"Death or Glory": Michael Yon continues his dispatch

....from his embed with British soldiers. Excerpt:

The Queen’s Royal Lancers have been living out in the desert for about six months, like nomads moving from place to place, sleeping under the stars, getting much of their resupply of food and water by nighttime parachute drop as they patrol the Iran-Iraq border. They were living out there, as some officers had told me, in true Lawrence of Arabia style, wearing shamals, sometimes taking camel rides when Bedouins would wonder through their camps with great herds of camels. Some soldiers would go for weeks without bathing, while others would wash-down with a bottle or two of water. Water is strictly rationed.

LTC Nickersl-Ecershall would say that their job was to melt away into the desert, providing the eyes and ears that monitor the border. They’d apparently done their job well. I had been on many patrols with American forces along the Iranian border, but had no idea that Brits were out on desert safari. Although there had been some fighting, the Queen’s Royal Lancers had not lost a single soldier to combat during this tour.

Read the whole thing.

Michael Yon's Memorial Day Message

I was away from home and internet yesterday for the holiday, but Michael Yon was there with a must-read Memorial Day message:

Q has already made it to Germany and is about to be flown home. CSM Pippin is on his way to Germany. Along the way, excellent groups like Soldiers’ Angels will welcome them home, I expect. My readers will find out here where to send messages once that news is released.
Both men often lamented to me how frustrating it was to be back home and realize that the average American is not aware of practically any of the progress that’s been made in Iraq. Both men darken with something closer to anger when they consider the sacrifices made by fallen soldiers and the fact that while the media most likely counted the deaths in all instances, they also most likely failed to mention any of the good things their fellow soldiers had accomplished while in Iraq.

I plan to stay in Iraq for the rest of 2007, doing my part to tell of these and other accomplishments, and both of these men would not have it any other way. But when I do finally get home, I want to see these heroes, and be reminded what Memorial Day is all about.

Sheer idiocy from the military

Glenn's post says it all: "Bullet, meet foot."

Frankly, the "official" communications efforts on this war have been largely lame and ineffective, and most of the good stuff has come from milbloggers. I understand the importance of security, but this is going to do much more harm than good. Lots of stuff at the link above, and also read this post from Blackfive.

UPDATE: Still more here. Really, this is a bad idea.

Bush vetoes Iraq bill

Those who know me know I was against the Iraq War from the start, for reasons I don't have time to explain in this brief post. But once we got into Iraq, I have always believed that we have an obligation to finish the job. What matters is not whether we should have gone into or Iraq or not, whether the planning was flawed, the mistakes that were made or not made, nor whether "the polls" say the war is popular or not. What matters is : do we want to win or lose? And the Democrats plan gives the enemy a timetable for victory and a loss for the Iraqi people and our troops. Everything that our troops and the Iraqi government have worked and died for would be in vain.

So I was quite pleased to see President Bush do the right thing in vetoing the Iraq bill. Key Quotes from his veto speech:

...members of the House and the Senate passed a bill that substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgment of our military commanders. So a few minutes ago, I vetoed the bill.

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It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing. All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq.

I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments.

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Third, the bill is loaded with billions of dollars in non- emergency spending that has nothing to do with fighting the war on terror. Congress should debate these spending measures on their own merits, and not as a part of an emergency funding bill for our troops.

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In January, General Petraeus was confirmed by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate. In February, we began sending the first of the reinforcements he requested.

Not all these reinforcements have arrived in Baghdad. And as General Petraeus has said, it will be the end of the summer before we can assess the impact of this operation. (Which is when the Democratic plan would have troops begin leaving Iraq - ed.)

All emphasis mine. Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Our British Brothers In Arms

For a while now since I have lived in Britain, I have gained great respect for our fellow brothers in arms, the British. Since living here, I have found that most Americans view the UK forces as slightly subordinate to the US forces, and also that the US forces are superior. Nothing could be further from the truth. The British forces that work with us are just as equipped, smart, and capable as our own American soldiers. I respect our British allies, and thank them for the hard work they give to their country, their friends, and humanity.

Excerpt from Michael Yon:

The plan for Operation Arezzo was cleverly contrived. While Americans count on helicopter support for deliberate high-intensity combat here, the Brits were going into extremely hostile terrain, outnumbered, without helicopter support, relying instead upon timing, terrain, maneuverability, firepower, and sheer audacity.

In an operation that lasted over four hours, British forces killed 26-27 enemy and sustained no casualties. 5 Platoon fired more than 4,000 bullets before their guns began to cool, and about 15 of the enemy kills were accredited to 5 Platoon.

The British are planning future operations. These soldiers are so good that I have requested from British commanders to be allowed to stay longer.

Read the whole Yon post here.

Australians send 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan

After insisting with the mostly European ISAF that their troops would be "...under Australian national command and interpret their rules of engagement in an Australian way."

Via The Belmont Club who comments:

The Australians know what the Europeans should soon rediscover: the danger comes from within one's self; that there are none so lost as those who have misled themselves.

I think he's a might ticked off

An emotional and what seems to me angry post from Michael Yon, who seems to be feeling heat from some general who wants him out of Iraq. Michael doesn't mince words, and has resorted to short fast dispatches to get the word out fast. Excerpt on his view of the army's attitude:


"For a military that is the first to gripe about not getting enough press–in a kind of war where the press can determine the outcome–it seems fairly obvious that the first step would be to at least make sure there is a place for the press to work. If this were a few months into this war, I could understand it, but to not even be at square one this far in? "

and:

"They want the press on a short leash, even at the expense of the life of a soldier."

enjoy, read the whole thing, here.

Bush Didn't ...... Lie?

Got this from the Chicago Tribune, Seems they set off to see whether Bush really did mislead the country so much, Read the whole thing, very interesting, it's also interesting that this is an actual mainstream media outlet that doesn't seem particularly biased, score a point for the Tribune, and top see that maybe intelligence based on pictures taken from space thousands of miles away maybe isn't the best answer for finding out about things.