Archive for December, 2006

I guess I thought the answer to this question would be obvious, but it isn’t terribly clear to everyone.

This was left on Donald Sensing’s “Going Big” in Iraq is last chance that I mentioned in yesterday’s Linkzookery as part of a cynical list of why we won’t leave Iraq:

2a) If the US leaves, Iraq will become a terrorist haven
2b) If the US leaves, the terrorist will follow us back to the US
(Of course these can’t both be true…

The ignorance of this is staggering. 2a appears to be almost certainly true. 2b isn’t nearly as sure, but it seems likely and certainly possible.

But what’s amazing is the assertion that they can’t both be true.

That’s astoundingly dumb. Even if you argue that the best way to combat terrorism is to hole up behind a protective isolationist wall, even if you believe that only goal in a Global War on Terror should be to prevent future 9/11 attacks, you must recognize that terrorists in the safe haven of Afghanistan planned and coordinated those very 9/11 attacks on America.

We can argue all day about how much damage scattering al Qaeda to the winds has caused their organization. Their loose network of affiliated groups and decentralized leadership makes them very difficult to destroy, and obviously they’re harder to track down when hiding than when they’re relaxing in the relatively open Taliban haven of Afghanistan. But that doesn’t mean that destroying the havens was the wrong thing to do, particularly if you subscribe to the theory that all we should be doing is making sure that 9/11 never happens again.

The truth is that many who say they supported the invasion of Afghanistan but are against the invasion of Iraq were not actually supportive of the invasion of Afghanistan at the time. I know several folks who claim to understand that invading Afghanistan was justified but don’t see what the invasion of Iraq has to do with the war against terrorism. They seem to have conveniently forgotten the arguments they had with me about the invasion of Afghanistan in September and October of 2001.

My guess is that, when it comes time for military action in Iran or Syria or Somalia, many of these same folks will be claiming that though they could understand why Afghanistan and Iraq had to be dealt with, they just don’t see why the latest campaign is necessary.

So many of the folks who say that they support certain methods of fighting terrorism but not the methods currently being employed, don’t really seem to support any methods at all.

Dean Esmay kindly linked to my recent post on Iraqis being able to form an effective modern army, and (as usual) the comments section on his site generated some good discussion. Check it out.

• First Advanced Bombers Delivered to Russian Air Force
  The Su-34, codenamed “Fullback”, is a fighter-bomber development of the excellent Su-27 fighter. The Russians plan to purchase a total of 58 of them.
• That Wacky Sunday Times of London
  Aceh – Women and the Tsunami
  Tsunami and Sharia
  Chuck Simmins, he of the Stingy List, discusses the recent reports that tsunami aid money is helping “Islamic vigilante force impose punishments on women”.
• The Military Transition Teams and the Development Iraqi Army
  Bill Roggio, currently in Iraq, on the Marines of the 3rd Recon Military Transition Team.
• “Going Big” in Iraq is last chance
  I guess I’d put it “best chance” rather than “last chance”, but Donald Sensing makes a lot of, um, sense. Though I don’t think “going big” needs to be at the expense of training up the Iraqis. No matter what we do or don’t do in the next few years, it’s all going to come down to whether or not the Iraqis can control their own country.
• Top 13 Worst Slogan Translations Ever
  Coors put its slogan, “Turn It Loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer From Diarrhea.”…Ahh, truth in advertising!
• Would anyone mind if I toss random pics into Linkzookery if I get the urge? Let me know if you don’t like pictures.

  

  The wreckage of a bridge and North Korean Communist tank south of Suwon, Korea. The tank was caught on a bridge and put out of action by the Air Force. October 7, 1950.

The results are official at the 2006 Weblog Awards, and Murdoc Online finished in fourth place in its division. MO pulled in a respectable 12.34% of the vote, and the category winner Boots and Sabers is definitely a top-notch operation, so no bitterness here. (Well, not much.)

Much thanks to all who nominated and voted for Murdoc over the past couple of weeks. Truly, just getting nominated is an honor, and making the finals was icing. Though I joke about it, I am thrilled that enough folks like MO to consider it among the best blogs around and I cannot tell you how much that means.

So, as a thank-you, here’s a cool picture:

A Copperhead laser-guided anti-tank missile fired from a towed M-198 155mm howitzer explodes on a target tank. Location: WHITE SANDS MISSILE TEST RANGE, NEW MEXICO (NM) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) Camera Operator: TOM MOORE Date Shot: 27 Feb 1984

MO readers seem to love stuff that goes boom.

UPDATE: Oh, what the Hades. Here’s another one:

Extended-Range Anti-armor Munition (ERAM) warhead fires self-forging fragment into an M-48 full-tracked combat tank target during a validation demonstration test. Location: OTIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MASSACHUSETTS (MA) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
Camera Operator: AFSC Date Shot: 1 Jan 1981

Polish leader asked to extend Iraq tour

Hot off the presses:

WARSAW, Poland – The government asked the president Tuesday to prolong the mission of Poland’s 900 troops in Iraq for another year, until the end of 2007.

The current mission was originally due to last until Dec. 31, 2006. But the government of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on its Web site that it had sent a letter to President Lech Kaczynski, his twin brother, formally requesting the extension.

Murdoc’s mentioned many times that he’s a major fan of Poland, largely because of their willing and active involvement in the Long Global War on Terror^TM. They have stuck beside us from the beginning and seem as intent on making Iraq work as we are. Or even more, sometimes, as American wishy-washiness ebbs and flows.

Here are a couple recent pics of the Poles in Iraq:

12/07/06 – Polish army soldiers from the Civil Military Cooperation group, Multi-National Division – Central South, Camp Echo, Iraq, and Iraqi army soldiers from the 8th Iraqi Army Division arrive for a mission at a children’s and maternity hospital in Diwaniyah, Iraq, Dec. 7, 2006. The Polish and Iraqi army soldiers delivered 100 boxes of medical supplies to the hospital. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price)

12/12/06 – A Polish army doctor examine an Iraqi boy during a Polish army medical civic action project (MEDCAP) at Camp Echo, Iraq, Dec 12, 2006. Soldiers from the Polish army medical branch, Multi-National Division – Central South, offer medical services to Iraqi citizens through this biweekly program, improving quality of life and forging relationships between coalition forces and the citizens of Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price)

Murdoc would sure like to see Poland getting a bit more in the way of appreciation from the US government. They are not only one of our strongest allies in Iraq, but they are quickly turning into one of our strongest and most important allies on the European continent. For one thing, the visa requirements for Polish workers and travellers could be eased a bit. It’s outrageous that we make it so difficult for the citizens of a strong ally to enter our country legally while basically turning a blind eye to the illegal entry of millions of border crossers from Mexico.

Polish troops work mostly in the more-peaceful southern areas of Iraq and play a major part in the training of Iraqi security forces. As we seem to be finally moving to re-double our efforts in getting the Iraqi army and police online as an effective force to combat the terrorists, insurgents, and militias, Polish help would be as welcome as ever in the coming year.

We’ve entered “All Joint Strike Fighter, All The Time” mode here at MO. Here’s a shot of the first aircraft (AA-1) during its first flight last Friday. Notice that the JSF team national flags are, as several readers predicted and later confirmed, “right” and in order of precedence on this side.

For a much larger version of the shot, CLICK HERE. From the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics first flight photos page, which has several more hi-res shots.

• Tsunami survivors given the lash: Disaster donations help Islamic vigilante force impose punishments on women
  Hard to understand why so many folks think that Muslims are savages, isn’t it? It would be nice to see some serious backlash for this.
• About Face: Soldiers Call for Iraq Withdrawal
  ‘The Nation’ magazine on an anti-war petition signed by “nearly 1,000 US soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, including dozens of officers–most of whom are on active duty”. Poster at Reddit titles this “The Nation Mag covers widespread and growing foment among U.S. soldiers in Iraq and how close they are to mass-mutiny“. “Mass-mutiny”? Let’s say that all of these signers are, indeed, muntinous (unlikely). And that they all get two buddies to mutiny with them (also unlikely). That would constitue a “micro-mutiny”. And what the Hades is “Growing foment”?
• Blogging to peak in 2007
  A) I’ve been wondering when the crazy growth was going to slow.
  B) It’s interesting that this is an AP story. When did the press peak? 1990?
• Former U.S. Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment
  Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran from Chicago who went to Iraq as a security contractor, alerted the authorities that the company he was with seemed to be involved in illegal arms dealing. When the place was raided, he was arrested and detained for 97 days.
• New High for I.E.D.s
  Not the sort of record you want to be setting. The “IED Manhatten Project” has failed. We should be targeting the bombers, not the bombs.
• Sunday Ship History: Radar Picket Ships and Submarines
  Good write up by EagleSpeak. He also notes the USS Triton, a nuclear-powered picket sub which was the first vessel to circumnavigate the globe while submerged.
• Iraq Report, 18 Dec/06
  More links in the regular Monday round-up at Winds of Change.

Variouis views of the first test flight last Friday.

I don’t think I knew the F-35′s canopy was hinged in the front.

Charlie at Op-For:

Why AFN must continually broadcast messages about alcohol abuse to troops living under the prohibitionist General Order #1 confuses me greatly. Are there bars on the base camp that I just haven’t been able to track down yet?

and

Also, for a military that must live under –don’t ask, don’t tell” rules, –Will & Grace” is on every night on AFN.

Read the rest: AFN- WTF?

Got this comment on an old post about the delivery of T-72s to the new Iraqi Army:

I really don’t think that Iraqi tank crews are going to do anything special with T-55s/72s. I appreciate the improvement that can and is being made by the addition of modern fire control systems, but the ideology of the Middle Eastern warrior is simply not compatible with the idea of an effective, futuristic mechanized force.

Can we stop it already with the “this is incompatible with Arabs” or “that is incompatible with Muslims”?

True, the “ideology” of the previous Iraqi army was pretty much incompatible with the idea of an effective, futuristics mechanized force. But that wasn’t because “Middle Eastern warriors” aren’t capable of forming this sort of force. It was because a backwards sort of force was intentionally designed and maintained. That’s why we had to build a new Iraqi army instead of merely keeping the old one.

The old one, as proven repeatedly, sucked bad. The new one is going to be much different. Not the equal to the US Army, for sure, but certainly better, man for man, than the armies of Iraq’s regional rivals.

All this carrying on about how Arabs or Muslims or Middle Eastern warriors “just can’t get” modern concepts and practice modern skills is ridiculous. It reminds me of the “blacks aren’t smart enough to play quarterback in the NFL” garbage in the 1970s and 1980s. Sure, there really weren’t more than a few black quarterbacks capable of playing the position effectively before the 1990s. But Doug Williams really broke down that “barrier” on a January evening in 1988 as my beloved Redskins stomped (and I mean stomped) the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.

Today, there are so many black quarterbacks throwing passes in the NFL that no one really notices any more. With a little luck and a lot of perseverience, the same will be said about Arab democracies in a couple of decades.

Finally, regarding the commenter’s opinion that we should not give the Iraqis tanks but thousands of anti-tank Milan, Dragon, or TOW missiles, he really seems to be missing the point. The Iraqi army doesn’t need tanks to fight other tanks. It needs tanks to fight insurgents and terrorists. Anti-tank missiles won’t be a big help in those fights.

Also, we have to be careful about how we build the Iraqi Army. We want them to be strong and effective against the anti-government forces. We also want them to be strong enough to deter aggression from Iraq’s neighbors. But we also don’t want them so strong that they could threaten our forces. Notice that heavy weapons and artillery haven’t been handed out in any great quantities. Baby steps.

Plus, many of the weapons we give the Iraqi army and security forces seem to end up in the hands of insurgents and terrorists, either stolen, bought, or given freely. So the last thing we want to be handing out are effective anti-tank weapons. Give me a break.