Category Archives: The War

Orders

Posted on November 15, 2006 | Comments Off on Orders

TAO.jpg

My Navy nephew has his orders to report in January to the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) as a tactical action officer. He’ll be working below decks in a room like this one coordinating weapons and sensors. Sounds like fun. Not as personal as the infantry, of course, but he will have plenty to do whilst being part of a large weapons platform that also makes a big target. The 45-year-old Big E, BTW, is not named for the starship (although its unofficial nickname is "the starship") but for a WW2 carrier and, going back to 1755, a single masted sailing vessel that fought in the American Revolution.

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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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Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops

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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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Why lose when you can win?

Posted on November 10, 2006 | Comments Off on Why lose when you can win?

"War is not poker; the stakes in Iraq are much higher than a little money or a few chips. But war’s psychology bears some resemblance to a well-played game of cards. The only way Americans lose this war is to fold. That seems likely to be the next move, but it is the last thing we should do. Far better to call and raise. Our cards are better than theirs, if only we have the nerve to play them."

Harvard law professor William J. Stuntz in the Weekly Standard. 

Via Instapundit 

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Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops

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Terror plots

Posted on November 10, 2006 | Comments Off on Terror plots

Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency apparently is worried, as its usually secretive director makes a public speech on the 30 known plots they are investigating while surveilling 1,600 people.

"Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned the threat was ‘serious’ and ‘growing.’ She said future attacks could be chemical or nuclear…’These plots often have linked back to al-Qaeda in Pakistan and through those links al-Qaeda gives guidance and training to its largely British foot soldiers here on an extensive and growing scale.’"

Via No Left Turns 

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