I'm weary of seeing news stories about wounded soldiers and assertions of "support" for the troops mixed with suggestions of the futility of our military efforts in Iraq. Why aren't there more accounts of what the troops actually do? How about narrations of individual battles and skirmishes, of their ever-evolving interactions with Iraqi troops and locals in Baghdad and Anbar province, and of increasingly resourceful "patterning" of terrorist networks that goes on daily in tactical operations centers?
The sad and often unspoken truth of the matter is this: Americans have been conditioned less to understand Iraq's complex military reality than to feel sorry for those who are part of it.
The media struggles in good faith to respect our troops, but too often it merely pities them. I am generalizing, of course. Indeed, there are regular, stellar exceptions, quite often in the most prominent liberal publications, from our best military correspondents. But exceptions don't quite cut it amidst the barrage of "news," which too often descends into therapy for those who are not fighting, rather than matter-of-fact stories related by those who are.
As one battalion commander complained to me, in words repeated by other soldiers and marines: "Has anyone noticed that we now have a volunteer Army? I'm a warrior. It's my job to fight." Every journalist has a different network of military contacts. Mine come at me with the following theme: We want to be admired for our technical proficiency--for what we do, not for what we suffer. We are not victims. We are privileged. . . .
Go read the rest of it.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/04/2007 06:25 ||
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#1
Remember the non-rape case of Duke. Remember the mind set of MSM about young white males. That's why you're never going to hear about these modern heroes. For why they represent every color, race, and creed, the shear bulk of them are 'hooligans' for MSM like the lacrosse boys who the MSM has demonstrated a deep irrational bigotry. As stated in the article, they have to be victims or nearly convicted perps before they'll get any coverage. However the message is getting through that Iron Curtain of the MSM as reflected in the esteem America holds its servicemembers and the lack there of it holds MSM. So, Dan, how are the readership and viewing audience numbers going?
#2
Thank you Mr. Kaplan. A big no-shitter. Why I hate the MSM:
1) O.J. - I could care f*cking less about this waste of sperm & what he does.
2) Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lynsay Lohan - see 1) above.
Take all the time the MSM wastes on the aforementioned carbon blobs and use that air time to talk about what Mr. Kaplan advocates and we in the mil would respect the MSM again. Until then, FOAD losers.
The government of President General Pervez Musharraf faces policy failure in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Taliban forces and their sympathizers are becoming entrenched in the region and are aggressively expanding their influence and operations (especially in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat Valley in North-West Frontier Province - NWFP).
There's a flurry of these articles in the international press in recent days: Fred has posted another one just today. As Fred says, this is a situation we at Rantburg have known about for quite a while, but the rest of the world is beginning to realize that Perv is all hat and no cattle.
A lethal combination of Musharraf's political predicament and declining public support, a significant rise in suicide attacks targeting the army, and the reluctance of soldiers in the area to engage tribal gangs militarily, further exacerbates this impasse.
The Pak army hasn't been willing to engage tribal gangs for since, oh, forever. The army hasn't been able to beat the Indians, it can't liberate Kashmir, it can't run an economy, and it can't make the trains run on time. It serves merely as a jobs center for Punjabi elites, and so it really hasn't done anything to merit public support.
Observing this, many militants associated with local Pakistani jihadi groups have moved to FATA to help their "brothers in arms" and benefit from the sanctuary.
The roaches generally seek refuge behind the baseboard.
In the midst of this, election season is descending on Pakistan, with Musharraf seeking re-election on Saturday to be followed by parliamentary polls. This has consequences for Pakistan's policy in the FATA region as it will predictably revert to "peace deals" in the short term, leading to a lowering of the number of military checkpoints in the area.
If history is any indicator, this will help Talibanization in the region and provide more opportunities to the Inter-Services Intelligence to indirectly support some Taliban commanders sympathetic to Pakistan's objectives.
And here the author gets it right: what this is, in the end, is how the ISI is going to continue to run the parts of Pakistan it can influence. The Talibunnies will be their major tool, and that combined with Punjabi tribal loyalty will let the ISI stir the pot. What it does in the end is destroy Pakistan as a nation, but that won't matter to the ISI.
Overall, this will likely reduce trouble in downtown Islamabad, but the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area will remain on fire.
What it means most of all is that Pakistan is well on the road to no longer being considered sovereign: it's going to be an association of killers, thugs and rustic tribes all competing for influence, land and bodies in the region, guided by an assortment of Taliban number threes and ISI career-climbers. That in turn is going to make it easier for President Guiliani, Romney, Clinton, Thompson or McCain to whack Pakistan hard in the next phase of the WoT. If the central government can't control the border regions, then it's no longer a sovereign and useful government. The Bush Doctrine will be expanded and extended in coming years because our next Presidents have no choice: it's either kill the terrorists in Pakiwakiland or wait for them to arrive in the U.S. We're not Britain and we're not France, so we'll not wait for the terrs to come to us. We'll view the Northwest Frontier and the FATA as a target-rich version of the Old Wild West, with the understanding that the Talibunnies can never be as honorable as the native Indians were.
Poor coordination between the Pakistani army and the Western coalition in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai's failure to make Afghanistan a functional state, and the abundance of drug money in southern Afghanistan are some of the important variables in this context. Additionally, Musharraf admits that the crisis in the area is increasingly turning out to be a Pashtun insurgency.
It'll be the Pashtuns versus the Punjabis in the not-too-distant future. When the Balochis and Sinds join in to thump the Punjabis, Pakistan will at that moment cease to exist.
However, the factors that "limit" Pakistan's effective clampdown on all things Taliban in FATA remain linked to its fear about increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan if the Taliban are comprehensively defeated, and the lack of Pakistani public support for anything that appears to be done in pursuance of the US-led global "war on terror". These perceptions significantly affect the morale of army commanders and soldiers operating in the region.
It would be hard to blame the non-Pashtun tribes in Afghanistan from coming under Indian influence, wouldn't it? Unlike the Paks, the Indians appear to be reasonable, rational, technologically advanced, business oriented, and results motivated. In other words, the Indians have figured out how to make things work in the modern world while maintaining their own culture, and rational Afghanis will want to use India as a model as they try to build their own little part of the world. The 'Land of the Pure' will feel threatened and surrounded, of course, but then they always feel that way.
Musharraf has largely failed to make a strong case to his people about the need for strong military action against the Taliban in FATA. He has often called this policy as being in the "national interest", but has not convincingly explained how the army alone defines the national interest.
Indeed one of the current sticking points is how Perv is going to keep Army influence where it is today, since the Army has demonstrated itself to be adept at losing wars, territory and world influence, and not too good at making the country work. Pak citizens, if they would take a moment and consider it, would see that Perv is really no better than a Galtieri or a Stroessner. What Perv and the military have done has been to hold the country back in the same way the Argentine generals held their country back; meddling, preening, and spouting off while the country tanks and the people suffer. Countries like that take decades just to get back what they've lost while the rest of the world moves on. And just like general-thugs elsewhere, Perv and his cronies have to have enemies to keep everyone from ganging up on them. Perv and the ISI created the Taliban to extend their reach into Afghanistan, and the Taliban has come back to bite them.
More so, Pakistanis have seen the military defining such interests too often in the past with devastating effects for the state, and interpret Pakistan's current fight against the Taliban in terms of succumbing to US demands and interests.
We certainly have an interest in fighting the Taliban since we remember just who the Talibunnies sheltered. But if the Paks really think that this is a situation of America's lackeys versus the freedom fighters, they're invited to join the Taliban. Assuming we don't blow the place up at some point, they can regress to the 8th century while the hated Indians move smartly into the 21st.
With this backdrop in view, this analysis outlines what is happening today in each of the seven tribal agencies in FATA and what the implications are for Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States.
What follows is a detailed analysis of each agency (region) within the FATA. Lots of inside baseball but worth reviewing if you want to know what's going on.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/04/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The FATA and the NWFP will be a problem for the West whether or not Musharraf is in power. It will have to be dealt with by whomever is the next president of the USA. If the dhimmis win the 2008 election (God forbid), they will have to deal with the problem too--whether they are up to it is unlikely. Should they win, we will see a spate of terrorism originating from this frontier region in the US as we did from Afhanistan in 2001. This area needs to be permanently neutered.
From yesterday's top links at Lucianne.com By Marco Martinez
Liberals often like to say that "violence is senseless." Thats wrong.
Violence isn't senseless. Senseless violence is senseless. And I should know. Before being awarded the Navy Cross and having the privilege of becoming a Marine, I was a gang member. Sometimes it takes having used violence for both evil as well as good to know that there's a profound moral difference between the two.
People often ask me whether I still support the war. I never hesitate when answering: "Absolutely I support completing the mission," I tell them, "Now more than ever."
I was honored to have been given the opportunity to fight in Iraq on our countrys behalf. And it was that experienceand five things I saw firsthandthat illustrate the foolishness of those who would equate American military power to that used by thugs and tyrants.
1. Mass Graves
I was part of a group that was tasked with guarding Saddams mass graves. And let me tell you something: anyone who could look straight down into those huge holes at the skeletons and remains and see what that monster did to 300,000 of his own people would have no doubt that we did the right thing in removing him from power. Saddams henchmen would tie two people together, some with babies in their arms, stand them at the craters edge, and then shoot one of the people in the head, relying on the weight of the dead body to drag them both into the hole. This would save on rounds and also ensure that both people died, one from a gunshot, the other by being buried alive.
2. Tongue-less Man
You never know how precious freedom of speech is until you meet somehow who has had it taken from themliterally taken from them. During a patrol we came upon two hungry Iraqi men scavenging for food. When our translator began speaking with the men I noticed that one of them had a stub for a tongue. Through the translator we learned that the tongue-less man had spoken against the regime and that Saddams henchmen had severed his tongue. Saddam had quite literally removed the mans freedom of speech.
3. Adrenaline-Fueled Fedayeen Saddam
I couldn't for the life of me understand why the ninja costume-wearing terrorists we encountered in a series of hellish firefights just wouldnt go downeven after being shot. Once my fire team and I cleared a terrorist-filled house in a close quarters shootout, I saw dead bodies all around the kitchen. I looked up at the countertops. Scattered everywhere were vials of adrenaline, syringes, and khat (pronounced "cot"), a drug similar to PCP that gives users a surge of energy and strength. Thats when we realized that our zombie-like attackers were zealots who came to fight and die.
4. Human Experiment Pictures
I still cant shake the pictures out of my head. We discovered them inside a strange laboratory we found inside a Special Republican Guard barracks that had been plunked down inside an amusement park. When I cracked open the photo album, my jaw dropped. There in front of me were the most horrifying images of experiments being performed on newborn and infant children. Picture after picture, page after page, the binder was filled with the most extreme deformities and experimental mutations one could imagine. One baby had an eye that was shifted toward the middle of its head. We turned the books over to our lieutenant as valuable pieces of intelligence.
5. Bomb-Making Materials In a Mosque
Well after the invasion we were tasked to conduct city patrols and build rapport with local sheiks and mosque members. On one occasion we revisited a mosque where the sheik had previously been warm and friendly. Yet this time something seemed a little off. As we made our way through the mosque compound, we were told there were certain "praying houses" we werent allowed to enter. But when a Marine walked through a side hallway and passed by a door that had been left ajar, he spotted a huge bottle of nitroglycerin and assorted bomb-making materials.
When I think about my gang member past I shudder in shame. But if there was one lesson I learned from my past it is that there is a profound moral difference between using violence to destroy lives and using violence to save lives. Terrorists do the former; soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines do the latter.
Antimilitary liberals need to learn the difference between the two.
Marco Martinez, a recipient of the Navy Cross, is author of the new book "Hard Corps: From Gangster to Marine Hero"
#1
Funny, no mention of the fluffy bunnies or petting zoos. Oh, yeah, that crap comes from "reporters" who don't get out much...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/04/2007 10:25 Comments ||
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#2
but, but, didn't Sean Penn say that every one in Iraq drank free lemonade and skittles fell from the sky when it rained and that there was rivers of chocolate and all the children played in the meadows filled with daisies........and free health care........
#4
But what about...Abu Ghraib! And Guantanamo! And the Patriot Act! And Bag Searches on the Subway! And Hurricane Katrina! And..oh my God, I need my salts...!
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
10/04/2007 09:27 ||
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#1
And so Islamic jihadists and Sharia supremacists continue, with ever increasing confidence and brutality, to prey on the Christians in their midst. It is the persecution that almost no one dares name.
Well I do. Piss on you and your followers, 'religion of peace'. Here's to making you and your adherents go down the garbage chute of history asap.
#4
The following article by Robert Spencer deals with the Muslim persecution of Christians and documents how this persecution is rooted in -- and mandated by -- Islamic law. This article is a segment of a series being run as part of our nation-wide campus effort, Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, which will be held on 200 university and college campuses on October 22-26. Themes of the weeks events will include the oppression of women and homosexuals in Islam -- as part of a comprehensive focus on all the victims of Islamo-Fascist Jihad. Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is also a national effort to counter the lies of the academic Left, which seeks to deny the evil -- and even the very existence -- of our enemy in the terror war. In this way, Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week hopes to educate American students and to enable them to rally to defend their country. --The Editors.
They're scheduled to come to the U I'm currently working at as well. I plan on checking it out. (out of uniform of course). I imagine there will be the typical assortment of ignorant dhimmi morons counter protesting.
#5
More than once it has crossed my mind that were we in the USA to treat muslims in the USA in precisely the same way Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists (et al) are treated by muslims in muslim dominated countries, then we'd have far fewer muslims in the country.
When I dwell on the disparity in treatment and utter lack of reciprocity I question our policies: Why do we even bother trying to help the muslim. Why? What for? To what end?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
10/04/2007 11:50 Comments ||
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Posted by: ed ||
10/04/2007 13:40 Comments ||
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#8
Even in places where it is not fully enforced, the Sharia retains the status of a kind of meta-law, often overriding and superseding the laws of the land.
Got that? Is anyone here stupid enough to believe that American Muslims don't regard shari'a law in this exact same manner? Wherever Muslims go, shari'a follows them like some sort of legalistic vermin. Never forget what accompanies shari'a:
Much of this migration can be attributed to the resurgence of the Islamic jihad imperative in recent decades. Around the Islamic world, an assertive, combative, and expansionist Islam is newly energized. This resurgence stems from a variety of factors notably, the Saudi oil billions that have been made available for the spread of the global jihad, and the communications revolution, which has allowed for the quick and easy spread of the jihad ideology into areas of the Islamic world where it had lain dormant for centuries.
Also known as Islam's "reform movement".
And so Islamic jihadists and Sharia supremacists continue, with ever increasing confidence and brutality, to prey on the Christians in their midst. It is the persecution that almost no one dares name.
I'll leave you with a few words about our traitor elite from Srdja Trifkovic:
The elite class has every intention of continuing to fight the war on terrorism without naming the enemy, without revealing his beliefs, without unmasking his intentions, without offending his accomplices, without expelling his fifth columnists, and without ever daring to win. Their crime can and must be stopped. The founders of the United States overthrew the colonial government for offenses far lighter than those of which the traitor class is guilty.
BALDERDASH. The truly great religions of the world, such as Judaism and Christianity, when practiced faithfully, lead to a better world, the feeding of the poor, the caring for the sick, the uplifting of the spirit, an increased standard of living, purpose, direction, morailty, law and order, etc, etc...and I could go on and on.
Where did you hear such NONSENSE? Oh that's right, from that piece of shit Mao, who delighted in butchering MILLIONS of his own people.
When 30,000 U.N. and Lebanese troops deployed across southern Lebanon at the end of last year's Israel-Hezbollah war, the Islamic militant group's presence shrank in the zone bordering Israeli and its influence seemed likely to diminish as well. But more than a year later, Hezbollah appears to again be solidly entrenched across Lebanon's south looking, in fact, as if its fighters never really left but merely went underground.
The Shiite militia's banners hang everywhere, boasting of the "divine victory" over Israel and thanking its chief sponsor, Shiite-majority Iran, for helping with post-war reconstruction. Villagers report the militia's recruitment of young men is booming and its popularity is firm.
A few things are different. Hilltop posts near Israel once held by Hezbollah are now controlled by the Lebanese army. And U.N. peacekeepers are helping the army establish its authority and maintain a buffer zone between the Litani River and the border from three to 18 miles deep at various points that is supposedly free of Hezbollah fighters. But Hezbollah appears to be in a strong position north and south of the Litani, both politically and militarily. And the group whose name means Party of God says it would be ready to fight again should Israel attack.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/04/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Good article 'moose - thanks. My $.02 - dorks on the left are not peaceniks anymore - they're more like self-loathing white guilt filled pacifists. Sure, they may turn out for the obligatory anti-Bushitler protest because that's fashionable in their cliques. It's a kind of drooler social gathering & degenerate mating ritual amonst lefty wimps. Where as most real men w/a shred of testosterone will get together for a beer, some wings and a football game, these puzzies like to hold their dumb little signs and shout their counterintuitive slogans at the evil geniuses on the right. Deep down they know there is nothing really dangerous to their well being about doing that type of gig.
I do remember in the early 90's the "free Tibet" mantra of the left, which I could kinda see as being an okay thing to champion (even w/nancys like Richard the gerbil Gere on point). However, when it comes down to it, these people are reluctant or even adverse to fight for their own survival. They foolishy think al queda and islam is not a threat. In a way, I view them as parasites on our great Constitution and Dec of Independence. Willing to accept the fruits but not willing to endure the labor. If there's ever a culture war that goes kinetic I don't think I'll have much sympathy for what happens to most of these poltroons. Maybe the canucks can take them in as refugees. In the mean time, I am saddened that darwinism isn't as quick to intervene as in years past.
#2
Most lefties supported peace primarily because they felt it would hurt Bush* so when it came out that his approval ratings went up after each protest they naturally stopped going.
*My evidence for this is the lack of protests for the conflict against Serbia under Clinton which didn't even have the fig-leaf of UN sanction, were not in US interests and were based on questionable stories about mass graves seen in aerial photos.
#1
Air Force Capt. Russ Piggott, a Bay Area native who will be flying an F-16 jet during Fleet Week, said he understands Knee's concerns. But, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he added, "Look at the last time an airplane went into a building. That had nothing to do with the military, and it hasn't happened since. Our military is out there working hard to stop that from happening again."
Straight into Knee's groin! Shaddap, asshole. I've been to numerous Fleet Week performances by the Blue Angels. Guess what? It's standing room only anywhere near the good observation points. Art Agnos' turndown of SF's homeporting for the USS Missouri was just the beginning of this traitorous bullshit. Rest assured there's a whole bunch of people in this locale who respect our nation's military.
#2
I lived in Annapolis a couple of years ago, and don't remember if it was the Blue Angels or just a flyover for a football game, but yeah, it was noisy to have a F-18 pass over your house at 500 feet (or less) above the ground.
Also, incredibly awesome!
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/04/2007 7:10 Comments ||
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#3
Noisy? Yes, but it's not like they fly all day long. What a bunch of weenies.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/04/2007 7:48 Comments ||
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#7
SF scumbag hemp wearing tie-die sporting tofu eating peace-at-any-price enviro-wackos have a right to protest precisely because folks like the Blue Angels defend that right.
And the irony is completely lost on them. The Blue Angels should attach a piss bomb to every aircraft and drop it on them.
#12
Among those dreading the noise of the team is freelance journalist Richard Knee, who works at his home on Russian Hill. "I'm trying to get work done on deadline and, all of a sudden, I'm visited by the 'shock and awe' shows, and the intensity of the noise and vibration disturbs me," Knee said. "I don't think we should have it forced on us."
I feel that way about leather fetish festivals on public streets, myself.
#15
Never had F18's fly over my head at 500 ft, but I have seen F16's do it at about 300 ft.
We were up in Dunsmuir doing some fishing ina valley south of town one morning when we heard a rumble and then the scream of jet engines. I looked up just in time to see an F16 drop down into the valley over the western ridgeline which we knew to be about 500 ft above us. The pilot levelled off at about 200 ft before the ridegline and then screaming north following the valley.
Not 10 seconds behind him another F16 did exactly the same thing.
The friend I was fishing with figured they were on training manuevers or something, but never could figure out where they might have been flying from or why they were screwing around at high speed flying below the ridgeline (maybe practicing NOE or radar avoidance).
Was amazing stuff though - something to tell folks at Rantburg about.
#16
FOTSG: had to (more than once) pick bits of tree parts out of belly panels of Intruders after flying training runs through the Cascade Mountains.
sadly, also had to pick bits of Intruders out of trees while trying to fly training runs through the Cascades. Typical low altitude bombing runs don't have a lot of margin for error. 3 crews in one 3 year tour.
#17
I still contend that the jets are awesome, but you haven't lived until you're out in a cow pasture in north GA mountains, and a B1B bomber comes up over you at no higher than 200'. No lie, I could see the pilot's headgear and almost see the whites of his eyes. I didn't even hear/see it coming until he passed over me. Needless to say, I about fell down in a cow pattie.
Flying out of Dobbins NAS, home to Lockheed (next door) and the F-22. I can't wait to hear that one scream out overhead.
Posted by: BA ||
10/04/2007 20:03 Comments ||
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#18
Day-yum, BA - I'm jealous! ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/04/2007 21:26 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
By Hassan Abbas 
When 30,000 U.N. and Lebanese troops deployed across southern Lebanon at the end of last year's Israel-Hezbollah war, the Islamic militant group's presence shrank in the zone bordering Israeli and its influence seemed likely to diminish as well. But more than a year later, Hezbollah appears to again be solidly entrenched across Lebanon's south looking, in fact, as if its fighters never really left but merely went underground.
