Article

2008-05-23 Iraq

In Iraq, a Marine's best friend is a bada$$ dog with 42 teeth

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Posted by gorb 2008-05-23 04:59|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top
File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1 I am surprised that the US Army has never tried to recreate the Roman war dog, Pugnaces Britanniae, which is extinct. They were wiped out because they were too dangerous a weapon. However, a smaller descendant of the breed is the Mastiff.

Makes you wonder what an armored Pentagon specs dog would look like.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-05-23 09:59|| 2008-05-23 09:59|| Front Page Top

#2 And the inevitable McClatchy Spin...

Some Iraqis, however, resent the high priority the military gives its dogs.

"Iraqi citizens have lost all their rights, but dogs have rights?" said Wafa Dawood , who's searched whenever she enters Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified space where U.S. and Iraqi officials live and work. Nasreen Rahman said that having dogs search her is humiliating. "It's like I'm a terrorist or I've done something wrong," she said.

She, too, found irony in the fact that the military's dogs have more rights than Iraqi citizens. "This is our country, this is our land, and we are the people of this land," she said. "But the dogs are treated better than us."

Posted by tu3031 2008-05-23 10:15|| 2008-05-23 10:15|| Front Page Top

#3 The local police here often use Belgian Malinois in the K-9 corps. Anonymoose, I recall reading somewhere that the Romans also used Rottweilers as war dogs.

Posted by JohnQC 2008-05-23 10:48|| 2008-05-23 10:48|| Front Page Top

#4
Some Iraqis, however, resent the high priority the military gives its dogs.

"Iraqi citizens have lost all their rights, but dogs have rights?" said Wafa Dawood , who's searched whenever she enters Baghdad's Green Zone, the fortified space

Ah, the good old times when the master race had the right to gass the Kurds.

Posted by JFM">JFM 2008-05-23 11:19|| 2008-05-23 11:19|| Front Page Top

#5 Interesting article - but my jaw dropped when I hit the nonsense that tu and JFM note. While the wires do seem to be demoralized by the situation in Iraq - the other day I read all the way through an AP dispatch, something I haven't done for ages, and marveled at how the slug paragraphs that used to be uniformly distorted and negative now are straightforward and recognize the huge changes.

But let's not forget the special contribution made by Iraqis in all this - they've been quote machines for the most idiotic anti-US nonsense since '03. This is a gem - since when have Iraqis "lost their rights?". Uh, that would be, GAINED their rights, but remain affected by a security situation created mostly by the same idiots who made the place a prison under the old regime, a security situation that, uh - makes use of bomb dogs extremely helpful for everyone.

Seems to be an Arab thing. Not universal by any means, including inside Iraq of course, but that region does produce the most consistent supply of idiocy for us here at the 'burg to fisk and annotate.

Posted by Verlaine 2008-05-23 11:53|| 2008-05-23 11:53|| Front Page Top

#6 I hope that after their service is done, these dogs are treated better than the dogs we used in Viet Nam. IIRC, when we left Viet Nam, we put the dogs down - even though their handlers begged to be allowed to take them home. The dogs were considered to be "surplus war material" and were "disposed" of.

Posted by Rambler in California">Rambler in California 2008-05-23 11:58|| 2008-05-23 11:58|| Front Page Top

#7 The Marines are already in Afghanistan, which has plenty of bombs and bad people, Rambler. Who knows where they'll go from there -- but most assuredly bombs and bad people will be part of the local environment. ;-) Besides, our Armed Forces have figured out a lot of things as a result of the mistakes of Viet Nam.

Posted by trailing wife ">trailing wife 2008-05-23 12:15|| 2008-05-23 12:15|| Front Page Top

#8 They are adopted out, often to their former handlers. To get one, you must be trained to handle these dogs.

Posted by ed 2008-05-23 12:16|| 2008-05-23 12:16|| Front Page Top

#9 Adopting a US Military Working Dog

Posted by ed 2008-05-23 12:23|| 2008-05-23 12:23|| Front Page Top

#10 The one thing that keeps us in business is that these dogs don't know that we can't do what they do," Staff Sgt. Joseph Evans said. "If they ever figure out the truth of the game, they'll never work for us again."

Sorry Staff Sgt. Evans but you are wrong! [unless you said it in jest]

Dawgs will do all the dangerous stuff that their handler's will do and then some!

Posted by RD">RD 2008-05-23 12:30|| 2008-05-23 12:30|| Front Page Top

#11 Two suggestions "Great Dane"
(Shorthair, hot climate)
Irish Wolfhound
(Long Hair, Cold Climate)

Posted by Redneck Jim">Redneck Jim 2008-05-23 15:07|| 2008-05-23 15:07|| Front Page Top

#12 If a Muslim is licked by a dog, they have to clean the spot 7 times. However, they don't exterminate dogs like they do pigs.

Posted by Gerthudion Thrirong5858 2008-05-23 15:46|| 2008-05-23 15:46|| Front Page Top

#13 "a smaller descendant of the breed is the Mastiff"

Holy crap, 'moose! If a ~~small pony~~ mastiff is smaller, I'd hate to think what size that Roman dog was.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2008-05-23 16:26|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/] 2008-05-23 16:26|| Front Page Top

#14 Gert the Muzzies have been known to use dogs for chemical weapons test.

I'd like to see these dogs let loose at the Minneapolis airport. Those taxicab drivers would convert to Christianity in mid-bite.

Posted by Icerigger">Icerigger 2008-05-23 16:56|| 2008-05-23 16:56|| Front Page Top

#15 I googled "Pugnaces Britanniae" to see what I could find. Natch, wikipedia was the first hit, and I followed the link to an article about a Greek war dog -- Mollossus. When I was exiting, I noticed the other google hits and was amused since the breed is extinct -- "The best place to find Pugnaces Britanniae puppies on the web." "A community of Pugnaces Britanniae owners." "The place to find images and illustrations of Pugnaces Britanniae." "Find Pugnaces Britanniae breeders." It's nice to be reminded how much utter BS there is out there on the 'net.

Posted by Tibor 2008-05-23 17:03|| 2008-05-23 17:03|| Front Page Top

#16 barbara: "The references by Roman writers to the 'canes pugnaces' of Britain suggest a dog of a large and heavy type. Oppian says the fighting dog had light brown eyes, truncated muzzle, loose skin above the brows, a broad back, great stature, and muscular legs."

"A Roman Officer (L. Procurator Cynegii), was stationed in Winchester and responsible for selecting these dogs, which were exported to Rome for contests in the amphitheatre and for integration into the military as war dogs."

Modern Mastiff breeds have a peak weight of about 175lbs. Pugnaces Britanniae may have weighed over 200lbs.

According to one Roman historian, four such dogs were needed to best a lion.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-05-23 17:23|| 2008-05-23 17:23|| Front Page Top

#17 JohnQC, you must live in a tough, tough town if the local cops are using Belgian Malinois...

Posted by Classical_Liberal 2008-05-23 21:49|| 2008-05-23 21:49|| Front Page Top

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