The Cool Blue Blog

Summer recess

The Iraqi Parliament has adjourned for the month of August even though there is pressing legislation pending

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani closed the final three-hour session without a quorum present and declared lawmakers would not reconvene until Sept. 4. That date is just 11 days before the top U.S. military and political officials in Iraq must report to Congress on American progress in taming violence and organizing conditions for sectarian reconciliation.

The recess, coupled with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s failure to get the key draft laws before legislators, may nourish growing opposition to the war among U.S. lawmakers, who could refuse to fund it.

Critics have questioned how Iraqi legislators could take a summer break while U.S. forces are fighting and dying to create conditions under which important laws could be passed in the service of ending sectarian political divisions and bloodshed.

And critics of the US Congress question how they can take a break while the Defense Appropriations bill has been put on the back burner and US forces are fighting and dying in Iraq.

In point of fact, the Congress is about adjourn their session for the month of August having done significantly less than the Iraq Parliament

Congress, and by extension K Street, has a busy week ahead as Democratic leaders try to shake a do-nothing tag by passing a series of bills before the month-long August recess.

What are those bills they will try to pass in the next two days?

Well, let's see:

There's an energy bill, an ethics bill (oh please), a Medicare bill

House Democrats want changes to Medicare and plan to dramatically scale back federal subsidies to HMOs that cover millions of seniors.

(Well, there's a great idea), an update of the FISA Act

Congress and President Bush's aides are working to expand the government's surveillance authority without jeopardizing citizens' rights. Aides say the new plan would change the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to allow surveillance without a warrant of terror suspects who are overseas. Details remained undecided, chiefly over whether after-the-fact court approval would be required for emergency surveillance.

(Fat chance, huh?), a bill for Veterans, oh, and a bill

urging Japan to apologize for coercing thousands of women to work as sex slaves for its World War II military. The resolution is symbolic, but it has caused unease in Japan and added tension to an otherwise strong alliance. Officials in Tokyo say their country's leaders have apologized repeatedly.

Great.

All in two days when they could have been dealing with these things since January if they weren't do busy trying to play gotcha with the Congressional investigation process. Or they hadn't been pre-occupied with trying to be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

My guess? They'll get the Energy Bill passed and that's it. Combine that with the minimum wage increase they got as a rider to the Emergency Defense Spending Bill and you have the sum total of what Congress has done in the last 7 months.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Parliament has a much longer list

including enactment of laws creating an electoral commission, military courts, a $41 billion  budget that includes $10 billion for reconstruction and capital investment and laws allowing formation of larger federal regions and easing rules for investment in production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Given the severe religious and ethnic divides present in Iraq, I'd say they've done quite well and deserve a break.

Unlike the US Congress.

A Forced Hand

The Bush Administration, worried that the possibility exists that Democrats, the Media, and White Flag Republicans will eventually force a pullout of US Troops in Iraq before the Iraqi people can stand up as a nation. As I've noted before, the Sunni dominated Middle East will not stand for a land dominated by the mostly Shi'a Persians. The fact is, it would be a problem for us as well. A country controlled by a messianic nutjob with nukes, with proxy armies such as Hezbollah and Hamas disbursed throughout the region, and allies like Syia and Russia, dominating the region politically and economically would be a nightmare.

But if it happens that the US can no longer help Iraq remain the linchpin of containment for Iran, what is the alternative?

The Bush administration said Monday that its plan to provide billions of dollars in advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel over the next 10 years was intended in part to serve as a bulwark against Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East.

Democrats don't like this idea one bit.

The final package will be formally presented for Congressional approval in September, and for now many influential lawmakers appear to have adopted a wait-and-see approach. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, and Representative Tom Lantos, Democrat of California, who lead the Congressional committees that will consider the proposal, indicated Monday that they would reserve judgment on the merits of the plan until September.

But signaling a possible battle between the White House and Congress, Mr. Lantos said lawmakers wanted assurances that the weapons package “include only defensive systems,” not weaponry that could be used by Arab states to attack Israel’s military.

But is a cold war strategy the optimal solution for the Middle East?

Clearly not. Overall, it would be best if Iraq was politically and economically a free country, with the ability to maintain security. And, like Germany of the Cold War period, have US troops stationed as a strategic reserve in case Iran did make a move.

Not only would this be a militarily stronger position, but a successful Iraq whose government is authorized by it's citizens will serve as a beacon for change in Iran as well as the greater Middle East.

But the Democrats and White Flag Republicans offer no alternatives to the reality of the Middle East. Withdrawal by itself is not a solution, it is just another event with consequences that must be considered. It is not a strategy, it is an abdication.

But a Middle East armed to the teeth in an eastern-flavored version of Mutual Assured Destruction is the only alternative to leaving behind a weak Iraq if our hand is forced to repeat Saigon of 1975.

Clear and build

US Special Forces teamed with Iraqi units are engaging the Mahdi Army in Karbala while others seek to destroy al Qaeda in Diyala and elsewhere.

Iraqi Security Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained a high-level rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi commander in western Karbala, July 27.
 
Iraqi and U.S. forces detained their primary target without incident during a raid in a neighborhood in Karbala.  Two other suspicious individuals present during the raid were also detained.
 
While preparing to leave the target location, Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Special Forces began receiving fire from three separate locations.  The team determined the attackers were using small arms weapons, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades. 
 
As the team defended itself with well-aimed fire, killing five insurgents, rogue JAM militants fired on a helicopter assisting the team in the operation.  U.S. Special Forces called in precision aerial fires that resulted in approximately a dozen insurgents killed.     No Iraqi civilians were present in the area while the strike was performed.
 
The primary suspect commands a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi assassination cell of over 100 armed members.  He has allegedly commanded attacks against Coalition Forces using improvised explosive devices, explosively formed penetrators and mortars.  He has also carried out assassinations of Iraqi civilians.  His cell is also credited with the assassinations of two Iraqi government officials

But in every case where this occurs, it is in preparation for the effort to build or rebuild which is the real bulwark in the counter-terrorism strategy

Recently, the Army has been bringing embedded provincial reconstruction teams to brigades in Iraq in order to help teach Iraqi businessmen and local officials how to improve their marketability and function as part of a democratic government.
 
The EPRTs are teams of about 10 people who work closely with a brigade's civil affairs teams, engineers, and other staff sections to help Iraqi governance and economic development. The idea, while used in Afghanistan, is relatively new to Iraq. The first wave of EPRT personnel arrived in Iraq in April. The strategy seems to be bearing fruit already.
 
Lou Lantner, a native of Washington, D.C., was on his second “tour” in Vietnam as a public affairs officer with the U.S. State Department when he attended a public affairs conference and heard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speak. She mentioned opportunities for State Department employees in Iraq, and Lantner pursued the chance.
 
The pursuit didn't take long, he said. A month later he left Vietnam for four weeks of training in the United States and another week in Kuwait and Iraq.
 
Now he heads the EPRT that works with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., helping with projects in Mahmudiyah, Yusufiyah and other villages southwest of Baghdad.   
 
“We have civilians, active reserve and active-duty service members with us,” Lantner explained. “Together, we try to identify the moderates in Iraq, people who are supportive of the United States, and help them stand up their local governments. We also help the local government work with the national government.”
 
Local input is a new concept here. Saddam Hussein funded what he took a personal interest in, and most villages in the country had no say, Lanter said.
 
“National government is new for them,” he said. “People are getting used to this new way of doing things. They're not used to dealing with planning projects, doing budgets, submitting them to government, getting them funded – it's our job to help that happen.”
 
The EPRT members have sent local officials to classes on budget formation and other skills they need.
 
“All of this is normal, to (Americans),” he said. “But it's very new and different to our Iraqi friends.”
 
One of the primary responsibilities of an EPRT is refining the plans brigades already have, Lantner said. For example, the 2nd BCT already had planned a micro-loan clinic in Mahmudiyah. The EPRT helped make it functional. They also assist Iraqi businesspeople who take advantage of the micro-loans.
 
Another project has been veterinary care, a major concern in the agricultural area south of Baghdad, 2nd BCT's area of operations. While one EPRT member is a veterinarian, the object of the game is to get local veterinarians back in business.
 
“Some of the local doctors show a real interest in resuming their practice,” Lantner said. “We're not to that point yet, but we're getting there.”
 
Jeff Kaufman works with the U.S. Agency for International Development and is a member of the EPRT. He helps local business owners with marketing and networking to increase sales, and looks for ways that they can increase their efficiency and marketability.
 
“It's not just about making things; it's marketing, too,” Kaufman said. “The caveat is that it's difficult to operate in a different country,” said Kaufman. “Adapting U.S. marketing culture to Iraqi modes of doing business is different. I have to adapt myself to how their culture does business.”
 
Ultimately, what starts as a simple micro-loan has a huge ripple effect.
 
“They improve their business, which makes more jobs,” said Kaufman. Jobs are critical; many people who plant improvised explosive devices do it not because of a terrorist ideology, but simply because they were offered money to do it, and needed to feed their families.”
 
A second benefit is even more subtle, Kaufman said.
 
“If we have a micro-finance clinic, then the banks ask, ‘Why can't we do that. too?' Maybe they start offering loans and have a more competitive interest rate, and that makes credit more available for more people.”
 
The EPRT is trying to guide and teach without providing concrete assets, Kaufman explained.
 
“If we insert ourselves into the process, then when we leave, it falls apart,” he said.
 
He cited the example of a canal being shut off during a May search for two missing Soldiers of the 2nd BCT. The shutoff was necessary, but it affected the town of Mahmudiyah, which depends on the canal for much of its water. The incident, while unfortunate, had a benefit.
 
“The government became really energized,” Kaufman said. “The EPRT, the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd BCT, and the mayor of Mahmudiyah got together and worked out ways to react next time. The local government was engaged and really realized that they were responsible for helping the people.”
 
The incident helped illustrate the need for emergency plans and other urban development ideas.
 
In the countryside, the EPRT has been helping farmers form cooperatives and associations, which will help them survive when the Iraqi government phases out subsidies.
 
“The farmers will be speaking with one voice,” Kaufman said. “That will help them with enhancing their production and buying input items like seed and fertilizer. Over time, they will reap the benefits.”
 
The fact that the EPRT's successes are not as visible as kinetic military operations – they don't result in captured terrorists, for example – makes it difficult, even for the team, to determine what success is, but they can feel it.
 
“We're trending in the right direction,” Kaufman said.
 
“I think we'll know in the next three or four months if we're successful,” Lantner offered. “We've seen a lot of gains, but it's too early to tell if it will continue. I like to think it will.”

Al Anbar Province, pacified for months now, is an example

Despite ongoing insurgent turmoil in some tough Iraqi neighborhoods, a North Dakota Soldier is seeing a number of projects take shape helping residents there.
 
Master Sgt. Kevin Mayer, Gulf Region Central district, Gulf Region Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, oversaw the completion of a new fire station last week for Kharma - a city of 75,000 residents near Fallujah, Iraq.
 
He says the Kharma Fire Chief is thrilled to have that additional capability and three new fire trucks are scheduled to be delivered soon.
 
That community has two fire stations, an older one in the northeast corner of town, and the newer one now serving residents on the south side where the city’s industrial area is also located. “The fire chief is pleased with the quality of construction and the quicker response time two fire stations now offer,” Mayer said. Approximately a half-dozen fire fighters are expected to man the facility on a full-time basis.
 
The $400,000 project included the construction of a 16x25-meter masonry structure with two bays for four vehicles, sleeping quarters, a kitchen, an office, a conference room, and an emergency generator.
 
With 28 years service, Mayer is a member of the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division and began his one-year deployment in April 2007.
 
His workload also includes supervising the installation of 22 rural water treatment facilities in Al Anbar Province of which four were completed this week. “Potable water is now available in communities ranging in size from 2,500 to 10,000 residents. Their only choice before was taking raw water directly from canals or the Euphrates River posing serious health risks. This is the kind of work I was hoping to be involved with, improving the lives of Iraqi families.”
 
Mayer knows something about meeting people’s needs. In his civilian career, he’s been the Public Works supervisor for 16 years at Casselton, ND, a town of 2,200 residents. He’s in charge of the city’s water and sewer system, road work, park repairs, and trash/garbage pickup. “There’s something very satisfying in working through the challenges and assisting others.”

Lance Cpl. Todd Corbin

Navy Cross, Silver Star awarded for actions in deadly firefight
Story by Beth Zimmerman, Marine Corps Times

Lance Cpl. Todd Corbin and the rest of his battalion commander’s personal security detachment had just finished several days of routine patrol and had returned to Hadithah Dam when they got the call.

A platoon from the battalion was taking fire on the east side of the Euphrates River, and they needed Marines to block the insurgents’ retreat. Corbin hopped into his 7-ton truck, while other members of the detachment — which was now a quick-reaction force — piled into three Humvees and two tanks and barreled east toward the action.

By the end of May 7, 2005, four Marines would lose their lives, but Corbin’s role in saving more than half of the QRF would earn him the Navy Cross more than a year later. A Marine driving the third Humvee, then-Cpl. Jeff Schuller, would later receive the Silver Star.

From silence to chaos

That day, the QRF consisting mostly of leathernecks from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, passed plenty of Iraqis on its way to the west side of the river, but once it passed under the gate into Hadithah, “there was no one out, nothing moving,” Corbin said.

Passing an alley perpendicular to the road, the convoy started turning around. Before the vehicles could all face north, Corbin said, “all hell broke loose.”

A white van tore out of the alley and blew up between two of the Humvees. Then, another explosion “came out of nowhere,” said Corbin, who still isn’t even sure if it was from a roadside bomb or a rocket-propelled grenade. Meanwhile, the enemy pelted the Marines with RPGs, mortars and small-arms fire in a “choke point” surrounded by high ground, Corbin said.

“It was a total nightmare,” said Schuller, now a 26-year-old sergeant.

A Navy corpsman and three QRF Marines — two sergeants and a lance corporal — were killed instantly. Only five of the remaining 15 Marines were unscathed, leaving more than half of the QRF killed or injured, Schuller said.

Corbin, 32, who has since been promoted to corporal, “leapt into the enemy fire, directing Marines to engage and marking targets,” his Navy Cross citation states. He ran to his patrol leader, a seriously injured sergeant, threw him over his shoulder and ran back to the 7-ton, all the while “firing at the enemy with his off-hand,” the citation states.

“He just jumped [out of the 7-ton] and took over,” said Schuller, who added that they were down to uninjured corporals and lance corporals running the QRF at that point. “He immediately started getting the killed and wounded, not thinking of himself.”

When the gunner for Schuller’s Humvee, Lance Cpl. Mark Kalinowski, was hit in the wrist with shrapnel, Schuller jumped up and took the lance corporal’s spot behind the M240G machine gun.

Under intense enemy fire, Schuller gunned down insurgents shooting from the windows, doorways and roof of a nearby hospital, and others shooting from another roof and the alley. He swung his machine gun back and forth between targets for nearly 40 minutes, according to his Silver Star citation, using all of his ammo — short of launching a rocket.

“When the 240 went dry, [Kalinowski] handed me my M16 with a full magazine … as I got the M16 empty, he had a new box of 240 [ammo] waiting for me,” Schuller said.

As that was happening, Corbin raced back and forth through the kill zone, dragging Marines back to the 7-ton. He said he can’t remember how many times he ran across the firing zone.

At one point, Corbin and a wounded Marine were carrying their corpsman to the 7-ton when the enemy opened up with small-arms fire at close range. Corbin leaned over the corpsman to shield him from the action while Schuller pushed back the enemy with his machine gun, the citation says.

 

Since one gunner had been killed and two were wounded, Corbin said, only one gunner was left, firing a Mark 19 from the 7-ton. When the Mark 19 jammed, the only remaining gunner was Schuller, Corbin said.

“My biggest worry was that we were gonna run out of ammo,” said Schuller, who even fired his 9mm pistol. Schuller was “just short of shooting my AT4 and throwing my Ka-bar” before he dismounted, he said.

He then ran to the 7-ton and helped Corbin load Schuller’s vehicle commander, who had been killed, before he returned through enemy fire to guide Kalinowski to the 7-ton.

Grabbing magazines of ammo from Corbin, Schuller fired his rifle while the rest of the QRF packed into the 7-ton. Any Marine who could fire a weapon had it pointed out of the truck, firing at insurgents, Corbin said.

“The 7-ton looked like a porcupine with all these weapons sticking out of it,” he said.

It also had three flat tires and a shot-up radiator.

“I don’t even know how this vehicle even ran,” Corbin said.

“The whole platoon rolled out in that 7-ton,” Schuller said. “It’s a testament to Cpl. Corbin’s knowledge of that vehicle that he kept it running.”

Corbin was flipping switches the whole time he drove the five miles back to the battalion aid station, Schuller said.

“Because of [Corbin’s] heroism, no Marine lost his life after the initial attack,” the citation states.

An overwhelming honor

Corbin and Schuller received their medals during a ceremony July 4 at 3/25’s headquarters in Brook Park, Ohio, an event Schuller said was humbling and a little surreal.

“In hindsight, would I do that again? Hell, I don’t know,” Corbin said. “It’s a situation you want to say yeah, every time, but you don’t know,” he said. “It’s just what you’re trained for … and you do it for your buddies.

“I live my life for those who didn’t come home.”

Big Time

The Democratic leadership just will not give up. Nevermind that the only legislation they have managed to get through since they took control in January is a minimum wage amendment that rode on th back of the Defense supplemental, they continue to introduce anti-war legislation that can not survive a guaranteed veto by the President.

The latest effort is being led by the ethically challenged, ex-marine, Representative John Murtha.

"This is big time," Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said of the upcoming fall debate. "When you get to September, this is history. This is when we're going to have a real confrontation with the president trying to work things out."

What makes this bigger than all the other times?

Democrats, of course, claim that Iraqi's are not doing enough to enable their own security forces. But if that's the case, why don't they concentrate on fixing this?

"It is difficult to understand why the equipping of our forces has been so slow," he said at a breakfast with reporters. "The Iraqi government requested weapons and equipment for its forces from the Americans and was ready to pay with its own money for them. We have been waiting and waiting and waiting."

..."Americans are fully protected with the latest equipment and we are just cannon fodder," he said, adding that delays in delivery of equipment have gotten so bad that Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, had been forced to buy assault rifles for the country's police force from China.

...Sumaida'ie's remarks seemed to reflect a larger a sense of frustration that Iraqis are being asked to perform an extraordinarily difficult task, rein in the warring factions and terrorist groups in their country, without having sufficient means.

"There is general frustration in the Iraqi government at the rate in which Iraqi Armed Forces are being equipped and armed," Sumaida'ie said in a later statement sent to reporters. "This is a collaborative effort between the Iraqi government and the government of the United States, and the process is not moving quickly enough."

Now that's something Congress could fix, if they wanted to spend just a fraction of the effort expended investigating every time anyone in the Administration farts; in public or in private.

But that would require that they actually legislate instead of posture. More importantly, that might contribute to a successful conclusion in Iraq.

And they can't have that.

Reports

Michael Totten is embedded in Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne with whom he recently went on patrol.

The battalion I’m embedded with here in Baghdad hasn’t suffered a single casualty – not even one soldier wounded – since they arrived in the Red Zone in January. The surge in this part of the city could not possibly be going better than it already is. Most of Graya’at’s insurgents and terrorists who haven’t yet fled are either captured, dormant, or dead....

Before the surge started the neighborhood was much more dangerous than it is now.

“We were on base at Camp Taji [north of the city] and commuting to work,” Major Jazdyk told me earlier. “The problem with that was that the only space we dominated was inside our Humvees. So we moved into the neighborhoods and live there now with the locals. We know them and they know us.”

Lieutenant Lawrence Pitts from Fayetteville, North Carolina, elaborated. “We patrol the streets of this neighborhood 24/7,” he said. “We knock on doors, ask people what they need help with. We really do what we can to help them out. We let them know that we’re here to work with them to make their city safe in the hopes that they’ll give us the intel we need on the bad guys. And it worked.”

Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas recently visited Iraq and reported to Congress

Mr. Speaker, traveling to Iraq this past weekend to see firsthand how the surge is working, I really expected the worst. Instead I am very encouraged. Communities all across Iraq are turning against al Qaeda and working with Iraqi and coalition forces to take back their cities. Half of Baghdad is no longer safe for insurgents. Al Qaeda is not down and out but clearly back on its heels rejected by the very communities and religious leaders its claims to fight for. Make no mistake, there are still serious challenges, including high profile bombings, the need for Iraq ’s government to resolve key issues now, and Iran ’s continued support for terrorism. I’m convinced the new strategy is working and we have impressive leaders and impressive troops in place to see even more progress. Mr. Speaker, while congress has the right to debate this war, it has the responsibility to help win it as well. That means letting this new strategy work to the end of the year or the beginning of the next if we are truly serious about a stable Iraq and safer America.

Clearly success spells danger for Democrats. Because they tried but can't get a defeat amendment passed, Democrats are holding up considering the the Defense Appropriations, like they attempted with the War Supplemental, and instead are going to demand reports from the Pentagon about their favorite subject

“The need for the committee to know the status of Department of Defense redeployment planning is clear, yet past efforts by individual members to obtain this information were rebuffed,” the four senators [Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Jim Webb of Virginia] say in their letter.

Um, forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but there are no plans for redeployment. The Democratic leadership lost that vote.

How about getting behind providing political and economic freedom to the people of Iraq, rather then devising ways to allow them to be enslaved by Islamists?
 

Progress

Baghdad revives as surge, economic programs take effect

Tuesday, 24 July 2007

BAGHDAD — Surge-related crackdowns on extremists combined with infrastructure improvements are helping to resuscitate Baghdad’s business and entertainment districts, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Monday.

“Protecting Baghdad’s citizens is a cornerstone of all of our efforts” as part of the Iraqi capital city’s anti-insurgent campaign, Operation Fardh Al- Qanoon, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox told journalists at a Baghdad news conference.

However, reconstruction projects, economic improvements, infrastructure investments and other major renovations are part of overall efforts to help Iraq move forward, he said. Iraq’s recovery in the post-Saddam Hussein era is dependent on progress being made in both the security and economic realms, he said.

Fardh Al-Qanoon, an Iraqi phrase meaning “enforcing the law,” began Feb. 13. It called for dividing Baghdad into 10 districts and creating joint U.S.-Iraqi security stations to put pressure on insurgents. The campaign is being run in conjunction with the surge of U.S. and Iraqi forces into Baghdad and other areas used as extremist havens.

Fox noted that surge-reinforced U.S. and Iraqi military units are pushing the insurgents of the capital city into outlying areas.

At the same time, Baghdad’s business and entertainment centers are starting to come back, thanks to improved security and the completion of thousands of reconstruction projects, Fox said.

As of July 6, more than 3,400 reconstruction projects worth more than $5.5 billion involving schools, highways, bridges, electric power stations, housing, water treatment and sewage plants, hospitals and medical clinics had been completed across Iraq, Fox said.

Another 582 projects worth $2.6 billion are ongoing, he added, noting another 4,300 projects costing $7.9 billion are planned.

Tahseen al Shaikhly, spokesman for Operation Fardh Al-Qanoon, attended the news conference with Fox. He concurred with the admiral that things are looking up in Baghdad. The security operation there possesses both military and economic components, he said.

In addition to security programs, “most of the other activities deal with providing services for the Iraqi people,” the Iraqi official said. More than $35 billion worth of infrastructure-improvement projects, such as street-paving and bridge construction, hospital and medical clinic rehabilitation, as well as electric power and water treatment plant work, have been completed in Baghdad alone, he said.

All of these reconstruction programs improve the quality of life for Baghdad’s citizens and contribute to the fight against terrorism, he said.

“There are good things that are happening. We are working on the water and the electricity, of course,” Shaikhly said.

As Baghdad’s quality of life increases, surge operations are helping to improve security in Iraq’s capital city, Fox said. The admiral said he’s planning to eat dinner in Baghdad’s renowned Abu Nuwas Street restaurant and entertainment district.

“Abu Nuwas Street is famous in Iraq and in this region for being a place where people gather and have a good time,” Fox said. “There are some very significant and good signs over there.”

Abu Nuwas Street is experiencing a social and economic renaissance, Fox said, citing the building of several new restaurants in the area, as well as refurbished parks. “I’ve got a reservation in one of those restaurants over there to have a good fish meal,” Fox said.

(Story by Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service)

Invade Pakistan: Democrats are on board

It has been know for sometime that OBL (if alive) is hiding out in Pakistan. Certainly al Qaeda's #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri is and Taliban #1 Mullah Mohammad Omar. The most recent National Intelligence Estimate points out that since Pakistan signed the Waziristan Accord, al Qaeda has been getting stronger. And now the Administration is making noises that it is possibly time to clean out the trash can

President Bush's homeland security adviser said yesterday that the United States was prepared to take additional measures, including military force, to curb Al Qaeda's operations in remote regions of Pakistan.

"Job No. 1 is to protect the American people. There are no options off the table," said Fran Townsend, the White House aide, adding, "No question that we will use any instrument at our disposal" to deal with Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden.

Democrats, at least in rhetoric, are on board with such a plan. Prior to the Congressional elections in 2006, one of their promises was to get Osama

Obama wants to get Osama: "...Al Qaeda maintains a safe haven, an intact leadership and the capability to plan further attacks," Obama said in a statement. "It is time to act to correct those mistakes, and the first step is to get out of Iraq, because you can't win a war when you're on the wrong battlefield."

Democrat Jane Harmon: "The key judgments of the NIE on Terrorism released today paint a disturbing picture: a regenerated Al Qaeda, with a safe haven in Pakistani tribal areas, which is intensifying efforts to put operatives in the US. I agree with this assessment."

Of course they may vote to take the war to Waziristan by invading Pakistsan, but who knows how long you can depend on them to stay in the fight.

They move to the sound of the guns

Superman wears a red cross ... on the side of his Black Hawk
By Spc. Nathan Hoskins, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
Jul 21, 2007 - 3:59:09 PM

Blackanthem Military News, CAMP TAJI, Iraq — It doesn’t matter that the weather conditions have grounded every other aircraft around Baghdad. It doesn’t matter that there are hostile forces near the landing zone. The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division’s medical evacuation crews take off in their helicopters because they have a mission: to save a life.
   
The Soldiers of Company C, 2nd “Lobo” Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, feel that their job is worth the extra risks and worth the extra effort to get up in the air, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeremy Turner, a MEDEVAC pilot for Co. C, who hails from Rockwell, N.C.

It wasn’t a particularly busy day on the airfield due to the weather when Co. C got a call recently. There were two Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, a task force attached to the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, who needed to be evacuated due to serious injuries sustained in an improvised explosive device attack, he said.

Just three days prior, the MEDEVAC team suffered the tremendous loss of one of their comrades. Sgt. William Brown, a MEDEVAC crew chief, was killed during an indirect fire attack.

Brown was tending to an aircraft when enemy fires came in, killing him instantly.  With the loss of their friend still weighing heavy on their hearts, the pilots and crew chiefs of Co. C still had a job to do.

“The job has to get done. (Sgt.) Brown is missed every day, but there are many more men and women out there like him that expect us to be there,” said Turner.

Still, even with this tenacity to fly into the unknown and save Soldiers, there are some conditions that are just too dangerous to fly into, and this was one of those days … or was it?

A minimum distance of three miles of visibility is what is necessary for other pilots to take off, but this day there was only about a half-mile visibility due to a dense dust storm, grounding all MEDEVAC birds from Balad to Kuwait, said Turner.

Although the dangers were a reality, there were still Soldiers in the field at risk of dying without their aid, so Turner and his chain of command discussed it, he said.

With permission all the way from the brigade commander, the mission was green-lighted, said Turner.

Even when poor visibility limits other aircraft, the MEDEVAC team will risk themselves day or night, said Reno, Nev., native Lt. Col. Christopher Joslin, the Lobo commander.
   
Flying in miserable weather and in hostile skies is normal for the MEDEVAC teams, said Turner.
   
“That’s where soldiers usually get hurt. It’s never on a sunny day, right by the beach. They’re out there doing the fighting, we’re there to try and make sure they make it back in from the fight, if we’re called,” he said.
   
Within mere minutes after getting the go ahead from their command, Turner and his crew were up and on their way to the scene, said Turner.
   
One of the super-human traits of a MEDEVAC team is being able to run up their aircraft and be in the air in 10 minutes or less, said Joslin.
   
“Most aviators that fly UH-60 (Black Hawks) outside of the MEDEVAC community doubt that (timeframe) is really possible,” said Joslin. “The only crews I have ever seen do that are MEDEVAC crews and the chase crews that have been trained by MEDEVAC crews.”
   
Ten minutes later, the Black Hawk was landing at its destination to pick up the wounded Soldiers. Less than 10 minutes after that, they were landing at the local Combat Support Hospital, said Turner.
   
One of the two Soldiers delivered to the hospital, required extensive surgery to address his wounds.  The pair survived the hazards of war because of the MEDEVAC’s timely response and selfless service, said Capt. Jared Purcell, the public affairs officer for Task Force 1-26.
   
“During combat operations over the last year, Air MEDEVAC units have risked their lives to save the lives of TF 1-26 Soldiers,” he said. “They move to the sound of the guns, and do what it takes to get to the patient.”
   
The Soldiers of Co. C see the bloodiest part of battle nearly every day – it’s their job. Even so, there has to be a release, a time to put it all away and focus on things a little less dark, said Turner, who was a Navy Corpsman for 11 years before joining the Army and flying MEDEVAC helicopters.
   
“I’ve, unfortunately, gotten hardened to (the sight of the injured and dead). It still catches up and hurts every once in a while, but you just can’t dwell (on it),” he said.
   
Although this mission had a happy ending – both Soldiers survived – others don’t end so well, said Turner.
   
The medics are the ones who are affected the most because they do all they can to save the patients’ lives, but sometimes it’s to no avail, he said.
   
“(The MEDEVAC members) won’t talk about the impact on themselves when the injuries are so bad that, despite their best efforts, they cannot save the patient, or (they) arrive only to find that the patient has already died,” said Joslin.

Soldiers are not the only ones who benefit from the expertise of the MEDEVAC teams, said Joslin.
   
“Hundreds of Soldiers, Iraqis, contractors, civilians and even the enemy, would not be alive today if it were not for the extraordinary individual and collective feats we ask these American heroes to do on a daily, routine basis,” he said.
   
The terrorists who fired the mortars that killed Brown would get the same treatment as a Soldier who was trying to protect the innocent Iraqis.

After picking up and dropping off their patients, the MEDEVAC team will sometimes head on to other missions that came up while they were out, or they’ll just head on home to wait for the next call.
   
In most cases, the crew never knows the eventual outcome of the patient they dropped off.
   
However, if Turner could say something to one of the hundreds of lives he has helped save, he said it might go something like this: “Good to see you and thank you for you’re sacrifices … can I buy you a beer?”
   
Joslin refers to his MEDEVAC teams as “the closest thing to angels on earth,” but Turner, like most modest heroes, won’t admit that what he does is special.
   
“We’re just regular people doing our job – saving Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and even civilians … is our job,” said Turner.

Genocide...pah

In an interview with the Associated Press, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama opines that preventing genocide in Iraq is not a good enough reason to stay

"Well, look, if that's the criteria by which we are making decisions on the deployment of U.S. forces, then by that argument you would have 300,000 troops in the Congo right now - where millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife - which we haven't done,"

Of course there's two things about that: First is we did not create the situation in the Congo and second the Congo doesn't impact the well being of US economy. Oh, and third, there's no al Qaeda Islamists to kill.

"Nobody is proposing we leave precipitously. There are still going to be U.S. forces in the region that could intercede, with an international force, on an emergency basis," Obama said between stops on the first of two days scheduled on the New Hampshire campaign trail. "There's no doubt there are risks of increased bloodshed in Iraq without a continuing U.S. presence there."

Here's a newsflash for Obama. It's not just about Iraq.

Iraq is a Shi'a dominated country. The Middle East is Sunni dominated. If sectarian violence, by Iran gets out of control, Iraq's Sunni neighbors will feel compelled to step in, Iran and Syria will back the Shi'a and you have the makings of a huge regional conflict that will send gas prices in the US upwards of $10 dollars a gallon or more as oil hits $200 a barrel.

At this point, what do we do? What would Obama do when the cost of doing business suddenly gets so high that unemployment levels begin to rival the Great Depression.

Talk about stepping into the middle of a civil war.

Al Qaeda, who has long dreamed of bringing down the Saudi government and establishing a Caliphate in the Middle East, a base from which to launch a global jihad, would be working to pick up the pieces when the dust settles.

The likelihood is that we will have to sit hopelessly aside and watch events unfold, no longer able to affect them.

Or step in the middle with absolutely no allies because no one will trust us and everyone will know it was us who caused this problem to begin with.

Talk about a rock and a hard place.

Today we have the ability to affect the outcome of events in the Middle East. We can help establish a beacon of self-government in the heart of despot central, or we can help al Qaeda bring down Saudi Arabia and establish a Caliphate.

For Obama, though, the choice is clear. Abandon Iraq, and all that will happen is a little genocide within the borders of Iraq.

No big deal.

We can stand to watch it on TV.