Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Military May Face Reservist Shortage

    The Associated Press paints a grim picture of the toll the war against Islamist terror is taking on the U.S. reserve components.

    The strain of fighting a longer, bloodier war in Iraq than U.S. commanders originally foresaw brings forth a question that most would have dismissed only a year ago: Is the military in danger of running out of reserve troops?

    At first glance the answer would appear to be a clear no. There are nearly 1.2 million men and women on the reserve rolls, and only about 70,000 are now in Iraq to supplement the regulars.

    But a deeper look inside the Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve suggests a grimmer picture: At the current pace and size of American troop deployments to Iraq, the availability of suitable reserve combat troops could become a problem as early as next year.

    The National Guard says it has about 86,000 citizen soldiers available for future deployments to Iraq, fewer than it has sent there over the past two years. And it has used up virtually all of its most readily deployable combat brigades.

    In an indication of the concern about a thinning of its ranks, last month the National Guard tripled the re-enlistment bonuses offered to soldiers in Iraq who can fill critical skill shortages.

    Similarly, the Army Reserve has about 37,500 deployable soldiers left — about 18 percent of its total troop strength.

    The Marine Corps Reserve appears to be in a comparable position, because most of its 40,000 troops have been mobilized at least once already. Officials said they have no figures available on how many are available for future deployments to Iraq.

    Both the Army and the Marines are soliciting reservists to volunteer for duty in Iraq.

    “The reserves are pretty well shot” after the Pentagon makes the next troop rotation, starting this summer, said Robert Goldich, a defense analyst at the Congressional Research Service.

    The story goes on to further detail the deployments and their inherent strain on the Guard and Reserve. It does, however, include a positive note about how the citizen-soldiers have carried out their missions.

    In some respects, the use of Army and Marine reservists in Iraq has been a success story. Goldich, the defense analyst, said their performance has generally been excellent. Commanders sing their praise.

    Hooahhh, troops, and thank you.

  • Zarqawi’s ‘Most Lethal’ Lt. Nabbed

    There was a wealth of good news out of Iraq today.

    Iraqi security forces have arrested the “most lethal” top lieutenant of al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq — a man allegedly behind 75 percent of the car bombings in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion, the prime minister’s office said Monday.

    Sami Mohammed Ali Said al-Jaaf, also known as Abu Omar al-Kurdi, was arrested during a Jan. 15 raid in Baghdad, a government statement said Monday. Two other militants linked to Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s terror group also have been arrested, authorities announced Monday.

    Al-Jaaf was “the most lethal of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s lieutenants,” the statement said.

    […]

    Al-Jaaf was responsible for 32 car bombing attacks that killed hundreds of Iraqis, the statement said.

    “Abu Omar al-Kurdi claims responsibility for some of the most ruthless attacks on Iraqi police forces and police stations,” said Thaer al-Naqib, spokesman for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

    The statement said al-Jaaf “confessed to building approximately 75 percent of the car bombs used in attacks in Baghdad since March 2003,” al-Naqib said.

    Authorities also announced Monday that Iraqi security forces had arrested a man described as the chief of al-Zarqawi’s propaganda operations.

    And in the northern city of Mosul, Iraqi forces seized one of al-Zarqawi’s weapons suppliers.

    Excellent.

  • Purported al-Zarqawi Tape: Democracy a Lie

    I have previously written that the greatest enemies of the blood-drenched Islamist bastards are democracy and freedom, which is why they are desperately struggling and murdering to hold back the tide of time in Iraq. Don’t agree with me? Well, check out their own words on the matter.

    An Internet recording claiming to be from wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi condemned democracy as “the big American lie” on Sunday and said participants in Iraq’s January 30 election are enemies of Islam.

    The authenticity of the message could not immediately be confirmed by CNN.

    “We have declared a bitter war against democracy and all those who seek to enact it,” said the speaker in the 35-minute message.

    “Democracy is also based on the right to choose your religion,” he said, and that is “against the rule of God.”

    […]

    The speaker attacked the Iraqi interim government as a tool used by the “Americans to promote this lie that is called democracy … You have to be careful of the enemy’s plots that involve applying democracy in your country and confront these plots, because they only want to do so to … give the rejectionists the rule of Iraq. And after fighting the Baathists … and the Sunnis, they will spread their insidious beliefs, and Baghdad and all the Sunni areas will become Shiite. Even now, the signs of infidelity and polytheism are on the rise.”

    […]

    “Oh, people of Iraq, where is your honor?” he asked. “Have you accepted oppression of the crusader harlots … and the rejectionist pigs?”

    “For all these issues, we declared war against, and whoever helps promote this and all those candidates, as well as the voters, are also part of this, and are considered enemies of God,” the tape said.

    These terrorists cannot win a battle of ideas. By definition, their only true weapon is fear — it is the needed ingredient in how they “fight” and how they rule when empowered. They ask for honor from others yet exhibit none themselves. Their leader squawks of bitter war but tucks his tail and runs from Fallujah, choosing instead to hide and occasionally surface bravely on the internet.

  • Quote of the Week, 23 JAN 05

    Three-quarters of a soldier’s life is spent in aimlessly waiting about.

    —Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy

  • Germany Nabs 2 Suspected al-Qaida Members

    I find this story especially interesting because of the financial twist.

    German police arrested two suspected al-Qaida members Sunday believed to have plotted a suicide attack in Iraq — with a side venture in insurance fraud, taking out a policy on the suicide bomber to use the money to fund the terror organization.

    The chief suspect, 29-year-old Iraqi Ibrahim Mohamed K., is also believed to have tried to obtain nearly two ounces of uranium in Luxembourg.

    He also “played a not unimportant role in al-Qaida, because he showed signs of contact with Osama bin Laden and met with Ramzi Binalshibh,” one of the plotters of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, chief federal prosecutor Kay Nehm told reporters.

    The Iraqi, a resident of Mainz, was arrested on suspicion of recruiting suicide attackers in Germany and providing logistical help to al-Qaida, Nehm said.

    The other suspect, a 31-year-old Palestinian, identified as Yasser Abu S., was allegedly recruited by the Iraqi to be a suicide bomber in an attack in Iraq. The Palestinian is a Bonn medical student, who was born in Libya and has an Egyptian passport, Nehm said.

    Prosecutors said the Iraqi took out a $1 million life insurance policy on the medical student, who was then to fake his death in a car accident in Egypt. The majority of the insurance payoff was to fund al-Qaida activities, they said.

    After the faked death, the Palestinian was to go to Iraq to carry out a suicide bombing, the prosecutor said.

    The story goes on to point out that the Iraqi suspect had trained multiple times at the al-Queda camps in Afghanistan before the terror-loving Taliban regime was toppled. Details of other recent German moves against radical Islamists within their borders are also listed.

  • Thank You, Johnny!

    Johnny Carson, 1925-2005Johnny Carson, the legendary host of the Tonight Show, has passed away at the age of 79. Precious were the nights in my childhood when I was allowed to stay up to watch, if only for his opening monologues.

    As is the way with people of such stature, practically everyone can find something of the man to hold onto and treasure. With Mr. Carson, it may be his character Carnac or his receiving the Medal of Freedom, our highest civilian honor. It could be his life-long love of the sport of tennis or the dry, often self-depracating humor he used to entertain millions for decades. For most of his fans, it will probably just be the years and years of smiles and accumulated memories with which we were blessed by the man.

    “And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it,” Carson said to close his final show. “I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight.”

  • ‘Peek’ May Not Be Worth It

    After back-to-back bunglings on election day polling and state-calling, the media is taking a new look at their practices.

    It wasn’t fraud, it was human error. That’s one conclusion Americans should extrapolate from a report on flawed exit polling practices during the Nov. 2 presidential election.

    After President Bush’s win, some of his stunned detractors, on Internet sites and fast-circulating e-mails, immediately alleged fraud. The president’s re-election, they incorrectly charged, had to be due to shenanigans, since Election Day exit polls showed challenger John Kerry on his way to victory.

    And how could the exit polls be wrong? Well, they were, apparently because many of the surveyors, particularly younger ones, ended up talking to too many Kerry supporters.

    […]

    It seems they secured interviews with a disproportionate number of younger voters, who tended to vote for Kerry rather than Bush. This apparently helped to skew the polling results. To their credit, major news organizations did not use the exit polling data to make any predictions.

    The exit polls, however, created confusion and skepticism. One “next time” change the research firms recommended is making certain those doing the questioning represent a wider range of ages.

    Here’s a better suggestion: Just rethink the use of Election Day exit polling in general.

    The 2004 presidential election was a cliffhanger. It’s hard to fault Americans for trying to sneak a “peek” at results, and the news media for trying to offer one. We all want to know who’s winning, and we want to know as soon as possible. Unfortunately, elections don’t conform to score keeping like sporting events do.

    At some point, Americans and their news outlets are going to have to ask whether the angst, suspicion and embarrassment at risk are worth it. Now is as good a time as any to address the issue.

    Fresh out of the ’04 campaign, I’ll be the first to say I’m sick of exit polls and, for that matter, the overkill of constant poll numbers in the months leading up to the actual voting.

  • Victims’ Families Criticize ‘Al Qaeda Reader’

    It looks like Osama bin Laden’s personal version of Mein Kampf is going to be made available to the U.S.

    The original thoughts of Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders will be made available in English next year in a book, “The Al Qaeda Reader,” whose publisher says is intended to educate the American people.

    The book, which has been criticized by some who suffered in al Qaeda attacks, offers a history of the radical Muslim group, with interviews with bin Laden and his associates and a tract on Islamic struggle by his right-hand man Ayman al-Zawahri.

    A spokeswoman for publisher Doubleday said it was important for Americans to understand the mind of their enemy.

    “This gives a direct perspective on their philosophy,” Suzanne Herz said on Thursday.

    But some who lost loved ones in the September 11 hijacked plane attacks objected.

    “I do not want to give the terrorists any platform to forward their agenda,” said Jack Lynch, whose firefighter son Michael was killed at New York’s World Trade Center.

    “I fear this book could ignite the lunatic fringe in this country who are sympathetic to al Qaeda,” he said.

    […]

    The book draws on two texts published in the Middle East in the 1990s — one from International Jihad Press, which has no known address, the other printed by a small imprint in Jordan.

    The first text is “The Battles of the Lion’s Den of the Arab Partisans in Afghanistan” — a compilation of interviews with bin Laden and his associates giving an oral history of al Qaeda.

    The second source is “Bitter Harvest,” a treatise on jihad penned by al-Zawahri.

    The publisher stresses that all profits will go to charity. I see the concerns about the possible arousing of sympathizers legitimate; however, I would have to think that the lunatic fringe is already in the terrorists’ camp as much as they can be.

    Besides, there is value in knowing one’s enemy.

  • Text Messaging Lets Iraqis Tip Authorities

    This is an encouraging look at how personal technology is playing an increasing role, as Iraqis are using cell phones to help in the fight against the terrorists.

    The tip came in fast, telegraph-terse, and discreet. Maj. Mohammed Salman Abass Ali al-Zobaidi of the Iraqi National Guard scrolled down to read it: “Black four-door Excalibur. Behind cinema.”

    From cell phone screen to local authorities: Acting on the recent text message tip to the Iraqi National Guard commander, police in a nearby town tracked down a black car behind the theater, and arrested the driver for suspected links to insurgent attacks.

    In the volatile Shiite-Sunni towns south of Baghdad known as the “triangle of death,” Iraqi civilians increasingly are letting their thumbs do the talking, via Arabic text messages sent from the safety of their homes, Iraqi security forces and U.S. Marines say.

    At a time when U.S. and Iraqi security forces are desperate for information on attacks – preferably in advance – mobile phone text messages allow civilians to pass on information from a discreet distance, their identities shielded from security forces and their neighbors.

    Although a cell phone displays the caller’s number, phone records are so chaotic in Iraq that chances are slim anyone could track down a tipster. And text messages can be sent to the most trusted officer, a far safer avenue than calling a police station that might be riddled with informants.

    “Many, many people tell us about the terrorists with this,” al-Zobaidi said, tapping his black cell phone and thumbing down to show more messages.

    “All the time, I hear his phone – beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep,” said Sgt. Eddie Risner of Ocala, Fla., part of a Marine contingent working with guardsmen to try to block attacks and put a credible Iraqi security force on the street.

    […]

    In Iskandariyah, Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit say they’ve halved the daily attack rate – in large part through constant patrols devoted to hunts for bombs, weapons caches and possible insurgents.

    On this day, Marines found three bombs the hard way – by running across them on patrols, and by having at least one blow up as they drove by. There were no injuries.

    The fourth bomb of the day was the biggest: a vehicle packed with 10 to 15 100mm mortar rounds.

    Marines found that the easy way – a teenager tipped off Iraqi police, who called the Marines. The Americans blew up the bomb remotely, creating a blast that stopped pedestrians and sent flocks of startled birds into the air.

    Marines befriended the teenager later at a police station. It’s the tips and the cooperation with local security forces that Marines want to encourage, they said.

    But few Iraqi civilians want to risk being seen as informants.

    That’s where text messaging comes in.

    “That way, they’re not seen leaving their homes,” said Marine Sgt. Justin Walsh, of Cleveland.

    Al-Zobaidi, the Iraqi National Guard local commander, put up fliers when he took the position, succeeding a brother who had been assassinated in the same post.

    The fliers had al-Zobaidi’s cell number, and encouraged residents to get in touch if they knew of impending attacks.

    The message is still getting out. In Iskandariyah on Friday, Marines urged a group of men on a street corner to come forward with information. One looked reluctant, and drew his hand across his throat to show why he wouldn’t be providing his name.

    “Do you have the chief of police’s cell number?” he asked.

  • Incentives Target Special Ops Troops

    Keep ’em if you’ve got ’em. Consider it an investment.

    The Pentagon has approved an incentives package designed to retain special operations troops in the military, Pentagon officials said Friday.

    The package — approved December 22 for $168 million over three years — is aimed at keeping Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets and other troops trained to fight terrorists from taking lucrative positions with security contractors or other government agencies, the officials said.

    The incentives are directed at troops with a good deal of wartime experience and highly specialized skills that take considerable time and money to replace.

    Only “operators” — troops on the ground conducting missions — are targeted, not everybody in the 49,000-person special ops community, the officials said.

    Depending on how long special ops troops commit to stay with the military, they could receive an additional $8,000 to $150,000 beyond their regular salaries.

    […]

    “This is not about a need to increase the size of the [special ops] community,” said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Richard.

    “It is about keeping the ones we already have and keeping that experience and skill level without having to continually train large numbers to replace the ones that left.”

    The package is not that unusual. In the past, the Pentagon has offered incentives to pilots to try to keep them from leaving for higher-paying jobs in the commercial airline business.

    I whole-heartedly agree with this. We’re not talking about dumbass tankers (DATs) such as I used to be. We’re talking about elite, skilled and highly-trained troops who offer more value to our defense than we’ve often been willing to compensate financially.