sisu

Keeping the away-from-homefires burning

"LTC Kurilla didn't want to leave the bombs buried in the road, so he pulled the Strykers further back, and tried to use the terrorist's radio control to detonate them. He dropped down inside the hatch and asked the terrorist how to use the transmitter. In the most shocking admission of guilt imaginable, the terrorist walked the Commander through the steps," writes Michael Yon on the scene with the Deuce Four in Mosul. (Michael Yon Photo)

"Deuce Four is an overwhelmingly aggressive and effective unit, and they believe the best defense is a dead enemy," writes Michael Yon -- "an independent, informed observer chronicling the monumentally important events in the efforts to stabilize Iraq," as he describes himself -- in his latest you-are-there dispatch from the front in Mosul, Iraq, in the environs of "what might be the most dangerous traffic circle in the universe":

They are constantly thinking up innovative, unique, and effective ways to kill or capture the enemy; proactive not reactive. They planned an operation with snipers, making it appear that an ISF vehicle had been attacked, complete with explosives and flash-bang grenades to simulate the IED. The simulated casualty evacuation of sand dummies completed the ruse.

The Deuce Four soldiers left quickly with the "casualties," "abandoning" the burning truck in the traffic circle. The enemy took the bait. Terrorists came out and started with the AK-rifle-monkey-pump, shooting into the truck, their own video crews capturing the moment of glory. That's when the American snipers opened fire and killed everybody with a weapon. Until now, only insiders knew about the AK-monkey-pumpers smack-down.

No wonder the blogosphere -- not to mention the soldiers he chronicles -- loves this Renaissance man who's doing his part for the free and the brave by keeping the away-from-homefires burning. The battlefield springs to heart-thumping life under his cyberpen, and he always leaves us begging for more.  Framing the blood, sweat and tears of his blow-by-blow accounts, Michael Yon's wise and witty asides will knock your socks off, especially if you're used to relying on the timid and agenda-driven MSM for any idea of what's really going on over there:

The most serious terrorists do not fear prison here. Captain Jeff VanAntwerp, who commands Alpha Company, recently told me that Iraqis joke among themselves that they would pay 5,000 Dinar per night to stay at Abu Ghraib prison. It's air conditioned, the showers are good, the food is good, and the water is good. The mother [of a "detainee" captured during the latest battle] seemed to know this and it curled in contempt behind her smile.

Re the psychological battle for hearts and minds back home:

I walked back through the dark and did the radio interview by cell phone. During such interviews, I get the impression that people at home are losing faith in the effort, though we are winning. But at home they cannot see it, and when I said goodbye that time, I sat in the dark.

And this:

That night, there was an important memorial for Nils Thompson, the soldier who had been killed by a sniper. Soldiers had labored for days, and into the nights, to make a fitting ceremony for young Nils Thompson. Top officers, a General among them, came to the ceremony. Though he'd just turned 19, Thompson already had earned respect from officers and men in the unit. Many quiet tears marked the true pain of the loss. A few soldiers wondered, Do people at home even care?

You'll be rewarded with useful perspective and some first-rate storytelling if you read the whole thing, and you'll probably find yourself clicking on the PayPal button there, as we did.

"It is not the critic who counts"

Blogpal Teresa's precious "young son" sends her snapshots from the front -- like this one out of a Chinook helicopter flying over somewhere in Afghanistan -- that knock your socks off. The closest we ever came, scary enough for a non-military type like ourselves, was when we went up in a two-person helicopter out of Norwood, MA with the door on our side removed to facilitate our taking photographs for an Urban Design studio with Robert Yaro at the Design School in our "final throes" as a productive member of society.  There was no thought of hostile fire, just the fear we might fall out the door -- or perhaps a film cartridge might fly out the door and get caught in the propeller -- but even so we've never quite recovered.  Now we only do eyes, just do eyes.

Fourth of July weekend last year we quoted Teddy Roosevelt, and the Rough Rider's rousing rhetoric resonates even louder today when we think of the morale-crushing reportage -- with its anti-Bush, anti-military, agenda-driven commissions and omissions -- being churned out daily by our "fake but accurate" mainstream press:

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better . The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

"Let those who have lost the most, know that we are there to help," writes our dear blogfriend Teresa of Technicalities -- the stalwart mom of a brave son who's at the front in Afghanistan helping spread freedom 'round the world:

This week has seen great loss in Afghanistan -- the downing of a Chinook and loss of Special Forces. In their memory -- celebrate this weekend -- lift a glass in their honor. And maybe help out a family . . . a wife who has lost her husband, kids who have lost their father. It would be an excellent present for this July 4th weekend . . . There is no way to ever repay what we have gotten in return for their sacrifice, the best we can do is let them know we will honor them and never ever forget.

Thank you Teresa for keeping the homefires burning.  You are an inspiration. If our readers are so inclined, "head over to Blackfive and read about the various ways you can support the troops," she advises.  We've always supported Spirit of America, but there are dozens of other ways you can make a difference as well. As Samuel Adams advised, "It does not take a majority to prevail . . . but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

Show 'em what's really going on over there

"This picture is posted for my niece, codename: BooBoo," writes blogger Major K. from his Baghdad location. "I got the boys from the Recon Platoon and wanted to show off the poster that she and the sixth graders that she mentored did for us." He and other milbloggers, mom bloggers, A-list bloggers, buddies, friends, relatives and allies with access to the internet and personal snapshots from the front are invited to share their pictures of everyday life in Iraq with the immense and influential Washington Post readership.

"Show the world your perspective on life in Iraq," goes a Washington Post invitation for snapshots from the front in Iraq:

In the coming weeks, The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com will publish a selection of photos of Americans in Iraq.

If you are an American on duty in Iraq, or the family or friend of someone serving there, The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com invite you to submit your photos of everyday life in the region. Pictures of American soldiers, other service members and civilians are welcome -- we want to give you the opportunity to show firsthand what it’s like to live and work in Iraq.

Win fame and fortune and show 'em what's really going on over there! Who knows?  You may be "discovered" for your photographic talent. How to submit entries.

Losing touch with their inner prey

"Weakness attracts those who are waiting to do America harm" ran the tagline of GWB's "Wolves" -- blogged here last October -- the most emotionally compelling campaign ad since LBJ's "Daisy." It's a concept Tiny and Baby and the local mouse community know instinctively, even as some of our intellectual elites seem to have lost touch with their inner prey. In the predawn (above) the animals head toward the breakfast kitchen, listening (note Baby's back-turned ears) and pausing to turn around (Tiny) to see what's taking us so long.

"One of the new battlefield 'must have' pieces of equipment for an infantry squad is a digital camera," writes Major K. in his latest report from the front in Baghdad:

In fighting this insurgency, there is so much care given to the avoidance of harming of innocents that we now have assumed many tactics and duties normally expected of police officers. We have claim forms for houses that are raided and property damaged by mistake. We have to document and catalog evidence to make a case against people that we capture . . . The process is painstaking and often frustrating to soldiers who have, up until recently, been trained for maneuver warfare.

The problem, of course, is those "ever increasing restrictions heaped upon them by the politically correct microscope under which they must fight an absolutely diabolical enemy that does not hesitate to use these restrictions against us.  The constant second-guessing of the press and those who are not here (politicians, activists, etc.) is doubly frustrating. They [ the soldiers] are truly amazing.

The Wall Street Journal's editors have a few discouraging words this morning for those armchair second-guessers back home who "lost their nerve when the going got tough" in the chaotic aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom:

This may well be the most important lesson coming out of the Iraq war. The outcome of major combat operations was never seriously in doubt, although plenty of supposedly serious people predicted the siege of Baghdad would be America's Stalingrad. What was in doubt, however, was whether the U.S. could prevail if the war became an extended test of wills against a determined foe using guerrilla and terrorist tactics. This was a test not of the skill or bravery of the American soldier, but of the home front's willingness to see the war through; a test in which the key to victory wasn't competence but perseverance.

President Bush passed that test . . . The American people also passed the test . . . Americans also understood that credibility had to be restored if the war on terror was to be won, above all by not devising "exit strategies" in the face of a jihadist onslaught.

That leaves America's elite -- the politicians, wise men, think-tank experts, academics, magazine and editorial-page editors, big-city columnists, TV commentators . . . Many opposed the war from the start [but] sad to say, this time around the doubters included all too many conservatives who supported the war at first but then distanced themselves from it as the insurgency grew. They had their own reputational "exit strategies."

As we posted here last October, commenting on that hair-raising GW wolf ad (see photo caption above):

The forces of darkness (apologies to wolves, who have their own imperatives, which we totally respect but would always defend our own against) are forever waiting just outside the campfire of civilization to move in for the kill.

Osama's observation that when people have a choice between a strong horse and a weak horse, they go with the strong horse comes to mind.

Fortunately, the gut instincts of the American people prevailed when we voted in the strong horse for four more years.

"The wealth and confusion that man has created"*

"Even we girls can make them cry," quipped our blogfriend Julie last year re this photo of Private First Class Jessica L. Nicholson and "her beloved SAW she named 'Camille'" (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Conrad College).

Michelle Malkin invites bloggers to post and trackback their favorite snapshots from the front in solidarity against the Pulitzer Board's unfortunate awarding of its "Breaking News Photography" prize to an AP stringer whose picture of terrorists murdering an Iraqi election worker suggests the cameraman was most likely in cahoots with the enemy.

A pussycat brings the army to its knees in this photograph (attribution unavailable -- if you have info, please let us know) that made the rounds of the blogosphere last year. We posted about it here.

We found this hearts-and-minds winner on the Drudge Report last year. Later reader Eric K. identified the soldier as Sgt H. at Abu Hassan village 11 October 2003, credit SSG K.

This sweetheart of a snapshot of the American soldier as hero, published by Drudge -- and then ourselves -- during the Abu Ghraib scandal, drew one of our first InstaLanches last year for "Bypassing the nattering narratives of negativity." Drudge explained:

As the world's satellites and printing presses await fresh images of troop horrors and abuse, soldiers on the ground e-mailed this snap of warm greetings from some of Iraq's women and children.

Blogpal Teresa of Technicalities puts Pulitzers and such in perspective:

What I find continually amazing -- people placing such stock in the results.  If Michael Moore can win an Oscar for documentary -- with a movie that is demonstrably not a documentary at all . . . If Yassir Arafat can win a Nobel Peace Prize . . . Why is anyone shocked that pictures of terrorists and pictures depicting (tangentially) Americans as bad have won the Pulitzer?

It's really about who's doing the judging.  As with other trash, Anti-Americanism in, Anti-Americanism out. Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette has a better idea.  Blogger that he is, he's going straight to the source, accepting photo entries for the Milblogger Prize.

*"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face -- the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited; and the wealth and confusion that man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.* Edward Steichen.

"I was the one that was the recipient of candy"

"Looks like you visited some Bloggers . . . appears that they have their pajamas on!" quips one of Major K's readers, Wallace of Midland, re this hearts-and-minds snapshot from the front.

"It was the first time that I was the one that was the recipient of candy as opposed to the provider," reports Major K. from somewhere in Iraq:

We went out to do a recon patrol, interview an informant that is tired of the Wahabbi bullies in his neighborhood, and stopped in to a couple of houses to say hello and see who was staring at us from their windows.  We drove and walked by mansions and mud-brick hovels in the same block [Sounds like Taos, NM. --ed].   At one point drove through a 400m stretch of neighborhood that was still flooded with water and sewage over a foot deep and wall to wall.

Of the houses that we entered that night, we greeted either casually or warmly.  A couple of times, the reception we received was a sort of giddy excitement that US Soldiers were coming in to talk to them.

One heart, one mind and one piece of candy at a time. The Army's on its way.

Bugs during the transition

"Keep your city clean.  Put terrorists in the trash" reads the label in this editorial cartoon from a Baghdad paper shortly after the election, posted by Major K, whose interpreter "especially liked the purple fingertip."

"As with any transfer of authority, there are bugs during the transition . . . the civilian internet . . . has been down for the last 5 days," reports Major K, putting us to shame for our own whining because our blog was slow to download this morning:

That, combined with the fact that I have been working my tail off is the reason why I have not posted for several days.  It is now about 4:45am and things are going well. Since we nailed the guy who wounded our guy, IED activity in the area has dropped off significantly.  The drive to work is much safer now.

Nothing like a report from the front to put one's own complaints into perspective.

Writing the good blog

On target at the SRM (Short-Range Missile) Range (Major K photo)

"The days of censoring incoming and outgoing communications, for all practical purposes, are gone." writes Major K,* a U.S. Army officer fighting the good fight -- and writing the good blog -- out of an FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Iraq:

This is not because the Military is a big believer in free speech for its members.  Our business is protecting that right for civilians.  Our oath actually provides that we voluntarily undertake limitations of free speech for security purposes.  The real reason that censorship has become largely a thing of the past, is that it is impossible to effectively enforce it in the information age.

One of the other things that is interesting about Army life here is the way we communicate with home.  Thank God for modern technology.  I have access to regular internet, secure (classified) internet, a cell phone -- yes, Iraq now has a growing network, unknown in the days of Saddam, US Mail and AT&T phone trailers.

'Wonder what Major K would think of the rumored Government crackdown on blogging? We discovered the Major in our site meter stats this evening. Good stuff . . . Human, fearless, optimistic. Re learning recently that he would soon become "Major Dad":

It is one of the many sacrifices that go with the job. I know that my wife will handle it beautifully as she does everything else. The words that keep popping into my head regarding fatherhood are the same ones that I have often thought about regarding leading men in combat.  They are the same words uttered by Alan Shepard, the first US Astronaut launched into space:  “Dear Lord, please don’t let me screw this up.”  Once again, I am blessed beyond all measure.  I have another item to add to the list of things worth fighting for.

Major K's been blogging since mobilization in the theater of operations last August.  'Looks like a keeper.

*If you're Military-rank-illiterate as we are, check out The Tom Clancy FAQ for everything you need to know about the pecking order at a glance. In the Army, a Major is between Lieutenant Colonel and Captain.

"A letter was like a piece of gold"

“I was there for 14 months.  It was long.  But the thing that kept me going was getting letters.  From kids, boy scouts, students.  A letter was like a piece of gold.  Something you will keep for the rest of your life,” says U.S. Army Sergeant Juan Salas, founder of "My Soldier," a Manhattanville College pen-pal program that has been "flooded with address requests from every state and more than 25,000 people" since it was launched three weeks back, reports Newsweek. How it works:

When a person enrolls in the My Soldier program, they agree to adopt a soldier.  They receive a “starter kit” containing guidelines for letter writing and care package preparation, a red My Soldier bracelet, and a specially designed My Soldier baseball hat to include with the first letter they send to their deployed United States Armed Serviceperson.  The first letter/care package they send is addressed to their soldier's platoon contact who then distributes it to their soldier.  The soldier then replies and direct correspondence begins (about 80% of soldiers respond, but 100% appreciate getting the letters).

Read more about the program here.  To sign up, click here. Special thanks to our sis -- known to the lucky recipients of her wise and witty thankyou notes as The Mother of All Letter Writers -- for telling us about "My Soldier."  She signed up yesterday. Lucky soldier.

Speaking of the war effort and keeping the homefires burning, please consider donating -- early and often -- to "Sissy's Sewing Circle" at Spririt of America's Friends of Iraq Blogger Challenge:

The fundraiser continues through December 15.

"The hidden heroes of a peaceful nation"

Our blogfriend Frank LoPinto of The Cool Blue Blog -- a veteran himself whose son is now serving in Iraq -- posts this photo and a complete transcript of the President's Veterans Day Remarks

"Twenty-five million military veterans walk among us, and on this day, our nation thanks them all," said the President, addressing veterans and their families and friends at Arlington National Cemetery this morning:

These are the hidden heroes of a peaceful nation:  our colleagues and friends, neighbors and family members who answered the call and returned to live in the land they defended.

All who have served in this cause are liberators in the best tradition of America.  Their actions have made our nation safer in a world full of new dangers.  Their actions have also upheld the ideals of America's founding, which defines us still.  Our nation values freedom -- not just for ourselves, but for all.  And because Americans are willing to serve and sacrifice for this cause, our nation remains the greatest force for good among all the nations on the Earth

Some of tomorrow's veterans are in combat in Iraq at this hour. They have a clear mission:  to defeat the terrorists and aid the rise of a free government that can defend itself.  They are performing that mission with skill and with honor.  They are making us proud.  They are winning.

The families of the lost carry a burden of grief that time will lighten, but never lift. Our whole nation honors every patriot who placed duty and country before their own lives.  They gave us every day that we live in freedom.

What veterans have given our country is beyond our power to fully repay, yet, today we recognize our debt to their honor.  And on this national holiday, our hearts are filled with respect and gratitude for the veterans of the United States of America.

Thank you Frank, and your precious son, and all of our fellow Americans who have served and are serving this great nation and making the world a better place.