Monthly Archive for January 2008

Run, don’t walk, away from John McCain if you want a Republican victory in November.

Opposed Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003
Opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill
Keating Five S&L scandal
Believes in global warming and legislation as a solution
Supports general amnesty for illegal aliens
Unable to control his temper
Endorsed [...]

Particle debris ignites as a test slug exits the Office of Naval Research 32 MJ Electromagnetic Railgun laboratory launcher during a test at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division

DAHLGREN, Va. (Jan. 28, 2007) Particle debris ignites as a test slug exits the Office of Naval Research 32 MJ (megajoules) Electromagnetic Railgun laboratory launcher during a test at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. U.S. Navy photo John F. Williams

DAHLGREN, Va. (Jan. 28, 2007) A test slug impacts the target after being fired [...]

Active Duty Military suicide numbers 1980-2006

CNN has a piece up titled Suicides up among U.S. soldiers

The Army plans to release the data publicly on Thursday, CNN learned from Army officials. The numbers have not previously been released, despite repeated CNN requests for data covering the past seven months.

That’s odd, since I’ve already written two posts on the topic. Of course, [...]

Commentary: It took me a bit to wrap my head around the points that General Cardon was making about Iraq.

Iraq was governed by a criminal dictatorship for thirty years. The people of Iraq learned to rely upon the functionaries in Baghdad for every decision. The penalty for making an error could be prison or death.

In [...]

This is the second part of my interview with Brigadier General Edward Cardon, Deputy Commanding General (Support) Multi-National Division-Center(MND-C), one-on-one. We last talked in a Bloggers’ Roundtable on January 24.

The General explained the governmental structure. The national ministries still set priorities for the nation. That control is exercised in ways as minor as how much [...]

I have had the opportunity to interview Brigadier General Edward Cardon, Deputy Commanding General (Support) Multi-National Division-Center(MND-C), one-on-one. We last talked in a Bloggers’ Roundtable on January 24.

My thanks to General Cardon for his time and patience with this interview and this interviewer. My thanks to Major Alayne Conway, MND-C Deputy PAO, for facilitating the [...]

Top Kirkuk Cops Trained

Air Force
by Senior Airman Eric Schloeffel
506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

Thirty police chiefs from across the Kirkuk province recently returned here after attending a ground-breaking, four-week training course designed to improve security throughout the region.

The Senior Law Enforcement Staff Management course, conducted at Camp Dublin, Baghdad, taught the region’s upper echelon of Iraqi Police [...]

CJTF-82

An American convoy near Jani Khel, Paktya, struck an IED and came under small-arms fire from insurgent positions 100 yards away. Army Pfc. Monica Brown ran forward through small-arms fire toward the burning vehicle to render aid to fellow Paratroopers. After she moved the casualties to a dry creek bed next to the [...]

Baghdad market

DVIDS
By Elaine Eliah, Special to American Forces Press Service

To many Americans, convenient shopping means easy, safe parking at clean, wholesome supermarkets. In Iraq, where shoppers often risk their lives buying groceries and vendors watch produce rot for lack of electricity or transport, marketing has different requirements.

The new Baghdad market, also known as 9 Nissan, [...]