Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Dying for Another Tet in Iraq

    The Islamists and the Saddamites wanted another Mogadishu, hoping to bloody the American nose and move in after the subsequent withdrawal. They failed. Badly.

    And so, they turned to an earlier model of American failure — Viet Nam. And the American Left and the media were so glad to help, as calls of quagmire and failure rang out, intertwined with moaning for an “exit strategy” and plantings of draft rumors.

    Iraq is George Bush’s Vietnam

    —Sen. Edward Kennedy (source)

    Unfortunately for them, things haven’t been going the way of the terrorists. The terrorists, despite vows to the contrary, had to watch an Iraqi citizenry give the finger to fear and vote for their own future. The attacks against U.S. troops have repeatedly failed and casualties are declining. It is time for the terrorists to turn back to the Viet Nam playbook — they need another Tet.

    And what better place than Abu Ghraib, a prison tragically more known internationally for a handful of rogue American atrocities (prosecuted or being prosecuted) than for countless thousands of murders and horrors committed previously by the Saddam regime (blank check in the global community from prosecution or even reputation). The terrorist movement had learned they couldn’t really hurt the American military effort. The Iraqis’ disgust with their victimization by the foreign Islamists, criminals and Saddamists was growing fast. Luckily for the murderous bastards, the American and international media remained fascinated with all things Abu Ghraib. Well, all things post-conflict.

    The scene was set for another Tet-like defeat of the Americans — make statement-type attacks and let the media take it from there. Target: Abu Ghraib.

    I didn’t have time Saturday to do anything other than post the link to the initial attack on the prison. Mark that, failed attack, as there were no American deaths and no prisoners freed. There were headlines, though.

    And believe me, the Islamist bastards tried to milk it for all it was worth.

    Al-Qaeda in Iraq, meanwhile, posted a second internet statement boasting that its fighters carried out the bold attempt on Saturday to force their way into the prison. The statement, posted late on Sunday, said two fighters were injured and 10 more were killed in battle, including seven suicide bombers.

    It said a group of about 20 militants scaled the prison’s walls, and that one reached a prison tower and yelled: “God is great!”

    Today, the scumbags continued in their efforts for another Tet.

    Another attack around Abu Ghraib

    A suicide bomber driving a tractor blew himself up Monday in the second attack in three days near the Abu Ghraib prison.

    I argue that the operative word in that lead paragraph is “near,” signifying that the terrorists get ink and a gold star from the press just for trying.

    Are they making a dent with this latest rush of bloody sacrifice? No, but unfortunately that may only be a matter of timing. I have no doubt that editors across America and around the globe would salivate over the headlines they could trumpet about the attempts by the terrorists to right all of the American wrongs at Abu Ghraib.

    What’s stopping them? Simply and sadly, probably only timing.

    Minor skirmishes that achieve nothing cannot help but be overshadowed by the passing of Pope John Paul II.

    Maybe the pope’s last great accomplishment will be to stop another Tet-like failure, just as progress is taking hold in a region thirsting for it.

  • Afghan Officials Urge Donors to Shift Focus

    Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai understandably wants to up the pace of progress for his people. In those hopes, he is asking for greater national control over the incoming assistance in hopes of spurring the economy and helping the people of his war-ravaged country.

    President Hamid Karzai and his top ministers made an urgent plea to international donors at an annual aid conference in Kabul on Monday to shift their focus to helping the country’s struggling private sector and to let the Afghan government take a controlling lead in development planning.

    Mr. Karzai said his government considered building the infrastructure – including energy, aviation and telecommunications – to be an urgent priority to provide the foundation for private sector development. Urban development, completely neglected in the past three years, would be a priority too, he said.

    The conference follows months of debate and recriminations over why the billions of dollars in aid that have poured into Afghanistan since the former Taliban rulers were ousted more than three years ago have accomplished so little.

    The government contends that private aid groups, which control much of the donated money, have squandered it. Many business leaders say corruption and the lack of staff trained in government are largely to blame.

    The government will insist on a national unified budget for 2006, said the finance minister, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady. More than 93 percent of Afghanistan’s annual budget comes from international donors, but only a third of this year’s $4.7 billion budget will go through government hands, he said. “Let this government take full responsibility for our country’s development,” he told the donors.

    Muhammad Iashaq Naderi, the government’s chief economic adviser, said at the conference that the government would insist on greater control over foreign assistance flowing into the country and greater coordination with donors and private aid groups. Aid organizations will be monitored for the cost-effectiveness and impact of their programs, he said.

    Mr. Karzai said he had promised the Afghan people that he would raise the annual per capita income to $500 from $200 and reduce poverty during his five-year term. “We must now work together to overcome chronic poverty, and build Afghanistan into a stable and thriving economy in the region,” he said. “We are keenly aware of our people’s expectations, and our responsibility towards them.”

    Karzai seems reasonable and well-intentioned, as has been the norm, in this matter.

    For those individuals looking for ways to directly support the people of Afghanistan, I would recommend the fine programs at Spirit of America.

  • The Surreal Life of a Blogger

    I just had a coworker page me while I was watching the NCAA finals. The emergency? I had messed up the origami birds of peace link in my previous Thailand post.

    Thanks, Steve.

  • Thais Fear Bombs Mean Southern Unrest Spreading

    Well, once again reality bitchslaps the “peace in our time” approach as bombs rattle Thailand.

    Thai authorities imposed extra security measures on Monday amid fears that unrest in the Muslim far south is spreading after bombs hit an airport, hotel and supermarket just outside the violence-hit region.

    Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the almost simultaneous Sunday evening blasts, which security officials blamed on Islamic militants, had raised concern across the Buddhist country.

    The bombs, which police said consisted of dynamite and fertilizer and which were detonated by mobile phone, killed two people and wounded 60, seven critically, health officials said.

    “This doesn’t only worry me. It worries the whole nation,” Thaksin told reporters.

    I’m shocked, shocked to find that the origami birds of peace didn’t pacify the Islamists.

  • Red Out of Favor As Teacher’s Choice

    I’ll admit that when I saw the headline I thought it was a political reference regarding red states and liberal teachers. Upon reading the article, I found instead it was another glimpse into the watering down of our nation’s public education system.

    Of all the things that can make a person see red, school principal Gail Karwoski was not expecting parents to get huffy about, well, seeing red. At Daniels Farm Elementary School in Trumbull, Conn., Karwoski’s teachers grade papers by giving examples of better answers for those students who make mistakes. But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red, the color that teachers long have used to grade work.

    Parents objected. Red writing, they said, was “stressful.” The principal said teachers were just giving constructive advice and the color of ink used to convey that message should not matter. But some parents could not let it go.

    So the school put red on the blacklist. Blue and other colors are in.

    “It’s not an argument we want to have at this point because what we need is the parents’ understanding,” Karwoski said. “The color of the message should not be the issue.”

    Fine, if it’s not an argument worth having and the color is not the issue, simply avoid the argument rather than cratering into it. Surrender is not avoidance.

    In many other schools, it’s black and white when it comes to red. The color has become so symbolic of negativity that some principals and teachers will not touch it.

    “You could hold up a paper that says ‘Great work!’ and it won’t even matter if it’s written in red,” said Joseph Foriska, principal of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary in Pittsburgh.

    He has instructed his teachers to grade with colors featuring more “pleasant-feeling tones” so that their instructional messages do not come across as derogatory or demeaning.

    “The color is everything,” said Foriska, an educator for 31 years.

    The color is most assuredly not everything, nor is passing along pleasant vibes when returning an evaluation to a student.

    At Public School 188 in Manhattan, 25-year-old teacher Justin Kazmark grades with purple, which has emerged as a new color of choice for many educators, pen manufacturers confirm.

    “My generation was brought up on right or wrong with no in between, and red was always in your face,” Kazmark said. “It’s abrasive to me. Purple is just a little bit more gentle. Part of my job is to be attuned to what kids respond to, and red is not one of those colors.”

    My guess is that Kazmark saw a lot of “abrasive” red on his papers back in high school. He also probably carries esteem issues from elementary school stemming from poor dodgeball and kickball performances.

    When I was in school, there were right answers and wrong answers. There were also essay and short answer questions, wherein gray areas could actually exist. All of these could adequately be addressed in red ink.

    The disillusionment with red is part of broader shift in grading, said Vanessa Powell, a fifth-grade teacher at Snowshoe Elementary School in Wasilla, Alaska.

    “It’s taken a turn from ‘Here’s what you need to improve on’ to ‘Here’s what you’ve done right,’” Powell said. “It’s not that we’re not pointing out mistakes, it’s just that the method in which it’s delivered is more positive.”

    Her students, she said, probably would tune out red because they are so used to it. So she grades with whatever color — turquoise blue, hot pink, lime green — appeals to them.

    And at what age should students learn that life can be harsh, that it isn’t always about what appeals to them or what they’ve done right? Should they wait until college, where weed-out courses await them? Should we water down education at that level as well, based upon “feelings” and “esteem” and such? News flash: the real world can be harsh. The realm of business can be affected just as much by what one does right as well as by what one does wrong. Disappointment cannot be avoided, and allowing young students to confront it early can have a vaccinating effect to prepare for greater disappointments later in life. Oh no, my layoff notice wasn’t written in an appealing ink! What will I do?

    Life can be harsh and there’s no value in softening this lesson for kids who get things wrong. These kids need to learn two things. First, red ink is one of the lesser adversities they will face. Second, they are not all destined for greatness and equal success. As Judge Smails once said, the world needs ditch diggers, too.

    Use the red ink. Hell, use a red marker.

    UPDATE: As Eric points out in the comments, he’s blogged the same story and it’s almost frightening how of like minds we are on this matter. It’s strange how similar our view on this matter is and, yet, that view is completely ignored in the story.

  • Iraq Assembly Names Speaker

    Progress was made today in the recently-elected Iraqi National Assembly, and this progress wasn’t of the baby step variety. Rarely is a blatant compromise such a huge stride towards the future. Then again, rarely has compromise even been seen in this country.

    Acknowledging that last week’s acrimonious and nationally televised failure to reach a deal had angered voters, Iraqi lawmakers moved quickly and calmly Sunday to elect a speaker for the National Assembly and clear the way for the formation of a transitional government.

    Much remains to be settled. But the appointment of Hajem al-Hassani is seen as a crucial step in recapturing the political momentum provided by Iraq’s extraordinary elections more than two months ago.

    Al-Hassani, 50, is a Sunni Muslim. His deputies will be a Shiite Muslim from the most dominant bloc in the parliament and a Kurd from the second-biggest group. And al-Hassani, a U.S.-educated economist who is the minister of industry, has good relations with the allies of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

    Though the speaker’s post is not expected to wield much power, the Sunni-Shiite-Kurd lineup is intended to send a message dear to Iraq’s incoming leaders: Everyone who wants to join the political process will have a voice in the new Iraq.

    “We passed the first hurdle,” said al-Hassani, who first rejected the speaker’s post in hopes of becoming defense minister but acquiesced under growing pressure for the parties to find a compromise candidate. “The Iraqi people have proved that they can overcome the political crisis that has plagued the country for the last two months.”

    The standoff hit its peak Tuesday, when the National Assembly’s first working session broke down amid shouted protests from the floor and finger-pointing along ethnic and sectarian lines.

    Despite having braved violence and intimidation to go to the polls Jan. 30, Iraqi voters were waiting for the men and women they elected to decide who should lead the assembly, who should be president and who should run the government as prime minister and Cabinet members.

    “There was public pressure from the people,” said Ali al-Dabbagh, a member of the Shiite alliance that dominates the National Assembly.

    “They showed their anger,” al-Dabbagh said, including Shiite pilgrims marching by the hundreds of thousands in the holy city of Karbala last week and chanting their demands for political action. “I think everybody got the message.“

    Read those last two paragraphs again. And again. Let it sink in — the new Iraqi government is answering to the Iraqi people.

    Several deputies said forming a government would take days, not weeks. Their next session is scheduled for Wednesday, with the goal of naming a president and two vice presidents. Sources with the Shiite and the Kurd coalitions said Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani remains on track to become president. Once that is done, the assembly will turn its attention to prime minister, and the Shiite alliance has set aside that post for Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

    This has been the expected shakeout — Kurdish president, Shiite prime minister — for some time now. With this bold showing of open arms by the elevation of a Sunni to head the national assembly, I would expect the other pieces to fall into place quickly.

    Now, what more of this Sunni, al-Hassani?

    Speaking to reporters, al-Hassani focused on the theme of one Iraqi voice – an ideal that got drowned out last week amid all the shouting.

    “I always say I am Iraqi before anything else,” said al-Hassani, whose family fled Iraq about 1979 and who spent most of the next two decades in the United States. “I am not going to talk in the name of Sunna or Shia or the Kurd. We will talk in the name of Iraqis, nothing else.”

    Unity, compromise, progress. Ya gotta love it. Well, at least you should if you actually share hope with the Iraqi people.

  • Quote of the Week, 3 APR 05

    Please pardon me if I depart from the usual military orientation of my quote of the week. Below is the joke that made me stop channel surfing and listen to the rest of an unknown comedian’s routine on Comedy Central one day years ago. It loses quite a bit without his unique delivery.

    I opened a yogurt and underneath the lid it said, “Please try again.” They were having a contest that I was unaware of. I thought maybe I had opened the yogurt wrong. Or maybe Yoplait was trying to inspire me. Come on Mitch, don’t give up! An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait, fruit on the bottom, hope on top.

    —Mitch Hedberg

  • Mideast News Link Dump

    Besides the passing of Pope John Paul II, there are several other stories I would like to blog. Unfortunately, I have a prior social engagement to head out to so this will be without any analysis. I reserve the right to look at any or all of these in greater depth later.

    At Least 20 U.S. Troops Wounded in Terrorist Abu Graib Attack

    Using suicide car bombs and an array of weapons, scores of insurgents made the biggest assault yet on the American-controlled Abu Ghraib prison on Saturday evening, American military officials said. At least 20 American soldiers and marines were wounded.

    […]

    The assault appeared to be an attempt to break prisoners out of a part of the center that is controlled by Iraqi security forces, said Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, a spokesman for the American detainee system in Iraq.

    The assault was so intense that the American troops at the prison called in three Apache attack helicopters and a Marine infantry company, the colonel said. The marines quickly secured the area around the prison. Of the 20 Americans hurt, 18 had only minor wounds, Colonel Rudisill said.

    Analysis: The Honeymoon is Truly Over for Abbas

    Both Abbas and the ousted security chief are aware that the use of drastic measures against the gunmen, most of whom are wanted by Israel, would play into the hands of their rivals, who would depict them as “collaborators.”

    Jaber was not prepared to be seen as doing Israel’s dirty work – a fact that led to his dismissal over the weekend.

    Neither does Abbas want to be in a similar position. That’s why, as of Saturday night, none of the Fatah gunmen who went on the rampage in the city last Wednesday had been arrested, although their identities and addresses were known to the PA security services.

    Related story here.

    Iraqi Sunni Clerics Deny Decree on Police

    Iraq’s Association of Muslim Scholars denied Saturday issuing a religious decree allowing Iraqis to join of the Iraqi police forces and army.

    The country’s only Sunni religious authority said in a statement that reports of 64 clerics issuing a fatwa, or edict, allowing or urging Iraqis to join national security and military forces to protect Iraqis and their property were not linked to the association.

    The statement did not specify the association’s position on the issue, insisting it will do so later.

    Related story here.

    Bombing Jitters Grip Lebanese Capital

    Even for the war-hardened Lebanese, four explosions in two weeks are too much to cope with. Once-vibrant cafes lie empty, shopping malls are virtually deserted and late-night dining has been put on hold. In a movie theater, a woman watching the Will Smith comedy “Hitch” gets a cell phone call about a blast and exclaims “Infijar?!” (“Explosion?!”), whereupon a dozen people quietly head for the door.

    Outside the United Nations offices, workers fill sandbags and erect barriers. At a Beirut mall, newly hired private security guards check vehicles’ trunks and engines and slide a mirror beneath the chassis looking for explosives. Restaurants put up roadblocks to keep cars from parking too close.

    Fear is gripping Lebanon following a recent spate of bombs placed under or near cars that have killed three people and injured 24. The sense of security built up over years of postwar calm has been shattered, with rumors of bombs and suspicion of unclaimed bags feeding the hysteria.

    See Robert Mayer’s examination of the Lebanese bombings at Publius Pundit.

    Now, besides all of the attacks being in Christian neighborhoods, there is one big similarity between all of these attacks, including the Hariri assassination. The economy.

    Now, I’m off to a evening probably filled with inane banter among people I barely know. I anticipate contributing with an occasional distracted sarcasm while sipping beer and watching some Final Four hoops. Should be fun.

  • Daylight Savings Tonight

    Don’t forget to set your clocks forward, at least that goes for most of you. Here’s an interesting look at the history of the clock-switching.

    But shifting 60 little minutes — forward or back — can have unexpected consequences in a world where trains, ball games and even terrorist attacks go by the clock.

    In September 1999, for instance, the Palestinian West Bank was still on daylight-saving time and Israel had just returned to standard time when terrorists smuggled two car bombs across the border, planning to detonate them alongside Israeli buses at precisely 6:30 p.m.

    The buses, however, were running on standard time. The timers were on daylight time. When the bombs went off, the buses were nowhere in sight and three terrorists died in their own cars.

    Ahhh, finally some sunshine when I leave the office.

    Still, I’ll probably manage to forget to change the clocks anyway.

  • FYI for Fellow Bloggers

    When you have nothing to say, this is a pretty damn good way to speak volumes while saying nothing.