Ipod saves soldier’s life

Check out this entry on Flickr;

Ipod saves Soldier’s Life
Originally uploaded by tikigod.

Photos sent to me by my friend Danny with this caption:

My wife’s uncle works in a military hospital and told me about this. Its pretty amazing. Kevin Garrad (3rd Infantry Division) was on a street patrol in Iraq (Tikrit I believe) and as he rounded the corner of a building an armed (AK-47) insurgent came from the other side.

The two of them were within just a few feet of each other when they opened fire. The insurgent was killed and Kevin was hit in the left chest where his IPod was in his jacket pocket. It slowed the bullet down enough that it did not completely penetrate his body armor. Fortunately, Kevin suffered no wound.

I thought it was a great story so I posted them here.

I guess iPods really are amazing. 

Posted by JimK at 06:04 PM on April 05, 2007
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Categories: News,  The Middle East,  Technobabble (Technology),  War,  U.S. Military
Tags: ipod military war iraq

A piece of Iraq news you’ll never see on CNN, or even Fox

It’s something I had literally never given thought to, but in retrospect, duh...they have a coast.  Seems like the Iraqi Navy is getting itself...uhh...shipshape.

Posted by JimK at 08:06 PM on March 21, 2007
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Categories: News,  International Events,  The Middle East,  War,  U.S. Military
Tags: military war iraq iraqi navy

Saint Sullivan of the Bleeding Heart strikes again

It’s utter nonsense like this that turned people away from Sullivan in the first place.  What a piece of work this one is…

I’ve been conned again by the Bush administration.

Yeah, it’s just you, Andy.  No one else is involved.  Everything Bush does is for, against or because of you.

One reason I was skeptical of the surge was its very low troop levels.

And yet here you are, crying like a little whiny yipper dog when you are now getting exactly what you wanted in the first place.  You are the very definition of ‘Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t.”

I couldn’t see how a mere 17,500 new troops would change the dynamic in any meaningful way. And it hasn’t.

1. That’s why you’re just a hysterical, loudmouthed pundit and not a frigging military planner, General Saint Andrew, sir.

2. Lie.  Progress has already been made and the new troops aren’t even in place yet.  But of course you know that…

Yes, we’ve seen some calm in Baghdad, as Shiite militias lie low, but we’ve also seen stepped up Sunni violence in Baghdad’s periphery. Now, in response to “whack-a-mole,” it appears that Petraeus wants another full brigade.

What a bullshit categorization of current events.  But then getting you to admit you’re wrong would be like...well, getting Bush to admit it.

The rest of this is just typical Sullivan hysteria.  Sullivan categorizes this increase as a lie.  An intentional deceit.  Not perhaps a revised plan, a re-assessment now that Petraeus is in place and knows the players better.  No, it’s a “lie.”

What ridiculous hyperbole.  How very Michael Moore of him.  Of course, now everyone’s going to link to the latest Sullivan hysteria and talk about him again, which is what this is all really about in the first place: his bloated ego.  In that respect I suppose I’ve fallen into his trap.

Still...what an idiot.  I don’t get his sycophantic fans...the kind of people that would jump on anyone else for this kind of flip-floppy hysteria eat this crap up from him like it was caviar served by a king.

Hat tip: Tom Elia @ The New Editor

Posted by JimK at 11:16 PM on March 19, 2007
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Tags: Andrew Sullivan military war iraq

Iraqis: life is getting better

Or so this poll says.

MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now than it was under Saddam Hussein, according to a British opinion poll published today.

The survey of more than 5,000 Iraqis found the majority optimistic despite their suffering in sectarian violence since the American-led invasion four years ago this week.

One in four Iraqis has had a family member murdered, says the poll by Opinion Research Business. In Baghdad, the capital, one in four has had a relative kidnapped and one in three said members of their family had fled abroad. But when asked whether they preferred life under Saddam, the dictator who was executed last December, or under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, most replied that things were better for them today.

Only 27% think there is a civil war in Iraq, compared with 61% who do not, according to the survey carried out last month.
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By a majority of two to one, Iraqis believe military operations now under way will disarm all militias. More than half say security will improve after a withdrawal of multinational forces.

Margaret Beckett, the foreign secretary, said the findings pointed to progress. “There is no widespread violence in the four southern provinces and the fact that the picture is more complex than the stereotype usually portrayed is reflected in today’s poll,” she said.

Did you see those numbers on how many have had a death or kidnapping, etc?  I don’t know how they can be enthusiastic and positive, but if this poll is to be trusted, they are.

Posted by JimK at 10:41 PM on March 17, 2007
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Baghdad security crackdown seems to be working

Countering the bad domestic news in the post below, this is good news from Iraq:

The rate of killings of US troops in Iraq has been on the decline, down by 60 percent, since the launch of the new security measures in Baghdad, according to statistics revealed by the Multi-National Force -Iraq Combined Press Information Centre.

Only 17 members of the US military in Iraq have been killed since February 14 till March 13, compared to 42 from January 13 to February 13; the rate was on the decline during the first month of the security crackdown, compared to a month before.

Two of the 17 soldiers died at US Baghdad camps of non-combat causes.

The remarkable decrease in killings among the US troops came at a time when more of these troops were deployed in the Iraqi capital, especially in districts previously regarded as extremely hazardous for them such as Al-Sadr City, Al-Azamiyah, and Al-Doura.

Meanwhile, US attacks on insurgent strongholds north of Baghdad curbed attacks against helicopters. Before the new security plan, many such craft were downed leaving 20 soldiers dead.

The US army in Iraq had earlier said that sectarian fighting and violence in Baghdad had dropped sharply, by about 80 percent, since the launch of the plan.

In the previous post, I asked if the Bush Administration had done anything domestically that was good.  I did NOT include non-domestic events because of this, the “surge.” It seems so far to be working.  Credit for that has to rest with the administration for saying yes to the plan...I guess.  It was basically forced upon them and they really had no choice - it was change or pull out in failure.  Still.  Credit for saying yes.

I’m glad to hear that things are slowly improving.  If only I didn’t have to go to a Kuwaiti news site to read about it…

Posted by JimK at 08:04 PM on March 14, 2007
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Tags: military war iraq MSM

Senator Joe Lieberman gets it exactly right again

I may not like him much, but he is 100% on point again.

There is something profoundly wrong when there is so much distrust of our intelligence community that some Americans doubt the plain and ominous facts about the threat to us posed by Iran.

And there is something profoundly wrong when, in the face of attacks by radical Islam, we think we can find safety and stability by pulling back, by talking to and accommodating our enemies, and abandoning our friends and allies.

Some of this wrong-headed thinking about the world is happening because we’re in a political climate where, for many people, when George Bush says “yes,” their reflex reaction is to say “no.”

That is unacceptable.

It’s time to step back and start thinking together about our national interest again, to say “yes” when we agree and “no” when we don’t, and to find ways to disagree without dividing ourselves from one another.

It’s time to step back and remember that there is a real enemy out there—an enemy violently opposed to human rights and women’s rights and gay rights and the basic political rights of each one of us.

It’s time to step back and see that America’s interests lie with the interests of free people everywhere, and that the response to radical Islam is not to abandon them but to stand with them—whether they are in Baghdad or Teheran or Jerusalem.

Say whatever you want about Joe (and I have said a lot over the years); the man knows what he believes and is willing to risk his standing and his very career to stand by it.  There’s an honor in that rarely found among politicians.  He knows what side we all need to be on - our side.  He’s trying with all his might to unite Americans and I for one and still damn glad I voted for Joe over that limousine liberal/Kos kid kreation Ned Lamont.

Posted by JimK at 03:40 PM on March 13, 2007
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Tags: Joe Lieberman military war iraq

And then we can lose the elections too!

Dear terrorists,

Just hang in there.  If you can make it look like you’re chilling out, we can get all the troops home by 2008.  Sure, they’ll hate us.  Sure, their families and friends will end up hating us once they get to listen to these guys complain about how we screwed the pooch but good by yanking them out, and yes, it may cost us the election, but at least you and I will still be friends, right?

Love,

Grandma Nancy

Posted by JimK at 08:11 PM on March 09, 2007
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Iraqi forces take control of Baghdad security

This sounds promising.

Iraqi security forces for the first time have taken control of Baghdad’s security, a senior military official said.

Iraqi security forces recently took control of Operation Fard al-Qanun, or “Enforcing the Law,” a plan designed by the Iraqi government and led by Iraqi army Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Multinational Corps Iraq chief of staff.

U.S. forces are working in concert with Iraqi security forces to provide a 24-hour presence in the city, but Abboud and his staff now plan and execute the strategy from a new command post established in Adnan Palace in the Green Zone.

Anderson called establishing the Iraqi-led Baghdad operations command a “monumental feat,” and said that the Iraqi security forces have come a long way in the past month as a command organization.

Both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are “very capable, competent, … and the ability to plan and coordinate operations with coalition forces gets better every day,” he said.

Coalition and Iraqi forces have built joint security stations and combat outposts throughout the city to begin securing the area.

This presence represents a critical shift away from operating out of forward operating bases and instead maintaining a constant presence in the city – a presence that is needed to hold areas security forces have cleared, Anderson said.

“In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time,” AndersonBaghdad over a long period of time.” said. “We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in

Anderson said making it safe for local citizens is necessary to develop the economic and political processes needed to achieve stability in the area.

About 20,000 Iraqi security force troops will eventually operate in Baghdad, he said. Currently, the 6th and 9th Iraqi army divisions and two national police divisions patrol the city.

Posted by JimK at 01:34 AM on March 04, 2007
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Categories: News,  The Federal Government,  War,  U.S. Military
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Iraqi tip leads to large IED find

The Iraqi people will help.

A large cache of improvised explosive devices was discovered Monday by Iraqi police and Coalition forces near the Baqubah area in the Diyala province.

Iraqi Police from Judidah and Soldiers from the 1-12 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division teamed up together and found the deadly arsenal.

Thanks to a tip received from a concerned Iraqi citizen, the team found the IED-making material in an open palm grove stashed under tarps and palms, said Capt. Clayton Combs, C company commander, 1-12 Cav. “Crazy Horse.”

Combs, who commands the company that found the cache, said the significance in this particular find was the presence of explosively formed projectiles (EFP).

There is a deadly effectiveness with these types of IED’s, Combs said. “If put together properly, these are a very dangerous form of IED.”

Good for them.  One then another than another and the next thing you know the Iraqi people will treat this kind of thing as a matter of course and the right thing to do.

Posted by JimK at 02:08 AM on March 01, 2007
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General Petraeus speaks

Full text after the jump.

More

To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq:

We serve in iraq at a critical time. The war here will soon enter its fifth year. A decisive moment approaches. Shoulder-to-shoulder with our Iraqi comrades, we will conduct a pivotal campaign to improve security for the Iraqi people. The stakes could not be higher.

Our task is crucial. Security is essential for Iraq to build its future. Only with security can the Iraqi government come to grips with the tough issues it confronts and develop the capacity to serve its citizens. The hopes of the Iraqi people and the coalition countries are with us.

The enemies of Iraq will shrink at no act, however barbaric. They will do all that they can to shake the confidence of the people and to convince the world that this effort is doomed. We must not underestimate them.

Together with our Iraqi partners, we must defeat those who oppose the new Iraq. We cannot allow mass murderers to hold the initiative. We must strike them relentlessly. We and our Iraqi partners must set the terms of the struggle, not our enemies. And together we must prevail.

The way ahead will not be easy. There will be difficult times in the months to come. But hard is not hopeless, and we must remain steadfast in our effort to help improve security for the Iraqi people. I am confident that each of you will fight with skill and courage, and that you will remain loyal to your comrades-in-arms and to the values our nations hold so dear.

In the end, Iraqis will decide the outcome of this struggle. Our task is to help them gain the time they need to save their country. To do that, many of us will live and fight alongside them. Together we will face down the terrorirsts, insurgents, and criminals who slaughter the innocent. Success will require discipline, fortitude, and initiative — qualities that you have in abundance.

I appreciate your sacrifices and those of your families. Now, more than ever, your commitment to service and your skill can make the difference between victory and defeat in a very tough mission.

It is an honor to soldier again with the members of the Multi-National Force-Iraq. I know that wherever you serve in this undertaking you will give your all. In turn, I pledge my commitment to our mission and every effort to achieve success as we help the Iraqis chart a course to a brighter future.

Godspeed to each of you and to our Iraqi comrades in this crucial endeavor.

David H. Petraeus
General, United States Army
Commanding

I especially like these lines:

The enemies of Iraq will shrink at no act, however barbaric. They will do all that they can to shake the confidence of the people and to convince the world that this effort is doomed. We must not underestimate them.

and

The way ahead will not be easy. There will be difficult times in the months to come. But hard is not hopeless, and we must remain steadfast in our effort to help improve security for the Iraqi people.

Good luck to you sir, and those you command.

Less

Posted by JimK at 01:45 AM on March 01, 2007
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Tags: military war iraq