The pager and the wedding planning have owned me this evening. See y’all tomorrow … hopefully.
Month: September 2005
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Upcoming: Carnival of Liberty XI
Target Centermass will be hosting the next installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community‘s Carnival of Liberty.
Entries can be submitted by a variety of means:
- Put a comment with your entry’s link on this post
- Send an email to Carnival of Liberty at gmail dot com
- Submit using the Conservative Cat’s form
However, my preferred submission mechanism would be an email to me, Gunner, at targetcentermass.net. An email subject of “Hey, dolt, read this submission” is a guaranteed means of attention. Seriously. I will also pay strict attention to variations on the “dolt” portion, so feel free to have fun.
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Tribes. Go. Read.
Should Blue vs. Red be replaced by Pink vs. Gray?
Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject!, the first blog to ever catch my fancy and a major inspiration towards my Target Centermass endeavor, has resurfaced with a must-read essay inspired by the recent tumultuous news out of Katrina-stricken N’awlins.
Well … what’re ya waiting for? Read it already.
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Iraq News o’ the Day
As a tribute to this weekend’s start of 2005 college football season, despite a not-so-pretty start for my Aggies, I’d like to look at two stories from Iraq in football terms. Specifically, we’ve had a couple of hard hits and a handoff.
U.S. jets attack bridges near Syria to halt Iraqi insurgents
U.S. marine jets attacked two bridges across the Euphrates River near the Syrian border on Tuesday to prevent insurgents from moving foreign fighters and munitions toward Baghdad and other cities, the U.S. command said.
A marine statement also said U.S. and Iraqi forces destroyed a “foreign fighter safe house,” killed two foreigners and arrested three others during a Tuesday raid in the same area as the bridge attack.
[…]
A marine statement said F/A-18 jets dropped bombs shortly after midnight on two light bridges near Karabilah, about 300 kilometres west of Baghdad.
“The purpose of the strike was to prevent ‘al-Qaida in Iraq’ terrorists from using the structures for vehicular traffic to conduct attacks,” the U.S. statement said. “The munitions used in the strike were designed to crater the bridges, rendering them inoperable but not destroying them.”
The clash at the safe house occurred when U.S. and Iraqi troops came under fire by foreign fighters occupying the building, the marines said.
“Multinational forces personnel returned fire and assaulted the building, suffering one friendly casualty when a Multinational Force soldier was wounded,” the statement said without citing the soldier’s nationality.
Troops called in aircraft to destroy the building, which was being used as an operational headquarters, the statement added.
Karabilah is one of a cluster of towns near the Syrian border, a major infiltration route for foreign fighters heading for Baghdad and other major cities. Iraqi officials say “al-Qaida in Iraq,” led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has taken over parts of the area after residents fled fighting between tribes supporting and opposing the insurgents.
If I was asked to name items that I felt were legitimate issues concerning the Iraqi campaign, the failure to move more quickly to adequately control the nation’s borders with Syria and Iran would be very high on the list. I understand the extensive borders cannot realistically be sealed; however, I feel that much more could have been done to reduce outside influence among our enemies.
Holy city handed to Iraqi forces
US troops have officially handed over military control of the southern city of Najaf to Iraqi forces.
It is the first of a planned series of security transfers across Iraq, paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
Iraq’s army is “capable of responding to all security needs… we are now here in a strictly advisory mode,” said US commander Lt-Col James Oliver.
This is good news, though some aspects are somewhat disturbing.
Iraqi troops chanted slogans in support of local Shia Muslim religious leaders.
“Long live Sistani,” the 1,500 soldiers shouted, referring to Najaf-based cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
Still, it’s a handoff, a small step that will hopefully prove to be one of many steps as Iraqi forces increase their numbers and abilities. Any area where the Iraqis have control of their security is a building block for the fledgling democracy. Meanwhile, the more that American forces are reduced from day-to-day security roles is the more that they can focus on trouble spots and the borders. Each step towards eventual stability is a step closer to a diminishing need for a heavy presence of coalition forces.
As an added bonus, I received a letter from Iraq this weekend. It seems my ol’ tank crewmate and dear friend Bill, who I’ve written about here and here, is doing well, despite a recent IED close call. The letter also included 355 dinar, though the Saddam portraits on the bills lead me to think that I am not suddenly a wealthy man. Interestingly, when last I heard of Bill, his unit was operating in the vicinity of Najaf. I do hope that today’s handoff bodes well for him and his safe return. After all, his presence is expected at a pending wedding.
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Carnival of Liberty X
The tenth installment of the Life, Liberty, Property community‘s Carnival of Liberty is up over at Mover Mike‘s. Go read another fine collection of posts from a libertarian slant.
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Quote of the Week, 05 SEP 05
A nation cannot remain great if it betrays its allies and lets down its friends.
—Richard M. Nixon
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66 Years Ago Today
On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded neighboring Poland, the last in a long series of acts that officially triggered World War II.
This invasion finally woke up the world to the danger it had been appeasing or essentially overlooking for years. I have previously summarized the years of militaristic aggression and expansion that preceeded WWII as follows:
In post-9/11 America, much has been made of the appeasement that preceded World War II, especially the case of the Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement. Somewhat lost in the sands of time are the military conflicts in the years leading up to the outbreak of the war. Chief among these are the Sino-Japanese War, with the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and a wealth of atrocities that make Abu Graib look like a four-year-old’s birthday party, and the Spanish Civil War, the proving ground for the troops, equipment and tactics of the Soviets, Germans and Italians. Even more obscure is the invasion of Ethiopia (then Abyssinia) by Benito Mussolini’s Italy in 1935.
Finally, there was Case White, the German code name for the Polish campaign. Two days later, France, Britain and Australia responded by declaring war on Germany. The Poles fought valiantly and the campaign was not as brutally one-sided as commonly thought. The Polish military was forced to give significant ground, hoping to make a stand until its allies in western Europe could put their forces into play against Germany; unfortunately, Case White was essentially closed when the Poles were stabbed in the back by the Sept. 17 invasion by the Soviets from the east. Still, action dragged on until the first week of October. It should be noted that a great many Poles escaped the brutal conflict and continued to contribute to Allied efforts throughout the war.
Today, German and Polish leaders paid tribute to the anniversary.
Sirens wailed and religious leaders led prayers for the dead as the presidents of Poland and Germany stood together solemnly Thursday on the Baltic peninsula where World War II began 66 years ago.
Horst Koehler is only the second German president to attend the annual ceremonies on the Westerplatte peninsula, following the example of his predecessor, Johannes Rau. His presence comes amid signs of deepening friendship between the former foes, despite some lingering bitterness.
More than 50 million people died in nearly six years of war launched by Nazi Germany — including an estimated 6 million Poles, half of them Jewish.
In 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany to its west and the Soviet Union to its east. After the Nazis attacked the Soviets, Poland came entirely under German control and subject to a brutal occupation. It become the hub of Hitler’s program to exterminate Europe’s Jews, under which 6 million were murdered.
At the ceremony on Westerplatte, Koehler and Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski walked to a monument to the war’s first victims. They were killed on the peninsula in the Baltic port of Gdansk when a German warship began shelling a Polish munitions depot and garrison on Sept. 1, 1939, as the Nazis launched their invasion.
To the roll of military drums, Koehler and Kwasniewski walked behind soldiers, who placed large wreaths on their behalf, and bent over simultaneously to arrange the wreath’s ribbons, each in the colors of their respective national flags.
The presidents then took two steps back, joined hands for a moment of silence and bowed toward the wreaths.