If you’ve got a couple of spare minutes, check out A Memorial Day Guest Post by Maj. Mike Nachshen at Boston Maggie’s. Murdoc had the pleasure of meeting Mike at the MilBlog Conference, and the post is a great one.
US looking to long-term presence in Iraq: Gates
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday the United States is looking to a long-term military presence in Iraq under a mutually agreed arrangement similar to that it has long had with South Korea.
I continue to think that we’re going to have several brigades and some airpower, plus pre-positioned equipment for another couple of brigades, in Iraq for a very, very long time. Maybe more, maybe less. And maybe some (or most) of it in Kuwait. But we will have a significant military presence in Iraq for decades.
I also continue to believe that that is a very large part of why we’re there in the first place.
This news will be spun as a some sort of failure or as proof of Bushitler’s secret plan to steal the oil or something, but anyone that’s spent more than thirty seconds thinking about what a real war on terrorism will look like knows that it’s a necessary part of the plan.
Axe has two posts up on the CIWS Phalanx-based C-RAM (Counter Rocket, Mortars, and Artillery) over at Danger Room:
Top War Tech Reader Suggestion #1: C-RAM which includes a note from the C-RAM executive officer on a base in Iraq.
Mortar-Zapping Gun in Action which includes a video.
The system has been noted previously on MO:
R2-D2 vs. Mortar Rounds
CIWS now does surface targets, too
Land-Based Phalanx Weapon System C-RAM
UPDATE: Strateg Page reports that the Brits are buying some.
Made a pit stop last night on the way back from Indy, so haven’t had a chance to put together much of a Memorial Day post this time around.
Here’s a photo from the Grand Rapids Veteran’s Home Cemetery after Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts planted flags last Wednesday:
Do not forget those who have made the greatest sacrifice so that we may be free. I think getting the Scouts to participate in the planting of the flags is a great way to help raise awareness in our young people. (Photo by the lovely Mrs. Murdoc)
Here are a couple of links to check out if you’ve got the time:
Memorial Day Madness. Have Americans forgotten the meaning behind this holiday?
Thanks to the generosity of some friends, Murdoc, Mrs. Murdoc, and another couple are headed down to Gasoline Alley this weekend for the Indianapolis 500. Hopefully the rain holds off, as we cannot stay if the race gets pushed back to Monday.
U.S. troops raid al-Sadr’s Baghdad stronghold
A day after radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resurfaced to end nearly four months in hiding and demand U.S. troops leave Iraq, American forces raided his Sadr City stronghold and killed five suspected militia fighters in air strikes Saturday.
U.S. and Iraqi forces called in the air strikes after a raid in which they captured a –suspected terrorist cell leader,” the U.S. military said in statement.
The statement claimed the captured man was –the suspected leader in a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.”
If Sadr resurfaced in order to regain some political standing and keep control of his splintering militia, things aren’t going terribly well for him in days one and two. Hopefully, the trend will continue and he’ll end up looking worse than he did when he was hiding in Iran. Or he’ll end up pushing up daisies.
Did something I’ve meant to do for several years tonight: Took the family geocaching.
Pulled up a nearby one on geocaching.com and went for it. Took a few minutes to find it once we made it to the coordinates. I finally spotted it, and we signed the logbook and took a little sea shell. As it today is the 30th anniversary of STAR WARS, we left a Darth Vader.
Seems to me that this is a cool idea. The kids loved it, and I’m sure we’ll do more in the near future.
Be sure to check out the Star Wars Linkzookery at the bottom.
UK anti-war duo acquitted of sabotaging US bombers
The pair argued that they were acting to prevent war crimes in Iraq.
F-18E Shows Its Age Earlier Than Expected
Like most of the inventory, the wear and tear is adding up. Unfortunately, the Super Hornets are among the newest planes in the air for us.
House Moves to Cut Off Spare Parts for Iran’s Air Force
Only about 28 years late. (And no, I see no irony whatsoever in a link about Iranian F-14s following a link about F-18s wearing out earlier than expected…)
Hidden costs of corn-based ethanol
I remain concerned that ethanol might not be the best route to take, but I’m certainly willing to give it a shot. Alternatives to corn-based ethanol look a lot better to me.
65.9 MPG
Post and interesting comments from R. Neal.
The Air Car
Makes 65.9 MPG look pretty crappy. Plus you can run your A/C all day long.
Much, much more Linkzookery, including Star Wars links, below >>>
(more…)
Fiery Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday to renew his opposition to U.S. forces in Iraq and paint himself as a leader for all Iraqis.
About the time he was delivering a sermon at Friday prayers in the holy city of Kufa, Iraqi special forces killed a top leader of his feared Mehdi Army militia in southern Basra.
Who was that that killed the militia leader? Which country’s special forces? The Iraqi military has sure come a long way.
Meanwhile, why do we think Darth Sadr came out of hiding? Could it be that he’s losing his grip on his movement and he felt he needed to get some face time?
UPDATE: Roggio: Sadr returns from Iran
“Returns from Iran”?!? But we were all assured that he wasn’t in Iran.
In Roggio’s post:
It is unclear who returned with Sadr. A large convoy of up to 60 vehicles accompanied him into Iraq.
How much of a target is this guy? I realize the hades that would break loose if he were killed, but doesn’t every day that passes make it look more and more unavoidable?
