The Cool Blue Blog

History lesson

What happens when you include Syria and Iran in a Security Council meeting on fighting terrorism? Not a whole helluvalot. Though you may discover obscure historical facts about which you were unaware.

Even if you were a scholar of history.

For instance

Syria responded that Israel was the one precipitating a third world war, saying that "If we examine the matter, we will find that Israel was behind the eruption of both World War I and World II."

Um, need I point out that Israel didn't exist until 1948? Or that if Germany had it's way, there would be no Jews with which to form a state called Israel?

Didn't think so.

Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman ultimately expressed his

"appreciation, which I hope is shared by members of the Security Council, for the opportunity afforded to all of us to hear lectures about terrorism by two of the world's greatest experts on that subject."

Well, on such panels, you do need experts....

Chinese filibuster

You think our Congress is looney tunes? Well you need to get out some. In Taiwan, parliment was considering a law to allow direct flights from Taiwan to China. But some didn't like the idea, so according to Reuters

Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) charged toward the podium and protested noisily to prevent the review of an opposition proposal seeking an end to decades-old curbs on direct air and shipping links with China.

Amid the chaos, DPP deputy Wang Shu-hui snatched the written proposal from an opposition legislator and shoved it into her mouth, television news footage showed.

Wang later spat out the document and tore it up after opposition lawmakers failed to get her to cough it up by pulling her hair.

During the melee, another DPP woman legislator, Chuang Ho-tzu, spat at an opposition colleague.

I guess I can put up with Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin.

On second thought, nah.

Operation Dragon's Breath

Operation Dragon's Breath

Joint Operation Targets Insurgents in Ramadi Neighborhood

By U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Pitcher
124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

RAMADI, Iraq, May 30, 2006 — As the sun rises above the horizon, the silence of a neighborhood is shattered by the roar of armored vehicles. The convoy kicks up dust and rocks, tearing along the makeshift road. It passes two U.S. vehicles burning from a roadside bomb earlier that morning.

It's mid-May, and the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division is working with Iraqi soldiers from the Iraqi Army's 1st Division to conduct Operation Dragon's Breath in Ramadi.

Humvees pull up to a house, designated to be today's base of operations, on the southern edge of a neighborhood. U.S. soldiers, along with their Iraqi counterparts, are tasked to watch the southern approaches to the neighborhood for any insurgents, while other Iraqi troops sweep the area.

The convoy slows to a stop. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers file to the gated entry of the house. The gate opens with a stern holler and a push. Soldiers pour in, clearing every nook and cranny of the home. As soldiers check the area, the mood is a cautious calm. The troops have done this many times before, but the looks on their faces show that it never becomes a fearless task.

Once the house is secured, the soldiers take up positions in windowsills and on the roof.

Four Iraqi soldiers are among those taking positions; peering around corners and waiting.

In the distance, a loud speaker shouts instructions in Arabic to the neighborhood residents. The instructions convey the troops' intentions - they're trying to make the neighborhood safe.

Iraqi soldiers begin slowly advancing through the neighborhood, rushing through houses and courtyards with tactical precision. U.S. soldiers stand ready, observing while the Iraqis 'leap-frog' - one keeps watch while the other moves forward.

The morning burns away as the sun peaks and smoldering temperatures engulf the city streets. As a bead of sweat trickles down an Iraqi soldier's face, a shot rings out.

Everyone scrambles to find where the shot came from. A sudden burst of fire is heard. Within seconds, the Iraqi soldiers are face-to-face with insurgents. The Iraqi soldiers engage the black-garbed fighters.

Rocket propelled grenades and rifle fire erupts as the Iraqi forces fight forward, killing the insurgent onslaught.

U.S. soldiers hear the shots and bring their weapons eye-level. The insurgents, trying to flank Iraqi soldiers, run into awaiting U.S. troops. The explosion of an insurgent's rocket propelled grenade smashes a home's perimeter wall, while U.S. soldiers bombard the pressing enemy.

With every insurgent shot, the U.S. soldiers try to identify the source and make split-second decisions to engage.

From the sky comes a thunderous blast as an F-18 Hornet fighter jet barrels back into the sky after destroying a pickup truck carrying three insurgents speeding into battle.

As quick as it came, the battle is now over. All the insurgents who came to fight this morning are dead or have retreated.

While the smoke clears, the U.S. soldiers know their training and the training of their Iraqi counterparts was key to the outcome of the battle.

"These are some crazy times we live in, boys. Good thing we're the best," said U.S. Army Pfc. Jason Allen.

Fifteen insurgents were killed in the battle and no U.S. or Iraqi soldiers were injured.

"Today was a good day. Sometimes we get them good, and sometimes they get us. But we are definitely getting better at them not getting us," said U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Heimos.

U.S. soldiers have seen Iraqi army forces grow in numbers and experience each day. "These Iraqis who were out here with us today are a good group of guys ... with every mission they get better," said U.S. Army Spc. William Willis.

"One day these Iraqi soldiers are going to look back and tell their grandkids, 'I was a part of something great. I got to help make Iraq a free country.'"

Plain talk

Penn & Teller use plain talk to dismantle 9/11 Conspiracy theorists over at Hot Air. And that plain talk may not be safe for work.

Oh, but it's so satisfying...

Helping those in need

The Saudi Arabian government has rushed aid to Indonesia, a country with the largest muslim population in the world, where thousands are suffering as a result of an earthquake that occurred on Saturday.

Oh wait....

That would be the US, not Saudi Arabia.

The Bush administration initially announced $500,000 in aid after the quake struck early Saturday, and by the end of the day had increased that amount to $2.5 million.

The United States has also sent a medical team of Marines from Japan to help with the response. A disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development is being readied and the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, which has extensive medical facilities, is en route to the affected area, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.

And

Two U.S. military cargo planes landed Tuesday at the site of an earthquake in Indonesia that killed more than 5,400, bringing some of the first significant aid to reach the tens of thousands of survivors who were left homeless.

About 20 U.S. Marines arrived on the cargo planes in the historic city of Yogyakarta and unloaded heavy lifting machinery and a portable field hospital, as Malaysian, Chinese and Japanese rescue workers joined Indonesian teams providing medical care and emergency supplies to victims.

And from PACOM

HONOLULU, Hawaii — The U.S. military plans to send 100 doctors, nurses and medical technicians to Indonesia to treat victims of the deadly earthquake that struck Central Java.

The workers, expected to arrive Monday, will be able to treat everything from trauma and broken bones to lesser injuries like bruises, said U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Lt. Col. Bill Bigelow on Sunday.

The medics will take surgical, laboratory, dental, and X-ray equipment with them.

The death toll from Saturday's 6.3-magnitude quake neared 5,000 while an estimated 200,000 people were displaced, most of whom camped in shacks close to their former homes or in shelters put up in rice fields. Hospitals overflowed with bloodied survivors.

The military doctors and nurses are from the U.S. Marine Corps' Third Marine Expeditionary Force based in Okinawa, U.S. Air Force units on Guam, and the USNS Mercy hospital ship currently visiting the Philippines as part of a five-month aid mission to Southeast Asia.

The medical staff will coordinate with the Indonesian government, the United Nations and U.S. Agency of International Development officials on the ground to determine where they will set up, Bigelow said.

Sorry about the confusion. You'd just expect rich Muslim countries to be the first on the scene of a disaster involving other Muslims. And, you know, the PR says the US is at war with Islam.

Perhaps Bush forgot Indonesia was a Muslim nation.

Or just didn't care....

Five bad guys and one Marine

Well you know the old addage about bringing a knife to a gun fight? Just so you know, it wasn't meant to include Marines

The victim was walking home after getting off work as a waiter at Jocks and Jills.

The five suspects pulled up in a car and confronted the victim in the 500 block of Penn Street just before midnight.

The victim began running down the street yelling for help. Residents who heard him called 911. While he was running, the victim pulled a pocket knife from his backpack.

Two of the robbers jumped from the car. When one of the robbers pointed a shotgun at him, the victim kicked it out of his hands.

At that point two of the robbers jumped on the victim. During the struggle he stabbed both of them. One, a female, died of her wounds. A second is in critical condition.

Police arrived on the scene and with a description of the car; they quickly arrested the three other suspects.

The victim, who is a former U.S. Marine, will not be charged since police say he was acting in self defense.

Workman's Navy Cross

Sgt. Jeremiah Workman, is now a drill instructor with Delta Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion based on Paris Island. But in 2004, he was in Fallujah. And it was in Fallujah that he did the deeds that earned him the Navy Cross.

While serving as a squad leader for the Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, Sgt Workman

repeatedly exposed himself to a hail of enemy fire to retrieve isolated Marines trapped inside an insurgent-infested building.

Ignoring heavy enemy fire and a storm of grenades raining down on his position, Workman fearlessly laid down enough cover fire to allow the trapped Marines to escape.

After seeing the first group of wounded Marines safely to a neighboring yard, Workman rallied additional Marines to his side and provided more cover fire for an attack into the building to rescue other Marines still trapped. He continued to fire even after receiving numerous shrapnel wounds to his arms and legs after a grenade exploded in front of him, stated his citation.

Workman's efforts did not stop after the second rescue attack. Ignoring his wounds, Workman once again united his team for a final assault strike into the building to retrieve remaining Marines and to clear the building of insurgents.

"Basically, we got ambushed," he said. "There were insurgents on the second floor in a bedroom. We fought our way up the stairs. There were grenades going off around us (and) small arms fire everywhere."

During the course of the fight, Workman was responsible for the elimination of more than 20 insurgents.

While the citation states he "reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps," Workman does not dwell on the fact that he is a Navy Cross recipient. All that matters in the long run are the lives lost and saved during the war, he said.

"The first thing I thought about was all the Marines we lost over there," Workman said, reflecting on that fateful day. "I don't look at myself as being any different. I did what any other Marine would have done. There are thousands of other Marines over there (in the Middle East) that deserve to be awarded, too."

2nd Lt. Mark J. Procopio

28, of Stowe, Vermont.
Procopio died when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, Jericho, Vermont. Died on November 2, 2005.

From FallenHerosMemorial.com

"Dear family and friends of Lt. Procopio. My name is Chuck Nelson. Mark died while rushing to the scene of a shot down Cobra helicopter. That helicopter was piloted by my brother in law, Cpt. Michael Martino. The entire Martino family is very, very appreciative of Mark's efforts to reach the crash site and protect Michael's and his co-pilot, Maj. Bloomfield's remains from desecration. Please know that we have thought of Mark often and understand what your family is going through. It is a horrible thing that both our family members died in such manners, but their actions were of the highest valor. Thank you to Mark and God bless your family."

Chuck Nelson of Virginia

We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.

Spc. Scott P. McLaughlin

29, of Hardwick, Vt.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 172nd Armor Regiment, 42nd Armor Division, Vermont Army National Guard, St. Albans, Vt.; killed Sept. 22, 2005 by enemy small-arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.

We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.

Master Sgt. Chris S. Chapin

39, of Proctor, Vt.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion (General Studies), 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute), Army National Guard ,Colchester, Vt., killed Aug. 23, 2005 during combat operations when he was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire in Ramadi, Iraq.

We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.