The Cool Blue Blog

Lt. Michael Murphy

I wrote about the ill-fated heroes of Operation Redwing first back in September 2006, the Dietz memorial in July 2007, and the story of then-Air Force Capt. Keith Wolak, callsign "Wookie", who received the Distinguished Flying Cross during his effort to save the lone survivor Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Marcus Luttrell. Three of the four members of the SEAL team received Navy Crosses, two posthumously. Now the fourth member, Lt. Michael Murphy, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. This is what he did

On June 28, 2005, deep behind enemy lines east of Asadabad in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan, a very committed four-man Navy SEAL team was conducting a reconnaissance mission at the unforgiving altitude of approximately 10,000 feet. The SEALs, Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell had a vital task.  The four SEALs were scouting Ahmad Shah – a terrorist in his mid-30s who grew up in the adjacent mountains just to the south.

Under the assumed name Muhammad Ismail, Shah led a guerrilla group known to locals as the "Mountain Tigers" that had aligned with the Taliban and other militant groups close to the Pakistani border. The SEAL mission was compromised when the team was spotted by local nationals, who presumably reported its presence and location to the Taliban.

A fierce firefight erupted between the four SEALs and a much larger enemy force of more than 50 anti-coalition militia.  The enemy had the SEALs outnumbered.  They also had terrain advantage.  They launched a well-organized, three-sided attack on the SEALs.  The firefight continued relentlessly as the overwhelming militia forced the team deeper into a ravine. 

Trying to reach safety, the four men, now each wounded, began bounding down the mountain's steep sides, making leaps of 20 to 30 feet. Approximately 45 minutes into the fight, pinned down by overwhelming forces, Dietz, the communications petty officer, sought open air to place a distress call back to the base. But before he could, he was shot in the hand, the blast shattering his thumb.

Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.

Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire.  This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy.  While continuing to be fired upon, Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He calmly provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in.  Severely wounded, Lt. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle.

An MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was sent is as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled SEALs.  The MH-47 was escorted by heavily-armored, Army attack helicopters. Entering a hot combat zone, attack helicopters are used initially to neutralize the enemy and make it safer for the lightly-armored, personnel-transport helicopter to insert.

The heavy weight of the attack helicopters slowed the formation’s advance prompting the MH-47 to outrun their armored escort.  They knew the tremendous risk going into an active enemy area in daylight, without their attack support, and without the cover of night.  Risk would, of course, be minimized if they put the helicopter down in a safe zone. But knowing that their warrior brothers were shot, surrounded and severely wounded, the rescue team opted to directly enter the oncoming battle in hopes of landing on brutally hazardous terrain.

            As the Chinook raced to the battle, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter, killing all 16 men aboard. 

On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz and Axelson, continued the fight.  By the end of the two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Axelson and Dietz had been killed. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead.

The fourth SEAL, Luttrell, was blasted over a ridge by a rocket propelled grenade and was knocked unconscious. Regaining consciousness some time later, Luttrell managed to escape – badly injured – and slowly crawl away down the side of a cliff. Dehydrated, with a bullet wound to one leg, shrapnel embedded in both legs, three vertebrae cracked; the situation for Luttrell was grim. Rescue helicopters were sent in, but he was too weak and injured to make contact. Traveling seven miles on foot he evaded the enemy for nearly a day. Gratefully, local nationals came to his aid, carrying him to a nearby village where they kept him for three days. The Taliban came to the village several times demanding that Luttrell be turned over to them. The villagers refused.  One of the villagers made his way to a Marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and U.S. forces launched a massive operation that rescued him from enemy territory on July 2.

By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was able to relay the position of his unit, an act that ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle.

This was the worst single-day U.S. Forces death toll since Operation Enduring Freedom began nearly six years ago.  It was the single largest loss of life for Naval Special Warfare since World War II. 

The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005 and the heroic efforts and sacrifices of our special operators.  We hold with reverence the ultimate sacrifice that they made while engaged in that fierce fire fight on the front lines of the global war on terrorism (GWOT).

                                                                                                                                                            

Reconciliation:for and against

In Diayla province which borders Iran, saw another step towards political reconciliation. Sunni and Shi'ite tribal leaders met in Baqouba, hosted by US soldiers at Forward Operating Base Fallock

The Tamimi and Jibouri tribes, the two largest tribes in Iraq’s Diyala province, met Oct. 24 to discuss the importance of reconciliation and signed a fellowship agreement stressing cooperation and friendship between the two tribes.

The top three Shia sheiks of the Tamimi tribe and the top two Sunni sheiks of the Jibouri tribe attended the meeting, which was hosted by Diyala’s governor, Ra'ad Hameed al-Mula Jowad al-Tamimi.  Six additional prominent sheiks from throughout the province were in attendance as well to discuss how reconciliation has improved their tribal areas.

All of the sheiks were clear in their goals

“We reject terrorism,” said Sheik Mazen Rashed Hamed Mula Jawad al-Tamimi, a paramount sheik in the Tamimi tribe who has been the primary leader for the reconciliation movement in Diyala. “It is a disease for the world.”

The fellowship agreement, signed by all leaders present, stated that they will cooperate in identifying tribal members who are corrupt or harboring terrorists, stop mortar attacks and in-fighting between Sunni and Shia villages and work honestly together on solutions toward a better future.

“We declare that all killings, clashes and kidnappings will stop,” said Sheik Balassem Hamed Yehia al-Hasan al-Tamimi, Tamimi’s paramount sheik. “We want to live in peace and enable our families into the future.”   

But not everyone shared their sentiments

Eleven tribal leaders who had banded with U.S. troops to fight the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq were kidnapped Sunday morning, the latest in a string of such attacks, fellow tribesmen said.

The Shiite and Sunni sheiks, members of the al-Salam Support Council, a group fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq in volatile Diyala province, were taken from their cars by gunmen as they were returning home from a meeting in Baghdad with a government official, the tribesmen said.

Hadi al-Anbaki, a spokesman for the mostly Shiite council, said the attack was carried out by the Mahdi Army, a militia controlled by the anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "This was an ambush," Anbaki said.

Unfortunately for the Iranian-backed terrorists, the Iraqi security forces rose to the occasion

Iraqi forces rescued on Monday eight of the 11 tribal leaders who were kidnapped on Sunday in northern Baghdad's Al-Shaab neighbourhood. They were freed after a gunbattle with their captors.

"We have rescued eight of the hostages and are working to free the others. We killed four of the kidnappers," defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.

The US military said the group of Shiite and Sunni tribal chiefs were kidnapped by Arkan Hasnawi, a rogue militant who had broken away from radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

On Sunday, a security official said the 11 tribal leaders were from a local movement in Diyala opposing Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

According to the BBC

Spokesman Maj Gen Mohammed al-Askari said the sheikhs were freed in a raid on a house following a tip off.

The troops are searching for the remaining members of the group but reports said one had been found dead.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police denied earlier reports that 20 headless bodies had been found dumped near Baquba.

Bill Roggio has more

Iraqi soldiers conducted the raid in a yet-to-be-identified region near Baghdad, likely with the aid of US Special Forces and killed four of the kidnappers. "We have rescued eight of the hostages and are working to free the others. We killed four of the kidnappers," Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al Askari said.

Earlier today, Multinational Forces Iraq "identified Arkan Hasnawi, a former brigade commander in Jaish Al Mahdi [Mahdi Army], as responsible for the kidnapping of Shia and Sunni tribal leaders from Diyala Province yesterday." Hasnawi was identified as a leader of a "gang of criminals" that has "joined forces with Iranian-supported Special Groups that are rejecting Muqtada al Sadr’s direction to embrace fellow Iraqis."

The identification of Hasnawi as a former Mahdi Army commander and leader in the Special Groups is new pattern of releasing the names of Shia terror leaders. In a recent briefing on the Baghdad security operation, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, singled out Mahdi Army commanders sheltering in Sadr city by name. Five Mahdi Army commanders were directly named.

"Unfortunately, there are some individuals who are not interested in reconciliation," Odierno said.

More precisely, there are some countries who are not interested in a free Iraq, namely Iran and Syria. And there are some Islamist organizations that are interested in a free Iraq, namely al Qaida. Reconciliation is fine with them so long as it is done under the boot of their fascist ideology.

Al Qaida is becoming less of a player in Iraq, but Shi'ite groups, especially the remnants of the Mahdi Army supported by the Iran's "Special Groups" is still active

Fighting between elements of Sadr's Mahdi Army and Iraqi Security Forces has been ongoing for months in Karbala, Diwaniyah, and Basra in the south. Sadr called for a cessation of Mahdi Army attacks after a clash in Karbala with Iraqi Security Forces during a religious festival resulted in 52 killed and over 300 wounded. The festival was shut down due to the fighting.

Sadr has been directly implicated in the Karbala fighting and is believed to be behind the assassinations of the governors of Muthanna and Qadisiyah provinces. Shia are beginning to turn on Sadr's Mahdi Army in the Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.

And we kill 'em when we find 'em

State of the Iraqi Army

More Soldiers, new firearms, better procedures, strengthen Iraqi Army

BAGHDAD — Vast improvements to Iraq’s national Army are leading to a force that will eventually stand on its own, a Coalition commander said today.

“They’re increasing their capabilities to be able to do that every day,” Army Brig. Gen. Robin Swan told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from Baghdad. Swan heads up the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team with Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. 

“From my foxhole, from a training, from an equipment standpoint, from an operational standpoint, the way that they’re fighting today, the way that they’re standing firm in their ground, really conducting some sophisticated operations throughout the country, most notably, certainly out in al Anbar province, but also up in Ninevah and here in Baghdad as well, so a lot of great improvement on that line,” he said. 

Although the Army’s logistics system is in its infancy, the general explained, parts of the system are improving. 

“From the standpoint of unit-level logistics, they’re getting better,” Swan said. 

Setting up bases where Iraqi Soldiers can pick up supplies or even overhaul vehicles, as they can only at Taji national depot now, will take as long as 18 months to accomplish, the general said. That is why Coalition experts are embedded with Iraqi Soldiers to help determine solutions that make sense to Iraqis, he said. 

“We have really very robust logistics-expert teams that are in every support unit … trying to assist in establishing what the right logistics policies and procedures are,” Swan explained. “That effort is beginning to pay some very good dividends.” 

For example, cumbersome and strict procedures had been in place to circumvent corruption and to keep dangerous items out of the wrong hands, the general explained. “Every ammunition requisition up till now has had to come all the way back from Baghdad, get 29 or 30 signatures, and then get issued back out,” Swan said. 

Now, new procedures are in place to allow trusted Iraqi commanders on the ground to directly authorize the release of ammunition, even via telephone, without compromising security, the general said. 

Another significant development, the general explained, is the wide distribution of M-16 rifles to Iraqi Soldiers, replacing antiquated AK-47s. 

“They believe that it is a new, improved weapons system. They see Coalition forces using it to great effect, and they take it as a mark of moving forward,” Swan said. “It is, in my view, a badge of national pride for them to get the M-16.” 

New recruits to the Iraqi Army continue to volunteer every day, the general said. Each is fully vetted, and those chosen are prepared to deploy with one of 13 divisions of the Army that will patrol throughout the country by next year, Swan explained. Getting recently commissioned and noncommissioned officers into Iraqi formations as they are ready and continuing to mentor them is helping move the national Army toward self-sufficiency, the general explained. 

“Increasing capabilities of the tactical competence of Soldiers, leaders and units, partnering, certainly with our formations and being able to continue that and to have access to Coalition enablers is an important part of what they’re doing,” Swan said. 

(By David Mays, special to American Press Service)

Pressure on al-Qaida in Iraq

Sunday, 28 October 2007

By 1st Lt. Richard Ybarra
115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAQUBA — In a ten-day span, the 5th Iraqi Army Division, partnering with 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division put the squeeze on al-Qaida in Iraq (AQIR) in back-to-back operations on Oct. 5 and 15, in Diyala province. 

The operations, titled “Rock Drill” and “Rock Bone Breaker” netted big cache finds for both the Iraqi Army (IA) and the 1- 38 Inf. Regt. The IA scored the first heavy blow against al-Qaida in Iraq when they found a large weapons cache in a cemetery north of Muradiyah during Operation Rock Drill. 

The cache was discovered by 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th IA Division, acting on information given by Concerned Local Citizens. It consisted of (6) automatic weapons, (4) two-way radios, (2) rocket propelled grenades, (2) anti-tank mines, (2) rifles, large quantities of ammunition and both electronic and print al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda. In addition, (2) improvised explosive devices were discovered nearby the cemetery. 

“The IA was definitely in control; they had the larger force and cleared all the culturally sensitive sites such as the mosque and the cemetery, finding the cache in the cemetery,” said Capt. Duane Bailey, 1-38 Inf.’ Bayonet Company commander. 

During the operation south of Muradiyah, a Stryker combat vehicle was struck by an IED, resulting in no injuries to the crew and minor damage to the vehicle. A command wire was discovered and traced, resulting in the detention of two individuals. Both men tested positive for traces of explosives on their hands and were subsequently turned over to the IA. 

On Oct. 15, 4-2-5 IA again teamed up with 1-38 Inf. for Operation Rock Bone Breaker, targeting a peninsula encompassed by the Diyala River, which is known to local Iraqi citizens as “the bone” and a village locally known as “Mechanics Two.” 

The mission was conceived by the 4-2-5 IA, then planned and undertaken jointly with 1-38. 

“This was a great mission, planned and executed with our partners from the 4-2-5 IA. It could not have been possible without the initiative of the IA,” stated Maj. Matt Moore, 1-38 operations officer. 

Bone Breaker was the Stryker Soldiers’ opportunity to shine, as they discovered one large weapons cache containing assorted weapons and ammunition as well as two smaller caches containing homemade explosives. 

The larger weapons cache, found on the peninsula, contained (20) propane tanks, (34) blasting caps, 500 feet of detonation cord, (21) assorted demolition charges, equipment for an 82 mm mortar team including the tube, tripod, ammunition, fuses and range quadrant scale, (3) rocket propelled grenades with rockets and various small arms ammunition. 

“4-2-5 IA and 1-38 Inf. Regt continue to develop a strong working relationship in their combined operations area,” stated U.S. Army Maj. James A. Van Atta, team leader for 4-2-5 Military Transition Team. “The IA is now able to take the lead in planning missions. Their development, their willingness to plan and then execute on the battlefield is encouraging.” 

These successful operations did not slow the 1-38 Soldiers and their IA partners as they continued to press the advantage. Both units again joined forces Oct. 19 and 20 to hold a Combined Medical Engagement and Humanitarian Aid drop in the south Baquba neighborhood of Khatoon. 

“The success of 3-2 Stryker Brigade, who was here before us, set the conditions for the success of recent operations. The IA here are proactive, learning all the time and doing well.” said Capt. Victor Satterlund, Attack Company commander, 1-38 Inf. “Together, we have kept AQIZ off balance and kept them from getting a foothold back in Baquba.”

“We have won the trust of the local population by providing security and working on projects such as water, medical aid, schools supplies and humanitarian aid,” Satterlund continued. “What you are seeing here is progress.”

The dark night for Jihad

After repeated media addresses claiming that the US and coalition forces are losing in Iraq, OBL recently admitted that things are not going so well.  But it seems that it is even worse than initial reports indicated.

A clearer picture of Osama bin Laden's view on the state of jihad in Iraq emerges after the release of the full transcript of Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape, Not only does bin Laden admit errors in the Iraqi leader's ability to unite the tribes and Sunni insurgent groups, he views the situation in Iraq as dire for al Qaeda. Bin Laden accuses his foot soldier of "negligence" for failing to properly employ IEDs, laments the unwillingness of Iraqis who do not wish to attack their brothers in the police and army, and closes his statement by saying "the darkness [in Iraq] has become pitch black."

This is distressing news indeed to Jihadists who thought things were just peachy in Iraq and the Great Satan was lying when it said that al Qaeda in Iraq has been dealt a severe, possibly crippling, blow.

In fact so upset are they that they are blaming the messenger. Um, not bin Laden, al Jazeera

Al-Qaida sympathizers have unleashed a torrent of anger against Al-Jazeera television, accusing it of misrepresenting Osama bin Laden's latest audiotape by airing excerpts in which he criticizes mistakes by insurgents in Iraq.

Users of a leading Islamic militant Web forum posted thousands of insults against the pan-Arab station for focusing on excerpts in which bin Laden criticizes insurgents, including his followers.

Analysts said the reaction highlighted militants' surprise at bin Laden's words, and their dismay at the deep divisions among al-Qaida and other Iraqi militants that he appeared to be trying to heal.

"It's not about Al-Jazeera, it's about their shock from bin Laden," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic militant groups. "For the first time, bin Laden, who used to be the spiritual leader who gives guidance, became a critic of al-Qaida and is confessing mistakes. This is unusual."

"God fight Al-Jazeera," railed one militant Web poster, calling the station a "collaborator with the Crusaders" for suggesting the tape showed weakness in al-Qaida and featuring discussions of how the tape reflected weaknesses and divisions among insurgents in Iraq.

But the most precious part, is al Jazeera being denounced as a tool of the Crusaders

But the Al-Fajr Media Center, which usually posts al-Qaida video and audio tapes on the Web, accused Al-Jazeera of "counterfeiting the facts" by making the speech appear as exclusively critical of insurgents.

"Al-Jazeera directors have shamefully chosen to back the Crusaders' side, and the defenders of hypocrites and the thugs and traitors of Iraq," Al-Fajr said in a statement posted on several Islamic Web sites.

Another Web contributor even rattled off a five-stanza poem of rhymed couplets, comparing the station to a "miserable fly in the garbage" and concluding, "Your day will come, vile one. As long as we live, you won't be safe, Jazeera."

Yikes, you'd think they flushed a Quran or something...

Tech Sgt. Mark DeCort

The unique nature of the War on Terror calls for unconventional approaches to numerous missions. Joint service combat and non-combat operations have become more common over the last several years. While serving as a combat flight medic with the 33rd Expeditionary Combat Rescue Squadron in Afghanistan, Air Force Tech Sgt. Mark DeCorte was at the forefront of a successful Army-Air Force venture to improve rescue operations. DeCorte’s leadership and actions on the battlefield earned him the 2006 Expeditionary Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year award.                           

In 2005, the Air Force agreed to assist the Army in medevac operations. DeCorte served on the first enlisted team of flight medics in this undertaking. There were many challenges not normally associated with providing care to the wounded on the battlefield. First, the team of airmen had to operate out of a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, not the larger C-130 or C-17 the Air Force normally uses. Second, DeCorte and his team were directly involved in combat – unlike many medics who often enter the field after the action subsides. DeCorte even gave up his protected status under the Geneva Convention to provide more urgent care to the wounded.                                                       

Two missions in particular from 2006 illustrate DeCorte’s gallantry. DeCorte was called in to rescue a soldier who lost both of his legs. As DeCorte entered the pitch-black battlefield, enemy forces surrounded him on three sides. Wearing night-vision goggles, DeCorte assessed the wounded soldier and applied tourniquets while shielding him from explosions. While taking fire, DeCorte carried the man back to the helicopter and ensured a safe evacuation. On another mission, DeCorte moved in to rescue two wounded soldiers. During the landing, enemy forces fired on the men on the ground, wounding three more. The helicopter landed near a dangerous minefield. DeCorte jumped out, and sprinted 150 yards through the kill zone. He treated all five wounded and directed them back to the chopper – while carrying one of them. DeCorte fit all five soldiers in the helicopter designed to hold two.

While based in Kandahar, DeCorte flew on 63 such missions, and is credited with assisting 41 enemy kills and 36 rescues, while constantly resupplying coalition forces with supplies, water and ammunition.                        
In addition to being named NCO of the Year, DeCorte’s lengthy list of awards and decorations includes: the Air Medal with two devices, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two devices, the Air Force Achievement Medal with five devices, the Combat Readiness Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one device, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, among many others.

DeCorte’s record of service long predates his actions in Afghanistan. His 13 years in the Air Force includes a tour in Kosovo. DeCorte’s dedicated commitment to service extends to his family. His wife and brother are Air Force tech sergeants. DeCorte’s father, mother and uncle also served as USAF medical sergeants. DeCorte is currently stationed at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

From the Oscoda Press, a story about DeCort by Holly Nelson

When former Oscoda resident Mark DeCorte flies rescue missions into war zones, he dedicated each to someone or something that is near and dear to his heart. It is a way of showing his appreciation, reported his childhood friend, Jim June of Mikado.

When DeCorte returns from each mission, he uses his precious weight allotment to bring back an American Flag which flew in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The U.S. Air Force tech sergeant then presents each flag, along with a framed certificate attesting to its history, to those to whom he dedicates his lifesaving missions.

June returned home last Christmas Eve to find a package on his porch. It was from TSgt. DeCorte. Inside was a flag intended for June, along with a second one.

On Monday, June and his stepson, Seth Tulgetske, 9, visited the intended recipient of that second flag, presenting it to the Oscoda Board of Education on DeCorte’s behalf.

The medevac mission on which DeCorte obtained this particular flag was flown on March 27, 2006, in Afghanistan aboard an HH-60G with the 33rd Expeditionary Combat Rescue Squadron.

DeCorte was deployed to Kandahar as a combat rescue flight medic during all of 2006.

It is a gift from a true hero, according to June.

School board members were surprised and honored by the gift.

“This is something the district will cherish for a long time,” President Mark Poland said. “It means a lot. It’s a real honor.”

Contacted after the meeting as he came off a 16-hour exercise, DeCorte elaborated on his gift to his alma mater.

“Being from a military family growing up in different places, I do not have a true hometown. Oscoda has always been that hometown in my mind: The place I went to high school and learned many life lessons,” DeCorte explained.

“I wanted to show my appreciation for what Oscoda High School has given me by giving something back. I hope the young men and women of OHS are inspired to promote peace and remember those who gave all to preserve it,” he said. “The flag itself is a representation of our fallen heroes that they are never forgotten.”

Mistakes were made

Evil terrorist "mastermind" Osama bin Laden made a startling admission: mistakes have been made in Iraq. Not by OBL, mind you, no, no, no. But by his "army".

"The mujahidin are the children of this nation ... they do right things and wrong things," bin Laden said. "Those who are accused of violations of God's commandments should face trial," bin Laden said.

You know, that sounds an awful lot like how the US and coalition militaries conduct themselves. I guess OBL is seeing the wisdom in conducting military operations with disciple. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Of course, OBL and the muj do not have a military code of conduct, unless their interpretation of the Quran serves double duty as the Jihadist UCMJ. Oh wait, they don't wear uniforms. But isn't that the problem to begin with? Their interpretation of the Quran, I mean, though the not wearing uniforms thing is a problem for the non-combatants around them which can't help their image much either.

OBL says

...the nature of man is to err, and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "every one of Adam's children makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are the repenters." (Ahmad)

It is impossible for the people not to make mistakes, and when they happen differences break out between them. Major sins were committed in the best of eras....

As for those in whose hearts there is a disease, they look for the faults and lapses of the Mujahideen and exaggerate them, and perhaps allege that they are a consequence of the devotion of Jihad, which they label violence and terror. Allah suffices me against them. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "O community of those who have believed with their tongues but faith has not entered their heart, don't backbite the Muslims and don't search for their faults, for Allah searches for the fault of those who search for their faults, and whoever has his fault searched for by Allah, Allah unmasks him in his house."

Right. Is he suggesting a kinder, gentler form of Jihad? One that does not require the severance of fingers for the sin of smoking cigarettes?

Is he proposing this new tolerance just until they beat the US in Iraq? I mean when we look at their legacy when they were in control of Afghanistan, do we expect them to change when they are in control of Iraq or anywhere else?

And given what they believe, namely that anyone who doesn't follow their extreme interpretation of Islam is an Infidel, how is it that the mujahideen were acting out of character in the first place?

I mean what OBL is really, perhaps finally, confronting is how abhorrent the Islamist philosophy is to most people, no matter their religion or ethnic background.

I think most would agree we are all sinners, but it is for God alone to judge those sins. But al Qaida and the Islamists have been a problem specifically because they have been assuming God's mantle and putting to the sword all whom they deem sinners.

Am I wrong here?

But bin Laden is not really saying there have been mistakes, what he is really doing is admitting defeat in Iraq. What he is doing is trying one last time to get the once-allied indigenous Sunnis back on the anti-American bandwagon.

Dr Walid Phares summarizes OBL's message over at the Counterterrorism Blog

1. All Jihadists -read also Islamists- in Iraq must unify; meaning all power struggles should cease.

2. “Mistakes” were made indeed and they need to be corrected.

3. The “tribes” cannot be marginalized and made into enemies. They should be recuperated.

4. Clerics, with strong fatwas should be the mentors of the reunified Jihadi movement.

5. The main new direction is that the Jamaa (read the collectivity) primes over the selfish leadership of one or multiple emirs. That’s the bottom line.

6. Last but not least, all Jihadists must come to a center of gravity where everyone has to make a concession.

The problem is, the Americans have been building while the Islamists have only been destroying.

In his New York Post piece, No Nightmare: Why the Surge is Working, Pete Hegseth writes

The new counterinsurgency approach - namely, to take territory from al Qaeda, hold it, secure it and empower tribal sheiks to work together and rebuild their communities - finally provides an effective "counteroffensive" to the chief tactics of al Qaeda militants and Shiite death squads.

America's enemies in Iraq, radical insurgents living and fighting among the general public, understand that they can't continue their fight without capitulation from ordinary Iraqis. Finally, after almost four years, the U.S. military understands this as well.

This is in contrast to al Qaida who took territory and enslaved people.

But make no mistake about it, mistakes were made in Iraq. Prior to General Patreus

The critics had a point: American soldiers were simply caught in the middle - not permitted to take action to stop the violence, and yet still very much in harm's way. But what the critics failed to see was that it didn't have to be that way - that what the troops lacked was an adaptive strategy that recognized and addressed underlying causes of the violence....

Whereas we used to emphasize overwhelming firepower (even when I was there in 2006), we now emphasize firepower as a last resort. Whereas we used to rush to the scene after the violence occurs, we're now there to repel it or deter it altogether.

This commitment - up and down the chain of command - has made a major impact on the tit-for-tat death toll that was threatening to tear the country apart. Sectarian violence has been severely curtailed.

Our course was correctable, al Qaida's is not. We have lured the Sunni tribes away from al Qaida precisely because we could offer something other than subjugation, death, and debasement.

And now we see from the AP and other sources

October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and Americans commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch points to what the military calls "Concerned Citizens" — both Shiites and Sunnis who have joined the American fight. He says he's signed up 20,000 of them in the past four months.

"I've never been more optimistic than I am right now with the progress we've made in Iraq. The only people who are going to win this counterinsurgency project are the people of Iraq. We've said that all along. And now they're coming forward in masses," Lynch said in a recent interview at a U.S. base deep in hostile territory south of Baghdad. Outgoing artillery thundered as he spoke.

Lynch, who commands the 3rd Infantry Division and once served as the military spokesman in Baghdad, is a tireless cheerleader of the American effort in Iraq. But the death toll over the past two months appears to reinforce his optimism...

As of Tuesday, the Pentagon reported 28 U.S. military deaths in October. That's an average of about 1.2 deaths a day. The toll on U.S troops hasn't been this low since March 2006, when 31 soldiers died — an average of one death a day.

In September, 65 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq.

After years of claiming that the US is defeated in Iraq, OBL is beginning to recognize his defeat.

It is now time to press harder because the outcome for this needs to be victory for America and the West and the total and utter defeat of al Qaida in Iraq.

 

Two Medals, One Team

By Capt. Christopher Colster USASOC
Public Affairs

Two Special Forces Soldiers received the Silver Star during an award ceremony July 2 at Fort Bragg, N.C. Capt. Kenneth Dwyer and Staff Sgt. Rodney Scalise were recognized with the military’s third highest valor award for their gallantry under enemy fire during a battle on Aug. 19, 2006, in Afghanistan.

“When we hear the words ‘gallantry and valor,’ we see it in everything they did that day. This does not happen frequently,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. “The Silver Star is extremely rare. I only wish that some of these children were older and could better understand what heroes their fathers are.”

TWO MEDALS, ONE TEAM

Dwyer and Scalise, both of 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), were deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. According to the award citations, Scalise and Dwyer were conducting a combined Afghan National Army and U.S. Special Forces patrol in the vicinity of Yakden Village in the Cahar Cineh Region, Oruzgan Province, when they were ambushed by a numerically-superior anticoalition militia force. Both men’s actions in battle led to the survival of their Special Forces detachment.

With ANA and U.S. Forces pinned down in a U-shaped ambush, Dwyer moved his vehicle through small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire to draw enemy fire and establish a support fire position to provide relief for the pinned down Soldiers.

Dwyer then charged from his position to draw the attention of enemy fire to free the pinned down forces.
He continued to engage the enemy forces until friendly forces were again able to maneuver.

Dwyer returned to the position of the Operational Detachment 785 commander and assisted him in coordinating indirect fires. He then used various individual and vehicle-mounted weapons systems to fire into the enemy’s positions until he was critically injured by an air burst RPG.

Scalise, a Special Forces medic, also jumped into action upon contact and manned a 240B machine gun until he became aware of casualties. At that time, he dismounted his armored vehicle, moved more than 100 meters through heavy enemy fire and began triage of three casualties.

He quickly identified that the most severely wounded individual, an Airman attached to the detachment, had already succumbed to his wounds. Scalise then provided lifesaving first aid to Dwyer and another SF team member.

To protect both casualties, Scalise supervised their movement in the back of an open-bed truck to a more secure location. With the casualties out of the battlezone, Scalise returned to his vehicle and fought his way through a three-kilometer rolling ambush back to the team’s base camp where he continued to care for his two comrades.

During the ceremony, Dwyer thanked his family, teammates and others for their sacrifices that allowed him to perform so well. Most of all, though, Dwyer thanked his medic, Scalise, for saving his life.

“I don’t have the words or actions now, or for the rest of my life, to explain to Staff Sergeant Scalise how grateful I am,” said Dwyer.

Scalise acknowledged the personal significance of his Silver Star, but said he feels the award symbolizes the heroism of his team during its battle with enemy forces.

“To me this is all not necessary. I wasn’t the only one there who was doing the right thing; I just happened to be the medic,” said Scalise.

He also stressed Dwyer’s role in his own destiny. “The one most responsible for saving the life of Captain Dwyer is Dwyer himself. The real reason he is alive today is because he is extremely hard headed,” chuckled Scalise.

A better fate

Some have said that Iraq is a training ground for Jihadists. Some point to events like the Madrid bombings to illustrate their point.

But that works both ways

One of the alleged masterminds of the 2004 Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people, has died in Iraq while fighting US-led coalition forces, a Spanish daily said on Sunday....

[Daoud] Ouhnane's fingerprints were found in the car that transported the bombs used in the early morning attack on commuter trains in the Spanish capital and other places linked to the bombings...

He remained in contact with Islamic terrorist cells based in Spain's affluent northeastern region of Catalonia until his death, the report said, adding that he spent time in Turkey and Syria before going to Iraq.

On Halloween, the Spanish Court will sentence the 28 men who were found, held for trial and convicted by the Spanish Court.

It is a fact that none of them will get the death sentence.

So this is better.

Sgt Bellavia's House

I just finished reading SSG David Bellavia's (with John Bruning) book House to House. It is a well written, first-person view of the war in Iraq circa 2005. It is written from the point of view of an infantry squad leader on the front line.

It is written from SSG Bellavia's point of view.

And that point of view is brutally honest. And it is a brutal, unflinching look at the war.

The book recounts a number of missions Bellavia and his team in Dialya Province but the main focus is his crew's involvement the 2nd Battle for Fallujah in November 2005. A good portion of the book involves telling of the battle for which Bellavia was nominated for the Medal of Honor. He has already received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star (v), and the Conspicuous Service Cross from New York State.

Blackfive said of him "SSG Bellavia is badder than John freakin' Wayne" Michael Ware, who famously (at least to me) embedded with my son's unit during Operation Baton Rouge in Samarra, also embedded with Bellavia's crew, the 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company of Task Force 2-2 of the 1st Infantry Division and recounted his time with them in a piece for Time Magazine called Into the Hot Zone.

SSG Bellavia is a hero, no doubt about it. But this book illustrates that heroes are not men of stone, but of flesh and blood. And Bellavia not only takes the reader on a brutal journey through a dystopian nightmare whose backdrop is a destroyed city whose inhabitants are dedicated Jihadists drugged to the max, but he also takes us on an inward journey of deprivation, dedication, horror and fear. He shows us that heroes act in spite of their fear and self-doubt.

What makes Bellavia and people like him heroes is the very fact that they do what needs be done despite their normal human reaction which is to run far, far away and hide under a rock.

This book is written so harrowingly I had PTSD from just reading it.

He has since left the Army. And in his book he says of that

After I returned home, I witnessed another battle raging on the television over Iraq. From Washington, the rancor and defeatism over the war shocked me. As other veterans of the Global War on Terror started to trickle home, we shared the feelings of the disenfranchised. We who sacrificed were being ignored by the World War II and Vietnam generations now holding seats of power in our government. I joined Wade Zirkle in forming Vet for Freedom, a nonpartisan political action committee dedicated to supporting our troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I want to believe the war is a noble effort, but I fear it may end ignobly.

From the Vets for Freedom website

Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tacticsnamely "the surge" in Iraq.  We support policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind our great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain.

He may have left the Army, but the battle still rages

Click below for the amazing narrative accompanying his nomination for the Medal of Honor

Profile in courage

Twice elected Prime Minister of Pakistan and the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, the first time  after the military's 1979 execution of its founder, her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Twice she was removed forcibly from office. She went into self-imposed exile in Dubai. In both cases the reason given for dismissal were charges of corruption.

According to Wikipedia

Bhutto maintains that the charges levelled against her and her husband are purely political.^[13][14] "Most of those documents are fabricated," she said, "and the stories that have been spun around them are absolutely wrong." An Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report supports Bhutto's claim. It presents information suggesting that Benazir Bhutto was ousted from power in 1990 as a result of a witch hunt approved by then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The AGP report says Khan illegally paid legal advisors 28 million Rupees to file 19 corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband in 1990-92.^[15]

What is the truth? I don't know. But I do know that you can take the measure of a person most accurately when they are under stress.

Bhutto returned from exile on Thursday in a bid to be elected to the office of Prime Minister yet again. Someone didn't like that idea much

Ms Bhutto had spent hours on top of a specially modified truck, waving to crowds of supporters.

However she had just climbed down into the interior when the bombs exploded.

"The blasts were only around (5m) from her truck," Karachi policeman Falak Ahmad said.

"The blast was so powerful that it destroyed three police vehicles escorting Bhutto's truck."

Dazed supporters of Ms Bhutto stumbled along the road, searching for relatives or helping bloodied survivors into vans to be rushed to hospital.

It is pretty clear her life is in danger. But she is determined

The fight for democracy will be waged at any cost, even that of her own life, a defiant Benazir Bhutto told reporters at her heavily guarded Karachi home, a day after suicide bombers killed at least 136 people in a brazen attack on her motorcade.

Making her first appearance since the bombings derailed her triumphal return from political exile, the former Pakistani prime minister lashed out at extremists and urged the military government to crack down hard on those who would thwart a return to democratic rule.

The perpetrators of the suicide attack were cowards, she said, and promised that nothing, not even death, would keep her from being part of the "heroic effort" needed to save Pakistan.

"We believe democracy alone can save Pakistan from disintegration and a militant takeover," she said.

At a news conference in the garden of her home in Clifton, an upscale neighbourhood of this southern port city, Bhutto said: "I know in my heart who my enemies are."

She presented a long list of foes who would like to see her dead – from loyalists of a previous military regime that executed her politician father to Islamic hard-liners bent on stopping a female leader from modernizing Pakistan.

Before her return, she said a "brotherly country", which she did not name, had warned her that several suicide squads were plotting attacks against her – one from a Taliban group, one from Al Qaeda.

And, in an historically inspiring message, she said

"We are prepared to risk our lives and we are prepared to risk our liberty, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to the militants,"

Courage.