Category Archives: Iraq

SFC Tung Nguyen, RIP

Posted on November 21, 2006 | Comments Off on SFC Tung Nguyen, RIP

"He was first an infantryman, then a paratrooper, serving in the 101st Airborne Division, and, finally, a Green Beret. A crack shot, foster brother Jim Cracraft told the Modesto Bee, Nguyen’s ambition was to join the military. Recognized as a master marksman, Nguyen (38) became an instructor at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center in 2003 and, later, shipped out to Iraq."

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Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops

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Abizaid: Iraq campaign not a failure

Posted on November 19, 2006 | Comments Off on Abizaid: Iraq campaign not a failure

“’It’s too soon to say we have failed,’ he said. ‘We can’t keep talking about it as if it’s a disaster or a failure.’ …Abizaid said there was reason to believe…the situation in Iraq would ultimately stabilise. He said extremists in the region, including Osama bin Laden and al Qaida, had yet to go ‘mainstream’."

In Vietnam, generals saying things like this were not backed up by the troops. Abizaid is.

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Guarding the gates

Posted on November 14, 2006 | Comments Off on Guarding the gates

Women marines at the gates of Fallujah. Yeah, that Fallujah.

"Working in two shifts with four Marines, they search hundreds of Iraqi women daily. Searching purses and a physical check of the individuals, the Marines are searching for weapons, anything suspicious and also ensuring Iraqis turn their cell phones off before crossing the border. ‘The signal from the phone could trigger a planted bomb,’ said Lance Cpl. Genevieve R. Kocourek, a combat engineer with Company A., 7th Engineer Support Battalion, CLB-8, 2nd MLG."

Good stuff from a Marine’s blog, Live in Iraq. 

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We’re not Spaniards yet

Posted on November 13, 2006 | Comments Off on We’re not Spaniards yet

President Bush, in this report from the usually unfriendly BBC, indicates he will be keeping his word on Iraq rather than calling in Iran and Syria to save his bacon.

"Mr Bush, answering questions after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, made it clear there would be no complete about-turn in US foreign policy…Iran must be isolated internationally if it continued with its uranium enrichment programme, Mr Bush said. He also showed little enthusiasm to engage with Syria, stressing that the US had already made it clear to Damascus that it should stop interfering in Lebanon and stop harbouring extremists."

Meanwhile, Austin Bay says the Baker-Hamilton Group is more about political cover for the Dems than any dramatic changes in policy.

"Then the military will continue to do what it’s been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and the new Iraqi government will continue to learn by doing — and in the ordeal of war that will mean learn by bleeding, suffering, and sweating."

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Posted in Iraq, The War

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We are all Spaniards now…

Posted on November 12, 2006 | Comments Off on We are all Spaniards now…

Steyn’s take is ominous, as PajamasMedia says, if you take him seriously, and I usually do, on what some Dems are already calling for: withdrawal from Iraq.

“[W]e are all Spaniards now…’these Colors Don’t Run’ is a fine T-shirt slogan, but in reality these colors have spent 40 years running from the jungles of Southeast Asia, the helicopters in the Persian desert, the streets of Mogadishu. … To add the sands of Mesopotamia to the list will be an act of weakness from which America will never recover.”

Well, I’m inclined to think we can recover from anything, even nuclear explosions, though I’d prefer to skip the hardship which will make a recovery necessary. Bring them home. Kiss Iraq goodbye. How long before we have to fight again, somewhere else? They will not leave us alone, you fools.

Alan Sullivan, the Seablogger at Fresh Bilge has a different take on Steyn that I like, this part, anyway.

"Why should the US ‘stay’ in the sands of any nation? Our power is mobility. The US is a force for change, not an imperial ruler."

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Sputtering Middle East fuse

Posted on November 12, 2006 | Comments Off on Sputtering Middle East fuse

While the Dems and Reps mull the election changes, and Rumsfeld cleans out his desk, Syria, Iran and Hez could be getting ready to move.

From Snoopy the Goon: "Alarming news from Lebanon (was) not unexpected: for months various Western sources predicted an attempt by Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian sponsors to take over the government. And now it has started to happen."

You would expect them to go after Lebanon, as they have contributed to the problems in Iraq. But then there’s the supposed leaks from the Baker group’s alleged plan to turn Iraq over to Syria and Iran. It better not be true. If it’s even close to accurate, and W goes along with it, he’d better find someplace else besides Texas to retire. Far, far away. 

Via SimplyJews

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Posted in Iraq, Israel, The War, Troops

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Most goals reached

Posted on November 12, 2006 | Comments Off on Most goals reached

Only the Air Force has failed to reach its $45,000 goal in the Soldiers’ Angels drive for $180,000 to buy voice-activated laptops for wounded and injured troops. Pretty good work.

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