IraqSlogger has a piece about Ari Fleisher’s “Freedom Watch”, that fake pressure group dreamed up to twist wavering Congress critters’ arms into agreeing to continue to unquestioningly fund Mr Bu$h’s ego-war.

There are four videos featuring Americans who have lost something meaningful in Mr Bu$h’s war, and yet were persuaded to make videos supporting this enterprise that is viewed in a positive light by less than 30% of all Americans.

Conservative groups are fuming because MSNBC and CNBC are refusing to run these ads supporting the war in Iraq -- ads that are airing on CNN and Fox News.

CNBC and MSNBC have refused to explain why they will not run the ads.

Here are four of those controversial ads:

(Because IraqSlogger goes “dark” in two days behind a prohibitively high paywall we can also view the videos on YouTube, at least for now.)

Iraq war veteran Andrew Robinson was on his second tour of duty when he was wounded by an IED in June of 2006. Andrew lost the use of his legs.

Laura Youngblood lost 2 family members to al Qaeda terrorists, first her uncle Henry a New York City fireman who lost his life on 9/11, and than her husband Travis died in Iraq.

Iraq war veteran John Kriesel lost both legs in a blast near Fallujah on December 2nd, 2006. It was near the end of his second tour.

Vicki Strong lost her son Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong in Iraq.

I cannot criticize these American citizens. They have suffered, and paid a horrendous price for a war that I despise and hate with every atom of my being. I consider them to be honestly deluded in their statements. To conflate wounds suffered in Iraq with “al-Qaeda” may or may not be accurate, because American soldiers died and were wounded in Iraq long before local Iraqis picked up their “al Qaeda” franchise. Similarly, to ascribe the death of a relative on 9/11 to the same organization may also be incorrect. We just don’t know for sure, although we do know for a fact that 15 or the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. We do know that some people rendering assistance in logistical and training matters were alleged to have been a-Q. So why not identify the Saudi government as an official supporter of a-Q? The hijackers got their financing from the United Arab Emirates, so why not designate that group of countries as terrorism supporters? It makes as much sense.

These American citizens have been played by a cold, calculating administration for its own cynical political purposes.

Kudos to MSNBC and CNBC for refusing to participate in a fraud.

OZ mentioned this excellent rant by the Minstrel Boy in a comment. What a terrific comparison between Alexander’s conquering army and our army of occupation in Iraq! Alexander’s phalanxes have tired after years of battle and conquest, and want to go home.

Alexander addressed his troops. He reminded them that he had been there with them every step of the way. He stripped himself naked and showed them where he bore scars from every single weapon known to man. It was all to no avail. Unable to sway his troops he called for priests and sacrifices. The omens were taken and the interpretation was unfavorable. Alexander agreed to turn back at last.

I can’t subscribe to the comparison entirely because Alexander was honest with his soldiers about his plans, and they enthusiastically followed him in the pursuit of conquest, booty and glory. These conditions do not apply today with our Army, which contains soldiers enlisted for many reasons, primarily a chance to climb the social ladder upon release.

Asking them to sign on for a share in the booty of looted foreign countries would not work. Promising them help in paying for a college education, or learning a trade for civilian life, has worked. (As we saw in the preceding article, some are learning infantry urban tactics for their civilian trade, and we’ll probably hear a lot more about that in the next two decades.)

And then, again, as the Minstrel Boy points out, Mr Bu$h is no Alexander.

George W. Bush cannot call upon any of Alexander's gifts. He has no scars from battle to show. He has no stories to share with soldiers over who saved whose life more times in battle. He has no moral authority or marshal imperitives to claim. He is a shrinking, shirking blame deflection machine. Soon, very soon, an army acknowledged to be without equal anywhere in the world will reach the same level as Alexander's. They will simply stop. Not because they are cowards, but because they can go no farther.

I’m not sure our Army will break in the sense of losing all discipline (which really is a voluntary quality and comes from within – discipline exerted from the outside is tyranny.) But I could imagine certain specific circumstances under which it would “break” in the sense of becoming a mass seeking escape rather than engagement.

Those who through the luck of birth or accident have never fought do not understand what combat is. They cannot comprehend the damage repeated calls to combat do to a man‘s spirit.

There are many lessons to be learned by studying history. Men tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. Circumstances may change, but the human frailties of greed and stupidity remain.

America is not Sparta, nor is it Macedonia, and the Likudniks who control our foreign and defense policy networks do not understand this. Or perhaps, inspired by un-American ideals, they do not care.

Army Times published a murky piece on Wednesday about gang influence in the Army.

Recent reports by the FBI and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command show that gang-related activity in the U.S. military is increasing. The FBI report (.pdf) concludes the increase poses a threat to law enforcement officials and national security.

The FBI report comes across as rather alarmist, with some recitation of detail drawn from various sources.

Some experts point to looser recruiting standards, implemented in recent years as the Army struggles to meet recruiting goals, and the increase in waivers given to recruits with criminal records as a factor behind gang presence in the ranks.

Each year since 2003, an increasing number of applicants with records of everything from traffic violations to felony convictions have been allowed to enlist in the Army under “moral waivers.” In fiscal 2006, 7.9 percent of all recruits received moral waivers, compared with 4.6 percent in 2003, according to Recruiting Command.

War has often been cynically characterized as gang warfare writ large, so it might not be too surprising to learn bangers are signing on for advanced OJT. During the Viet Nam era there was great distress in certain parts of our society over the “Negroes” learning weapons and tactical lessons which they might bring home to the US to enforce whatever horrible plan of civic disruption these cloistered elites feared could erupt in the cities.

Likewise I wonder whether our nativist war boosters on the never-right have carefully considered the potential effects of all these Latino gang-bangers coming home with urban warfare experience.

Can you say “reconquista” Ms Malkin?

So far this year, more than 9,000 recruits have received moral waivers to join the service. That’s 11 percent of all new enlistees in fiscal 2007, which ends Sept. 30.

Army officials could not say whether any gang members or former gang members were allowed into the ranks under waivers. But at least one expert said it stands to reason that if you open the door to more people with criminal backgrounds, some of them will have gang affiliations.

One could expect those Army officials would not say whether any gang members were signed up. Be certain they know. They’ll have heard about it through internal sources, and I’d be surprised if some of them aren’t sweating bullets.

I told you mutts it was smarter to draft College Republicans.

According to the FBI report, members of nearly every street gang have been identified on domestic and international military installations, and gang members have been known to enlist in the military by failing to report past criminal convictions or by using fraudulent documents.

The FBI report said that since 2004, authorities have identified more than 40 military-affiliated Folk Nation gang members at Fort Bliss, Texas, who have been involved in drug distribution, robberies, assaults, weapons offenses and a homicide. Since 2003, nearly 40 gang members have been identified at Fort Hood, Texas, and members of the Gangster Disciples based on post have been responsible for robberies, assaults, thefts and burglaries, according to the report. In addition, nearly 130 gang and extremist group members have been identified at Fort Lewis, Wash., since 2005, and in 2006, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service reported that gang members are increasing their presence on or near U.S. military installations.

I have a lot of respect for the FBI when it comes to catching bank robbers, and assorted violent crime against property. They also do great press briefings. But when it crimes to the softer crime areas, involving sociological manifestations, their public persona seems to tend more towards repression of the middle and lower classes. That’s just my impression; I could be wrong. I have been before.

Now, the Army’s CID report (.pdf) stands in stark contrast to the FBI report.

The commanders of CID, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigation Service sent a memo to the director of the FBI to dispute some of the statistics and facts in its Jan. 12 report.

The CID official attributed the increase in gang-related reports and investigations to a recently adopted uniform method in identifying such activity.

A CID official said that just 16 of 10,000 felony investigations last year were gang-related. But that’s up from 10 in 2005, five in 2004 and four in 2003. In all, CID special agents reported 61 gang-related incidents on 18 Army installations in 2006. That number includes the 16 that warranted the investigations reported that same year. There were 23 incidents in 2005, nine in 2004 and 12 in 2003.

A cynical man would remember the scene in the National Lampoon comedy Animal House where Kevin Bacon is admonishing the citizens to “remain calm. All is well” just before he gets trampled flat by a hundred screaming people trying to escape.

“We do not see it as a rampant problem, but we’re not denying it,” said a senior official with Army Criminal Investigation Command, who asked not to be identified. “It’s a low threat, but it’s a serious problem. We’ve never denied that it exists.”

Two of the 16 CID felony investigations in 2006 were homicides. The other investigations included crimes related to drugs, assault, robbery, sexual assault and weapons smuggling.

Of the 31 gang-related investigations conducted by CID between 2004 and 2006, about half involved junior enlisted soldiers, E-1 through E-4; a third were civilians; and 14 percent were sergeants or staff sergeants.

Parse those words, baby, parse those words. We will remain calm because you have assured us all is well.

UPDATE: WK - who is not - I repeat not - a very trivial guy, but does know a lot of trivia - reminds me it was Kevin Bacon assuring us all was well in Animal House.

Van Morrison did his “Celtic Troubador” act for years with a lot of success. If you’re not familiar with his live performances (which are much more exciting than his studio work) I always recommend his “Grand Opera House” performance in Belfast, March 1983.

He weaves a sense of mystic religiosity through a lot of his work and engages the mind and the imagination. His R&B treatments are surprising, and very memorable.

Here’s “Carrickfergus” from a 1988 appearance with The Chieftains. For our friend Mark From Ireland.

“My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy days so long ago.”

As we all know by now, the Bu$h malAdministration has been writing the “found three ponies” report that Gen Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will sign their names to.

You know how it will go, because we’ve been seeing reports like this since about, ooohhh…. 1964, I think.

Tunnel. Light. Bend in tunnel. Light. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Now there appears to be a sight problem in veracity, as the WaPo told us yesterday. Since the article and the various reports are based upon two mutually exclusive concepts (reality and Bu$hit) some emphases have been added in this article:

The House will hold hearings next week on two key reports assessing political and military conditions in Iraq, jump-starting the debate over President Bush's strategy even before long-awaited testimony by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, due the following week.

A completed 70-page report by the Government Accountability Office, to be delivered to Congress next Tuesday, paints a bleak picture of prospects for Iraqi political reconciliation, according to administration officials who have seen it. The second report, by an independent commission of military experts, is being drafted. But a scorecard on the Iraqi security forces released yesterday by an adviser to the group concluded that the Iraqis are years away from taking over significant responsibility from U.S. combat forces.

An important point: Anthony Cordesman, who is one of those real Middle East and national security experts, unlike Michael O’Hanlon and Ken Pollack, painted a very bleak picture of our future in Iraq in his three recent reports on Iraq Force Development, Iraq’s Insurgency and Civil Violence, and The Tenuous Case for Strategic patience in Iraq. He is an adviser to this second commission and his observations may or may not be included in their report.

An oxygen-breathing biped can usually depend on truth from the GAO and the Congressional Research Service. Reports bearing the hoofprints of White House personnel must be read with the standard five-pound bag of salt.

The two reports -- and hearings on them in the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees -- will set a largely negative backdrop for Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Crocker, who are expected to testify together in a joint hearing before the two House committees and in a separate session in the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has objected to a Pentagon proposal that they appear on Sept. 11, a Pelosi spokesman said, and the exact date remains under negotiation.

Administration officials said yesterday that the Petraeus-Crocker testimony will closely follow the National Intelligence Estimate judgments released last week, which predicted continued political deterioration in Iraq but cited "measurable but uneven improvements" in the security situation.

If you’re unfamiliar with the NIE, the official declassified portion can be found here. A wise man should probably remember that the really bad stuff has been excised, and what’s left will gleam like a 59 Dodge on a used car dealer’s lot. Think Progress gives a fine account of it here.

Bush continued his efforts to frame the debate yesterday [Sunday], congratulating Iraqi politicians on an agreement they announced Sunday in Baghdad. The accord reached by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish representatives "reflects their commitment to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis," Bush said in a visit to Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The agreement called for the release of thousands of detainees being held without charge, reform of a law barring members of Saddam Hussein's party from government jobs, regulation of the oil industry and provincial elections. Those elements are among a set of congressionally mandated benchmarks, and all require approval of Iraq's parliament. No details of the accord were released, [ed: IraqSlogger has published what it maintains is the full text of that agreement, translated into English] and Sunni politicians expressed skepticism yesterday that Maliki's Shiite-dominated government would push for enactment of the measures.

Big Media reports after Mr Bu$h’s VFW speech were almost overwhelmingly negative. (Scroll down) One might think people no longer believe the man when he says the sun rises in the East.

Knowledgeable observers believe that Mr Maliki’s five-party agreement is a very nice news-point, and the bases of the agreement will be forgotten right after the White House-written Petraeus/Crocker report is delivered to Congress. Reinforcing this belief is the fact that Mr Bu$h plans to deliver his own report to them, also. It is reliably believed that Mr Bu$h’s report will be typical: incredibly fraudulent, disgracefully over-the-top in its fake confidence, and abusively confrontational.

Just like the man himself.

The UN has released its 2007 opium report, noting that production has soared to a “frightening level” this year, as poppy growth increased to a record level last year.

Opium production in Afghanistan, a $3-billion-a-year trade accounting for more than 90 per cent of the world's illegal output, soared to frightening record levels this year, concentrated mainly in the strife-torn south where the ousted Taliban, which once banned poppy cultivation, now profits from the drugs trade, the United Nations reported today.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2007 Annual Opium Survey showed that the area under opium cultivation rose to 193,000 hectares from 165,000 in 2006, while the total opium harvest will soar by more than a third to 8,200 tonnes from 6,100 tonnes last year.

The amount of Afghan land used for growing opium is now larger than the combined total under coca cultivation in Latin America - Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. No other country has produced narcotics on such a deadly scale since China in the 19th century, the report said.[emph added]

That incredible change in growth is only in the southern part of Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has swept back out of the Waziristan tribal regions where they retreated during invasion of the country in the aftermath of 9/11. As we know, after Messers Bu$h and Cheney decided to go after the oil in Iraq rather than the terrorists in Afghanistan, things have changed in Afghnistan.

In the centre and north, where the Government has increased its authority and presence, cultivation is dropping. In Balkh province cultivation collapsed from 7,200 hectares last year to zero. By contrast, 80 per cent of opium poppies were grown in a handful of southern provinces on the border with Pakistan, where instability is greatest. In volatile Helmand, where the Taliban insurgency is concentrated, cultivation rose 48 per cent to 102,770 hectares.

With a population of just 2.5 million, Helmand has single-handedly become the world's biggest source of illicit drugs, surpassing the output of entire countries - like Colombia (coca), Morocco (cannabis) and Myanmar (opium) - which have populations up to 20 times larger.

That’s why this Afghan farmer is smiling: Mr Bu$h’s ego-war in Iraq is making him a wealthy man (relatively.) As you can imagine, the real profit is in production and distribution of the opium, either as is, or after conversion to morphine and heroin. But Afghan farmers double and triple their income when they put in poppies.

This increased production will show up in America’s streets next year, as thousands more of our countrymen become addicted to this pernicious drug.

I can’t say enough bad things about the narcotics trade; anyone with a basic imagination can estimate the misery and degradation that follows behind the needle.

We will probably see a lot more poppies on American streets, too, as Mr Bu$h and Mr Cheney get their woodies on when they decide to attack Iran later this year or early next year.

He has vowed that he will not leave office without first ensuring that Iran cannot become a nuclear power. He has probably given the leaders of Israel a similar promise --- privately and perhaps explicitly. That means that he is effectively committed to attack Iran militarily before January 2009 if all other means of accomplishing the objective fail --- which they will. He believes deeply that Iran poses an existential threat to our ally Israel and an extremely dangerous threat to the American people, as well. Bush also believes that Iran is determined to sabotage American hopes of establishing a "new Middle East" ---- by covert support of anti-American terrorist elements such as Hizballah and Hamas --- backed up by the added power implicit in its eventual possession of nuclear weapons. Given Bush’s overarching dedication to “winning the Global War on Terrorism”, the neutralization of Iran has become a sine qua non, equal if not higher on his list of priorities than “victory” in Iraq --- another impossibility that he is stubbornly unwilling to recognize, even privately --- much less acknowledge publicly.

I admit to be entirely cynical about Mr Bu$h’s “overarching dedication to ‘winning the Global War on Terrorism’.” I frankly think he doesn’t give a Chinese fart about whether terrorists kill 15 or 15 million Americans – once he’s out of office. If he had cared he wouldn’t have turned his back on the “real fight” in Afghanistan. He would have bent his prodigious will to the effort to protect our cities, rather than frittering away anti-terrorism funds protecting petting zoos and carousels. He has consistently dodged logical and consistent measures to roll back the resistance in Iraq, allowing things to spin out of control. And then there’s the remarkable amount of attention he gave to the August 6th, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing.

Bush presently intends (with little faith or sincerity) to exhaust all opportunities to achieve his objectives by diplomatic means or through economic sanctions. Failing those, he will attempt to achieve his purposes by intimidation --- by raising the threat of military attack. This will only stimulate more internal support for the regime inside Iran and more international opposition to U.S. policies, especially in the Muslim world. Without question, moreover, an escalating danger of US-Iranian military confrontation will greatly intensify internal and regional opposition to US objectives in Iraq. (Note: A mystifying disconnect in logic persists on this point in Bush’s mind.)

To think that an attack on Iran will not bring the internal dissidents of the country to rally around the flag is stupid. Has he forgotten his rather Orwellian propaganda campaign to get his own dissidents to rally after 9/11?

After the attack in Iran, we will see more poppies on the streets of America.

There has been ferocious fighting in Karbala today as a result of strife during the Shiite pilgrimage to Karbala. The reports are sketchy at best, and in some cases contradictory.

Some of the best coverage has been collated at Gorilla’s Guides and that’s the place to look at the moment. The links seem to be all to Arabic language webpages at this time.

Perhaps the key items are:

The initial response was ineffective and the central government has sacked the commander of the IA forces and National Police on the ground. The Province Governor has been appointed in his place.

Casualties are overwhelming the hospitals.

Medical sources in the city’s hospitals say there are so many wounded that they are being treated in the corridors and the hospital grounds.

Ambulances have been unable to reach the scene of fighting - the area between the two shrines. Dead and wounded are being left were they lie. 7 Ambulances have crashed trying to bring out victims. Green zone government reinforcements are entering the city from the East and south.

Mahdi Army Fighters are battling against the central government forces.

Fighting is continuing in Karbala itself at least two green zone government soldiers have been killed by sniper fire. Also 4 hotels are on fire. There is fire near the shrine of Imam Abbas. Considerable damage is reported to the wall of the shrine of Imam Hussein. There is very intense fighting going on near the home of a local JAM commander. JAM fighters are deployed throughout the quarter and are armed with machine guns and missilie launchers according to the telephone report given by almelaf.

In related developments:

6 SIIC (SCIRI) offices have now been burnt down during fighting. The 6th such attack was in Hillah at least 5 people have been killed and 20 wounded during these clashes. Hilla is now under curfew.

SCIRI (now renamed SIIC) is the Iran-backed political organization of the cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Badr Brigade.

In other Iraq news related to Iran,

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.S. troops raided a Baghdad hotel Tuesday night and detained about 10 people. A U.S.-funded radio station said the group included six members of an Iranian delegation here to negotiate contacts with the Iraqis.

The Iranian Embassy said seven Iranians - an embassy employee and six members of a delegation from Iran’s Electricity Ministry - were staying at the Sheraton Ishtar Hotel, which American forces entered late Tuesday.

Videotape shot by Associated Press Television News showed the Americans leading about 10 men, blindfolded and handcuffed, out of the hotel in central Baghdad.

Other U.S. soldiers left the hotel carrying what appeared to be luggage and at least one briefcase and a laptop computer bag.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver declined to comment, saying the action was part of an ongoing operation.

The Web site of Radio Sawa, an Arabic language station financed by the United States, said the Iranian delegation was in Baghdad to negotiate contracts on electric power stations. The report said the Iranians were detained and taken to an unknown location.

An Iranian diplomat told The Associated Press that the Iranian Embassy had notified Iraqi authorities about the Radio Sawa report. The diplomat refused to give his name.

Because, remember: No matter how many Iraqis fight and resist, no matter how many Americans occupiers they kill, the real enemy is Iran. Minister of Vengeance* Joe Lieberman (R-Tel Aviv) has said so.

* - A tip of the Kevlar helmet to Bill in Portland.

Light blogging today. A tough day at the body shop. I'm sure I'll feel better by tonight.

A couple of Iraq video clips from Live Leak:

Some GIs getting down with an Iraqi at a pumping station. I’ll bet he thinks those 3rd Division troopers are insane.

Warming: gangsta rap song – harsh language – sound track can be offensive will offend someone.

Directing traffic in Iraq.

No words needed. Attention US Highway Patrol officers: do not try this at home.

Army Mom writes a letter.

My Deployment Letter

Dear Deployment:

When you came around again for Kris he was very excited to see you. He is Army through and through and he actually even likes you. Other than missing his wife, I think he'd stay with you. You offer him the opportunity to be a leader, a warrior, perhaps a hero. For that I thank you.

But I don't like you much at all. Over the past 11 months I have become accustomed to you; kind of like a shoe that doesn't quite fit. What was at first an oozing blister is now a tough callous. You and I are on the back stretch, just about to round turn three, breeze into turn four and cross the finish line in four (hopefully) short months. Your grip on my heart is loosening and I can imagine the time when that gigantic sigh of relief will put you out of my life for a very long time.

Not just the GIs serve in Mr Bu$h’s ego-war. Everyone shares the dangers.

Go read the rest of the letter. I despise that man and his war, but I am so proud of those who serve.

Despite Iyad Allawi’s hiring a prestigious Republican lobbying firm to make his name with Congress, the Iraqi politician sometimes referred to as “the CIA’s man in Baghdad” may be faltering in his drive to succeed Nuri al-Maliki as Prime Minister.

Reports that his Iraqi National Alliance bloc in Parliament had withdrawn its 25 members appear to be correct, but the same reports, that claimed four of the five cabinet ministers had also withdrawn seem to be incorrect, at least in part.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers held its regular meeting Monday, said a media source inside the council of ministers, requesting anonymity, who told the agency that “The minister of technology Ra’id Fahmi, the minister of human rights, Wijdan Mikha’il, and the minister of state, Muhammad 'Uraybi, attended the meeting of the ministers.”

Of the three INL ministers who were reported in attendance, only Mikha’il and 'Uraybi were supposed to have withdrawn from their positions. An MP from the INL had already announced that Fahmi, minister of science and technology, would not withdraw from the cabinet. Fahmi is affiliated to the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), which ran as a component of Allawi’s INL in the December 2005 elections. The ICP has not agreed withdraw its minister along with the rest of the INL cabinet members.

There is a lot of guessing about all this, because Iraqi politics, being more tribal and sectarian than what is seen in the US, remains quite opaque. Knowledgeable observers see significance in PM Mailiki’s pushback Sunday against Democratic critics in the US, interpreting it as a signal of Mr Maliki’s intent to fall back into line with White House demands for passing laws Messers Bu$h and Cheney deem mandatory. This might cause the White House to put Mr Alawi’s bid for the Premiership on the back burner for the moment.

Five of Iraq’s parties forged an agreement Sunday to move forward several items considered essential indicators of political progress and reconciliation.

The new agreement (announced jointly by five Iraqi leaders: the President, his two deputies, PM Maliki and Kurdistan’s President Mas'ud Barzani) seems to be designed with two objectives in mind: Pleasing the Sunni leaders and providing “good news” for Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker to include in their September report to the American President.

The agreement includes a bundle of laws: chiefly an amendment to the de-Ba'thification law allowing ex-Ba'thists to run for elections and be considered for positions in the administration, which was a major Sunni demand. Secondly, the agreement guarantees the release of thousands of Iraqi prisoners without trial (most of whom Sunni,) third, a new law will be passed organizing local elections (another Sunni demand), lastly, passing the controversial oil law will be part of the “package” -– which is good news for the US administration.

Allowing ex-Ba’athists to once again participate in Iraq’s political process ought to help smooth things over, wouldn’t it? If nothing else, it will keep Big Minh from taking office as Prime Minister, and put some flesh on Mr Bu$h’s September hot air balloon that will ostensibly be presented by GEN Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker.

UPDATE: The full text of the written five-party agreement can be found here.

Wesley Morgan, who is currently embedded in Iraq. Wes writes for The Daily Princetonian and was invited by GEN David Petraeus to embed in Iraq. He’s enrolled in the ROTC at Princeton and expects to be an officer in a few years. He’s got his own blog here, but one of his entries has been put up a fairly positive piece at Bill Roggio’s corner of the internets.

His first embed was with the 1st/14th Infantry, but apparently he spent a lot of time at the Bn/Company level, so I expect he didn’t really learn a lot. Sigh. You don’t learn all that much at Battalion, although the CSM will have some great war stories.

Now he’s going out into the Big Muddy with the 3rd Platoon, A Company, 4th/9th Infantry (Manchu’s) a regiment with a fine, long tradition. The 4th Bn is a Stryker unit with the 2nd Infantry Division.

Meet the 3rd Platoon:

[1Lt Daniel Lowe] who had received his commission through ROTC in 2005, was a small, reserved officer whom the platoon's soldiers seemed to respect greatly. During the two-plus hours of preparation before the patrol, I got acquainted with some of the soldiers I'd be riding with in Lowe's Stryker. There was a loud, blustering team leader named Sgt. Howard, a veteran infantryman who loved guns of all kinds -- "I always carry, 100 percent of the time," he assured me. "You need to stay protected." Manning one of the rear machine guns hatches was the gigantic Hawaiian Sgt. Wojo who never seemed to speak but occasionally tackled other soldiers –- "Don't worry if he does that to you," one specialist explained, "it's a sign of affection." Two soldiers were from Boston: a big, angry specialist and a redheaded corporal with a tendency to brag and a bit of an antagonism with Sgt. Howard. Another specialist, named Baker, was Jewish and proud of it; the dynamic between him and the rest of the team, with constant Borat-style money-and-horns jokes, reminded me constantly of that one Jewish soldier on the patrol in "Saving Private Ryan." Another, Spec. Lall, had been born in Bombay, raised in Latin America, and had enlisted soon after he arrived in the States; even while he was out serving in Iraq, he pointed out to me in a thick Indian accent, "The government still took two years to let my wife into the country."

They sound just like the 21st century equivalent of the classic WWII war movie characters, straight out of central casting. And, really, that’s the way it should be. We are a nation of immigrants, after all, despite what nativist nuts like Tom Tancredo and Newt Gingrich claim.

Today’s mission is a route clearance and “presence” patrol: ride out to a nearby village, walk in, checking for IEDs. The local sheikh was to meet with the Company CO, and had promised no IEDs in the area if the occupying force could promise his security.

[O]ne of the team leaders called over the radio: He'd found wire. Lowe and I quickly cut across the field, or paddy, or whatever it was, and linked up with the lead element of the team that had called. A minute later the other team appeared as well, taking up an overwatch position above us on the road while we investigated the wire. The sergeant was right: a thin strand of copper wire was visible in the dirt. Gently pulling it, Lowe followed the wire back into the tall grass until it snagged, on a second wire. That wire led back through the grass toward the squad, into a part of the field we'd just come through, until it crossed a third wire. A specialist realized that his leg was tangled in a fourth wire. "Tell those Strykers to back up," Lowe told his radioman – there was no telling how far the wires led, and until the area was clear, the vehicles couldn't come any closer.

The wire was everywhere, crossed and buried and leading from some place at the far side of the field toward the piled dirt under the road causeway –- a perfect and incredibly easy place to bury an IED, and with absolutely no way of telling which wires, if any, led to actual bombs and which were decoys meant to slow us down and keep us stationary. While the interpreter and I stood still on the crumbling dirt slope, not sure what to do, the soldiers began to methodically uproot and cut the wires. Every one was a dead end –- either decoys or the command wires to past IEDs that had already detonated. If they were decoys, they'd achieved their purpose: A few stretches of copper wire had stalled the platoon's advance for half an hour while it carefully checked every trail.

The second best thing mines and booby traps do is slow you down.

There are shots fired, Morgan finds the feeling of walking towards the shots exhilarating (he may learn) and they don't find an escaped bomber, with a detonation device. They must search for the bomb.

[A]s the squad stood waiting for the Strykers to arrive, the soldier next to me suddenly looked alert and told me to step away from where I was standing. He began to prod the thick, dry vegetation between us on the side of the road with the muzzle of his carbine, and summoned the lieutenant over – and just as Lowe asked, "What have you got?" the soldier flipped a layer of brush off and uncovered a gigantic propane tank, rigged with wires. "HME," Lowe said loudly, to the squad – homemade explosives. I was standing less than three feet from a gigantic homemade IED.

A good read, either at his own blog or at Bill Roggio’s. Well worth the effort. Not a lot of photos, though, so ex-staff weenies may not find it interesting.

We’ve written about MREs before. It's a constant struggle to find better, more-appealing field rations for men with guns. Yesterday’s NY Post has a little note about the Army’s unceasing search for decent field rations.

While the ubiquitous MRE (meal, ready-to-eat) remains the combat trooper's primary food source, a new, lightweight alternative will be introduced into Iraq and Afghanistan this fall.

Unlike the MRE, which has a chemical heating element, the new First Strike Ration - FSR - features entrees, like French toast and honey barbecue beef pocket sandwiches, that are easily chowed down out of hand and on the move with virtually no preparation.

The FSR serves up three meals to a packet but is half the size and weight of three MREs, a major benefit to troops heavily laden with ammunition and gear. Its three menu options include chunk chicken, protein bars, teriyaki beef snacks and high-energy items: maltodextrin-laced "Zapplesauce" and turbo-caffeinated chewing gum.

Special Forces teams and other units operating in remote areas already have been issued what the Pentagon calls the Unitized Group Ration-Express, which feeds 18 soldiers from a box roughly the size of a computer printer.

The UGR stacks four trays of entree, vegetable, starch and dessert between heating units. A quick pull on a single tab launches saline solution to the heaters. Thirty-five minutes later, warriors have an authentic hot meal.

Field-tested in Iraq and Afghanistan, the UGRs proved so popular that troops clamored for them immediately.

"We have 2.2 million war fighters and they all carry weapons, so we don't like to antagonize them," joked Kathy-Lynn Evangelos of the Pentagon's combat feeding program.

UGR menus include Burgundy beef stew, pasta and sausage and Szechuan chicken, plus surprisingly moist and tasty desserts like dulce de leche and devil's fudge cakes.

French toast and honey barbecue beef pocket sandwiches, chunk chicken, teriyaki beef. Zapplesauce sounds like something that you might want the enemy to find, though. Turbo-caffeinated chewing gum?

My hat’s off to the Chemists at Nattick.

The chronicles tell that in the fullness of time the bard Mighty Jam Spoon once again took his station in the public square, and sang a second stanza of the ode of the Prince, wherein the assembled idlers, wastrels, and homeless will delight in the story of their now-King’s Advisors and Courtesans assembl’ng to counsel and discuss the momentous events of these parlous times.

The King displays a new and wondrous skill.

Alack! The Red Hand shortens their number.

Your political party is in trouble. A president that many say is foolish, stubborn, egotistic, and manifests many character traits of the addict, has driven the country into a political, military, and economic morass. Using the excuse of a mismanaged response to a criminal attack on the country, your party’s leaders have shredded the Constitution and subjected every American to unprecedented levels of unconstitutional surveillance, and then lied about what they did.

Multiple corruption scandals have so damaged your party’s brand name that in the last mid-term elections, voters went to the polls in numbers not seen in a generation to elect your opponents into office. The backlash from the corruption and crime is so great that almost two years before the next election, experts from all corners of the political spectrum predict massive defeats at the polls. Some of them predict a generation in the wilderness before voters once again trust your party. The bitter taste of defeat is frightening. Above all else you must desperately hang onto control of one branch of the government, and you decide to fight for the White House. What to do?

Well, if you’re a Republican, you start gaming the system. You cheat.

One part of the scheme is to advocate for all states to push their primary dates forward as much as possible, thereby sowing chaos in the voting, especially in the states with the largest number of electoral votes.

In California a political operative lawyer starts a drive to change the way electoral votes are apportioned. Thomas W. Hiltachk, a legal counsel to California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has proposed California ballot initiative would change the way the state's electoral votes are allocated.

This proposal could cost the Democrats dearly.

An earlier primary may finally give California its proper clout in presidential elections. It would be foolish to undermine that power by forcing the state to do something in the general election that only two other states do: split the electoral vote among congressional districts.

Yet that's exactly what some Republican lawyers and consultants are trying to do, and no wonder. They recognize that California, a strongly Democratic state with more than 10% of the nation's electoral votes, can elect or defeat a president. If California's 55 electoral votes go to the Democratic Party's nominee -- and the smart money is betting they will -- the GOP's candidate will have a much harder time.

Republicans, trying to keep their grip on the White House, want to scrap the winner-take-all system used in 47 other states and instead allow their nominee to pick off California's rural districts. The state would find itself in the company of only Maine and Nebraska, with a paltry nine electoral votes between them and none of California's make-or-break potential. The GOP strategists argue that the current system disenfranchises Californians in the deserts, foothills and other outlying areas.

Some credit this as a wily strategy because there is some belief the Republicans, who stand to lose all the votes, could salvage as many as 15 or 20 votes with this method.

The unusual aspect is that the decision to split the electoral votes wouldn’t become official until June 3rd, 2008, four months after the February 5th primary election and five months before the general election on November 4th, allowing the Republicans a comfortable amount of time to judge whether the change will help their flagging fortunes.

The scheme seems so dishonest that even the Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won’t back it.

In Florida the Democrats have gotten into a very bad bind. The drive to be among the earliest primary elections has set the state against the Democratic National Committee.

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to strip Florida of all its presidential convention delegates, threatening to leave the state without a voice in choosing the party's 2008 nominee, unless it delays the date of its primary election.

The ultimatum marks party leaders' most drastic attempt yet to impose order among states that have been trying to elbow their balloting closer to the front of the election cycle. Three months ago, Florida controversially set its primary for Jan. 29.

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted overwhelmingly to give Florida's party 30 days to reschedule -- to Feb. 5 at the earliest -- or risk losing accreditation for its 210 delegates to the nominating convention next summer in Denver.

A refusal to seat delegates from the nation's fourth most populous state could set the stage for floor fights and a public spectacle at a convention normally choreographed to show party unity.

In an effort to draw more black and Latino voters into backing the party, the DNC allowed South Carolina and Nevada to advance their primary elections, but barred any other state from holding a binding presidential primary before the first Tuesday in February, known as Super Tuesday, which next year is Feb. 5. Seeing an opportunity to hamstring their opponents the Florida Legislature, overwhelmingly Republican, forced through an “election reform” bill that mandated the January 29th primary. Having manufactured a change in two states, the DNC has now refused to permit the Florida change and as a result the Democrats could lose the beneficial effects of the early primary, and might have to finance a very expensive mail-in primary ballot in February.

There’s not much sympathy at the national level. Donna Brazile, who hardly ever acts or speaks as a Democrat, was unwilling “to offer the Florida party "wiggle room" on its primary date: "Some people will moan, and some people will shout, but we have to follow the rules."

Because in American politics, rules are important when they’re enforced against Democrats, right Ms Brazile?

The above quotation is well-known to many. Authoritatively first uttered by Stephen Decatur in a toast at Norfolk, in April 1816:

“Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.”

And so it goes, through the years of history. Decatur was not the first to sound such sentiments. It was just that his were written down.

How does a nation remain “right”? Must it cleave to the moral and righteous path or is it enough to be the strongest bear in the cage? Men have argued through recorded history that nations and men must behave with justice and charity to one another, while others have more cynically that only the law of fang and claw regulates the world.

Our nation was founded upon the ideal that law must be universal, and applied equally among all men. Today we live in the opposite political formation: law is now subservient to the whims and lusts of a few, and all suffer under this dictatorship of greed and ego.

This peculiarity is not unique to any nation or continent. It has been one of the eternal diseases, afflicting and tormenting humanity since before written history. But in the early years of the 21st century it is uniquely our problem, infecting and killing our nation.

Milo’s back, and he has written another insightful look at America’s Disease:

We are addicted to war. Its entrenchment in our view of foreign policy is so deep it astounds me. We think nothing of the death or suffering of others; only of our own interests. It's a message that it blared at us a thousand times a day in the news, and on the Internet, and even in our own History classes. And yet everywhere I turn, it seems like none of my comrades notice.

Until finally, you can play a protest song in a warzone, in a gym full of soldiers, and not one will even react.

Reader Dubhaltach from Gorilla’s Guides points out a Telegraph article in response to the British withdrawal to the Basra Airbase. Its special feature is a rather nasty interview with Field Marshal Generalissimo Fred Kagan, who has probably been stamping his little hooves all day long.

The move, which will put an additional burden on US forces involved in the "troop surge" further north, risks plunging the special relationship between the British and American military to a new low, according to an advisor to President Bush.

Frederick Kagan, one of the architects of the surge strategy, warned that the British departure risked creating "bad feeling" among US troops, some of whom may face extended terms of duty as a result.

He spoke out after the deaths of three British soldiers in Afghanistan, killed by bombs dropped from a US aircraft, placed new strains on the alliance in the other main military theatre.

The article’s lead implies the British troops are paying a price. I bet that to Mr Kagan that is part of the duty the British owe to the US for our great courage and moral leadership in reducing Iraq to an 8th century country that more and more resembles a land devastated by the plague.

In an outspoken interview, Mr Kagan condemned British politicians for failing to understand how best to tackle Islamic extremists, and for refusing to increase the size of the Armed Forces so they could pull their full weight in Iraq.

The arrogance of this appalls me. What he’s saying is that Britain must kill more Iraqis. Being a Likudnik, his idea of warfare is to kill civilians until they are either too frightened to resist or until they are so desperate they cooperate. This strategy has not worked in Gaza or the West Bank, and I couldn’t explain why he thought it would work in Iraq.

To fill the vacuum, US Army chiefs may have to break a promise not to extend operational tours in Iraq beyond the current 15 month maximum, or risk diverting a significant number of the extra soldiers currently in Baghdad for the troop surge.

Mr Kagan, who has just returned from Iraq, said: "The likeliest effect of British withdrawal from Basra is to keep an American unit in country for longer than they would like. I do worry about the short term effects on the relationship between the two countries. It will create bad feeling with American soldiers if they can't go home because the British have left."[emph added]

Well, no surprises here. Mr Kagan will prevail upon Mr Bu$h to withhold intelligence information from the British about the next bombing attack in the UK as punishment for this “betrayal.” (Not that Mr Bu$h would need to be told to do this. It’s probably been a very unpleasant day around the WH for poor Barney.)

Gorilla’s Guides is reporting an hour ago (0615 AM, Eastern Time) that Britain has withdrawn its forces from the joint coordination center located in the compound of the security police command in central Basra (the JCC in al-Hakimiyah).

Both WNA and Aswat Al Iraq are reporting that the British have confirmed that in an operation yesterday evening they evacuated their troops from the joint coordination center located in the compound of the security police command in central Basra (the JCC in al-Hakimiyah). In an operation last night the British moved their troops out of the JCC and transferred them to the main British base in Basrah International Airport 25KM northwest of the city.

The British denied that the evacuation is part of an operation to remove their forces from Basrah saying that it was part of the planned handover of security functions to local forces.

So far this year the British have evacuated three of their bases around Basrah.

British occupation forces in Irak number about 5500 they withdrew 1600 soldier others in the past months.
Britain is the biggest partner of the United States in the occupation of Iraq and its troops were the second largest contingent participating in the American led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The CIA had maintained a listening post in Basra Palace, conducting radio, telephone, and cell phone espionage on Iran, and it was reported a week ago that they hade begun removing equipment in anticipation of the British consolidation to Basra airfield.

A report in this morning’s Independent indicates the US will not try to influence the British consolidation.

Defence ministry insiders confirmed last night that Britain plans to stick to its timetable to pull out of its stronghold at Basra Palace "within days or weeks", despite misgivings from US military and government figures that local Iraqi forces are not ready to take control.

US commanders in Baghdad want Britain to delay the pull-out of 500 British troops, fearing the Iraqi security services are not sufficiently well trained or equipped to control lawlessness.

But in frank discussions between British and American military commanders on the ground, Britain has made it clear it believes the Iraqis are perfectly capable of taking over as early as next week.

The pull-out to Basra airport will have a significant impact on the safety of British troops who are the target of increasingly frequent attacks.

This is going to over-over-stretch our over-stretched forces, as they will now have to increase the security of the daily convoys coming out of Kuwait.

I’m sure the never-right are going to have a very bad day….

There came a time when a bard, the justly named Mighty Jam Spoon, betook himself to the public square and sang his ode of history, telling the legend of a young, privileged prince who grew from the chaos and squalor of youth to become a mighty king himself. The ode of history is long, and the bard has so far sung only the first stanza, yet the citizens of the public square, many of them the homeless peasantry, sat enraptured through the tale.

This is a themed topic opinion thread. I’d like readers’ opinions on a specific topic.

IraqSlogger has a neat little article up about a press demonstration conducted recently at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Several different types of MRAR were driven around the course, over washboard sets, and through water/mud puddles. There are some good pics, but if you’ve been trying to keep the various types (as many as 8) straight in your mind, good luck. These vehicles are described by category type.

BG Michael Brogan, USMC, joint program executive officer and commander of Marine Corps Systems Command, answered questions from the assembled press. According to David Axe, who’s worth reading every day, BG Brogan has a case of the hips because the press are trying to do their jobs.

The Marine Corps general in charge of buying “Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected” trucks for the U.S. military had some harsh words for the media who gathered to observe MRAP testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland this morning. “All troops in theater are happy to see these vehicles,” said Brigadier General Mike Brogan in response to several questions about the armored trucks’ effectiveness. When reporters pressed for specific examples of incidents where MRAPs proved resistant to roadside bombs, Brogan grew impatient. He said that he would not discuss operational details, and pointed out that all the press attention on this potentially $20-billion program was providing intel to insurgents and even encouraging propaganda-motivated attacks on MRAPs. “Because of what you’re doing, these are becoming symbolic targets.” [emph added]

Here we go. Not only are liberals, Democrats and the MSM going to be blamed for the Dolchstosslegende it has apparently been decided that every single casualty endured in these babies will have happened because the MSM took photos of them, wrote about them, and ran video tape on TV.

This will fit in perfectly with the plans of Mr Dorrance Smith, assistant defense secretary for public affairs, to set up yet another a 24/7 news propaganda shop in Baghdad.

So, your opinions, please:

1. Is BG Brogan right? Is telling the American people how their dollars are being spent to protect American soldiers somehow wrong? Does writing about it somehow tell the “enemy” what we’re doing? Do you believe (as apparently BG Brogan does) that the “enemy” don’t have access to the internet and satellite TV and would never know about these 25 ton monsters snorting around the streets of Baghdad if the press didn’t warn them?

2. I noticed in the photo on IraqSlogger that BG Brogan seems to be wearing a class ring. Do you suppose he got it in a cereal box, or as a family heirloom? He apparently never went to college and doesn’t quite understand how this electricity thing works in the one or two hours a day Iraqis have it.