From the Taipei Times: Fukuda seeks greater military role.

     Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday told a resurgent opposition that Japan must not be a "bystander" in the US-led "war on terror" as he fought to extend a naval mission in the Indian Ocean.

     The opposition won control of one house of parliament in July elections and has vowed to defeat government proposals to extend the naval mission providing fuel and logistical support to US-led forces in Afghanistan.

     It has so far ignored a government compromise that would stop refueling operations backing combat troops, restricting support to ships policing the Indian Ocean.

     Addressing a parliamentary committee attended by key lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition, Fukuda said that Japan, as the world's second-largest economy, needed to contribute to international security.

     Saying that the international community was united after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, Fukuda said: "How can we sit back as a bystander?"

     He also assured the opposition that the Indian Ocean mission does not violate Japan's pacifist Constitution, which was imposed by the US after World War II.

     "First of all, the mission is not an act of force," Fukuda said. "It does not infringe on the Constitution at all."

     Ok, Ozawa doesn't want the MSDF to support combat ops but he is OK with sending ground troops to participate in ISAF, where the inevitable result would be real, live (or dead) Japanese casaulties.  This plays up what I was saying earlieer, the longer you go with out adressing the reality of the situation the more warped your preception of reality becomes.  If Fukuda wants to play a bigger role in such military operations he should go ahead and do one of three things.

1.  Bluntly admit that the mere exsistance of the SDF violates the constitution (which it does as noted here) and that of you are already in violation then there is nothing holding Japan back from violating the rest of article nine.  Call this the 'in for a penny, in for a pound' approach.

2.  Force through a revision to the constitutional amendment law to get rid of the three year waiting period before the constitution can be amended and move for an immeadate amendment of article nine.  This is the legalistic approach, and the one that offers the most legitimacy, at least to those that would scream bloody murder if Japan went for option one.

3.  Deny that the current constitution is not binding on Japan due to the fact that it was adopted under duress.  This of course ignores the fact the current constitution was ratified by a plebicite before it came into effect, but the argument can be made that the involvement of the occupying power in the drawing up of the governmental charter taints it due to the clearly superior-inferior status of the two nations. 

     Of these three options I would say one would only happen if a PM had an unassailable majority in both houses, massive popularity and a mjor crisis on Japan's doorstep, in which case national security takes precedence over what other people may think.  Number two is by far the most likely, but still a long shot as the DPJ was largely opposed to the current amendment law that was passed back in may.  As for number three it is only possible on an earth in some paralell universe, the political  and practical fall out at home and abroad would simply not be worth the results in any sense of the word.

     So how do you play a bigger role in military operations when you can not allow your military to actually fight?  That is a question that I certainly can't answer, one can either fight or not.  I am deeply apreciative of the actions that Japan has taken thus far, but once more I have to say that Prime Minister Fukuda should change the debate from wether or not Japan should be supporting such operations, but rather why she must participate directly, and that article nine is a relic of the past that needs to placed firmly where it belongs, in the past.

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From Fox News: Democrats Edge Away From Troop Withdrawal Legislation Despite Heavy Rhetoric.

     WASHINGTON  —  Congressional Democrats have put on the back burner legislation ordering troops home from Iraq and turned their attention to war-related proposals that Republicans are finding hard to reject.

     The legislative agenda marks a dramatic shift for party leaders who vowed repeated votes to end combat and predicted Republicans would eventually join them. But with Democrats still lacking enough votes to bring troops home, the party runs the risk of concluding its first year in control of Congress with little to show for its tough anti-war rhetoric.

     "We can no longer approach the discussion on Iraq as a partisan issue," said Rep. John Tanner, a conservative Democrat from Tennessee. "Our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Guardsmen aren't fighting as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans."

     Damn, I thought my head was going to explode there for a minute.  Some little birdy must have reminded that next year is an election year and that pandering to the far left was a sure way to get un-elected.  Now I don't believe for a minute that most of these dummy Dems are merely following the latest polling data, and would say they supported an immeadate invasion of North Korea if they thought that was what the public wanted to hear.  Their Viet Nam legacy has once more bitten them in the ass, the American public, unlike Dimocratic legislatures want to make damn sure another Viet Nam doesn't happen. Why can't these America hating hippie commie wanna bes just hurry up and fade from the scene already.  Their rhetoric was tired in the seventies and it is only more so thirty some odd years later.

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     Talking about military issues in Japanese politics is like trying to have a frank discussion about social security in the US, everyone knows the issue needs to be adressed yet no one really wants to risk the political backlash of changing the status quo.  Largely this is the result of years of smeantic footwork to avoid and conceal the fact the Japanese government has long been in violation of Article nine of the Japanese constitution.  See my previous thoughts on that issue here.

Exhibit 1: PM treads softly on collective self-defense issue.

From the Yomuiri Shimbun:

     Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday at the House of Representatives Budget Committee that the issue of the right to collective self-defense has to be handled "carefully," a departure from former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's tendency to lean toward approving the use of the right.

     "Sufficient discussions are necessary on what kind of international activities the Self-Defense Forces may exercise the right to collective self-defense in terms of the constitutional interpretation," he said.

      Under the government's interpretation of the Constitution, Japan has the right of collective self-defense under international law, but may not exercise the right.

     So we can have a military but we can not use it.  If that is the case then why maintain a military at all?  Everyone knows that this is utter bullshit but no mone has the stones enough to stand up and say so.  If Japan is ever going to become a normal nation the continual self deluding, feel good semantic trickery needs to come to an end.  Just as when the SDF was formed no one bought into the concept of a military witout military potential as it was described, I do not think anyone really believes the position that has been continuously put forward by the Japanese government, even by the current PM.  For him it is simply an excuse to shoot down a proposal by the DPJ, one that he probably should have siezed and run with because, A) it would help to further normalize Japan militarily and B) because Ozawa probably figured that Fukuda would reject his offer.  If he had agreed he could have shifted the playing field further toward normal than by only pursuing the current path, which is important and helpful, but why have just one piece of cake when the offer of two is on the table?

Exhibit 2:

From the Japan Times: Ozawa's Afghan gambit rejected.

     Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura on Tuesday rejected Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa's suggestion that Japan participate in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

     Afghanistan is "a very dangerous area and can be called a combat zone," Machimura said during a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.

     "Based on the Constitution (which prohibits the use of force), we cannot support" Ozawa's opinion that Japan should participate in ISAF activities, he said.

     The semantic confusion surrounding the SDF creates another problem, namely that it isn't entirely clear who has the final say regarding the conduct and scope of ongoing SDF missions.  This lack of a readily identifiable civilian commander and chief is something that I have noted before, here.  The editors at the Japan Times seem to think that the Diet needs to approve evry detail of the operations as the continue, at least that is how I read what their syaing.  You have to give someone a final say, because if you let the whole of the diet run things nothing will ever get done as any slightly contentious issue gets bogged down in days or weeks of debate when an important decision might need to be made in hours or even minutes.

Exhibit 3:

From the Japan Times: Refueling bill undercuts Diet.

     The ruling coalition has presented the opposition bloc with an outline of a new law to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. The new law, if enacted, will replace the current special law, which expires Nov. 1. Although similar to the current law, the new law would undermine civilian control of the Self-Defense Forces because it would not require Diet approval for starting a new operation.

     Under the current law, the MSDF is refueling naval ships of the United States and other countries to support antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. The law, which was enacted in late October 2001 and remains in effect for two years, has been renewed three times.

     At some level a degree of autonomy must be given, because the person on the scene is typically much better equipped to make a decision than some one commanding a desk in Tokyo.  The smeantic maze that Japanese defense issues are trapped in can only be escaped from by a prime minister saying what should have been said long ago.   That Japan will take any actions she deems necessary to maintain her security, up to and including pre-emptive unilateral military action.  Every other country in the world takes this position, so why should Japan be any different?  She shouldn't be, and it is time to accept that break with the past.  Idealism is all well and good, but the world today calls for hard and cold pragmatism.  Until then the endless semantic maze will keep Japan's full potential on the international scene trapped inside.

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     Sometimes somebody has to state the obvious and this is just such a case.  The Japanese have managed to muddle through each crisis as it developed, but the inadequacy of having a basic framework fro using and governing the use of her military Japan hamstrings herself even in situations where she has both a vested interest in participating in operations and a public consenus to do so.

From the Japan Times: Permanent SDF law should set dispatch principles: Ishiba.

     Japan needs a permanent law that lays out the basic rules for dispatching the Self-Defense Forces overseas, instead of enacting short-term special laws for each mission, newly appointed Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a recent interview.

     "We should set basic principles and rules to decide under what conditions we will send (SDF units) overseas," said Ishiba, a noted expert on defense issues. "Enacting a special law each time is problematic.

     Given the fact that the world is only going to become more unsettled before stability returns one hope that the Diet will sit up and take notice of Defense Minister Ishiba's words.  The current mission in the Indian ocean looks to be continued despite the opposition of the DPJ, so why not prevent such wasted energy and time in the future by permanently fixing the problem now than putting off down the road for a nother two years.  The results would likely be the same and would give Japan a lot more manuvering room on the international front.

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From the Japan Times: DPJ faces dilemma as MSDF support grows.

     Opposition camp leader Ichiro Ozawa is facing his first big challenge since his party marked a historic victory in July's Upper House election — a widening gap between public support for Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and his resistance to it.

     While new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is calling on Ozawa for dialogue on the contentious diplomatic issue in the Diet, which reopened Monday, everyone is waiting to see how Ozawa can survive what critics are calling a "shrewd" trap set by the soft-spoken and more seasoned prime minister than his inexperienced predecessor, Shinzo Abe.

     Ozawa, head of the Democratic Party of Japan, is against a government plan to continue the refueling mission by Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to support antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan on the grounds that there is no U.N. authorization for the naval mission. The special temporary law authorizing the mission expires Nov. 1.

     The public apparently backed Ozawa's argument several weeks ago, with a Kyodo News poll showing at the end of August that 48.2 percent opposed the continuation of the mission, while 38.6 percent supported it.

     However, after Fukuda took office Sept. 25, the trend has reversed, with 49.6 percent in the latest poll saying the government should continue the MSDF mission and 39.5 percent opposing it.

     This is reversal is due to two things, the utter comitment and resolve the LDP has shown and the politically brilliant move of obtaining the UN Resolution praising the JMSDF's mission in the Indian ocean.  Whoever came up with that play is a master, understanding and using the Japanese public's love of multilateral organizations to give the mission a huge amount of piblic legitmacy.  That will be difficult to overcome, as the Japanese man on the street wants his nation to be respected and admired in the brotherhood of nations, and perhaps even more so given Japan's past.  I would be willing to sya that the DPJ is going to have to except a new law allowing the mission to continue, and use what political capital they have to win concessions to advance other parts of their platform.

The JDS Mashu resupplies the USS Anzio in the Indian ocean. (USN Photo)

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq and Defend America:

Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner and Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, Oct. 3 (Briefing, with a PowerPoint presentation!)

Cache found in Mansour.

Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda killing six terrorists, two suspects detained.

Attack aviation crews kill roadside bombers.

Cavalry Soldiers, ISF detain high-value individual.

Coalition forces detain 12 suspects during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda.

Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain four extremists in Southern Iraq But the most important news comes at the end of the story "No Iraqi or U.S. forces were injured during these raids."

Iraqi, Coalition Forces detain six extremists in Tha’Alba raid.

New Ramps Increase Bagram Capacity.

Al Mamoon rises again.

82nd SB enhances Polish capabilities.

International news links, Oct. 3, 2007 A link to links, some good stuff though.

New Exchange Makes Life Better for Deployed.

Concerned citizens turn in cache.

New School Offers Space for Learning.

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1 Ooohhh, I bet Gen. Walsh has LOTS of slides......

Posted by: Nick at October 03, 2007 10:07 PM (Z7Vo0)

2 PowerPoint, crack for staff officers.  There is even a seperate link to the PowerPoint slides in quetsion too, for the really dedicated types. 

Posted by: Raging Tachikoma at October 04, 2007 05:40 PM (cqI3i)

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From the Yomiuri Shimbun: Bill would require MSDF mission reports.

     Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday drew up an outline for a new bill that would extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

     Key elements of the new bill would restrict the MSDF's activities to refueling and supplying water to vessels of other countries, and would require the government to periodically report on the MSDF's activities to the Diet.

     On Tuesday, the government and the ruling parties reached a broad agreement on the outline of the bill, government sources said.

     A clause in the current Antiterrorism Law that requires Diet approval for the activities likely will be scrapped.

     The DPJ seems to get some, but not all of what it wants in this bill.  They would be kept in the  loop but they would, quite rightly not have a veto over the operations themselves.  Really this whole flare up is due in part to the fact that the exsistence of article nine means that their is no one person or entity that is readily identifiable as the civilian comander and chief of the Japanese military.  In a more normal constitutional monarchy this would typically be the Prime Minister, acting on behalf of the sovergien.  But it is all up in the air right in Japan.  This is something that needs to be corrected, because if a war were to break out that pulled in Japan the current situation would have far too many chefs in the kitchen.

And some more evidence for the continuation of the JMSDF's mission in the Indian ocean. MSDF pullout would hit antiterror efforts.

     The legal authority for the Maritime Self-Defense Force's logistical support operations in the Indian Ocean, primarily involving the refueling of warships that form the multinational force patrolling the region as part of the war on terrorism, looks set to end next month.

     In mid-September, reporters were shown the MSDF's activities in the Indian Ocean ahead of a Diet session in which the ruling and opposition parties were to debate whether the Antiterrorism Law should be extended.

     The first-hand look at the operations, conducted as part of the ongoing antiterrorism efforts, help answer questions arising from the military tie-up with the multinational force and clarify Japan's national interests.

     During the press briefing on the Indian Ocean, the Tokiwa, an MSDF supply vessel, provided fuel to a Pakistani Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea, north of the Indian Ocean. At sea, the blazing sun had sent temperatures soaring to 39 C. From the bridge, an MSDF officer spoke in English over a walkie-talkie to guide the Pakistani warship in. The ship approached the stern of the Tokiwa then drew up on its starboard side.

The Towada class AOE JDS Tokiwa at sea.

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq and Defend America:

Rashid citizens march in support of security volunteers.

Explosives removed from streets of Jamia.

Defenders conduct first-ever cooperative medical engagement.

Fallujah Citizens Honored for Volunteer Work.

Marines Help Djiboutian Villagers.

Airfield Recycling Project Creates Jobs for Afghans.

828 Iraqi Police recruits graduate training.

Putting Iraqis out front: U.S. Soldiers aid Iraqi Police with missions.

Diyala Governor: Attack “will not weaken good people."

Operation Blore Heath III

Basrah Regional Courthouse Project Reaches Halfway Mark.

Troops Learn to Factor Helicopters into Battle Rhythm.

Operational Security is everyones responsibility!

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Fro the Yomiuri Shimbun: Fukuda urges DPJ to discuss MSDF mission.

     Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called on the Democratic Party of Japan to enter discussions on the extension of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, likely by compiling another law to extend the operation.

     "To make a new law is one way. I think the overall direction is rather going that way," Fukuda said during a press conference held after the formation of his new Cabinet. "If so, we may explain it before [the submission of a bill for the new law] to the opposition parties to win their understanding, or we can discuss it in the Diet."

     The LDP's comittment to continuing Japan's support and Participation in the Global War on Terror is comendable, but the stubborness of the DPJ remains a stumbling block.  I hope that the instalationof Fukuda as PM can break negotiations loose between the two parties.  But if the DPJ refuses to play a part in reaching a compromise solution it is likely then that Fukuda will simply use his control of the lower house of the Diet to ra through a bill over the objections of the upper house.  He has the politiacl capital to due so that Abe had lost when this issue first reared its head last month.

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Both Storeis from the Korea Times:

NK Denounces US for Defending Israel Against Syria.

     North Korea on Monday denounced Washington and U.S. media for siding with Israel after its air strike on Syria, but kept silent on suspicions raised by the New York Times and other American media about possible trade of nuclear materials between the North and Syria, Yonhap News reported.

     "Israeli warplanes' intrusion into the territorial airspace of Syria and subsequent bomb-dropping are an outright and violent violation of Syria's sovereignty. The Israeli acts are also a grave crime that destroys regional peace and security," Yonhap quoted the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's Workers' Party, as saying in an article.

Rice Calls on NK to Make Nuke Issue Transparent.

     U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Sunday called on North Korea to make transparent fully its nuclear weapons program amid reports it was secretly assisting Syria to develop an atomic weapons facilities, the AFP reported in New York.

     Heh, I wonder if the Israeli's blew up a few of Kim's technical advisors to whatever the Syrians and by extension the Iranians were up to.  No real in depth analisys tonight, I am too tired.  One more post and then I am off to bed.

Feeling Tired, and Sleepy.

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     South Korea is in an unenviable situation at the moment, just when it seemed that relations with the North were improving every so slightly, word comes that the Nork's are bussy shipping their suppousedly dismantled nuke program to Syria.  What could be worse than this on the eve of the second Korean summit beteween the leaders of the North and South?  The South Korean Forgein minister making a fool of himself.

From the Korea Times:

     South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Monday dismissed recent reports of alleged nuclear
cooperation between North Korea and Syria, saying no one has any concrete evidence to prove the allegation.

     Song also pointed to conflicting reports on the level of cooperation between the countries.

     "If Syria received nuclear materials from North Korea, it must have a facility to store the nuclear material, but as far as I know, Syria does not have any nuclear (storage) facility," Song told reporters.

Foreign Minister Song Dismisses Reports on Alleged NK-Syria.

     I feel the need to remind the South Korean government of Mark Twain's sage advice. "Better not to speak and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

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     The Israeli raid of September 6^th wasn't a smash and dash but a grab and go raid, as I noted here.  It is nice to be ahead of the curve occansionaly, and the independent confirmation is just, well not reassuring, but useful.

From the Sunday Times via Fox News

     Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to Sunday Times report citing informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.

     The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.

Report: Israeli Forces Seized Nuclear Material During Syrian Raid.

    The US had no veto over this raid, we were informed as a courtesy from one ally to another.  Still though, just what was it that they seized?  We aren't likely to find out any time soon, so let the speculation begin.

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From The Usual Suspects

National Guard Leader Visits Horn of Africa.

New Multi-Ethnic Afghan Police Force Grows.

‘Grassroots’ will be catalyst for change in Baghdad, commander says.

Iraq violence lowest since ’06 mosque attack – U.S.

U.S. to start accepting 1,000 Iraqi refugees a month.

Coalition airpower supports ground troops.

Iraqi Doctors Get New Medical Books.  A U.S. Army surgeon has established a revolving medical library of sorts, comprised of donations of the latest books and journals to help Iraqi doctors.

Proposed Agricultural Union will aid security, stability.

82nd Sustainment Brigade “grows the future” with Combat Logistics Patrol Academy.

Democrats fail to pass antiwar bills despite unpopular conflict in Iraq.

Osprey tilt-rotor squadron heads to Iraq

Iraq asks Russia to cancel 80 percent of debt.

Violence down in northern Iraqi province.

Iraqis graduate Casualty Treatment Course.

"Keep 'em Clean, Keep 'em Deadly!"

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4 Israeli Air Force F-15I medium bombers, a variant of the F-15E, planes like these participated in the raid of September 6.

     The Isareli Air Force raid into Syria on the sixth has become a much more intriguing story over the last 48 hours. While originally billed as a strike at weapons bound for Hezbolah, it is clear now that the raid was aimed at a high prioity, time sensitive target that had to be destroyed and destroyed right away.  The strike was deep into eastern Syria, only 50 miles from the Iraqi border along the Euphrates river, proving to the world, and in particular Iran that the IAF is more than capable of deeply penetrating a modern intergrated air defense network.  What the actual target was is not yet entirely clear to us but the Israelis thought valuable enough to send in a commando team to recon the target and paint it with a laser designator for LGB's, rather than using JDAMs in a standoff strike.  LGBs are used when only true pinpoint accuracy will do.  While infiltarting Syrian airspace with 8 or 9 jets is impressive the helo carrying the commandos would have been hard pressed to cross from northern Israel that deeply into Syria without being detected and would have been in need of fuel even with auxiallary tanks to make the return trip.  Someone helped set this up for the Israelis, giving them a forward base to launch the ground ellement of the attack.  The most likely nation to provide that help is Turkey, given the short distances involved and the close military relationship between the two middle eastern democracies.  The other possibility is that the US allowed Israel to use a base in western Iraq as a staging point, but the needs of US policy in the region make this rather unlikely, however the Israelis would most likely have been given the OK to use one of the US held airbases in western Iraq as a divert field for any aircraft damaged in the raid. 

     So what was all this effort after, what was worthy of taking the risks and calling favors to pull this off?  While most people point to nuclear manufacturing facillities the time sensative nature of the strike makes me believe that the cash strapped North Koreans may be selling more than nuclear know how, but rather nuclear warheads.  This chilling thought is reinforced by the need for absolute precision, a uranium enrichment facillity or similar manufacturing facillities tend to be rather large and conspicous targets easily destroyed by high accuracy weapons like JDAM.  The reports we have gotten so far seem to suggest that the target was small and highly protected.  But what if all of this is just smoke and mirrors to cover up the real operation.  If the Israelis believed that the North Koreans had moved a viable nuclear weapon to Syria for use against them or transhipment to Iran attacking from the air would not be enough, there would always be the chance that weapon was merely damaged rather than destroyed.  It is my personal belief that the comandos actually went in and seized something and the IAF followed up to destroy evidence of that seizure and to provide a credible and for the Syrians and North Koreans unassailable cover story unless the come completely clean with what was going on there, which is more than highly unlikely.

An Israeli AF F-16C, F-16s likely provided cover for the F-15Is and provided SEAD* support for the raid.

*SEAD=Supression of Enemy Air Defenses

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New York City Firefighters raisng the American flag at ground Zero 9-11-01

Six years, six long hard years have passed since that terrible morning that will forever be etched into my memory, I know exactly where I was when I first heard the news, as I am sure many of you do as well.  This is the only post for today.  Today is reminder of why we fight, to protect against something like this from ever happening again.  Here is why we fight, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 VICTIMS all 2996 reasons.  You are in our hearts and minds, always inspiring us to go froward and do what must be done so you will not have died in vain.

Flight 93 Memorial Stone, Shanksville Pennsylvania

Firefighters and Military Personel unfurling the American flag at the pentagon, 9-12-01

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq, Defend America and Marine Link.

Airmen, Marines Deliver 'Buffaloes'  Ground troops get new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.

Marines, Iraqis Sweep Area for Insurgents.

U.S. Soldiers, Iraqis Re-open Elementary School, Renovated school includes Internet room with 12 computers.

Soldiers Help Iraqis Rebuild Pump Station.

A sobering look at Iraq war’s heroes.

Iraq’s new justice unfolds in a fortress.

Sunni Arab secular bloc returns to Iraqi Parliament.

General honors pioneers of 555th.

In 24-hr battle, Hawr Rajab turns on al-Qaeda.

Soldiers capture car bomb cell leader.

Iraqi and U.S. Security Forces engage terrorists in Samarra.

Coalition airpower supports Coalition ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraq seeks oil output of 6 million bpd within decade.

Guard your secrets with your life, and in so doing protect the life of another!

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From Fox News:

Family Loses Second Son in Iraq. (Note link to video)

     There is not a whole lot one can say about this, two sons from one family, seven sons from one small town.  My thoughts and prayers are with their families.  Lets us see to it that their sacrifice upon the altar of freedom has not been in vain, let us once more recomitt ourselves to achieving victory.

May these honored dead find peace in death that they knew not in life.

(photo from the Arlington National Cemetery website.)

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Giant sized edition with stories from:  First Multi-National Force Iraq, Defend America, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa and Defense Link.

From Iraq:

Soldiers remember Iraqi man’s sacrifice that saved their lives.

Concerned citizen leads Coalition Forces to large cache of nitric acid.

Iraqi Doctors, Medics Treat Fellow Iraqis.

Iraqi Air Force Conducts First Mission Without U.S. Help.

Volunteers Take Oath for Service to Country.

Road leads to success, confidence restored in Tal ‘Afar.

Coalition Outpost Washash established.

Aid station’s doors open to Iraqi children.

Coalition generals announce progress in Iraq.

Ancient University Opens Rebuilt Student Center.

Dragons found house rigged to explode, caches.

From Afghanistan:

Reconstruction Team to Build 29 Schools.

U.S. Soldiers, Afghans Celebrate Independence.

Airmen Teach Afghan Police Hand-to-Hand Combat.

Local Afghan "Cop" Show a Big Success.

Team Delivers Medical Aid to Afghans.

Afghan, Coalition Forces Offer Assistance.

Army Chief of Staff Visits Afghanistan.

From Africa:

EMF Sailor returns home to Djibouti to support U.S. military mission.

CJTF-HOA Partners with Islamic Relief USA, UPDF to Coordinate Humanitarian Aid for War-Torn Somalia.

U.S. military women reach out to Djiboutian women through discussion.

6th PSC does more than just guard the perimeter.

Through hard work, sacrifice and courage victory will be ours, for our patience knows no bounds and our dedication to our cause is unwavering.

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From First Multi-National Force Iraq:

Clearing operations in Samarra strike hard at insurgency.

Public Healthcare Clinic opens; one of five in Kirkuk.

New sewer system supports east Baghdad residents.

3-1 Cavalry denies enemy sanctuary in Jisr Diyala.

11 terrorists killed, six suspects detained in Coalition operations.

Operation Lightning Hammer disrupts al-Qaeda in Diyala.

Military refutes reported Coalition confrontation in Baghdad mosque.

1-15 Infantry finds, destroys large enemy cache.

Iraqi citizens escape makeshift prison, CF find remains.

Freedom can only be maintained through constant vigilance against those that would seek to deny it to those that do not have and to steal it from those that already possess it.

Posted by: raging tachikoma at 11:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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World backs U.S. war on terror / Fight against Al-Qaida, Taliban U.S.-led, but supported by intl community

As debate in the upper house of the Japanese Parliment continues about wether or not to extend Japan's special law allowing the MSDF to assist in operations supporting allied forces in Afghanistan  it is reassuring to see that some people still have their heads screwed on straight.  Not much more to say except go read the editorial, it is a couple days old but still pertinent and a good reminder that their a hell of lot more people that want us to succeed rather than fail.

Picture of a T-28 Trojan for no particular reason other than its a cool pic.

Posted by: raging tachikoma at 10:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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