A letter from the Mayor of Tall �Afar, Ninewa, Iraq

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpsesof children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi�s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zuma and Avgani finally destroyed them.
I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism.
The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom.
Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era. The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science. This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage.

“Knights”? Maybe there was more to this “Crusades” thing than we were told!

No surprise here;

More American troops have died on US roads in off-duty motorcycle accidents after they returned from Afghanistan than have been killed fighting there since September 11, 2001, safety records show.
Military commanders in north Carolina say the deaths are largely the result of boredom, bonus pay, and adrenalin to burn off after troops return from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nearly 350 troops have died on motorcycles since the 2001 terrorist attacks. That`s compared to 259 killed while serving in Afghanistan.
Nearly 1,000 more troops have been injured on motorcycles.

I’m not certain if the figures still hold true, but at one time more Snowbird pilots had been killed in road accidents than in airplane crashes. (Though, I suspect, like most risk takers, they tend to drive like they fly.)
In the course of my business I’ve had the pleasure of riding with a few customers and friends who race motorcycles. Oddly enough – or perhaps, not so – they’re among the most careful of street riders. Of course, a few high speed “get offs” can have that effect on someone.

“When the doctor told me that he was dead, I told him that wasn`t acceptable, it just wasn`t acceptable,” said Andrea Strickland, 22, the widow of Mark Strickland.
“I said, `He just got back from a war zone, and you`re going to tell me that he died doing something he loved?`”
Lt Gen James F Amos, commander of the Camp Lejeune-based II marine expeditionary force described the crashes in October as “a cold shot to the heart” and ordered a crackdown.
The following month normal base operations were halted to focus on safety, particularly for motorcyclists.

Sounds like they could use a few track days.

MK Braaten;

Paul Martin has been attacking America this whole election campaign. He has disparaged the Americans so much that our relations with the said country may be beyond repair. However, last week, when the Canadian soldiers were seriously injured in Afghanistan, it was the Americans who rescued them in a helicopter, it was the Americans who flew the injured soldiers to a US army hospital, and it was the Americans who flew them to the hospital on an American transport jet.
And not a word of thanks from the Canadian government?
What a disgrace to our Nation.

Candace at Planet X has a project – she writes;

I think it would be very cool for these guys to wake up to a bunch of messages from Canadians, don’t you?

Go leave yours in her comments section here – she has a contact in Germany who will make sure they get passed along.

Is Afghanistan bound.

“In these last days in Canada, I am asked a lot whether I’m nervous.”

Drop on by and send him our best.

As everyone is aware by now, it’s the second suicide bombing in Afghanistan to claim the life of a Canadian (a civilian) . Three members of the CAF were injured. CTV reports responsibility has been claimed by the Taliban. The blast also killed two Afghan civilians and injured 10.
Readers are invited to use the comments for any updates, etc. But no politicing, please.

Damian Brooks on the Martin campaign’s response to the Conservative defense platform;

Read the whole thing, but take a Gravol first. Those familiar with the military bureaucracy will tell you that for even one general officer to use such blunt language means the situation is truly dire. For all three service heads to use such language in a single year is not only a sign of the coming Apocalypse, it means they can hear the galloping hoofs of the Four Horsemen close behind them.

CP;

The army is looking into a bizarre incident in which a tractor-trailer loaded with anti-aircraft missile launchers was seen rolling down a major Ontario highway.
Several police cruisers were needed to pull over the vehicle as it travelled westbound on Highway 407 near Toronto. The trailer was carrying two armoured personnel carriers bearing Department of National Defence licence plates and loaded with anti-aircraft missile launchers.
Police say the carriers, formerly registered to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, were supposed to be delivered to Montreal on Thursday.
Police took the driver into custody at the scene, and the armoured carriers have been taken to a storage depot. A spokeswoman for the Department of National Defence says the army is investigating.

“Formerly registered”?
Did Bill Graham trade them in on a new SUV or something?
Via Neale
Update: In the comments readers say the CP has misidentified the type of missile.
Update 2 – Toronto Star has more details. The driver was “confused”. You don’t say!

A soldier writes from Iraq

I watched Bush speaking on television last night. It was my first day off since arriving in theater one month ago.
Please, America, listen to the man.

h/t
Transcript here.

Blogger Bill Roggio of the (now closed) Fourth Rail is now in Iraq, patrolling with the Jackals of Lima Company as an embed. See this too, on the successful Operation Steel Curtain.
In an email to Glenn Reynolds, he writes;

“My internet access has been limited but I’m having the time of my life in Iraq. I’ve had great access to all of the Marines and soldiers out here, and am being treated like royalty. These guys are extremely frustrated with the media and make no bones about their distaste for those who are undermining the war effort by calling for withdrawal.”

Meanwhile, Michael Totten is on the ground in Lebanon reporting on clashes at the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Check them both out.

A couple of weeks ago I noted that Bruce Willis had been spending time in Iraq with “Deuce Four”, made famous by blogger and embed extraordinaire, Michael Yon. If you’re one of the newer arrivals to the blogosphere, I highly recommend you read his archives.
Now, Willis is putting his money where his mouth is;

ANGERED by negative portrayals of the conflict in Iraq, Bruce Willis, the Hollywood star, is to make a pro-war film in which American soldiers will be depicted as brave fighters for freedom and democracy.
It will be based on the exploits of the heavily decorated members of Deuce Four, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, which has spent the past year battling insurgents in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul.
[…]
�I am baffled to understand why the things I saw happening in Iraq are not being reported,� he told MSNBC, the American news channel.
He is expected to base the film on the writings of the independent blogger Michael Yon, a former special forces green beret who was embedded with Deuce Four and sent regular dispatches about their heroics.
Yon was at the soldiers� ball with Willis, who got to know him through his internet war reports on www.michaelyon.blogspot.com. �What he is doing is something the American media and maybe the world media isn�t doing,� the actor said, �and that�s telling the truth about what�s happening in the war in Iraq.�

Via Nealenews.

If you want to show your appreciation for Canadian troops in Afghanistan, you can sign up to send a gift and/or thankyou note
A great project by The Canadian Colatition for Democracies, and it’s tax deductable!

On this Novermber 11 so many years after the great wars, Doug Chisholm helps us remember.

He’s logged thousands of hours over northern Saskatchewan in his 1954 model Cessna 180, lately undertaking a special, solitary tribute to this province’s fallen servicemen of the Second World War.
Born in Scotland but raised in Canada, Doug received his commercial pilot’s licence from the Regina Flying Club in 1976. He headed north that year to La Ronge and a job as an air maintenance engineer (AME) at the provincial government’s waterbomber base there. He acquired a 1954 model Cessna 180 the next year and since then has logged 4,000 hours in it, 2,500 of them on floats and 800 on skis.
But all that consumes plenty o’ fuel and money. So, a few years ago, he got to thinking, “maybe I’ll start taking some pictures.” By coincidence, it was in 1997 that he got a call from a friend in Regina with a proposition: could Doug take some photographs of a certain lake in the north?
The request had came from a woman. Many years before, an island in the province’s north had been named for her brother, killed in action during the Second World War.
From this landmark, called Sauter Island, Doug even gathered some rocks and sand, then sent them, with the film, to the woman.
He also began to wonder about her request. How many of the other lakes on the maps of northern Saskatchewan also had been named for Saskatchewan�s war dead? He called the province�s central mapping office, which sent him a list.
When it arrived, “I couldn�t believe it — there were over 3,800 names on it, telling the name and the rank and the regimental number”.
What that list didn�t tell was anything about the hometown of the casualty or anything else about the personal history of the deceased. “You’d think there’d be a computer with all that on it, but there wasn’t.”
Over time, Doug pieced together this picture: during the Second World War, about 91,000 of the estimated 840,000 people in Saskatchewan had enlisted in Canada’s armed services. Of those 91,000, 3,800 didn’t return.

These casualties included about 1,800 members of the RCAF, 1,800 members of the Canadian Army and 150 from the Royal Canadian Navy. Put another way, Saskatchewan (with about six per cent of the country�s population, had sustained fully 10 per cent of the nation’s war dead.)

This was an terrible human toll that had even more impact in the years after the war’s end. It was in those years that the provincial government’s mapping branch, headed by engineer Abe Bereskin (himself a Canadian Army veteran of the Second World War), began a policy of naming northern geographic feature for the province’s war dead.

Chisholm has a new book out, co-authored with “Saskatchewan place names” guy, Bill Barry, and Beth Parson – Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan Remembers its War Dead.Details here.
Related:
Not all countries show the same respect for their veterans – nor are all Canadian veterans considered equal.
Cjunk remembers those who returned.
George W.Bush delivers a much needed rebuke to the revisionist historians working hard to undermine the current war on Islamist extremism.

“The stakes in the global war on terror are too high and the national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges.”

It’s about time. Full text here).
Idealistic Pragmatist questions her reasons for wearing the poppy. I have her answer – it’s not about you.
I invite others to share their own, in the comments or by trackback.

Another email from a friend in the Canadian Armed Forces;

It is 2324 here and I should be considering going to bed, as I will have another early fun filled day ahead of me tomorrow, but I realized it has been awhile since I emailed one of my stories, and there is so much to tell. So before I forget I will get started.
About a week ago I left for Kandahar. I arrived just in time to hear about a suicide bomber destroying a UK vehicle. From there, things just got worse. It was fast becoming ‘Hell Week’. I believe it was the following day that the rocket hit the CDN Ambassador’s residence in Kabul. Two local guards were hit. I was later informed by one of the embassy employees that the one guard was only injuried slightly, while the other one, they were amazed he made it to the hospital alive. He was hit in the side and was bleeding profusely. A mere month earlier I had been at the embassy doing added security for a threat against Chris Alexander’s life.
Back to Kandahar. I had arrived on a Saturday, and on a Monday, bright and early we gathered for a convoy to the PRT(Provincial Reconstruction Team) camp. It is about a 30km drive NNE to the camp. It was very uneventful, but very insightful at the same time. Kandahar and Kabul are worlds apart, but I will get to that later. Upon arriving at the camp, we dismounted, and were just speaking of searching out a coffee when the blast was heard. A bomb of sorts had gone off a short distance from the camp. Later in the morning another explosion was heard a bit further away. The camp came to life. From my vantage point, I was able to watch the camp scramble. Soldiers running with a purpose. The medical team was sent out with a convoy of about 7 vehicles. Word later reached us that no Canadians had been involved. Both incidents had involved the death and injury of locals. The rest of the day was quieter. We returned to KAF(Kandahar Air Field) very late into the evening.
The routine for Canadian movement in Kandahar at the moment is to travel under the cover of dark. So we leave before sun up and arrive home well after sundown.
One thing I will say about the convoy commander is, he means business. He had been in one of the convoys when the Canadians hit an IED, and Canadians had been hurt, so he takes it all very seriously. Orders for departure are given and he asks questions on the brief afterwards. Like ‘what do you do if your vehicle hits an IED? What do you do if you come under fire?’ These are all a real part of life in Kandahar. And it became very apparant during my stay.
The Tuesday we decided to leave even earlier for the PRT. As we prepared to mount up. An explosion was heard. We got into the vehicles and headed for the gate. We were told to stand down and return to our prior location, we would not be going out yet. The explosion heard, was the sound of a rocket hitting within 800m of the camp. While standing around the vehicles waiting for the word, we heard two more distant explosions. They hit the middle of the city.
Me and one of the guys were just heading towards Green Beans for a chocolate chai latte to go, when we were called back. Oh so close……….I could almost taste the coffee. We loaded up and were on our way. It had been less then an hour since the first explosion. We took an out of the way route this time, as you try not to use the same route over and over, but that can be hard when there is only one road. You don’t want to be predictable or complacent.
We took a back road this time, and I use the term loosely (like the sand was). We ended up turning around several times and heading in new directions. All the time the road just seemed to disappear as we got going. The sun was now coming up, and the locals were gathering on the sides of the hills to watch the Canadians drive around a swampy field. If you drive by the same person more than three times, are you on a first name basis? At one time we were even parallel to the hwy we were trying to avoid. Finally we gave up and got back on the hwy. Just before we reached the PRT we were told a rocket hit within 300m of the camp. Our luck was holding out, but for how long?
The evening trip home was quiet. We had been briefed about another suicide bomber in the area just before we departed.
My last night in Kandahar, just after midnight, I heard a whistle………….followed by an explosion. Another explosion followed. Shortly after I heard shots fired and choppers taking off. A siren sounded for half an hour, but no one in the tent moved. The next day I found out the two rockets had hit the tarmac. A harrier was destroyed and another damaged. A fuel truck had also been hit and caught fire. No one at work had heard the siren. My partner(on the OP) and I were in a different tent on the far side of the camp, and we both heard it. We were also informed, that though it is the practice for the Canadians to call a ‘Stand to’ in the event of an incident such as a rocket exploding, it is not the practice followed by the Americians. A ‘Stand to’ is when you grab your PPE(Personal Protective Equipment), flack jacket and helmet, and run for the nearest bunker. The Americian camp does not have enough bunkers for all personal, so they feel it is safe enough to just stay put.
Two days after my return to Camp Julien, we heard that the building next to the PX(military store), had been hit with mortar. Not sure of the amount of damage. Hopefully the Green Bean survived.
I would like to say, that I wish that everyone could see the sights that I have seen. I have taken some pictures, but it does not do justice. There is so much beauty in this country, if you just look hard enough. The sight of a crumbling building with families living in it. A half crumbled building with the other half filled in with new bricks. The teetering building with a brand new modern complex going up right behind it. I was told by an officer from a past Roto that even when the school was destroyed, the children kept coming. Now there is a new High School not far from camp. This is progress. This is determination on the part of the men and children I see pushing wheelbarrels of brick to put up a wall. Or hauling that same wheelbarrel full of rotting garbage to clean a little spot for a store cart.
When I came back from Kandahar, and I was on the drive back from the Kabul airport, I saw such a difference from Kandahar. Kabul is full of life. We drove our Canadian convoy of trucks by and people stopped to watch. Children smiled and waved. Now even the adults smile and wave as we pass. I have talked to some of the Afghans in Kabul, and they are sorry to see us go. They will miss the Canadians. Yes, most will miss the money we brought with us, and the jobs we gave them, but they also say they like the Canadians. We are nice, friendly, and have helped them start over.
As I look to the mountains that surround us, I too will miss Kabul.

(For an SDA search on previous entries (including photos), click here.)
Update – Cerberus on Rick Mercer.

We crossed back into Saskatchewan a couple of hours ago, and have another travel day ahead before blogging resumes, but I thought I’d pass along this update from a friend in the Canadian Armed Forces that arrived a couple of days ago;

I am in sunny dusty Kandahar just hanging out.
I am listening to the CNN news of the Pakistan earthquake that killed thousands. While sitting outside work in Kabul we felt the tremor and could visibly see the tents sway. The tremor came in a wave. At first I thought it was me. That somehow I was dizzy or starting to feel ill as I started to sway with the tremor. Then the guy I was talking to became quiet and we watched the walls of the tent move. I realized it was not me. The wave got stronger, then it was gone.
Today I am in Kandahar. The temperature is about 10 degrees higher then in Kabul. The sand is very fine. Like walking on beige talcom powder. It gets into everything. The accommadations are not as nice as Camp Julien as this is an Americian base. We have a square ‘boardwalk’ with a Green Bean coffee shop, Pizza Hut, BurgerKing, Subway, Gift stores, and of course the PX. All the comforts of home. One of the big differences is that you must carry a loaded weapon with you at all times. Even to the bathroom. In Camp Julien we were required to bring our PPE(personal protective equipment) with us to work or to our tent at night. We also wore it when leaving camp. Here we only need our weapon, be it rifle or handgun. We also require to carry 2x as much ammunition, a personal first aid kit consisting of a torique and surgical gloves whenever leaving camp.
I am living in a tent designed for 100 people. There are four rows of cots. No separation, no segregation between men and women. The convey has left so there are about 10 of us occupying it at the moment. The kitchen is run by Americians, so the food is not quite as good as our kitchens run by the Nepanese. There was a wide selection of food for breakfast. From fried chicken, fried rice, grits/biscuits, scrambled “eggs”, bacon, etc. Anything greasy you could think of. Actually though it is not Tim Hortons, the coffee was not bad. I think I will go get a Chococlate Chai once I am done with the emails. Life is rough. lol
The camp is quite spread out. To walk from my sleeping quarters to work is a few miles. You would be covered in sweat and dust from it. We use to complain in Saskatchewan about the neighbors field blowing into ours. It is far far worse here. There is a bus that runs continually, that you can catch to get around the camp.
I will be leaving here tomorrow for a few days for work, but I will be returning in time for the market. The guys know I love to shop so they make sure I have the oppurtunity. God bless them. lol
Watch the news today for the latest incident in the Kandahar area. 😉

Canada’s Senate defense committee reports that the country’s armed forces are woefully underfunded and totally unprepared to defend the country against the inevitable terrorist attack.
Report: Canada’s military can’t meet needs (AP)

Canada’s military is “wounded” and the country’s defense without the money to do its job properly, according to a Senate report released Thursday. The report laments the lack of resources and coordinated manpower to deal with a terrorist attack or natural disaster. “A hard, honest look at the facts has made it clear to the committee that the funding is simply not there to end Canada’s sad era of military darkness,” said the review of defense policy by the Senate Standing committee on National Security and Defense.
The report notes that of the C$12.8 billion (US$10.9 billion) the government promised over the next five years to beef up the Canadian Forces, only C$1.1 billion ($938 million) was earmarked for the first two years. This means the rehabilitation process won’t get started until 2008-2009. “Even when the process does stutter to a start, it will remain vastly underfunded, primarily because the armed forces have been starved for money for so many years,” reads an executive summary by committee chairman, Liberal Party Senator Colin Kenny.
The report notes Canada — named by al Qaeda as one of five target nations deserving of an attack — has done little since 9/11 to invest in anti-terrorism prevention. “Canada has an unenviable place on Osama bin Laden’s infamous list of countries to be targeted. We may get lucky. But it’s not a bet you’d want to make. “Despite the increasing complacency of most Canadians as the memory of 9/11 slips to the back of our minds, there is every likelihood that an attack will eventually occur on Canadian soil,” the report said, yet noted that Canada ranks just 128th out of 165 countries in defense spending as a percentage of its gross domestic product.

Truly a shame. The Canadian Forces are well trained and professional but they operate in a political culture even more tepid on national defense than that which pervades Western Europe. They have the good fortune, however, of bordering a superpower that happens to be their strongest ally and trading partner.
Related:
Canada Defenseless
Canadian Counter-Terrorism
crosspost from OTB

Fourth Rail has a flash presentation up that provides the kind of information on operations in Iraq that you won’t find at CTV.

The pace and tempo of operations in western Iraq have been increasing over the past month, indicating the Anbar Campaign is moving forward. The disclosure of Operation Sayaid signals the Coalition is now prepared to move on the towns and cities along the western branch of the Euphrates River.

Adventures Of Chester;

The thing that makes this presentation so powerful is its complete independence from the normally practiced way of reporting the war. Most war reports make sweeping generalizations from a few small bits of first-hand observation, for better or worse. They rarely tie military actions together in an operational whole (note: Wretchard has just pointed this out as well at The Belmont Club).

Read Chester’s companion post, which deconstructs a TIME article, validating his father’s opinion that “Life magazine was for people who don’t like to read, and TIME for people who don’t like to think.”

An email from an old friend in the Canadian Armed Forces speaks for itself;

It is a beautiful sunny Sunday morning here is Kabul. It is the day of the elections here. There have not been an election like this in almost 30 years. There are 2,775 candidates, 335 of them are women. They are competing for 249 National Assembly seats. Also 3,025 candidates are vying for seats in 34 provinces.
We all wait patiently here at the base for all ‘hell’ to break loose. In a country noted for dragging candidates out into the street in broad daylight, to publicly execute them by beheading, without danger of reprimand. Anything could happen.
In a country traditionally run by warlords, now the warlords run for parliament. Even though many have been disqualified, still a large percentage are linked to armed groups. One of the top warlords is running as a candidate. What will happen to the people if these people are elected?
Yesterday a few incidences occurred in and around the key points, Kabul and Kandahar. Rebels set up ambush points where even the police are not safe from the attacks. Taliban have vowed to disrupt the elections at all costs.
The soldiers, the Canadians, and even the camp has been threatened and put at risk and all are on alert.
Just another day in ‘paradise’.

Keep them all in your prayers.
Update: Publius.is collecting links and commentary on the day’s progress.
Udate II, via the comments: CNN is reporting that the election went relatively smoothly with good turnout, and although there was isolated violence, there were no civilian casualties.

What started with a photo op, is ending with a photo op.

At the bar after a long day of cleaning up trash left behind by Hurricane Katrina�s massive storm surge, some seem bitter that the military was already making plans to pull out again four days after our warships first anchored off Biloxi, Miss.
�It�s all about the PR,� said one sailor. �Stand in front of the camera and look nice.�
To many sailors, the humanitarian mission has obvious political overtones.
�It doesn�t matter to us,� said one naval officer. �We get paid to serve, so whatever the country wants us to do, we do.�
To be fair, lots of people who went ashore from HMCS Ville de Quebec, HMCS Toronto and HMCS Athabaskan did plenty of good work in the area Katrina hammered two weeks ago. They cleaned up a church, a seniors� home, a sports and recreation centre and helped out at an emergency food distribution centre. And the Halifax-based coast guard buoy tender Sir William Alexander will surely be useful as it starts assisting the Americans to put their navigational markers back in place.
But the U.S. Navy � which was in charge of organizing the Canadian work parties � seemed ill-prepared to assign the Canadians major tasks.
�I get pretty pissed off when I don�t have something to do,� said one frustrated Canadian sailor. �Maybe they don�t trust us.�
[…]
The ships will pull out of here tomorrow, after a weekend visit from Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff.
As they touch up paint in preparation for Hillier�s tour, some sailors are unhappy they aren�t getting the chance to do more before they leave Mississippi.
�I just can�t believe we�re leaving as early as we are. There�s so much to be done here,� said one sailor.
�It�s really sad. I know one thing � we were working like dogs down here.�
While the official line is the Yanks are happy as heck for the help from their favourite neighbour, things aren�t always so rosy in the real world. Some of the U.S. crews responsible for running the slow-moving landing craft that take more than two hours to get Canadians ashore grumbled the Canucks were difficult to manage. Some were downright surly.
�It�s like herding a bunch of f—ing cats,� said one American sailor.
Canadian brass say ships were the only way to bring supplies and muscle to this region without placing additional burden on the already taxed infrastructure.
But that argument�s a tad weak when you see how much the Americans have done for the Canadians.
They feed the visiting sailors lunch, bus them around and ferry them back and forth to the warships anchored about 40 kilometres from shore.
To his credit, the task group�s commander said the operation would have run better if he�d had a large amphibious ship that could carry its own landing craft and trucks to get around in once sailors get to land, rather than relying on the Americans. That�s the ship the navy has been talking about acquiring all year.
�I need to be able to move people and equipment quickly to shore.� said Commodore Dean McFadden.

Via Via Nealenews.

Michael Yon’s latest dispatch from Iraq carries an update on LTC Erik Kurilla’s recovery and the progress his team made in Mosul.

As the Deuce Four heads home this week, they leave behind a Mosul that, while not yet in the clear, is much closer to security and prosperity than anyone would have considered possible eight months ago. In between the daily secret reports Kurilla has brought to his hospital room so he can track his battalion, the Commander watches television news, increasingly frustrated by what he sees as a clear, and inaccurate, negative bias. “When you get the news back here in the states, it’s all doom and body counts. I only wish the American public could see the incredible progress that is being made every day in Iraq, particularly in places like Mosul.”

The account of the battle that led to Kurilla’s injuries is here.

James Joyner;

The commander of Louisana’s National Guard contingent is calling the situation in New Orleans an “insurgency” and says they have commenced “combat operations.” This is, as best I can tell, not a satire.