Target Centermass

Category: General

  • Hostage ‘Sold to Less Brutal Gang’

    The hopes for a safe return for Ken Bigley, the British hostage held by terrorists in Iraq, were bouyed by today’s news.

    Hopes for Ken Bigley’s freedom rose yesterday after it was claimed he had been ‘sold’ to a less brutal gang of kidnappers.

    The Iraq hostage’s brother believes he is now being held by the same group who released two Italian women aid workers last week.

    And Paul Bigley says Ken could also come home alive – if a ransom is paid.

    Paul said that if Ken had been moved, ‘it can only be a positive thing’. He added: ‘I would much rather deal with people talking money than people holding a government to ransom.

    ‘It makes the whole scenario a little easier. Funds can always be found, somehow.’

    Yeah, okay, hopes rose.

    For the life of one guy.

    Sure, I understand the desire of the family to have their loved one back safe. What I do not understand is how people do not realize the number of lives they are willing to barter away with their willingness to finance future terrorism.

    How tragic the state of the world that people find hope when a man is “‘sold’ to a less brutal gang of kidnappers.” How disgusting it is to see the inability of some to recognize the vicious barbarity of the Islamist danger.

    Historically, apparently it’s a good thing the Nazis turned to aerial bombing before kidnapping. But wait, those were other days, days when an obvious enemy was recognized by most and not downplayed by many for short-term political gain.

    Despite this story and the adversity caused by Bigley’s peril, I still have faith in the Brits to do what’s right in the long term. I just worry they may stretch out that long term.

  • Poland May Withdraw From Iraq in 2005

    There are conflicting reports about the future commitment of Poland to the Iraqi coalitions, with the latest saying it was still up in the air.

    [Australian Foreign] Minister Alexander Downer has played down reports that Poland is considering withdrawing its troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

    President Aleksander Kwasniewski said there had been no final decision on when to withdraw forces, but said Warsaw was considering the late 2005 deadline with the hopes that January elections in Iraq would bring stability to the country.

    Mr Downer said today Poland’s proposed withdrawal date was a long way away and a lot of progress would have been made by then.

    He said Poland’s consideration of a late-2005 pull out would not have any impact on troop numbers in the region.

    “It doesn’t mean very much. It’s a very long way away now,” Mr Downer said in Adelaide.

    Another recent report takes the same stance.

    Alexander Kwasniewski, the Polish president, today said the country had set no date for withdrawing its troops from Iraq despite comments from the defence minister that they should leave by the end of 2005.

    He told reporters it might be possible “to finish our mission” by then, but stressed that discussions on Poland’s role in Iraq were continuing.

    The defence minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper in an interview published today that the troop withdrawal should coincide with the expiry, at the end of 2005, of a UN security council resolution endorsing Iraq’s current interim government.

    So far 17 Poles have died in Iraq and opinion polls show nearly 75% of the public opposing troop deployment there. An opposition party, the Polish Peasants’ party, has launched a petition seeking an immediate withdrawal.

    The prime minister, Marek Belka, said he had not authorised Mr Szmajdzinski to make such a statement, which departed from Warsaw’s long-standing position that troops would remain in Iraq for “as long as it takes” to complete their mission.

    Mr Szmajdzinski argued that two and a half years in Iraq would be “enough” for a former Warsaw Pact army still “reaching new capabilities and introducing new equipment”, but later said his remarks were his personal opinion and not the official position of the government.

    The withdrawal of the Polish troops would not be catastrophic for the coalition helping Iraq, but it would be a big loss. I’m not at all happy with such a potentially short-sighted early declaration of disengagement and the wrong signals it may send, but I have nothing but appreciation for the noble work to date of the valiant Polish troops and their military leadership. These are truly our allies.

  • Reciprocity IV

    Just taking a moment to thank those bloggers who have recently blogrolled or linked to Target Centermass:

    Thanks, y’all.

    A special appreciation goes to elgato at The Swanky Conservative and a recent addition to the team over at Sgt. Stryker’s Daily Briefing. I am honored to be added to The Swanky Conservative’s blog links, as it was one of the three blogs that chiefly inspired me to begin this endeavor. Those three will always sit at the top of my blogroll.

  • A Sweet Sports Weekend

    The Astros clinch the NL wildcard, going 36-10 since Aug. 14.

    The Texans secure their first-ever winning streak by smacking around the Raiders.

    The Aggies move to 3-1 and look much improved from last year’s dismal performance.

    Oh yeah, my lacrosse team also won today, but I contributed little. Maybe it’s time to hang up the cleats.

  • Iran Rejects Kerry’s Nuclear Proposal

    What did the individual viewer think of John Kerry’s performance at Thursday’s foreign policy debate? That answer probably depends on the viewer’s fondness for smoke and mirrors. Well, some of the smoke is clearing.

    Iran has dismissed a proposal by U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry, that Tehran be provided nuclear fuel if it agrees to give up its fuel-making capabilities.

    Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Sunday it would be “irrational” to abandon its nuclear technology in exchange for supplies from overseas. He said there is no need for Iran to “beg” from other countries.

    During a debate last week with President Bush, Mr. Kerry suggested supplying Iran with nuclear fuel for generating electrical power, echoing a proposal made by several western European nations. The Bush administration and some international observers have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program, including work on enriching uranium, is only for peaceful purposes.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency has demanded Iran freeze its uranium enrichment activities. Iran has refused.

    I’m sure Kerry has a plan to convince Iran to change its stance. It’s probably typed up (in MS Word using Times New Roman) and filed away with his plan to get more troops and participation in Iraq from our erstwhile European “allies.”

  • Quote of the Week, 3 OCT 04

    I am sorry that the movements of the armies cannot keep pace with the expectations of the editors of papers.

    —Robert E. Lee

  • Updating the Blog Roll

    Any suggestions? Leave a comment.

  • Great White Shark Sets Mark by Staying Alive

    I posted about the latest attempt to bring a great white shark into captivity, this time by the Monterey Bay (Calif.) Aquarium. The shark is still alive and has set the record for a great white’s survival in captivity.

    A shark did something important Friday by swimming around and around in a circle and not dying.

    The shark, a great white, survived its 17th day in captivity. That broke the all-time record for great whites which, historically, tend to go belly up in aquarium tanks.

    Not this one. She made the rounds inside a giant tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with 70 other fish, none of which she ate. Everyone was getting along swimmingly.

    I’d like to point out that, yes, I do know that dead sharks do not go “belly up” like other fish. They sink. Hey, I didn’t write it.

    Anyway, the aquarium is treating the shark gingerly and, by doing so, have reaped the expected benefit with the public.

    “This is a relaxed shark, an unstressed shark,” said shark keeper Manny Ezcurra. “I can’t say if she’s a happy shark, but she’s adapting well.”

    She certainly ought to be, in light of the regal treatment that the aquarium has bestowed upon her. She is fed salmon fillets on a stick every other day, her soft and gentle killer eyes have been protected from the flash cameras of her admirers, and she is surrounded by exhibits proclaiming just how wonderful, misunderstood, rare and unfairly maligned sharks are.

    About 30,000 additional visitors, at $20 a ticket, have come to the aquarium since the year-old shark arrived Sept. 15, after being accidentally caught by a halibut fisherman off the Orange County coast. Attendance is up by 50 percent, and most of those folks head directly from the front gate to the three-story Outer Bay tank.

  • Farewell, 49th Lone Star

    49th AD Lone StarEvery unit patch I wore on the left arm of my BDUs is now officially a memory.

    During my nine-year enlistment in the Army National Guard, I wore two unit patches on my BDUs (granted, it should’ve been three, but my time officially drilling as a member of the D.C. Guard was so brief I never received the Capitol Guardians patch). When I signed up in 1990, the Texas Guard had seven M60-A3 battalions, five in the 49th Lone Star Armored Division and two joined with the New Jersey Guard in the 50th AD. My unit, HHC 7/112th AR, was part of the 50th.

    In 1993, the Texas Guard upgraded to M1s but also, as part of the general post-Cold War reduction in force, was reduced to five battalions, all part of the 49th AD. My unit served temporarily as HHC 5/112 before becoming HHC 4/112 AR. Shortly after my return from D.C., I transferred to a line company to become a gunner on an old buddy’s tank. I served out the remainder of my time, including an extended enlistment, in D Co, 5/112 AR. I left the Guard in April 1999. Immediately after that year’s annual training period, D Co was done away with as part of an across-the-board restructuring of armored battalions. My last unit was no more.

    Now, albeit well past the actual occurence, I’ve recently found out that the 49th AD is also no more.

    “We are transforming our Army to better meet the demands of the 21st century,” said Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee. “Today’s re-flagging from the 49th Armored Division to the 36th Infantry Division is representative of these changes.”

    Brownlee and Texas Gov. Rick Perry attended the unit’s re-flagging ceremony, resulting in the National Guards’ loss of all armored divisions. The Guard Soldiers stood reverently as their commanders changed colors July 18 on Camp Mabry’s parade field in Austin, Texas.

    “Transformation is not new to our Army or the Texas National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. Michael H. Taylor, commander of the 36th Inf. Div. “We’ve transformed many times in the past 200 years, especially since World War II. Our job is to stand ready, leave our family and our jobs, augment the active forces to serve our nation. It’s what we do.”

    The 49th was organized after World War II. Since then, it has supported the Berlin crisis, operations in Bosnia, Operation Nobel Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.

    The 36th “Texas Division” was originally established at Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, Texas, prior to World War I with units formed from Texas and Oklahoma. The patch is a “T” in front of an arrowhead.

    “It is a patch worn by thousands before you who stood steadfast for freedom, who placed themselves in harms way for liberty and life,” said Perry.

    The 36th Soldiers fought in World War I and it was the first American combat division to land in Europe during World War II. The unit was deactivated in 1968 as part of the Department of the Army program to reduce the number of division-size units.

    “Tough days lie ahead,” Perry said. “The work of freedom is a tough duty. But we must keep our eyes on the goal and remember the reason that you set out.”

    By next year, about 4,000 36th Inf. Div. Soldiers will be in Iraq.

    “Places change, soldiering stays the same,” said Taylor.

    Yes, the 36th ID has a great and storied history. Yes, I may still go back and, if so, I’ll be proud to wear the patch of the 36th. Still, I’ll miss the 49th AD. Farewell, Lone Star.

  • Italians Fall out of Love with ‘Two Simonas’

    The words and actions of the two recently-released Italian hostages have quickly splintered a fawning Italian public.

    Italy’s adoration of the “two Simonas”, the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear.

    In their first big interviews given since their release in return for a reported $1 million ransom on Tuesday, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, gave their backing to insurgents opposing the allied forces.

    ….

    [Pari said,] “If you ask me about terrorism, I’ll tell you that there is terrorism and there is resistance. The resistance struggle of people against an occupying force is guaranteed by international law.”

    The women’s comments are likely to cause renewed anger in government circles, following their call soon after their release for Italy’s peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn.

    ….

    After they were taken hostage on Sept 7, the two Simonas achieved iconic status in Italy and the conservative government and the opposition put aside their differences to work together for the women’s release.

    But as the Turin newspaper La Stampa said yesterday, national unity has been short lived since their arrival home, wearing kaftans and thanking their captors in Arabic for their release before the cameras of the Al-Jazeera stellite television network.

    When these two were first seized, I pointed out that an al-Jazeera article showed that these two had been specifically targeted. The reason was not immediately obvious. It now is — the terrorists knew they were potentially valuable as mouthpieces for Islamist villainy. Shrewd … and accurate.