Richard Fernandez posts an off center but thoughtful piece on what seem to be positive development in Iraqi fashion, based in part on his own experiences growing up in the Phillipines.... The Ray-Ban Theory of History.

One of his readers, a USMC officer replies with his own observations.

Very good reads both.

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Tensions are escalating in northern South America as Hugo Chavez decries the killing of a murderous narco-commie terrorist. Galrahn has been following this for several days and has thoughtful analysis here and here. There is more on this here and, via Instapundit, there is a huge roundup here.

I agree with those that think there is a better than even chance this will end up being bluster, but there is a nontrivial chance that somebody will screw up the brinkmanship...or that Chavez, thinking the USA's hands are tied will light the match.

This could be quite bad if it escalates. The big spanner in the works is the Rio Treaty which is just vague enough to, be interpreted as bringing signatory nations to the military aid of....either side if it goes hot.

ummmm...my head hurts.

I'm going to study.

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Two absolutely must read dispatches from Iraq from Michael Totten and Michael Yon. Both are independant journalists imbeded in Iraq. If you can. please hit their respective tip-jars. That's how they are supported. Their reporting has been invaluble.

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 Lent for Dummies.

 Lent for Dhimmies.

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In an age where many of my fellow countrymen balk at the "intimidation" of having to show an ID to vote, I find myself in awe of the raw courage of people who vote and fight genuine tyranny under threat of death with nothing but a ballot and a bit of ink to mark them for all to see.



The guts required to stand up to what these people do during every election cycle is truly inspiring.


Iraq was shattered, brutalized and impoverished by 35 years of Communism. It has been occupied by us, and now has been invaded by murderous religious fanatics who bomb, shoot and behead citizens who do not submit to their tyranny. And yet, the citizens of that nation stand up to these monsters. They are true heroes and we share a common enemy.

Michael Totten reports on the progress Iraq is making in slowly removing itself from the tar-pit of corruption it has found itself in as a result of centuries of tribalism and decades of communism. His dispatch pulls no punches. It is brutal really, but it includes the sort of story that doesn't get covered much. (Via this blurb at  Hot Air.)

Despite cultural difficulties, our own clumsy and tragic missteps and the brutal tactics of a sadistic and fanatical adversary, they are making progress. Not as fast as some would like to be sure, but progress nonetheless.
Despite everything, it seems that Iraqis have hope for the first time in living memory.
We gave them that hope.
We made them promises.

To renege on those promises as we did in the early 90's (or in the '70s) would be the very definition of evil.

Jerry Pournelle, no fan of the war, says it well  here.

There is such a thing as national honor. Dr. Paul seems to believe that once the nation and the Legions have given their pledged word, it is of no consequence if a later Commander in Chief abandons it on the grounds that the pledge should not have been made. No, it should not have been made; but it was made, and I for one do not want to see another slaughter of those whose crime was believing that America's word was worth something.

We now have a large number of American and British officers who can pick up a phone from Washington or London and call an Iraqi officer that he knows well—an Iraqi he has fought along side of—and talk. Same with untold numbers of Sheiks and government officials, most of whom do not deserve the caricatural disdain they get most often from pundits who have never set foot in Iraq. British and American forces have a personal relationship with Iraqi leaders of many stripes. The long-term intangible implications of the betrayal of that trust through the precipitous withdrawal of our troops could be enormous, because they would be the certain first casualties of renewed violence, and selling out the Iraqis who are making an honest-go would make the Bay of Pigs sell-out seem inconsequential. The United States and Great Britain would hang their heads in shame for a century.

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   Few countries have been as accommodating to immigrants in recent years as the United Kingdom.  However, that is not enough for this asshat.

He moaned: “I miss Algeria. The English people are not helpful, they are so unfriendly and rude.

“I thought I had made friends in Croydon, but when I ask them for money they don’t give me it, so I know they can’t be my friends.”
...............................

Mr Tabet is entitled to return to Algeria at his own expense and admits that he “does not like it here”.

But he refuses to do so and says Britain will have to pay for his travel if it wants him to leave.

He moaned: “I miss Algeria. The English people are not helpful, they are so unfriendly and rude

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Over at Gates of Vienna, Dymphna links to this story by Patrick French. French actually went to Pakistan and tracked down "rage boy" (whose real name is  Shakeel Ahmad Bhat) and found a crippled, learning disabled man who was recruited into a terrorist cell at a very young age, However, because of his Suffi upbringing, he found it terribly difficult to kill people.  Now, unemployable both because of his illiteracy and his injuries, his only hobby  is to go march in protests. At some of these his photo was taken (he likes to pose for cameras) and he became a legend.

Note that he claims to have an injured right arm, but has no problem raising it in any of his many photos. However it is possible that the writer reversed the arms as his left arm is never raised, and seems "off" in some photos. Nevertheless, one can certainly be excused for skepticism in this regard.

 Assuming he is telling the truth, his story is indeed a sad one, I can't help but wonder if he's dyslexic or had some treatable learning disability. If so, given different circumstances his Suffi upbringing might well have allowed his life to follow a different path.

Nevertheless, the threat that his fearsome visage so eloquently portrays is real enough.

Make sure you read the Gates of Vienna link too, as Dymphna has some valuble perspective.

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 Over at Instapundit.

 Lots of links discussing this inspiring photo from Michael Yon.

 The implications are quite heartening.

UPDATE: Bumped as I mistakenly deleted post.

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 Dave Kilcullin  recently gave a talk on counter insurgency at a seminar hosted  by the Small Wars Journal. It's quite interesting.

Dr. Kilcullin was a senior adviser to General Petraeus and is now working for the Secretary of State. The powerpoint for the talk is here, and it is a damned good one. Additionally, there is an hour long interview with Dr. Kilcullin by Charlie Rose here.
More on Dr. Kilcullin here.

The recent improvements we've seen in Iraq have been due in no small part to the efforts of Dr. Kilcullin.

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Bumped to top

I started to link to this in the post below.... indeed it is what actually set me off...but it is too important to be buried in a linkfest.

It is also an example of the type of reportage that is far too rare.

Michael Yon reports on the HUGE dichotomy between what is reported and what is now happening in Iraq.

READ THE WHOLE THING

He is now offering his dispatches for free in a desperate attemtpt to get this story out. But he needs help.

This is where my readers come in, at least those among them who share the concern that the distorted picture most Americans have of the situation in Iraq has strategic (and disastrous) implications for this war, our national security, and the stability of one of the most volatile regions on the planet.

Those readers can first check to see if their local paper is a member of the NNA . Because only NNA members will be able to

” . . . print excerpts of Michael Yon’s dispatches, including up to two of his photographs from each dispatch. Online excerpts may use up to 8 paragraphs, use 1-3 photos, and then link back to the full dispatch on his site saying ‘To continue reading, click here.’”

If their local paper is a member of NNA, readers can contact the editor, urging their participation. [If Bob Owens’ experience is a reliable indicator, this might take several prompts.] By encouraging their local daily or weekly newspapers to reprint these dispatches in their print editions, more people without internet access can begin to see a more accurate reflection of the progress I have observed and chronicled in dispatches like “Achievements of the Heart,” “7 Rules: 1 Oath,” “The Hands of God,” and “Three Marks on the Horizon.” 

Yon is a freelancer who is travels between Iraq and Afganistan. He has reported on the war warts and all and was one of the first to point out missteps in the early days of the occupation. He also reports on the success being made and is doing some of the finest Journalism I've ever seen.

He has no suport other than his articles and donations. He's just given up on the former, so please consider supporting him with the latter.

More Here:

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Via Gates of Vienna comes this bit of revisonist asshattery.

Yes boys and girls, its a powerpoint explaining how the Native American peoples are actually....Muslims.

Who knew?

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A few observations of the the good news, the bad new and the terrible costs of this long war.


more...

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 Rand Simberg has some thoughts on the limits of pacifism.

Richard Fernandez has related dismaying observations  on the perspective of those in the third world and their terrible plight.

*************************************************

In  the comments to this Scotsman article, (along with unsolicited antisemitic bile) is the stock scream of "why doesn't the US do something" and "If the US wasn't in Iraq they could solve this!"

No words can possibly cut through such a veil of ignorance....certainly not mine as I am neither a particularly good writer nor a person of any stature, but indulge my tilting at this windmill of asshats for a moment...
....or continue to scroll down if you wish.
more...

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Michelle Malkin has an extensive roundup on the recent desecration of the Vietnam Memorial.

The 'rightosphere' is understandably abuzz with outrage at this vile act but I think spinning people up over this is unwise.

First, as wretched and sick an act as this is, it is nothing new. "Leftie Vandals Disrespect Veterans" is a textbook dog bites man story.It's what they do... We have known this since they greeted the vets returning from SE Asia with Loogies rather than laurels

Second, this terrible act coincides with the defeatophilic crowds big protest in Washington DC on the 15th. There will be a fair number of counterprotestors including A Gathering of Eagles....a group that is officially coming to guard the memorial from such hippy douchebaggery as just occured.

...and there will be cameras.

Now few things could be more calculated to enrage good people than desecrating this memorial. They have defaced the names of husbands, sons, Fathers and comrades in arms. This almost cannot help but illicit a primal response.

This, I'd hazard a guess, is why they did it.

It is also why my fellow righties had best calm down.

Heretefore our counterprotestors have generally acted pretty damned well....certainly they have done little to validate the moonbats stereotypes and the moonbats IMHO have frequently come off looking far worse in comparison.

The moonbats NEED one or more of us to fufill their delusions of persecution on national television.

They NEED one of us to act out of rage and live down to their stereotypes....They get bonus points if one of them is punched by a veteran.

The moonbats as usual are acting like spoiled children in a room with a crayon and a wedding gown.

The fact that they know they are hurting people and take glee in it is no matter.

The cameras will be rolling, we had best be the adults.

(Well, my fellow righties had best suck it up and behave, I'm off the hook as I'll be guarding the coast this weekend.)

Update: Welcome Murdoc Online readers! Note that I'm not criticizing people for pointing this out (it's not like the traditional media is covering it) and Murdoc is surely not trying to start a riot. However, this is such a low blow we need to be extra careful lest we recieve a self-inflicted black eye.

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1 I think you're spot-on, Ken. My position is usually just to point this jackassery out to remind folks what we're up against, but there's no doubt that some would use it as an excuse to bust some heads. I visited a demonstration by the Westboro Baptist loons outside a funeral for a Michigan soldier last year. It was tough not to hurt people.

But that's what they want. We have to be smart and strong.

Posted by: Murdoc at Thu Sep 13 20:36:00 2007 (N+Lui)

2 Oh. Brother. Hey, Ken, this guy's a Lefty.

Posted by: Thom at Fri Sep 14 14:45:01 2007 (3jLID)

3

Oh. Brother. Hey, Ken, this guy's a Lefty.

Hmm....He seems more like a liberal to me. There are lots of liberals in the Military. We are a pretty diverse bunch. More to the point, I certainly don't get the impression that SGM Myers would deface a war memorial.

Thus he's not who I'm talking about.

There are lots of people who are for perfectly principled reasons opposed to this war....eg: Ron Paul, Jerry Pournelle....they tend not to be lefties since this is exactly the sort of nation building excersize that lefties, in theory, support if a prez has a "D" after his name.

Exceptions abound. There are of course some lefties opposed to the war who are genuinely consistent in this regard. I disagree with them but I respect them (and I spent the weekend with some very pleasant representatives of them).

That doesn't change the fact that the silence on this sort of asshattery is as inappropriate as it is telling. I don't think that the fellow you link to would approve of this sort of behavior....He likely didn't approve of the treatment the hard left probably gave him when he returned from SEAsia.

Nor does it invalidate my point that if one of the people on my side of the aisle acts on this they will get far more coverage that the act itself, thereby further undermining the war effort. Regards the merits of that concern, your mileage may vary, but I touched on it here.

Thanks for commenting. Your music is cool BTW.

Posted by: Ken Talton at Fri Sep 14 21:19:44 2007 (V5zw/)

4 Dang - I wish you were as reasonable in your post as you are in the comment. And SGM Myers is a poster at DKos, and his own site. The fact that you have a problem seeing him as a "Lefty" I think is part of the problem. (How many Repubs in Congress have served in the military?) And when you lump all of us who are openly against this war in with the people who would do something like this - and it wasn't even confirmed as vandalism at the time (it has been determined to be today) - you offend people like him too. That's my point. And I'd like to see a post from him about coming home. I believe you've been duped about the treatment of returning soldiers then - good God, most of them were drafted, and a whole lot of 'em, even if they did enlist, opposed the war. The story doesn't make sense on so many levels. There's been plenty of stories debunking it - but you'd have seen them, I guess. And I don't think you'll see it as even possible - but who knows: maybe someone on the Right did it in the first place. It'd work well, right before the GoE counter-protest, wouldn't it? I'm being very cynical, I know. But I'm talking about people who have called me a traitor for four years now for the simple act of expressing my objections to this war - why would I put anything past them? Thanks for the comment on the music. First RW blogger to go there. Appreciated. LT

Posted by: Thom at Mon Sep 17 18:14:44 2007 (3jLID)

5 I see no real difference in reasonableness _{(izzat a word?)} between the post and the comment.

I respectfully disagree with most of the  premises in your latest comment, but one thing in your comment did get up my nose...

Regards the treatment of returning vets, this Ministry of Truth crap is getting tiresome.

You have been duped.

There are plenty of stories debunking it...they are exceedingly limited in scope or are they are lies by people trying to whitewash their past or assuage a guilty conscience.

My father was spat at...he was in the Coast Guard and never served in 'Nam (though like the POTUS, he requested to go there). Service members were ordered not to wear their uniforms off base in some parts of the country (including DC) because they would be (and were) attacked with weapons rather more formidable than saliva.
I am just old enough to remember the hippies trying to pick a fight with my dad because of his uniform.

As to the frustration that I am lumping you all in together....
If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.

There is little that can be done about that, but given your generally civil nature and obvious talent you should abandon the dark side (Blogger)and come to the south seas paradise of Mee.Nuvia.....

Posted by: Ken Talton at Mon Sep 17 20:19:43 2007 (V5zw/)

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Oy....

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The UK Government vehemently denies....
well...
you read the post title.




The inhabitants of the Iraqi port city of Basra are in stark mortal terror of giant man eating badgers that they are blaming on the British Army.

The BBC covers the plague of badgers here, pointing out that....

Dr Ghazi Yaqub Azzam, deputy dean of Basra's veterinary college, speculated that the badgers were being driven towards the city because of flooding in marshland north of Basra. 

The badgers are an indigenous species known as the "honey badger".

So there you have it!

There is nothing to see here...just chuckle and move along...don't think anything of it and pay no attention to the impolitic analysis below the fold....
more...

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Over at Winds of Change, Mark Danzinger has an excellent piece on  the NYT's recent Op-Ed .

Ignoring for a moment the resulting bloodbath that the NYT glosses over, abandoning those we have sworn to protect is very very poor foreign policy.

That it is ethically reprehensible certainly seems irrelevant to the Times.

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 Thankfully, the attack in Scotland today by the burning rage boys was ineptly executed, but the increased vigilance is certainly warranted.

  The Brits, as always, seemed to handle it with stride. Mr. Clarkson, by his actions, may have not just saved lives, he may have helped provide an intelligence coup as this is the rare case of a suicide bomber survivor. Had he not punched the terrorist, the asshat might have blown himself up and killed people....or simply burned to death.

Of course now the BBC has reported this capture, (hardly something the public has a right/need to know), so not only do we know of Mr. Clarkson's heroics, the bad guys know of the capture of one of their number and can, flee/ make adjustments/ kill weak links....

The BBC, so impartial they're on the other side.

Of course they are hardly alone in this regard someone else would have likely leaked this info even if they'd been responsible.

More news here.

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Commadore Peter Lockwood of The Royal Australian Navy has taken command of the coalition forces in the Northern Persian Gulf.

This may or may not be related to this story.

It seems that the Iranians first tried to capture the Aussies....but the Aussies were downright non congenial.

 As a rather annoying aside: We don't even have Commodores any more! The hallowed and historic designation was replaced in the late 80's with the awe in spiring title of "Rear Admiral Lower Half"....How gimp is that?

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