I’m sure you’ve seen this news item: Most U.S. troops in Iraq support withdrawal, poll finds

Does anyone know how to see the actual poll questions? We only get to see a summary of results.

I guess, for the most part, I’m not specifically trying to question the results, but what the poll says is almost 100% out of line with everything I’ve gathered over the past couple of years. Of course, critics of the invasion of Iraq will just nod their heads say that they’ve known about the propaganda all along, but a few items kind of have ol’ Murdoc scratching his head. First:

The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies, showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq “immediately,” while another 22% said they should leave in the next six months.

More than a quarter really think we should pull out completely and immediately? If you say so, but I’ve got to say that I’m a bit skeptical.

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Mixed Messages

Expat Yank has a screenshot juxtaposing the tough spot Muslims are finding themselves in with regards to the perception of the American (and Western in general) public. Go look.

1991: Jubilation follows Gulf War ceasefire

Who would have guessed this is where we’d be in 2006?

I know many reasons why we couldn’t have gone all the way to Baghdad in 1991, but aren’t those largely the same reasons why we couldn’t invade Iraq in 2003? In a lot of ways, the current campaign in Iraq is nothing more than the 1991 war restarted after a twelve-year time out.

If, for some reason, we had gone all the way in 1991, would 2006 Iraq have looked like what 2018 Iraq is going to look like? Did we just squander a dozen years? Did it take 9/11 to “change” things enough to restart?

I know we were hoping that Saddam’s regime would fall from within, but we did little to help things along and we royally screwed over those who hoped to do what we wanted them to.

One thing’s for sure. There would have been an awful lot more troops on the ground in 1991.

Osprey Heads Into Combat

While unconvinced that this thing is really ready for prime time (and what does Murdoc know, anyway), there’s no doubt that if this thing performs as advertised it will be a welcome addition to our forces. Put another way: I hope these things win their critics over.

Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 traded in CH-46s for V-22s this past summer and go live at the end of the week.

Still, helicopters are going to be a primary mover and shaker for many years to come.

Received this video via email. No idea on the ‘when’, ‘where’, or ‘who’. The ‘why’ seems to be clear enough.

Probably turn your speakers down a bit. The language is a bit harsh. Okay. Really harsh, maybe.

Download Air_Strike video (1MB .wmv)

As usual, if linking please link to this page and not directly to the video. I will change the file and break your link.

And if anyone has any info on the origins of this video, pass it on.

Army Slashes Abrams, Bradley Funding

This should concern just about everyone, shouldn’t it?

The Army is looking to streamline by 2013 its fleet of Abrams tanks down to two types: the M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP) for the active force and the M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management (AIM) program for the National Guard.

That schedule may be reconsidered, industry officials said, in the wake of the recent cuts, which include: $588 million to produce 120 M1A2 SEP tanks for two enhanced brigade combat teams; $504 million for 210 M1A1AIM tanks for three brigade combat teams in the National Guard; and $155 million for the Tank Urban Survivability Kit that was to be purchased this year and fielded to units in Iraq next year.

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You can tell by the color of his robes.

Persian Gulf (Feb. 26, 2006) – Navy Chaplain, Lt. Kenneth Medve, reads the blessing of communion during Roman Catholic service in the foc’sle aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Reagan and embarked Carrier Air Wing One Four (CVW-14) are currently deployed on her maiden deployment conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the region and participating in the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Dominique M. Lasco (RELEASED)

Every uniform on a carrier deck communicates that individual’s duties. Green is for maintenance crew. Red is for ordnance. Purple for fuel. Yellow is for aircraft handling officers and LSOs.

For more, see this.

(FOR THE RECORD: Yes, Murdoc is joking. Catholics, please no rioting in the streets!)

Yours truly is going to be master of ceremonies for Winds of Change.NET’s newest regular report, a monthly feature called Military Transformation Uplink. There you will find all the latest and greatest news and links regarding the efforts of militaries worldwide to adapt to an ever-changing world. Joe Katzman is helping bring together some of the military technology field’s finest resources (and Murdoc, too!) to bring you all the news that’s fit to print. And then some.

Murdoc’s thrilled to be involved in what promises to be a top-notch target rich environment.

Got a hot tip? Well, send it in, mister! The premier edition of Military Transformation Uplink will be hitting the WWW next month.

The Stryker is driven robotically through the range at Fort Gordon, Ga., Feb. 10, 2006, during testing for future development of robots that can conduct convoy operations. U.S. Army photo by Larry Edmond

Note the masts for radar, IR, and other guidance sensors. Pic from the DoD’s Transformation archive. For more on this project, see The Officers’ Club.

Via regular commenter Skrip00 come these images of the Transparent Armored Gun Shields (TAGS), which MO noted in a tank pic a couple of weeks back.

I notice that this pic and two of the following pics do not have the metal shield below the ballistic glass. Simply an earlier model? Is the metal plating an optional add-on?

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