Teflon Don reports on the effects of a thunderstorm. Notice his blog is now part of Pajamas Media:
"Somewhere to the south, a bolt of lightning hit the power grid, and the horizon light up with the turquoise strobes of exploding transformers. Distant lights began to wink out and disappear- the oncoming tide of blackness washed ever closer as transformers continued to light up the sky. The blue light was joined by the steadily flashing golden pink glow of a downed power line. As we continued to roll towards Camp Falluja, we passed the power line still sparking and glowing on top of a concertina fence. The air smelled sharply of ozone- it also smelt cleaner than it has in weeks."
He doesn’t like what the new PJ ads do to his format. They are jarring. Hope it pays well.
Comments Off on Technicolor Iraq
Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged Iraq, Pajamas Media, Teflon Don
If/when we leave Iraq in large numbers, the so-called chaos and civil war could be short-lived, indeed:
"…with U.S. troops gone, the Iraqi security forces will be inclined to wage war the traditional way. That means massive use of firepower against civilians in any neighborhood where the Sunni Arab terrorists show up, or are found. In Syria, the 1982 uprising by Islamic radicals was put down, in part, by the destruction of the town of Hamat, and the massacre of over 10,000 civilians there."
Meanwhile, confusion continues, with a British think-tank saying Iraq is near collapse. I suspect that Gen. Patraeus, who sees "stunning progress" in al Anbar province, obviously disagrees.
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Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged Chatham House, Gen. Petraeus, StrategyPage
Here’s real courage, in case you’re looking for a definition. These ex-Muslims–apostates of a faith that doesn’t take rejection well, if at all–could get killed just for writing this way:
"We strive for the unity of Mankind through the elimination of Islam, the most insidious doctrine of hate. Islam can’t be reformed, but it can be eradicated. It can’t be molded, but it can be smashed. It is rigid but brittle. That is why Muslims do not tolerate criticism of it. To eradicate Islam, all we have to do is tell the truth. It’s that simple. The truth about Islam is out. It’s all here in this site. Now it is up to you to spread it."
And another group of apostates here, also angry. Could be a trend.
Via Gates of Vienna.
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Posted in The War
Tagged Apostates of Islam, ex-Muslims, Faith Freedom International
Five years after 9/11, it’s comforting that nothing like that has happened again. But, as the Fort Dix case shows, engaging the enemy in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere probably won’t do the trick forever:
"…this is still one of the easiest countries in the world in which to establish a functioning but fraudulent identity."
Closing the borders would help. Too bad not enough politicians are willing to do it.
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Posted in South of the Border, The War
Tagged Fort Dix, illegal immigration, Mark Steyn, Texas-Mexico border
This report, via Google ads, claims the Saudis and the French have been told that bin Laden has died of typhoid, although whether recently or a good while ago is unclear. Lots of things about al Q are unclear, of course, but one also has to wonder why the reporting Brit media in this case superimposes an ad and a toolbar over its story, making it hard (but not impossible) to read. But the idea of Osama bin forgotten dying of typhoid is plausible. For one thing, as I have said all along, the religious showman who used to hold news conferences stopped making videos in 2004. Supposedly, if one is to believe the CIA (the gang that can’t think straight), he’s limited himself to audiotapes ever since. But the best reason to believe typhoid might have caught him is that Osama’s idea of heaven-on-earth was the 7th Century. Lawrence Wright’s "The Looming Tower," makes it clear that Osama and his wives and children lived in rags and squalor in Afghanistan, without running water or toilets, even before 9/11, and that the O man preferred it to modern conveniences. Typhoid, after all, is spread by fecal-contaminated water.
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Posted in The War
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
Realistic assessment
LTC Steven Miska, infantry commander of Task Force Justice, sees a need for us in Iraq for seven more years, which he thinks would be a bargain:
"If our government decides to prematurely pull out, I would fail to reach both goals, and my son and his generation may find themselves embroiled in something far worse than what we experience now—all because my generation couldn’t get the job done."
In which case, Vietnam veterans wouldn’t be the only ones criticized for failing to win a war.
Via Instapundit and Max Boot in Commentary Magazine.
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Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged Army LTC Steven Miska, Commentary Magazine, Iraq, Max Boot