Most suicide bombers in Iraq are foreigners

I’ve been watching this trend for a month or so. Not the trend of suicide bombers in Iraq being foreign, but the trend to note such things. It will probably go on for a little while longer, then mysteriously disappear. At that point we will begin hearing about how normal, everyday Iraqis are taking up arms and fighting the infidel occupiers. The cycle seems to go back and forth between natives and foreigners and, to be honest, I can’t see any rhyme or reason to it. More significant than the headline, to me at least, is this:

The key role of foreign fighters in suicide attacks is one reason many senior military officials, including the top U.S. general in the Middle East, tend to view the war in Iraq as slowly developing into an international struggle against militant Islam.

To be honest, I’m flabbergasted that this sentence made it into a Legacy Media story.

This sentence sums up what I think this war has been about for the past twenty-five years. It claims that the senior military officials think it’s “slowly developing” into this, and of course we can bicker about when the war really started. But I think this has been the strategy from day one. From before day one, really, if you want to call 9/11 ‘day one’.

This war is not just about 9/11, not just about WMD, or not just about bringing democracy to broken lands. This war is about defeating the medieval forces, whether they are state governments or loose networks of terrorists, that threaten everyone on the planet. 9/11 was a harsh wake-up call to those who didn’t want to see the threat. WMDs are a horrific weapon that must be strictly controlled. And democracy is the weapon that we’re using to attack the root of the problem.

Direct action, either military or covert, against the jihadist leadership and their terrorist minions is a holding action at best. But you don’t react to a burning house by changing building codes or installing more smoke detectors. You send in the firefighters to save the occupants and extinguish the flames. Then you find out why the fire started and make adjustments.

You need to live until tomorrow to set a lifetime plan into motion.

One thing that this underscores is the whole Islamic Civil War theory. The Fourth World War (as I call it) isn’t so much West against Islam or Anglosphere against Jihadists as it is 21st Century against 11th Century. It just so happens that many on the 21st Century side are Western Anglophiles and many on the 11th Century side are Islamic Jihadists.

This war is a War of Ideas to a far greater extent than other world wars, and those that subscribe to the ideas that freedom and equality matter are fighting those that do not.

For the past two years the brunt of the military battle has been shouldered by the USA-UK-Australia Anglosphere and the Poles, supported by many other nations to greater or lesser extents. As times and situations change, so will the batting order. Lately, a hot new young prospect has been called up from the minor leagues, and though they’re still struggling to adjust to the majors, the Iraqi forces will soon also be prominent players. We hope.

The article also includes

The trend doesn’t mean Iraqis aren’t part of the bloody insurgency: On the contrary, Iraqi insurgents are thought to be responsible for much of the violence and fighting in the country, although most of those are non-suicide attacks.

“I still think 80 percent of the insurgency, the day to day activity, is Iraqi — the roadside bombings, mortars, direct weapons fire, rifle fire, automatic weapons fire,” said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East expert with the Congressional Research Service, which advises U.S. lawmakers.

First of all, as has been continually noted and continually ignored, the vast majority of unhappy Iraqis are Sunnis, particularly Baathist Sunnis. These are the folks that had it good under Saddam at the expense of everyone else. They’re bound to be sore, their leadership particularly so.

But the flip side is that, being Iraqis, at some point many (if not most) of them are going to realize that they’re better off playing along than they are fighting US Marines. They’re going to see things getting better for the Shiites and the Kurds, and they’re going give up. This has already started to happen, especially since the January elections, and lately there have been more negotiations between Coalition forces and insurgent groups. Many of them are simply looking for a way out with honor, and if a deal can be brokered much bloodshed can be avoided.

The suicide bombers, not beholden to Sunni leaders in Iraq, won’t ever give up. But they cannot win. They cannot even significantly alter things besides headlines. Look at Israel. They’ve been under attack by waves of suicide bombers for decades. Despite virtually no direct help from outside and an international opinion that makes George Bush’s America look like the the class president, Israel has never been close to capitulating to the bombers.

I’ve never been convinced that the “fly paper” theory was, in fact, the plan all along. But there’s no doubt that the situation in Iraq has turned into exactly that. And I think we adjusted early on to sail that tack.

The suicide bombers are making great headlines for the “if it bleeds it leads” Legacy Media, but they aren’t really changing things in Iraq. If anything, they’re harming the cause of the Iraqi insurgency by turning the average Iraqi against the violence.

(Don’t suggest that Legacy Media is pointing out that suicide bombers are mostly foreign as a way to keep the Iraqi insurgency from suffering. I just don’t want to contemplate that right now.)

It’s big that foreigners make up the vast majority of suicide bombers makes the news. There are times when the media doesn’t even want to admit that there are foreigners fighting US forces in Iraq at all. And it’s big that the media reported the growing opinion that the war is against militant Islamic extremism.

We knew it all along, of course. And they knew it all along, as well. It’s just nice to see that they’re publicly admitting it. Sort of.

I’ve got some other thoughts about the recruiting of young men into the suicide bomber ranks and how that squares with criticism of US military recruiting, but this post is already ten times longer than I originally intended. It’s going to have to wait.

First Soldiers receive Combat Action Badge

IF MSNBC REPORTED ANOTHER WAY…

My personal remakes of MSNBC.com headline images has been getting positive feedback, and I hope to continue posting some on a regular basis as they are practically begging me to do so.

Meanwhile, Expat Yank notes my latest effort and has this to say:

I do believe MSNBC should seriously look into “merging” with MURDOC as a means to add the latter’s expertise to MSNBC’s, urrr, own. Having done so, MSNBC could then look to re-brand itself as, perhaps, MSNBCMURDOC. And, heck, if the MURDOC-inspired improvements were not restricted to the web, but were also added to the TV broadcasts, unlike the old MSNBC the new channel might actually even get some viewers.

First of all, when did MSNBC get a television channel? And again first of all, that would put Murdoc up against Murdoch, who is far richer but spells his name wrong. And finally, also first of all, I’m pulling in something on the order of 1500 visits a day to MO and I don’t know how I’d feel about the drop in traffic I’d certainly encounter if I joined forces with MSNBC.com. Sure, over time I’m sure I could rebuild my numbers, but Blogad sales would certainly suffer in the short term. I’ve worked long and hard to build readership, and I’m not about to throw all that out the window by allying myself with MSNBC.

NOTE: Some of the images on Expat Yank appear to be bloggered. I’ve also noticed the problem on other Blogger-based sites today. They’ll eventually fix it. Or not. As the mood strikes them.

Evil Is As Evil Does

I noted a few weeks back that the term “fragging” seems to hold a certain romanticized meaning for anti-war types, and now Blackfive notes everyone’s favorite moron Ward Churchill saying this:

Would you render the same level of support to someone who hadn’t conscientiously objected, but rather instead rolled a grenade under their line officer in order to neutralize the combat capacity of their unit?… Conscientious objection removes a given piece of cannon fodder from the fray. Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect.

“Impactful”? Whatever.

I remain convinced that “fragging” is one of those little keywords that makes extreme Lefties feel all warm and fuzzy. They’re longing for the good old days of Vietnam, and they make me sick.

U.S. & India Sign Major 10-Year Defense Pact

Why is it that, after three years of crying about how George Bush has been ignoring the rest of the world and going it alone in the War on Terror, that Legacy Media has barely let out a peep about this?

The United States and India signed a 10-year agreement paving the way for stepped up military ties, including joint weapons production and cooperation on missile defense. Titled the “New Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship” (NFDR), it was signed on June 27/05 by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and India’s Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Given India’s size, emerging wealth, and strategic location, this seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered. And the deafening silence from Bush critics just strengthens my belief that it’s not the lack of allies that they don’t like, but who those allies are. Or rather, who they aren’t.

More:

Under the NFDR, Washington has offered high-tech cooperation, expanded economic ties, and energy cooperation. It will also step up a strategic dialogue with India to boost missile defense and other security initiatives, launch a “defense procurement and production group,” and work to cooperate on military “research, development, testing and evaluation.” Given India’s broken military procurement system, the know-how transfer will be every bit as valuable as the technology transfer – maybe more so.

And the agreement doesn’t stop there…

During the ceremonies, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed India’s position that all military technology restrictions should be dropped. He won’t get his wish immediately, but they’ll be eased considerably, from fighter aircraft to the even more important maritime patrol category. Those barriers will diminish even further as trust and cooperation grow.

In the area of missile defense, for instance, efforts will begin with efforts to secure approval of Patriot PAC-3 missiles for India (previous offers had involved less advanced PAC-2s). No word on whether the Israeli-American Arrow THAAD missile defense system, which India has previously sought, would also be approved.

Furthermore, the MFDR envisages joint and combined exercises and exchanges between both sides, naval pilot training…and increased cooperation in the areas of worldwide peacekeeping operations and expansion of interaction with other nations “in ways that promote regional and global peace and stability.” [emphasis mine]

That. Last. Part. Is. Huge.

It could affect things going on right now, of course, in any number of ways. But even more importantly it could form the foundation of a more secure future, safer from both little threats and large.

Remember this next time we hear about how that cowboy in the White House is acting all unilateral and everything. In fifty years this could be seen as a major turning point in 21st Century history.

You really should go read the whole thing. Apparently no one in Legacy Media is going to talk about it much…

Me 262 Project

Efforts to build five operational Me 262 replicas are nearing fruition. The first plane, called White 1, has flown about a dozen times since January of 2003. The next plane (and first single-seater), called Tango-Tango, should make its first flight soon.

This incredible project is the result of a decade of privately-administered effort to create flight worthy examples of the Messerschmitt 262 fighter, and is now entering its final stages. Formerly subcontracted to the Texas Airplane Factory and administered by Classic Fighter Industries, Inc. the WTMF owner’s group has now assumed watch over the final, and most critical, phase of the project. Our Seattle-based team of expert designers, engineers and technicians recently completed the flight test program for the first of our five jets, while the second machine is rapidly approaching similar tests.

If you are seeking accurate, timely information from those within the project itself, you’ve come to the right place. We will be updating this site at least monthly (see the LATEST UPDATES), and adding new features throughout the year.

I don’t understand why these guys don’t have a blog. Come on…everybody’s doing it!

Here’s more info from the intro page:

The Me 262 Project was launched in 1993 with a single objective: to reproduce flying examples of the legendary Me 262. Classic Fighter Industries, Incorporated (CFII) was incorporated specifically to administer this effort, and exercised direct control over the project from 1993 until early 2001, when all assets were transferred to the owner’s group in preparation for final assembly, the test flight programs, and delivery.

Production has been strictly limited to five aircraft: once these five are complete, no more will ever be produced, now or in the future.

The airplanes are being manufactured as a continuation of the basic Me 262 design. In fact, they have even been assigned factory serial numbers drawn from the werknummern sequences used on the original 1945 production lines.

Great pains are being taken to produce aircraft which are not simply replicas, but rather true serial production representative aircraft in every possible respect. Virtually rivet for rivet, the new aircraft are duplicates of the original Me 262. With the ability to examine and copy components from a vintage source, the standard of authenticity has been exactingly maintained.

Of course, the original design suffered from some well-known weaknesses, most notably dealing with the engines and landing gear systems. These areas were studied carefully, and certain subtle modifications have been directed for operator safety and reliability. A cursory visual inspection would never reveal them, however, as these internal modifications have been tightly integrated into the original design characteristics of the aircraft.

In essence, the new Me 262s are simply representative of a natural evolution of the airframe. They are being manufactured using many of the same techniques as the originals (by hand from raw materials), and are to be precision duplicates, even down to the four nose-mounted Mk 108 cannons. The only noteworthy concession will be in the area of engine selection.

Their Photo Recon page has a number of interesting pictures taken in the late days of the war. I know air enthusiasts will probably cringe over seeing these planes wrecked or grounded, but that’s the way Murdoc likes enemy aircraft.

While looking for news on this project, I came across a recent story on NorthJersey.com about some USAAF mechanics at the end of the war:

After hostilities were over, a few squadron mechanics were given a hush-hush mission worthy of a movie script: find the German jets that had played havoc with Air Force bombers.

“We knew something was in the air, but we didn’t know what it was,” DeScisciolo said, referring to the Messerschmitt Me-262, the world’s first combat turbojet.

“All we were told was they [Air Force intelligence] wanted to see what made that thing tick, because they were way ahead of us,” DeScisciolo said.

“Our tech sergeant said just don’t say anything to anybody about it [the mission],” he added. “Just keep it to yourself.”

And they were successful.

On their first Me-262 recovery mission in July 1945, DeScisciolo and four mechanics struck the mother lode.

In a wooded area a half-mile from the 887th’s base in Stuttgart, Germany, the men found 30 abandoned jets.

Painted in tan and green camouflage, they resembled giant insects fast asleep in the woods.

“I was taken aback,” DeScisciolo said. “I thought, ‘My God, if all these planes had gone up, they would have raised holy hell with us.’Ÿ”

To the men’s astonishment, the jets were the Me-262A models, known as the Schwalbe, or swallow. They were fully armed and loaded with bombs.

“But there was not a drop of gas in any one of them,” DeScisciolo said. “They were bone dry.”

The men spent days methodically taking apart one of the jets and loading its parts onto a 40-foot flatbed truck.

One day, the men couldn’t retract the landing gear, so a mechanic from Chicago named Nonneman climbed into the cockpit.

As the jet’s fuselage was held off the ground by a crane, Nonneman grabbed a handle in the cockpit. There was an explosion, and Nonneman was blown 20 feet into the air.

“He grabbed the ejection handle by mistake,” DeScisciolo said. “I hit the deck. I thought the damn thing was booby-trapped.”

Nonneman, who broke his wrists when he landed on soft ground, was awarded a Purple Heart.

The men were on cloud nine after their mission.

“We were finally going to learn what made them tick,” DeScisciolo said.

The jet was shipped back to the States for evaluation, and today is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio.

Active Damper Suspension System Demonstrates Dramatic Mobility Improvements

A reader tips me off to this. The story is from February and reports on January tests of a new computer-controlled suspension that hopes to greatly improve the control, speed, and ride of Stryker LAVs.

The core of the system tested is 8 dampers & controllers using proprietary algorithms to modulate individual wheel forces within 4 milliseconds in response to terrain inputs and body motion. MillenWorks engineers retained full functionality of the stock Stryker vehicle’s pressurized gas spring & ride height management system while integrating the electrically controllable MR technology into the physical envelope of the original damper.

“The stock vehicle utilizes a very capable suspension load-leveling system, and it was a good challenge to ensure we didn’t lose that important functionality in the process of incorporating our controllable damper,” noted Project Manager Peter LeNoach. “The net result is a high-performance suspension system that is bolt-on retofittable, simple, with operation that is completely transparent to the vehicle and its operator.”

The system is called Magneto-Rheological Active Damper Suspension (MROADS) and is built by Millenworks. The tests were apparently pretty successful.

Mobility gains measured during comparison testing showed great promise for Strykers that could be retrofitted with this system in the future. Over a range of off-road bump courses, the MillenWorks MROADS Stryker was 40-60% faster than the stock vehicle at the same level of driver absorbed power; a measure of transmitted vibration. The MROADS Stryker’s best performance was a 72% increase in the vehicle’s 6-watt absorbed power speed, from 22 mph (stock) to 38 mph. Increases in vehicle platform stability were immediately obvious to drivers and bystanders. The system also showed marked improvements during aggressive on-road maneuvers like lane changes. The maximum lane change speed increased from 38 mph (stock) to over 50 mph with the MillenWorks MROADS system.

This program has been going on for four years.
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Tonight on MSNBC.com:

This would also be appropriate, no?

Berlin Outrage

This is not Scrappleface. This is true:

We didn’t think it could get much worse in Germany…well, it just did. Davids Medienkritik recently learned that the Berlin city government, made up of a coalition between the SPD (Gerhard Schroeder’s Social-Democrats) and the PDS (former SED party that ran Communist East Germany), has decided to allow the razing of the Checkpoint Charlie monument by court order.

And get this: The monument, which consists of over 1,000 crosses adorned with the names of those murdered attempting to escape Communist East Germany for freedom, will be bulldozed on the 4th of July! (See update above, now rescheduled for July 5th because of the pressure we put on!)

The bulldozers will rev up at 4 in the morning (so as not to attract too much attention, I guess) so it will still be July 4th in America.

Found this image on a page by someone who visited Germany last winter:

I guess they just want to erase memories from before they “overcame their differences“. (via Mudville)

Killers turn to assault rifles

Flint, MI:

Assault rifles favored by Iraqi insurgents are finding their way onto Flint streets in alarming numbers.

A spate of shootings using such 7.62 mm assault rifles as AK-47s has police worried about high-powered weapons better suited for war zones.

…

On Saturday, Kenneth M. Frohm, 28, of North Branch was killed when rounds from an assault rifle were fired into a pickup on Flint’s southeast side.

A few days earlier, a Flint man was killed and another man wounded by a drive-by shooter wielding a 7.62 mm rifle on Kleinpell Street.

On June 10, a Flint man was killed when someone fired an assault rifle into a car at a S. Dort Highway parking lot. [emphasis mine]

This is a serious problem, of course. What can we do to counter-act the growing threat of assault rifles?

One problem:

Since police haven’t recovered any of the guns yet, Hagler said police aren’t sure what types of guns are being used.

Hmmm. So I guess it’s safe to say that the “assault rifle” claim is unsubstantiated, to say the least.

In other investigations, there have actually been weapons found:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Department has seized 10 7.62 mm rifles in the past couple of months, including fully automatic versions that are illegal.

“We are seeing more of them, especially in drug houses,” said Undersheriff James S. Gage.

So apparently outlawing guns isn’t helping much, as the fully automatics have long been against the law.

Also, I would be interested in seeing a truthful breakdown showing how many supporters of stricter gun control also support fewer (or no) drug control laws and/or the end of the War on Drugs. A major argument of the pro-drug (or whatever) crowd is that using drugs is a personal decision that doesn’t affect others, but even if you discount the friends and family of the drug addict, it’s clear that many people are, indeed, affected by the violence that follows the drug trade around. (via FR)