Today's Reading List: 16 & 17 Jun 2007

* recommended reading

NY Times, In Iraq, Gates Says Progress Toward Peace Is Lagging.

The Fourth Rail, 1920 Revolution Brigades turns on al Qaeda in Diyala.

The Fourth Rail, Minarets of Samarra's al-Askaria mosque destroyed; al Qaeda prime suspect.

The Fourth Rail, Samarra Mosque bombing suspects identified; reports of violence.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: The Day After Samarra.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: Sadr's Small Samarra Protest.

* The Fourth Rail, Securing Eastern Anbar Province.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: "Offensive Operations" now underway.

NY Times, G.I.’s in Iraq Open Big Offensive Against Al Qaeda.

Today's Reading List: 11 Jun 2007

* recommended reading

NPR, Political Struggle for Kirkuk Intensifies.

* NPR, Portrait of a Suicide Bomber. This was a very different piece of reporting. Frightening. I recommend it only as a matter of a different perspective, one that I don't hear very often.

Sunni insurgents remain willing and able to blow themselves up in crowded public places. The story of a 29-year-old man with a degree in accounting shows a suicide bomber in the making.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: al Qaeda strikes the security forces.

PRI's The World, New US strategy in Iraq. #1

[Interview] with John Burns, Baghdad bureau chief for the New York Times, about a new US strategy for fighting the insurgency in Iraq. U-S commanders are apparently arming and supporting some of Iraq's sunni insurgents to fight Al Qaeda militants.

PRI's The World, New US strategy in Iraq. #2 COL Nagl discusses counterinsurgency.

US military commanders are apparently using a new strategy in Iraq. They are trying to get Sunni insurgents to turn on former Al-Qaeda allies. Arming former enemies isn't a new strategy.

NBC Nightly News, Enemies become allies in Iraq.

*WSJ's Opinion Journal, 1968 Redux: Echoes of Vietnam in Iraq--especially from the press.

Though there are valid criticisms to be made of how our military leadership conducted the [Vietnam] war for the first three years--blunders that were worsened by disingenuous or misleading briefings at headquarters in Saigon--there is no doubt that the military finally adopted effective counterinsurgency tactics and was turning the tide on the battlefield. By then however, the early mistakes and distortions of reality by both U.S. politicians and military commanders had so undermined their credibility with the press--a press that was only too willing to go with the flow of liberal sentiment here at home--as to make it all but impossible for the administration to secure funding for the war. Sound familiar?

Today's Reading List: 10 Jun 2007

* recommended reading

* WaPo, Military Envisions Longer Stay in Iraq: Officers Anticipate Small 'Post-Occupation' Force.

Such a long-term presence would have four major components. The centerpiece would be a reinforced mechanized infantry division of around 20,000 soldiers assigned to guarantee the security of the Iraqi government and to assist Iraqi forces or their U.S. advisers if they get into fights they can't handle.

Second, a training and advisory force of close to 10,000 troops would work with Iraqi military and police units. "I think it would be very helpful to have a force here for a period of time to continue to help the Iraqis train and continue to build their capabilities," Odierno said.

In addition, officials envision a small but significant Special Operations unit focused on fighting the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I think you'll retain a very robust counterterror capability in this country for a long, long time," a Pentagon official in Iraq said.

Finally, the headquarters and logistical elements to command and supply such a force would total more than 10,000 troops, plus some civilian contractors.

Today's Reading List: 8 Jun 2007

* recommended reading

NPR, Diane Rehm Show, Friday News Round-Up, Hour 2. Didn't catch all of it, but the part I heard about them (the news reporters) talking about Iraq made me ill. MSM still making me sick.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: The Turkish Invasion that wasn't.

* The Fourth Rail, Targeting the Iranian "Secret Cells".

Weekly Standard, Too Soon to Tell: Judgment on the progress or failure of the Baghdad Security Plan shouldn't be passed during its opening phase.

Today's Reading List: 7 Jun 2007

* recommending reading/viewing

NPR, Troop Surge key in Securing a Third of Baghdad.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, says since the increase of troops in Iraq nearly four months ago, U.S. forces have gotten control of one-third of Baghdad. He says that attacks by Shiite extremists are on the rise, in part due to some influence they have on Iraqi security forces. By September he hopes to have a majority of the city under control.

Military.com, Counterinsurgency Expert's Iraq Advice.

Recruit more Iraqi Soldiers and increase their divisions from 11 to 20. Dr. David Kilcullen [21 years in the Australian army was a special advisor for irregular warfare during the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, and remains a reserve lieutenant colonel in the Australian army], an authority on counterinsurgency, was appointed to advise the MNF-Iraq commander, Gen. David Petraeus. Dr. Kilcullen visited Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade out of Fort Drum, N.Y., to take stock of the "Commando" brigade's progress June 2 and 3.

The Fourth Rail, Featured Report from Iraq: COIN, Sheikhs and Eatin’ Goat.

In today’s COIN environment, what was accomplished with the meeting was as critical as any kinetic movement. The return of Sheikh Khamis signifies not only the improvement made in the security of the region, but more importantly, the government leaders in Ramadi and Baghdad now have a recognized spokesman for the region.

Iraq Slogger, US Troops, Former Enemy Launch Joint Patrols: One-Time Foes Team Up in Baghdad's al Qaeda-Infested Amariyah Neighborhood. (h/t TFR)

Baghdad – U.S. forces have begun conducting joint patrols with Sunni resistance fighters in the Sunni enclave of Amiriyah where a group of local leaders have banded together to fight al-Qaeda, U.S. Army officials said Tuesday.

DefenseLink, Pace Meets with Families, Extended Soldiers.

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii, June 6, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met yesterday with some of the first soldiers and family members to be affected by the Army’s new 15-month deployments to Iraq. . . .

When troops come home, he said, they get awards and family members pretend they had nothing to do with it. “The fact of the matter is, you earned that award as much as your spouse,” he told the family members. “You serve the country as well as anyone who’s ever worn a uniform."

Pace urged the audience to ask him questions without fear of hurting his feelings or embarrassing him. He offered his signature coin to the first person to ask a question, and an aviator’s wife [our blogging gal Homefront 6] asked about incentive pay for aviators. The chairman said he would look into it and that he believed incentive pay should be the same throughout the services. . . .

NPR, 'War Czar': Iraq Surge Has Mixed Results.

Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said at his confirmation hearing that he doubts the Iraqis' capacity to make the necessary political moves to quickly calm violence and govern themselves effectively. Members of the Armed Services Committee expressed support for Lute, but several — including Republicans — expressed skepticism about the progress of the war.

* NBC Nightly News, Jihadists pose as Americans online. Video. SPC Lee Tucker's computer was stolen and his identify was being used to promote the anti-war agenda against the "weak-minded Americans". Maybe the MSM will see that they too are part of the anti-war propaganda machine based on their choice of reporting. Any chance of that? Hmmm.

Today's Reading List: 6 Jun 2007

* recommended reading

* The Fourth Rail, The Baghdad Order of Battle and the New York Times. A look at the progress of the surge in Baghdad. Putting it in context.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: Targeting the tribes; Reconciliation and Raids. A lot of bad guys were killed or captured.

The Fourth Rail, Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: June 2007 Update. On May 30, 2007, the Kurdish Regional Government went to Provincial Iraqi Control. That makes 7 of 18 provinces turned over. (Muthanna, Najaf, DhiQar and Maysan in south; Dohuk, Arbil and Sulmaniyah in the North.)

* The Weekly Standard, Misunderstanding the Surge.

There will be many difficult months to come, as our enemies attempt not only to make the strategy fail, but to convince Americans and Iraqis that it will fail. There is no guarantee that any military strategy will succeed, of course, which is why commanders should evaluate the progress of their strategy. But our new military commanders have understood the problems mentioned in the Times article for months, and they are actively working to solve them. The New York Times wrongly judges the current commanders by their predecessors' expectations. And it wrongly presents their efforts to solve legacy problems as evidence that the current effort has failed. It may be emotionally easier for some simply to convince themselves that the U.S. has already failed in Iraq. But success remains possible if we have the will to try to achieve it.

NY Times, Commanders Say Push in Baghdad Is Short of Goal. Since when is a "one-page assessment, which was provided to The New York Times and summarized reports from brigade and battalion commanders in Baghdad" sufficient to provide any analysis of what is going on in the terribly complex situation that is Iraq? Just asking. The next sentence: "The assessment offers the first comprehensive look at the progress of the effort to stabilize Baghdad with the heavy influx of additional troops." One-page = comprehensive?

* Opinion Journal (WSJ), Realists on Iraq: Democratic presidential candidates should listen to the "experts" they so often cite.

Consider Brent Scowcroft, dean of the Realist School, who openly opposed the war from the outset and was a lead skeptic of the president's democracy-building agenda. In a recent Financial Times interview, he succinctly summed up the implication of withdrawal: "The costs of staying are visible; the costs of getting out are almost never discussed. If we get out before Iraq is stable, the entire Middle East region might start to resemble Iraq today. Getting out is not a solution." . . .

If the Realists, neighboring Arab regimes, our intelligence community and some of the most knowledgeable reporters all say such a course could be disastrous, on what basis are the withdrawal advocates taking their position?

The American people are understandably frustrated with Iraq. But this does not mean they will be satisfied with politicians who support a path that could make matters much worse.

Financial Times, Scowcroft warns against Iraq pullout. In addition to the above . . .

In the meantime, the US should stay, but avoid becoming involved in Iraq’s internal conflict. “In creating a democracy we created a revolution; a social and religious revolution,” said General Scowcroft.

Yet, “in Iraq there is less than a quarter of the proportionate manpower (we used) to occupy Bosnia or Kosovo. (We should) gradually withdraw from inter-sectarian warfare. Shia versus Sunni is not a problem we can solve. The problem is it’s a zero sum game among the groups.”

Instead, he said, “we can train the army, back up the army. It’s a pretty cruel strategy, (but) I don’t think we can solve the civil war.”

National Review Online, Honesty About Iraq: How are we doing?

. . . Somehow “thousands have been killed” is never qualified as those mostly butchered and blown up by insurgents — since the loose use of the passive voice lends a general sense that somehow Americans are directly involved in, or responsible for, the killing.

Our soldiers are fighting brilliantly, and history will record they are defeating the enemy while suffering historically low casualties. But if the sacrifice of American youth is not tied — daily, hourly — to larger strategic and humanitarian goals by eloquent statesmen who believe in the mission, then cynicism follows and, with it, despair. . . .

NY Times, Delta Company on Patrol. "Delta Company" in Khadamiya, Baghdad. The lead-in: "In interviews with more than a dozen soldiers, most said they were disillusioned by the situation in Iraq." Slideshow with captions like these:

He and many of his fellow soldiers have come to believe that the Iraq war is a futile civil war.

They have come under increasing attack by roadside bombs placed near Iraqi army and police checkpoints.

Two nights earlier, they were ambushed with an improvised explosive device and one soldier was wounded.

He believes that many Iraqi Army soldiers are actually insurgents.

To Sergeant Kevin O’Flarity, left, a watershed moment was when he learned that in a fight between his unit and insurgents, among the dead were at least two Iraqi Army soldiers that American forces had helped train and arm.

Griffin understands the criticism of the Iraqi forces, but believes that the war effort must be given more time.

Gosh, I wonder why Americans feel so depressed about Iraq?

Today's Reading List: 5 Jun 2007

The Fourth Rail, Featured Report from Iraq: The Intellectual Grunt – Part Two. Lead by following, Be a sensitive warrior, Greater risks equal lesser risks.

The Fourth Rail, Amariyah, the Anbar Salvation Council and Reconciliation. “We dispatched around 50 of our secret police from Anbar to Amiriyah, and started to hit Al Qaeda there. We killed a lot of them,” Sheikh Hamid al-Hais, the head of the Anbar Salvation Council. . . . The Anbar Salvation Council has formed a “clandestine SWAT unit” which is capable of operating outside of the western province, an American military intelligence official close to the operations of the group told us. These are the “secret police" described by of Sheikh al-Hais.

The Fourth Rail, Iraq Report: Battle in Babil; Amariyah update.

The Fourth Rail, Mahdi rocket teams destroyed in Sadr City.

The Fourth Rail, Featured Report from Iraq: Battle Sight Zero. Training Iraqi Soldiers.

NPR, Shiite Police Blamed for Planting Roadside Bombs.

Today's Reading List: 4 Jun 2007

LA Times, Fire the incompetents, find the Pattons. "War imposes far different demands on soldiers than does the routine life of the garrison. Some who are perfectly adequate peacetime soldiers fail the audit of conflict and have to be shunted aside (as happened to hundreds of generals in the Civil War and World War II), while others who were malcontents in peacetime (think of Ulysses S. Grant or George S. Patton) excel on the battlefield and rocket to the top."

NPR, FBI Foils Alleged Attack on JFK Airport.

NPR, Accused's Age Is Focus at Guantanamo Tribunal.

NPR, Violence Rages in Western Baghdad. Deeepressssssing. When it is super bad, they are all over. Not much reporting on the quiet parts of town. Too boring I guess.

NPR, U.S. Plans for Post-War Iraq Emerging.

Today's Reading List: 3 June 2007

NYTimes, With Korea as Model, Bush Team Ponders Long Support Role in Iraq.

In a Democratic-controlled Congress, which continues to press for a troop withdrawal deadline, talk of permanent bases is not welcome, though many Democrats acknowledge that the United States cannot simply leave Iraq in chaos. Nor is the idea popular in the Middle East, though some countries are desperate for a strategic counterweight to Iran’s growing power.

Today's Reading List: 1 & 2 June 2007

* recommended reading

1 June
NPR, Bloody Month in Iraq, Despite U.S. Troop 'Surge'.

NPR, Retired Generals Decry Military Politics.

Foreign Affairs, Al Qaeda Strikes Back. "By rushing into Iraq instead of finishing off the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Washington has unwittingly helped its enemies: al Qaeda has more bases, more partners, and more followers today than it did on the eve of 9/11. Now the group is working to set up networks in the Middle East and Africa -- and may even try to lure the United States into a war with Iran. Washington must focus on attacking al Qaeda's leaders and ideas and altering the local conditions in which they thrive."

2 June
*NPR, Seeking Perspective on the U.S. Death Toll in Iraq. ". . . Given the right circumstances, Americans are quite prepared to tolerate far higher casualties. Roughly 43,000 people die on our roads and highways every year. . . . There is a reason for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq that has more to do with American interests: stability in the Persian Gulf, the world's single largest producer and exporter of oil and natural gas. . . . Blood for oil has never been a popular slogan in America. But try to separate us from our motor vehicles and you'll get a sense of where our national interests lie. And if you try to keep those vehicles running without Persian Gulf oil, you'll know that a complete U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is nowhere in our immediate future."

Today's Reading List: 31 May 2007

* recommended reading.

NYT. U.S. and Iraqi Forces Seek Abducted Britons in Raid.

WS. The Fourth Rail. Iraq Report: Kidnapped by Mahdi; Salahadin Salvation attacked. 30 May 2007.

Badgers Forward. MRAP is Just Fine or All Bombs are not Created Equal. New vehicle vs. new weapon. Context for USA Today article (which I did not read).

The Fourth Rail. Podcast with Military.com. Surge progress. Slow progress with Iraqi government, but progress nonetheless. On MSM: lack of understanding, laziness, playing to the lowest common denominator.

The Fourth Rail. Featured Report from Iraq: The Intellectual Grunt – Part One. By Gene E. Blanton, embed with 3/6 Marines in Habbaniyah. The insurgency in Al Anbar is fought in four distinctive elements: disruption, permanent persistent presence, transition, and handover.

* The Fourth Rail. Featured Report from Iraq: A look at the surge from Baghdad. By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, embedded with the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery in western Baghdad. The Strategy: strategic disengagement.

Virtually all the U.S. officials with whom I spoke feel that American strategy now boils down to a single goal: strategic disengagement. That is, the U.S. wants to strengthen the Iraqi government to the point that it is self-sustaining enough that the country will not collapse into chaos as U.S. troops are brought back home. . . .

U.S. strategy is not just military in nature. Rather, it is designed to eliminate some of the underlying conditions that sap the average Iraqi’s faith in the country’s civil society.

Conclusion:

Right now our country is embroiled in a critical debate about setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Unfortunately, this is one of the most intellectually impoverished political debates that I have ever witnessed, with both sides often resorting to sloganeering and demagoguery rather than substantive argumentation. One thing that my time in Iraq underscored to me is that, in looking at the country, many people see what they want to see. I would often think about the stories that journalists might write if they went where I went and saw what I saw. For example, after my first night on patrol—when the civilians we saw were clearly happy to see U.S. troops and felt comfortable around them—a conservative journalist might write a piece countering the stories about Iraqis hating us and wanting us to leave. Fine—but what about polls indicating that a shockingly high percentage of Iraqis think it’s okay to kill American troops? What about neighborhoods where U.S. troops would encounter a very different reception? On the other hand, a liberal journalist could write a very funny piece about the Iraqi army’s sloth and trigger-happy approach to the world, and conclude that we need to leave immediately because the Iraqi security forces are hopeless and at least a withdrawal will put some fire in their belly. Fine—but what about Iraqi soldiers’ improvements? What about the likelihood that pulling out would guarantee the Iraqi army’s failure?

There is some truth to both the right-wing and left-wing narratives above. But policymakers and analysts need to do better than having some truth to their positions. The Iraq debate is so important that politicians and opinion-leaders shouldn’t simply latch onto evidence that supports their pre-existing view. My intention in this report is to provide an objective assessment of a number of critical strategic trends in Iraq—and in that way help to advance public debate beyond where it currently sits.

Today's Reading List: 30 May 2007

WaPo. William Arkin's Blog. More on Baseball and Blogs. Uh, what was his point, again? "I would prefer that all Americans saw themselves as team owners: that was the point of my column." Then why didn't you just say that in the first place.


NYTimes. Strife in North Iraq as Sunni Arabs Drive Out Kurds. Story focuses on Mosul. Compare to yesterday's good news posts from Irbil (Arbil) to the east of Mosul. Does this really qualify as positive sign, that NYT is posting something using the word "positive" about Iraq? Of course, it is buried in the story when it should BE the story. No further comment on this positive sign.

There are some positive signs, American commanders say. As in Anbar Province,
some Sunni militants are chafing at the Islamist agenda of Al
Qaeda, said Lt. Col. Eric Welsh, leader of the Second Battalion, Seventh
Cavalry, the single American combat battalion in Mosul.

MNF-I. Engineers clear way for new school. Damaged outpost in Baqubah demolished. Army guys do like to blow stuff up. And the author of the article must too cause that's the focus.

Today's Reading List

In an effort to help me remember where I read/heard/saw a particular piece of information, I am going to start keeping a list of what I read/hear/see that relates to this war. It will contain the good, the bad, and the ugly. I anticipate it being mostly from MSM, but there will probably be blog posts too. They are not recommended readings unless I point that out specifically, which will be done with an asterisk before the entry. The list may be long or short or non-exisitant. It may be helpful to you or not. I figure I might as well publish the list rather than letting it sit in a file somewhere.

* recommended reading.

*Opinion Journal (by way of Trying to Grok). America's Honor: The stories behind Memorial Day. Great pieces of astounding heroism. Tear warning.

Opinion Journal. The Conservative Mind: The American right is a cauldron of debate; the left isn't. "Consider Iraq. The split among conservatives has widened since Saddam was toppled in the spring of 2003. . . . "

Opinion Journal. Best of the Web. New York Times: 2 papers in 1. Cindy Sheehan goes home to children. More on Kerry flip-flop.

The Weekly Standard. The Army We Need: We can't fight The Long War with the forces we have. Even Hillary and Obama calling for increase in size of Army and Marines.

The Weekly Standard. Don't Abandon the Iraqis: The high stakes of the war. Al Qaeada and Iran.