«·»
October 13, 2005
A Father’s Quest
When his son, who was a friend of Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed, he didn’t go camp outside a ranch in Texas. He’s camped out in Iraq.
«·»
August 22, 2005
Iraq 2007: A geopolitical fantasy of what might have been
I’d pondered writing something like this myself. And it’s not really hindsight, as much of it was projected within the government prior to the invasion
«·»
August 16, 2005
War and Peace: Falling Through the Partisan Looking Glass
Stunning quotes from Republicans about committing our troops. Why aren’t they asking the same questions today?
«·»
July 10, 2005
Brean Hancock: From cheerleader to GI Jane
“Brean is the youngest member of the 148th Support Battalion’s Alpha Company and is one of 17 women the Dublin unit sent to Iraq. In all, 9 percent of the U.S. force there is female ... More than 40 women have died.”
«·»
July 03, 2005
The Peachtree Road Race, Baghdad division
“I couldn’t help wondering what Saddam would think of the spectacle”
«·»
June 18, 2005
When it comes to Iraqi Army training, Georgia’s 48th is “on point”
“The news was unsettling, unwanted and came as a complete surprise to Sgt. Joe Dyer. On his second day in Iraq, the Polk County police officer was informed he had been reassigned to train Iraqi army recruits.”
«·»
June 12, 2005
«·»
June 09, 2005
Outside Iraq but Deep in the Fight
“The stream of fighters -- most of them Syrians, but lately many of them Saudis, favored for the cash they bring -- has sustained and replenished the hardest core of the Iraq insurgency, and supplied many of its suicide bombers”
«·»
May 30, 2005
American Grand Strategy After 9/11: An Assessment by the U.S. Army War College
“In the three years since 9-11, the Administration has yet to arrive at a clear definition of the enemy or the aim in the War on Terrorism; to date, American policy has combined ambitious public statements with ambiguity on critical particulars.”
«·»
May 21, 2005
AJC Reporter’s Blog: The 48th goes to war
“Even if you don’t shoot, we want to know that, in a pinch, you can reload our M-16 rifles for us.”
«·»
“The story begins in Afghanistan”
“The investigation shows the military intelligence officers in charge of the detention centre at Bagram airport were redeployed to Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003, while still under investigation for the deaths of two detainees months earlier”
«·»
March 13, 2005
Looting at Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Iraqi Says
“American officials have said in the past that while they were aware of the importance of some of the installations, there was not enough military personnel to guard all of them during and after the invasion.” A case where stubbornness over tactics voided the overall strategy
«·»
March 08, 2005
For Iraq’s Great Marshes, a Hesitant Comeback
It’s not just marshes that are returning, it’s an entire ancient culture, one that Saddam tried to kill.
«·»
January 11, 2005
Michael E. O’Hanlon: Iraq Without a Plan
“The post-invasion phase of the Iraq mission has been the least well-planned American military mission since Somalia in 1993, if not Lebanon in 1983, and its consequences for the nation have been far worse than any set of military mistakes since Vietnam ... It was in fact unconscionable.”
«·»
January 04, 2005
How the Left Betrayed My Country
“This was very disappointing for someone like me, who thought for decades that the Left was generally the progressive power in the world.”
«·»
December 26, 2004
2 Soldiers’ Ill Fortune Turns Into Hope and Joy
“People Grateful for Men’s Iraq Service Replace a Stolen Car, Donate a Harley”
«·»
December 18, 2004
And this bird shall sing...
“U.S. officials say Aziz already has implicated the French and others, claiming payoffs were made with the understanding that recipients would support Iraq on key matters before the U.N.”
«·»
November 23, 2004
Music, War, and Iraq
“In training, they forced me to listen to the Barney I Love You song for 45 minutes. I never want to go through that again.”
«·»
November 21, 2004
«·»
November 20, 2004
«·»
October 17, 2004
The Army eats its seed corn
Deploying the OPFOR regiment to Iraq is a sign of just how stretched our forces are
«·»
October 03, 2004
Summit Talk: “What Other Countries, Senator?”
Puts numbers and facts on the ‘international support’ Kerry won’t be getting, and why
«·»
«·»
August 15, 2004
Phil Carter calmly filets Max Boot on the failures of “Phase IV” in Iraq
“as a good soldier, Gen. Franks is not going to come out and say that the White House and Pentagon screwed the pooch on Phase IV - he’s going to imply it in subtle ways”
«·»
August 12, 2004
NY Times: “How did Saddam Hussein amass so much money while under international sanctions? The United Nations let him do it.”
“they describe the program as a drifting ship - poorly designed, leaking money and controlled by a Security Council that was paralyzed by its own disputes”
«·»
August 10, 2004
KSL-TV News: $30,000 Missing from Operation Give
The ugly media coverage begins, with more sure to follow
«·»
July 22, 2004
«·»
July 08, 2004
The Farce of Fallujah
“you tell your force to do one thing, and then another - it has a cost”
«·»
July 02, 2004
«·»
May 31, 2004
«·»
May 28, 2004
«·»
May 25, 2004
«·»
May 24, 2004
«·»
May 23, 2004
«·»
May 22, 2004
«·»
«·»
May 13, 2004
Thomas Friedman bails on Bush
“There is something even more important to the Bush crowd than getting Iraq right, and that’s getting re-elected and staying loyal to the conservative base to do so”
«·»
«·»
May 11, 2004
Army Times Editorial: A failure of leadership at the highest levels
“This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top”
«·»
May 10, 2004
«·»
Generals Refusing Blame
Not my fault, it was military intelligence...
«·»
Privates Refusing Blame
Not my fault, I was just following orders...
«·»
May 08, 2004
“There is no ‘But’”
The ‘Big But of Moral Equivalency’ rears its ugly head, this time from the right instead of the left
«·»
Military courts, “command influence,” and how it may become cause for appeal or dismissal of the Abu Ghraib charges
All these condemnations by Rumsfeld, Bush, etc., may cause defense attorneys to seek to have charges dismissed, citing undue command influence
«·»
April 30, 2004
«·»
April 29, 2004
“The vast majority of the United Nations’ oil-for-food contracts in Iraq have mysteriously vanished”
The GAO says 80 percent of U.N. records have not been turned over, but the UN says that’s all there is
«·»
April 27, 2004
Shi’a Pundit on the crisis in Najaf
“I may have to cease blogging entirely, cease reading entirely, cease doing any political analysis entirely, if this happens. I cannot bear it.”
«·»
April 25, 2004
“Kerry Dupont ... just sent laptops, scanners, cameras and more ... to Iraqi bloggers, including Zeyad and Omar and Ays”
Western journalists are saying it’s too dangerous to go out and report, so listen to the Iraqi bloggers for *real* info
«·»
April 22, 2004
Does Kerry think democracy is “optional” for Iraq?
“Mr. Kerry now argues that there is a third option. But what would that be? ‘I can’t tell you what it’s going to be,’ he said to reporters covering his campaign.”
«·»
«·»
April 19, 2004
UN Under Fire:
A Tangled Web, Unraveled, and the question
Oil-for-Terror?
“At least $10 billion, evidently, went into the pockets of political operators” ... “Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms - but also to fund terrorist groups”
«·»
April 12, 2004
3 different journalists, three different kidnappings, one amazingly similar story
“The same modus operandi. The kidnapping. The initial hostility. The dramatic change of heart. A glimpse into the resistance. A sudden release. The tearful goodbye. The parting soundbite.”
«·»
April 10, 2004
The Guardian’s David Aaronovitch returns to Baghdad 1 year later
“So, of all the things we have done, the invasion may be bloody appalling, but it is the least bloody appalling thing of all. And the only thing that has offered hope.”
«·»
April 09, 2004
Al Sadr versus Sistani?
”...now it’s looking more like Sadr is trying to push Sistani out of the center of Shia politics”
«·»
April 05, 2004
3rd Infantry Division prepares for return to Iraq in 2005
“If we had done this type of training before the war, it would have been tremendously helpful”
«·»
March 29, 2004
“Never has there been a financial rip-off of the magnitude of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal”
“The Times, Wall Street Journal and Sunday Telegraph have been exposing the outline of what Newsday admits is ‘the most underreported story of the year.’”
«·»
March 28, 2004
An Iraqi woman prepares for the Athens Olympics
“At least this time, there won’t be any secret police officer instructing us what to say and what to do”
«·»
Shams, Scams and Kofi Annan
“it is highly possible there has been quite a lot of wrongdoing”
