It's 3/4 Marines* and 3rd Recon, working on both ends of Helmand's Now Zad valley with a Taliban concentration, communication and supply lines in the middle. It's the first large unit combat use of Ospreys, used to drop Marines behind the Taliban at the north end of the valley while other Marines push north from their base in the town of Now Zad at the southern end. AP via Washington Times includes this encouraging news:
Maj. Pelletier said insurgents were caught off guard by the early morning air assault.
"Right now, the enemy is confused and disorganized," Maj. Pelletier said by telephone from Camp Leatherneck, the main U.S. Marine base in Helmand. "They're fighting, but not too effectively."
It's the first operation post-surge announcement, though obviously planning preceded that. You'll note that this operation is called "Cobra's Anger," not "Make Friends And Influence People." While making friends with the Afghans is an important part of counterinsurgency, influencing them has to include convincingly reducing the Taliban's ability to make their lives difficult, while also influencing the softer elements of the Taliban to consider a friendlier course. Look for more squeeze plays coming on quick, as McChrystal and the soldiers and Marines under him work their way down their clear-and-hold list.
Much more at the link, and Mr. Crittenden includes a nice round-up of reporting from other sources he trusts. Hattip Instapundit.
Not to be difficult, but as I recall we did a lot of hammer and anvil stuff in the days of Vietnam, and it didn't seem to finish off the Viet Cong and NVA. Holding and protecting villages seemed to work better.
First days, first steps. We'll see what happens next -- we've been promised clear and hold to come.
#1
First Tour Hill 22 on the Son Tra Bong in Quang Ngai Province...Operation Starlight and staying alive from the early days when they were building Chu Lai.
Mui Dem at night in the weeds and little Timmy Duong with a bullet in under her left eye blowing her septum and palate down her throat and exit out the skull under the right ear. She chokes for a moment and bleeds to death and you get the other three, roll 'em over and check 'em, and strip the bodies for the VC pay records sewed into the pajamas.
Then the second tour and being quiet and watching and everybody is a new guy and people make mistakes too easy and think its just "bad luck". Its not bad luck...its because they dont have the right mind for the work. Mind is very important.
Third tour and you realize the price...you think no more of killing a man than stepping on a bug. And you look at the dew condensing on the M-60 and listen to the crickets and the frogs out in the Paddy. And you are really never going to ever go home again. Its too late and you are never going to be anything but what you are.
Forever and forever and forever , creeps in this petty pace....from day to day... and all our yesterdays have lighted fools....
Somalias transitional government replaced its police and military commanders following a suicide bombing last week that killed four Cabinet ministers, as security officials warned of further attacks. After long discussions, the government decided to appoint new commanders for its police and military departments in order to provide security in general, Abdi Hagi Gobdon, a government spokesman, told reporters in Mogadishu, the capital, yesterday.
Major-General Ali Mohamed Hassan Loyan will replace General Abdi Hassan Awale as police chief, while Major-General Mohamed Gelle Kahiya takes over from General Yusuf Hussein Dhumal as head of the military, Gobdon said.
At least 19 people died on Dec. 3 when a suicide bomber attacked a hotel in southern Mogadishu where a graduation ceremony was being held for medical students from Benadir University. Higher-Education Minister Ibrahim Adow, Health Minister Qamar Aden Ali and Education Minister Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel were killed in the blast, while Sports and Youth Minister Suleyman Olad Roble died on Dec. 5 from injuries sustained in the explosion.
Somalias government warned today that Islamist rebels are planning further suicide attacks in Modagishu. We have received through our intelligence sources information that the suicide bombers are planning to wage suicide attacks on the presidential palace, the harbor and the airport, Colonel Abdulahi Hassan Barise, a police spokesman, told reporters in city today.
Calls to Awales mobile-phone didnt connect when Bloomberg News called him seeking comment. Dhumal said he was really happy about his departure as he plans to study abroad. I hope my successor gets support from Allah in his job because it is not so easy, he said in a phone interview.
Hundreds of Somalis, most of them students, staged a march today through the streets of Mogadishu today to protest the suicide bombing. The other victims in the blast included doctors, students, reporters and civilians. Students are the cornerstone of any nation in the world and there is no reason to target them, Afrah Abdulahi Muse, a third-year student who was among the protestors, said in an interview. Those who killed our classmates will be brought to justice.
Seven Turkish soldiers have been shot dead after gunmen opened fire on a military unit in northern Turkey, officials have said. A further four soldiers were injured in the attack, which took place in the town of Resadiye in Tokat province.
There was no immediate indication of who was behind the attack. However, both Kurdish and leftist militants are reported to be active in the area. Attacks on military bases in the north of the country are, however, rare.
According to one local television report, the soldiers were on patrol near a military outpost in a mountainous area and during foggy weather when they came under fire.
It was the worst attack since April when Kurdish militants killed 10 soldiers with a remote-controlled bomb in the country's southeast.
The ambush came as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was preparing to meet President Barack Obama in Washington. Government moves to improve Kurdish rights are likely to be on the agenda.
There have been rising ethnic tensions over recent days ahead of a court hearing on whether the country's largest pro-Kurdish political party, the Democratic Society Party, should be closed down.
On Sunday, one man died in clashes between police and protesters in the south-east of the country.
In the past, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has carried out attacks on military targets. Extreme leftist groups active in northern Turkey are believed to have signed co-operation pacts with the PKK.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing of a mosque in Rawalpindi and vowed to carry out more attacks, according to an e-mail message from the group.
The assault targeted a mosque frequented by Pakistani military personnel, and killed 36 and wounded 75, the military said.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan took responsibility for the action on Friday but reiterated its claim in an e-mail to CNN on Saturday because media outlets quoted analysts and some officials who doubted the group's participation.
"We reconfirmed it, that the TTP has done it, and will do more which are already planned," the group said.
"We once again mention that we are not against the innocent people and the state of Pakistan but against those officers and ministers who are American by hearts and minds and Pakistani just by faces," the e-mail message said.
Four militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the mosque in Rawalpindi, and most of the victims were children. The attack was the latest to shake the garrison city since this year's launch of strong military offensives against Taliban insurgents in the Swat Valley and South Waziristan. Rawalpindi is the headquarters of the Pakistani army. And most of the victims were children. How, Islamic. Expect more, bleating Pakistanis.
#2
Any group that destroys its future (children) is by definition suicidal. Nothing shows this more than the current Muslim/Muslim infanticide taking place in Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, and the paleostain territories. Nothing, too, highlights the differences between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity than the reverence and love two of the three show toward children.
Expect more, bleatingbleeding Pakistanis.
FIFY, gorb.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/07/2009 15:29 Comments ||
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#3
Nothing shows this more than the current Muslim/Muslim infanticide
The casual acceptance of abortion in the Western world strikes me as a pretty similar mindset on the value of children to the society.
#4
From an economics perspective, babies are easy to make, Glenmore. The only investment is the nine months in the mother's body. Children or, really, youth, have 10-20 years of investment by parents and the community providing food, shelter and training to take over the various tasks necessary to continue communal function. All that is thrown away along with the life of the suicide bomber. One reason Western societies are rich is because we invest heavily in our children for the most part the investment pays off handsomely. Look at how the U.S. has done, even with the weight of debt we've been carrying since FDR took office in the 1930s.
ISLAMABAD: Security personnel on Tuesday briefly detained two Dutch employees of the Netherlands embassy in the federal capital after arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from their car.
Verrry interesting ...
According to police sources, the two diplomats were detained when their vehicle was stopped and searched near Mariott Hotel. "Both diplomats were later released after Dutch embassy officials intervened," the sources confirmed.
Security officials stopped the diplomats' dark blue BMW at 11:30am between Marriott Hotel and the Secretariat area. Upon searching the car, they found two handguns, four magazines, two smoke grenades, two flash bombs and six bullet-proof jackets and detained the two diplomats, who were identified only as Smith and William.
"They were unable to provide any justification for being armed and keeping bombs," the sources said.
And I'll just bet they completely refused to state for whom the weapons were intended ...
Police were planning to take the men in custody when top diplomatic officials intervened and the arrested diplomats were allowed to leave with their weapons. The Dutch embassy did not offer comments despite repeated attempts to contact them.
So is this an op that went wrong or a couple of 'diplomats' who have flipped ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 00:00 ||
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Would you go anywhere in Pakiwakiland unarmed?
Posted by: ed ||
12/07/2009 0:36 Comments ||
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I agree ed. Sound like the Dutch stock their cars with the vests, grenades. The pistols & ammo are probably assigned to the individuals.
#4
Gut feel: just reasonable caution. Handguns, vests, smoke grenades and flash bangs aren't exactly the making of an assault. They are more in line with getting away from something, intact.
Where are the bombs listed? I an getting an error when I go to the page.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/07/2009 8:37 Comments ||
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#5
So okay, I hadn't considered that it was routine for diplomats go about Pakiwakiland armed to the teeth -- I figured it was the job of their security detail to do that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 9:44 Comments ||
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Sounds like part of the security details' kit anyway Steve.
Posted by: Oscar ||
12/07/2009 10:19 Comments ||
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Seriously, Dutchmen named Mynheer Smith and Mynheer William? And I agree with Zhang Fe, the policemen had no business searching a diplomat's vehicle, any more than they get to search the embassy.
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obamas decision to bolster the US military presence in Afghanistan is aimed in part at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table on US terms, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.
I think that the likelihood of the leadership of the Taliban, or senior leaders, being willing to accept the conditions depends in the first instance on reversing their momentum right now, and putting them in a position where they suddenly begin to realise that theyre likely to lose, he said.
Gates also said the US would not pursue Taliban leaders in Pakistan and that it was up to Islamabad to address the threat posed by the terrorists to its territory.
His comments followed reports that said the White House had granted authority to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to expand a bombing campaign in Pakistan by unmanned aircraft to strike the Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives.
Pakistan is a sovereign government. We are in a partnership with them. I think at this point its up to the Pakistani military to deal with this problem, Gates said.
He added that the US had confidence that Pakistans nuclear arsenal was secure despite the threat posed by the insurgents. Were comfortable with the security of the countrys atomic weapons, Gates said.
He's got our special forces working on it ...
The US Defence Secretary said Washington did not know where Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was and had lacked reliable information on his whereabouts for years.
Referring to the last time US intelligence had a fix on Bin Ladens whereabouts, Gates said, I think its been years.
Try the pool lounge at the Peshawar Hilton ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 00:00 ||
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of course not that would make sense. Instead we will just send them more AID money that the bigwigs can sipher off.
Posted by: chris ||
12/07/2009 7:58 Comments ||
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#2
History repeats itself but not in detail. We wouldn't pursue the Chinese/Koreans north of the Yalu River; we wouldn't pursue the North Vietnamese/Vietcong into North Vietnam/Cambodia. Once again one hand tied behind our back military philosophy...
#3
Once again one hand tied behind our back military philosophy...
Agreed, borgboy. It was stupid in Korea, it was ten times stupid in Vietnam (thanks, LBJ, Nixon...), and it's stupid here. Unfortunately, the only way to actually DO what needs to be done in Pakistan starts with mushroom clouds over about a dozen Pakistani cities, followed by about 200,000 US troops. First, we don't have the troops, second we don't have a military commander willing to even voice such a plan, and third, we don't have a CINC with the courage to make a bold statement.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/07/2009 15:36 Comments ||
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#4
Who is guiding all those Predators flying over key bits of Pakistan, then? The tooth fairy?
KHAR: Two anti-Taliban tribal elders were killed and another two were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Mamond tehsils Malangi area on Sunday, sources said. The bomb went off near a mosque, killing the two elders, Khan Wali and Rehmatullah, and injuring Abdul Wadud and Abdul Hadi.
Two tribesmen were killed and two were injured in the blast. The bomb was planted outside a mosque, senior police official Fazal Rabbi told AFP by telephone.
An intelligence official in the area confirmed the incident and said both tribesmen were respected elders who spoke out against the Taliban.
Meanwhile, fighter jets bombed Kharki, Gatki and Sparay areas of Salarzai tehsil and Banda area of Mamoond tehsil. No casualties were reported. The military is currently engaged in offensives against terrorists across swathes of the northwest including the Tribal Areas.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 00:00 ||
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♪♫ And the beat goes on, yeah the beat goes on ...
MINGORA/LAHORE/DIR/ISLAMABAD: Security forces on Sunday killed at least 17 terrorists and apprehended several others in operations against the terrorists. In Swat, the forces killed four Taliban, including a commander, Gul Maula.
Official sources told Daily Times that the four Taliban were killed at Dangram Garasa area in Mingora. Troops also arrested as many as 19 Taliban in the ongoing operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat and Malakand.
According to ISPR, the forces conducted search operations in Janu Langar and Titabai near Khawazakhela, Bishbanr, Mingora and Bar Kanju and apprehended 19 terrorists.
Meanwhile, 13 terrorists surrendered Bagh Dheri near Fatehpur, Matta, Mian Kalle, Gulibagh, Chaharbagh and Mingora. In Lower Dir district, the security forces killed eight terrorists hiding in a house in Maidan area, army spokesman Maj Suleman Hanif told AP on Sunday. The soldiers also recovered weapons, including two rocket launchers and eight assault rifles. In Mohmand Agency, four Taliban were killed and two arrested during a search operation in Ghanam Shah area of tehsil Baizai, a private TV channel reported.
The channel said the Taliban were also claiming killing 10 security personnel, but the reports could not be confirmed. In the Operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan, security forces apprehended seven suspects at Ghariom and killed a terrorist at Shewa, APP reported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 00:00 ||
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Seven children were killed and 42 wounded in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad Monday when a bomb exploded outside a school, police said.
The explosion occurred in Baghdad's Sadr City slum as primary school pupils aged between 6 and 12 were leaving at the end of the school day, an army officer said.
It was not clear if the bomb had been set to go off at that time or was inadvertently detonated after a rubbish heap was set on fire, the officer said. The blast made a crater 2 metres (6 feet) deep and 5 metres (16 feet) wide, he added.
The explosion shattered windows and scattered textbooks across classroom floors that were spattered with blood.
The site of the bombing was a complex of buildings that includes another primary school and a school for children aged between 13 and 15, officials said.
Overall violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically in the past 18 months. Civilian deaths last month totalled 88, their lowest since the 2003 U.S. invasion, according to government figures.
A bomb at a busy market in Sadr City, a poor area seen as a stronghold of Shi'ite militants, killed 72 people and wounded 127 in June.
Earlier Monday, unidentified gunmen shot dead five Sunni neighbourhood guards manning a checkpoint on the northern outskirts of Baghdad, police said. The guards were part of a Sahwa, a formerly U.S.- and now government-backed force.
Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza escalated attacks against Israel Sunday and fired Russian-made anti-tank missiles for the first time. The missiles exploded in the fields of Kibbutz Alumim, adjacent to the separation fence, and no injuries or damage was reported.
The use of the weapons bears out Israeli intelligence warnings that Hamas has stockpiled advanced arms
The advanced missiles were of the type usually fired from helicopters, and they carry a larger payload and have a longer range than anti-tank missiles that previously have been used in attacks against Israel.
The S5K air-to-ground missiles are commonly used by terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they are less accurate when fired from the ground.
The use of the weapons bears out Israeli intelligence warnings that Hamas has stockpiled advanced arms, including anti-aircraft missiles. The firing of the Russian-made missiles is a sharp escalation from the usual homemade Kassam rockets.
#1
I wish I would come on here and read a headline that says Israel carpet bombs Gaza
Posted by: chris ||
12/07/2009 7:59 Comments ||
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'The missiles exploded in the fields of Kibbutz Alumim, adjacent to the separation fence'
to have the missiles is one thing - to hit something with them is another...
Now they are using bears in this war? Not surprising I guess. Once the Juice started using snakes and wild pigs, it was only a matter of time before things escalated.
however, if the IDF finds the location of a major weapons storehouse, it likely be a target soon
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/07/2009 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
#4: Carpet bombing is not realistic
I don't know, one six-ship ARCLIGHT strike down the length of the Gaza Strip would put an end to a LOT of foolishness. I'd be willing to let the Israelis "borrow" the aircraft and repaint them before the strike. The "G" models can carry a total of 86 500lb bombs with a little "reconfiguring". Of course, since the mission would be so short, they wouldn't need refueling. Of course, it would probably take three-four days for all the secondaries to stop cooking off...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/07/2009 15:42 Comments ||
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On the plus side, I'm pretty sure that use of aerial anti-tank weaponry for random unaimed bombardment of empty terrain is not recommended by the manufacturer, and probably voids warranty.
BTW, a quick google shows that this is fifty-year-old technology, and is only novel in its usage by Hamas for such a stupid purpose.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/07/2009 15:55 Comments ||
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I read an article recently that claimed pretty much all the residents of Sderot, near Gaza, have PTSD, Mitch H. Sharpened sticks and stones can also kill, it need not be the latest technology. Given that the Russian missiles are an improvement over the Kassems, does it matter that it is not novel elsewhere?
A bomb has ripped through a market in Thailand's south, killing two people and wounding nine just days before the Malaysian and Thai premiers visit the region, police say. The blast happened a kilometre from a hotel where Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his visiting Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, were to have lunch during a trip to the region tomorrow.
"The bomb was hidden in the gas tank of a motorcycle. A Buddhist woman and a Buddhist man were killed in the blast and nine people were hospitalised, three of them in a critical condition," a police official said. "The militants apparently wanted to show their potential before the two prime ministers visit the region on Wednesday. They wanted to show that they can still carry out attacks despite the security."
Najib was due to arrive in Bangkok late yesterday before he and Abhisit travel to the south tomorrow. They are to attend the renaming of a "friendship bridge" spanning the countries' river border and visit an Islamic school.
The bomb that went off was believed to have contained about nine kilos of explosives and was detonated remotely by a mobile phone signal, officials said. It damaged about 15 motorcycles parked nearby, destroyed a wall and left a crater a metre wide while a plume of smoke rose into the air, witnesses said.
Separately, a Muslim imam was killed and four others were wounded in shooting attacks in neighbouring Pattani province yesterday, police said.
Intelligence officials in the region said there had been strong warnings of high-profile terrorist militant attacks either in the run-up to or during the leaders' visit. "They wanted to stage a large attack to put pressure on the Thai side to discuss the issue of the south with Malaysia and to internationalise the issue," one official said on condition of anonymity.
The unprecedented visit by the two leaders is meant to present a united front in the face of the mounting insurgent crisis. Analysts said while the visit might be short on concrete results it could provide moral support for Abhisit as he attempted to honour his pledges to find a political solution to the uprising.
Thailand has in the past accused Malaysia of failing to prevent insurgents crossing the porous 650-km border and of allowing militant leaders to operate from exile in northern Malaysia. But since Najib came to power in April the rhetoric has softened. In October he called on Thailand to offer "some form" of autonomy to the restive region, a proposal backed by Abhisit, who called it the "right approach".
Ahead of a planned opposition rally on Monday, Iran tightened security and arrested over 20 mothers who were mourning children killed in the unrest that has broken out since the disputed June 12 elections.
The mothers took part in an antigovernment protest in Leleh Park in central Tehran every Saturday since the death in June of Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, whose shooting became a symbol of the governments violent repression. The rally had been attacked by the police before, but Saturday was the first time the mothers were arrested. Ms. Agha-Soltans mother regularly attended the rally, but it was not clear whether she was there on Saturday or was among those arrested.
An opposition Web site reported that the protest was broken up by the police and many demonstrators were taken away. The BBC Persian service quoted a witness who said 29 women were arrested, some of whom were later released. But at least 21 remained in jail, the BBC said.
The arrests appear to be part of the governments increasing efforts to suppress a large rally planned for Monday on National Student Day.
The authorities have ordered foreign news media not to cover the event and Internet service was reduced to a trickle on Saturday, so slow that it was impossible to open e-mails or any Web pages, a journalist in Tehran said.
The measure appeared to be aimed at preventing information about the crackdown or the protest to get outside the country and also to deprive the opposition from its key means, the Internet and Facebook, to mobilize their supporters. Videos posted online have played a critical role in showing the world what has been happening inside Iran.
The government has also arrested dozens of student leaders in Tehran and across the country in the past weeks. However, students continued to say they would hold demonstrations at universities around the country on Monday. In Tehran, the nightly rooftop chants of Allahu akbar, meaning God is great, an opposition ritual since June, were louder than usual Sunday night.
The chants rocked Tehran, said the journalist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, out of fear for his safety. People will also go out tomorrow but only to stop the traffic. It wont be as large as previous protests.
There are no plans for street demonstrations on Monday but students plan to hold demonstrations inside universities, which security forces are banned from entering. However, hard-line members of the Basij militia force at the universities often raid the student protests.
Mir Hussein Moussavi, one of the two opposition leaders who ran against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, issued a statement on Sunday characterizing the movement as alive despite government suppression.
He warned that the authorities could not end the protests with the arrests of students because one in 20 Iranians were university students, several opposition sites reported. They are asking us to forget about the election results as though people are concerned only about the elections, he said. How can we make them understand that this is not the issue? It is not about who the president is or is not; the issue is that they have sold out a great nation.
Mr. Moussavi has been issuing statements regularly since June. Despite threats of arrest, he remains free, but his movement is restricted, according to an ally outside the country.
His comments were followed by criticism of the government by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an influential politician who sided with the opposition but had been silent recently.
Constructive criticism is not tolerated in the country, Mr. Rafsanjani said at a meeting with students in the city of Mashad, according to the Web site mowjcamp.com. It was not right to put the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards to confront the people.
Next Saturday, six months after Election Day, protests are planned around the world to honor the Iranian peoples peaceful struggle for their human and civil rights, according to the organizer, United4Iran, a network of activists supporting human rights in Iran.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
His comments were followed by criticism of the government by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an influential politician who sided with the opposition but had been silent recently.
My daddy still has a lingering suspicion that London's sushi restaurants are behind the unrest.
#5
And this is the music my uncle in the 78th Pursuit Squadron heard coming from a barracks window in the moments just before the bombs starting falling on Wheeler Field. He was always very specific about that song and the singers.
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.
Somalias transitional government replaced its police and military commanders following a suicide bombing last week that killed four Cabinet ministers, as security officials warned of further attacks. After long discussions, the government decided to appoint new commanders for its police and military departments in order to provide security in general, Abdi Hagi Gobdon, a government spokesman, told reporters in Mogadishu, the capital, yesterday. 
ISLAMABAD: Security personnel on Tuesday briefly detained two Dutch employees of the Netherlands embassy in the federal capital after arms, ammunition and explosives were recovered from their car.
Ahead of a planned opposition rally on Monday, Iran tightened security and arrested over 20 mothers who were mourning children killed in the unrest that has broken out since the disputed June 12 elections.
