Vietnam is some sort of paradise today.

Let us review:

He then gives us some very interesting statistics about how that country is faring. Like... Per capita income ($2 a day).

Surber's post is a short, intense, fun read. He's right, too. Vietnam sucks.

Revisiting Koehl

This item is a few weeks old, but in light of yesterday's release of the National Intelligence Estimate, it is worth reviewing.  

From the Campaign Spot:

Stuart Koehl, of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University-SAIS writes in with a good point:

"The error being made- on your part as well as by others - is assuming that progress can only be made at the level of the national government. In fact, under the Iraqi constitution, the national government is rather weak, while traditionally real political power has been wielded on the local and regional level. And it is precisely at the local and regional level that we see real progress being made with regard both to power sharing and national reconciliation. Because of the social and constitutional structure of Iraq, political progress cannot be imposed from the top-down, but must percolate from the bottom up. To some extent, the members of the national assembly and the unity government are merely play-acting, posturing for the cameras until such time as a consensus emerges on the local level that will prompt them to act. The success of our counter-insurgency effort on the political front is not measured in the assembly chamber, but in the tribal councils. And there, we are definitely winning."

Somewhere, a graduate student in Political Science is studying the process of political reconciliation in Iraq. One has to wonder what Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau would think of this.

Dawn Patrol, Mudville Gazette

Mudville Gazette: Dawn Patrol

Mrs. Greyhawk's Daily roundup of information on the War on Terror (and other topics).

Muslims resent FBI's release of ferry passenger photos

Jihad Watch:

Seattle Muslims in a Full Court Victimization Press: "We need to get some type of apology from them and figure out how to get back to where we were." The FBI agents shouldn't apologize for doing their jobs and trying to protect people. Gomez is right: "people in those communities have to get over this sensitivity toward feeling victimized." And instead of resenting anti-terror efforts, some cooperation with them would be most welcome.

Amen. I would also add that the FBI does not work for the Muslim community. Its mission is to serve the entire United States of America, and protect the greater good even if a small minority is made uncomfortable because someone shines a light on people who may look like them. I frankly don't care how they feel, and neither should you.

If it upsets them so much, maybe they should drop a dime on the ferry spies.

By the way, if you've seen these two men, please contact your local FBI office.

Dollard Talks Iraq Media Coverage, Upcoming Surge Report

Breitbart.tv  -- Dollard Talks Iraq Media Coverage, Upcoming Surge Report

Documentarian Pat Dollard, who has an upcoming gritty 8-part series covering his 7 months embedded with the troops on the Iraq frontlines, joins Andrew Breitbart on "The Dennis Miller Show" to discuss how the media is covering the war and the "success" of troop surge.

From the WTF File: Missing Uranium?!?

From FOXNews.com comes this item. Should I be surprised?

BEIJING — Authorities said that 17 pounds of weapons-grade uranium disappeared and that a verdict in the trial of four men accused of trying to sell the radioactive material will be delayed until it is found, state media reported Friday.

The report was the first public word that uranium was missing.

The defendants said they did not know where the uranium was because it had been moved around so much between potential buyers, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The uranium was typesU-235 and U-238, both of which can be used to make nuclear weapons. Prolonged exposure to the radioactive material can cause cancer.

Defendant Zhang Sangang said he met a uranium mine owner in April 2005 and offered to be a middleman. The owner said he wanted $26,400 per kilogram, and that Zhang could keep the difference if he found someone willing to pay a higher price, the report said.

The three other defendants joined Zhang in his plan, and one of them met a businessman in the city of Guangzhou who said he knew someone willing to pay $210,000 for a kilogram of the uranium, the newspaper said, citing testimony in Guangzhou's Tianhe District Court.

Uranium is about 1.7 times the density of lead. We are talking about an amount of fissile material small enough to fit in a suitcase. Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, contained roughly eight times the amount lost in China. However, Little Boy used the "gun method" of intitiating the chain reaction, a very inefficient conversion of mass to energy.

Seventeen pounds, or about eight Kg, is enough to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

Sworn to Protect

Volunteers Begin Service to Iraq



Friday, 24 August 2007
By Spc. L.B. Edgar
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment


ABU GHRAIB — “I promise to give my allegiance and my service to the nation and people of Iraq,” the middle-aged men said in unison.

“I promise to cooperate in order to serve the Iraqi people and build a new Iraqi nation,” they continued with their hands stacked one over the other on top of a copy of the Quran.

“I will support and defend the Iraqi government and the people of Iraq against other organizations. For these reasons I sign below,” the men concluded, subsequently signing a card with the oath they had just sworn to uphold with God and one another as witnesses.

The men were not enlisting in the Iraqi army or taking an oath of public office. Instead, they were part of a mass enrollment of everyday citizens into the Coalition Critical Infrastructure Force, whose members are most commonly referred to as the volunteers.

Volunteers are men all equally eager to protect their communities, said Capt. Jay Bunte, who points them in the right direction when it’s their turn to take the oath.

The opportunity to swear allegiance to the government of Iraq, apply for an identification card and thereby work toward greater security was made possible by a local leader, Sheik Abd. The elderly man hosted Soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, for the event in the small Shia town of Al Awad on the western fringe of Iraq’s capital, said Bunte, a native of Arlington, Texas.

“He’s a local leader who is for the people. He’s worried about the security of the town and what better way to provide security than by themselves (rather than continuing) to rely on coalition forces,” Bunte said. “Before we arrived (on this deployment rotation) they policed their own. They actually fought off insurgents themselves.”

The volunteers are enrolled into the Biometric Automated Tool Set (BATS) system, said Sgt. Joseph Box, the BATS system non-commissioned officer in charge for Co. B.

Throughout the event approximately 150 volunteers entered the room set up to accommodate the BATS system. Eight stations processed one volunteer at a time. Each volunteer provided their name and date of birth. Height, weight and hair color were recorded. All ten fingerprints were taken along with a passport size photo. Finally, one eye was painlessly scanned with an infrared laser recording an image of the iris, Box, a native of San Bernardino, Calif., said.

“It’s the best way we have of identifying people” Box said of the system he has operated for almost one year.

The scan of the iris is the most accurate identifying feature of the BATS system. For the past three years the iris-scan technology has been on the market. “Only now is it being mass produced and utilized in the field,” Box said.

Data from those enrolled in the BATS system is compared to an existing database of people already enrolled. Enrollees profiles are maintained by Multi-National Division-Baghdad, but shared with forces operating throughout Iraq and even service members serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, he said.

The technology is useful to Soldiers because it allows identification without necessarily having the suspect’s name.

“Even if the name is wrong I’ll know it’s the guy because of his iris scans and biometrics,” Box said.

In the case of the volunteers, the BATS system is a safeguard measure to protect against individuals trying to infiltrate the security force, Box said. “If 500 people show up today, chances are there (is) one or two rotten apples in the bunch.”

Though a positive match, or “coming up hot” on a BATS system, is not in and of itself evidence, “it can help our command make the decision whether or not to send (a suspect) to the holding area,” Box said. “We’ve had some success with it processing unknown detainees back at our battalion holding area.”

Every detainee is entered into the system, Box said. “Most of the time, when they see this equipment, they recognize it right of way. Not too many of these guys get pictures of their eyeballs taken. They don’t forget it.”

After enrolling, the volunteers were congratulated by their host, Sheik Abd. They washed their hands and as a group placed their hands on their sacred text. The men swore to their God to protect and uphold the rule of law and be loyal to the government of Iraq. Finally, they received a card with the oath and signed it.

“It’s them swearing to defend their town to the best of their ability,” Bunte said of the ritual.

Once the volunteers receive their ID cards, they are sworn protectors of their communities, Bunte said. By week’s end, the volunteers will take to the street to keep the promises they’ve made to Iraq’s government, its people and most importantly, their God.

The National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq

The Fourth Rail has obtained a copy of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. Bill Roggio makes a copy available for download. Please note that this the declassified version.

Excerpts of the NIE have been printed by the major wire services. Here is an example of one of those stories.

I call that a very interesting selection of excerpts.

Let's provide some balance, shall we?

The IC assesses that the emergence of “bottom-up” security initiatives, principally among Sunni Arabs and focused on combating AQI, represent the best prospect for improved security over the next six to 12 months, but we judge these initiatives will only translate into widespread political accommodation and enduring stability if the Iraqi Government accepts and supports them. A multi-stage process involving the Iraqi Government providing support and legitimacy for such initiatives could foster over the longer term political reconciliation between the participating Sunni Arabs and the national government. We also assess that under some conditions “bottom-up initiatives” could pose risks to the Iraqi Government.

Fair enough--The "bottom up" phenomenon that I have been pounding on for months does appear to be "the best" prospect, and of course it poses risks. No solution envisioned under these conditions of uncertainty is risk-free. The alternative "top-down" approach has already shown itself to be an unmitigated disaster. Given the promise that has been shown by the ordinary Iraqis joining forces to solve problems nonviolently, I'll take my chances backing the "bottom-up" approach.

We assess that changing the mission of Coalition forces from a primarily counterinsurgency and stabilization role to a primary combat support role for Iraqi forces and counterterrorist operations to prevent AQI from establishing a safehaven would erode security gains achieved thus far. The impact of a change in mission on Iraq’s political and security environment and throughout the region probably would vary in intensity and suddenness of onset in relation to the rate and scale of a Coalition redeployment. Developments within the Iraqi communities themselves will be decisive in determining political and security trajectories.

Well what do you know. The "redeployment" plan being pushed by the left's leading candidates for the Presidential Nomination is, to put it un-diplomatically, a cluster fuck waiting to happen. At least in the eyes of the entire Intel Community. The small-footprint, counterterrorism-only approach is what got us the al-Askirya Mosque bombing, AQI contamination of Anbar, Diyala and the "Baghdad Belts," and a solid year and a half of sectarian bloodshed. Counterterrorism lives and dies by intelligence gathering, and you can't gather intelligence from terrified civilians when your forces never come out of the wire.

Regardless of what next months's report by the administration says, the NIE makes the strongest case yet for continuing the counterinsurgency tactics adopted earlier this year. The gains made to date have come at a costly toll, indeed. We can't afford to give those gains back.

Mucho gracias to Bill Roggio for snagging a copy of the document and making it available.

Fearing the Law They Face

Counterterrorism Blog's continuing coverage of the Holy Land Foundation's federal trial in Texas. HLF and several of its top officials are on trial for giving material support to Hamas.

The Council of American Islamic Relations has been named as one of the legions of "unindicted co-conspirators" by the Dept. of Justice.

CTB has been providing regular coverage of the landmark trial.

Cost of Withdrawal

The Weekly Standard has found a post by Peter Wehner of Contentions. TWS Editor Michael Goldfarb calls it a "must read," and I wholeheartedly agree.

An excerpt:

Kissinger continues:

On April 13th, the New York Times correspondent [Sydney Schanberg] reported the American departure under the headline, “Indochina Without Americans: For Most, a Better Life.” The Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh on April 17th . . . . The 2 million citizens of Phnom Penh were ordered to evacuate the city for the countryside ravaged by war and incapable of supporting urban dwellers unused to fending for themselves. Between 1 and 2 million Khmer were murdered by the Khmer Rouge until Hanoi occupied the country at the end of 1978, after which a civil war raged for another decade.

Thunder Run Web Recon

Thunder Run's daily digest of news and commentary.

Web Reconnaissance.

They never miss an opportunity...

... to miss an opportunity.

Omar gives us his view on the maddening morass of Iraqi national politics. He believes that new elections may be the only course of action that resolves the deeply sectarian standoff.

This comes on the heels of Ambassador Ryan Crocker's expressions of frustration with the Maliki-led "unity government," and just before the CIA "leaks" its intelligence assessment of the government's ability to mend the sectarian divide.

It seems we are nearing another of the many turning points this story has given us.

The Viral Spread of Explosive Technologies in the Land of Jihad

Douglas Farah

In an insightful post from the Counterterrorism Blog, Douglas Farah explains how a decentralized network of terrorists are able to share techniques via technology.

The same technology that allows Omar and Mohammed to give us the unblemished view from the Iraqi perspective unfortunately allows the bad guys to instantly communicate and share lessons learned.

Farah opines that we are "largely unprepared" to fight this war against such a decentralized, unbordered, stateless enemy. I agree that this aspect of the conflict presents challenges we've never faced. However, recall that very small armies of hackers have taken down numerous websites over the last several years.

Remember the old saw: The more moving parts it has, the easier it is to break it. What we need to do is figure out which moving part is the easiest to break.

Dhimmi Watch: Suicides among women on the rise in Turkey

Dhimmi Watch.

This of course is all because Bush invaded Iraq in a war of choice to steal oil, oppress brown people and line the profits of the Cheney Halliburton KBR junta.

Fighting for Hearts, Minds, and Souls

Clifford D. May on Iraq on National Review Online:

The first concept to grasp is that the global conflict now underway involves both a clash of arms and a clash of ideas. To succeed in this war will require effective combat on both fronts.

The second concept is this: The clash of arms and the clash of ideas influence one other, often in peculiar and even counterintuitive ways.

One example: Al Qaeda in Iraq could not challenge American troops directly. Their solution has been to target innocent Iraqis instead, to slaughter innocent Muslim men, women, and children by the hundreds.

Former New York Times Correspondent Clifford May writes about how the conflict in Iraq is changing how the "Arab street" views Americans. Defeating Al Qaeda in Iraq required alliances between Muslims and Infidels against other Muslims. Many thought such ideas preposterous. But careful analysis of Iraqi sermons, blogs, websites and media shows that such tactical alliances are acceptable under Islamic teaching.

As a nation, we have much to learn about Arab culture. Radical fringes get lots of press, while ordinary Jamils and Youssefs are just trying to raise their families and go about their daily lives in peace.

May doesn't note this, but it is worth mentioning: Arabs are astute businessmen. They know how to make a deal (and no, it's not oil we're dealing with). They are perfectly capable of establishing relationships that serve common interests, even when the partnership between Muslim and Infidel puzzles outside observers. When Anbar had been written off as lost, Petraeus stepped in and offered the traditional leaders a deal: Help us rid this place of Al Qaeda, and we will help you rebuild your villages while we teach your sons how to keep Al Qaeda from ever coming back.
 

Good Guys Take to the Airways

Or, as the left might see it, The Empire Strikes Back.

A number of Former White House aides are joining Republican fundraisers to back a $15 million advertising campaign supporting the President's policy in Iraq, hoping to pressure lawmakers whose resistance to President Bush's Iraq war strategy may be wavering.

Although the Associated Press and Reuters will try to tell you that it is "aimed at" lawmakers within his own party, don't you believe it. This is aimed squarely at swing districts and "purple states" with Republican Senators and Representatives who are themselves the targets of anti-war moonbat advertising.

Twenty states will be targeted over a five week period.

AP Story here for a while.

Regardless of who your Senator or Congresscritter is, you should call, write, fax or email them and tell them that you think Mr. Bush, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are doing a good job. The troops need your support, so they can finish the job that they are doing so well. Then we can welcome them home.