Category Archives: The War

Army weak

"The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer." –Wired News

A few of the active-duty Iraq and Afghanistan milblogs in my blogroll have not stopped, but their stopping could be just around the corner. In the meantime, find them and go visit while you still can. Instapundit and Blackfive have commented on how politically and militarily stupid this is. Since the MSM rarely covers anything but American deaths, the milblogs are the only way for most civilians to know what’s going on. Were.

Wired News records this comment from a major explaining the new reg, which sounds like it may not stop all active duty milblogs:

"Some units may require that Soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review.  Other units may require a review before every posting.  A private e-mail message to Family Members is not considered posting information in a public forum, but U.S. Army personnel are informed that unclassified e-mails can be intercepted and that they shouldn’t write anything that they wouldn’t say on an unsecure phone."

But Badger 6, for one, thinks it may be the end, anyway: "Now the way I read that I should be able to continue blogging under our current unit policy. But in truth his explanation goes far afield of what the policy actually reads. I am very concerned that Army milblogs may not be long for this internet."

Terrorists don’t pick up the trash

The faces of the Iraq campaign, mainly the children. Pictures by embed Michael Yon:

"A huge part of this war comes down to personal relationships and respect. It’s not about killing. That’s only a small part of it. It’s about building: building bonds that build societies. Giving Iraqi civilians a real alternative to those who create and then flee from civil havoc. Terrorists don’t pick up the trash on the way back from blowing up the electrical stations."

Worth a look

Embracing the surge

Congress should do so, says this two-tour Marine major because it can work and whittle our forces in half within eighteen months.

"American soldiers in Iraq are constantly asked about our commitment to a fight we started. Most of the advisers I got to know during my most recent tour, which ended in February, were quick to try to assuage their Iraqi counterparts’ concerns and dismissive of the calls for withdrawal by American politicians, news of which trickled onto the battlefield during the winter. After all, the surge itself would not be fully under way until mid-summer. Surely the politicians would give it a chance to work."

Read it all

Soliders of surrender

Jeff Emanuel has a good explanation of why the British troops who were captured by the Iranians should be ashamed of themselves, and he shows why Americans aren’t likely to act the same:

"Given that all fifteen were not present in the propaganda videos, and some had to be cut out of the media’s pictures of the sailors’ release, it is entirely possible that there were a few out of the whole who did not break, who did not give in, and who did not so easily shed their personal honor. Unfortunately, these good men – whichever they may be – have been eclipsed by their comrades, from the officers down, who did not think their country worth the effort."

If you’re going to be one…

…be a big Red One… Some folks, (well, Paul Harvey, for one) contend Paul Jeff Emanuel is the next Ernie Pyle. Like Michael Yon, he’s a combat veteran, but also a good writer/reporter, and he’s newly embedded with the 1st ID. Worth bookmarking for the future.

Via Day By Day. 

Appeal for Redress

New media’s version of the Vietnam Veterans Against The War, but for Iraq. Just sign the petition, soldier, to urge a withdrawal from Iraq.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."

They claim 1,902 have signed. Mighty scruffy-looking longhair in the green helmet on the right at the top of the page. A little too much Vietnam, guys.

Osprey to deploy

The think-tank critics and the MSM hate it. The Marines love it. And it will finally go to war, assuming the Dems haven’t figured a way to force a withdrawal by then:

"This fall Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 based at New River Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina will deploy to Al Asad in western Iraq for seven months with around a dozen Ospreys, replacing 1960s-era Boeing H-46 Sea Knights for ferrying and re-supplying Marines fighting in that huge, desolate province."

Read it all at War Is Boring.