Iraqis revel in poetic justice of instructor blowing up aspiring suicide bombers

When suicide bombing is your primary weapon, intelligence is a top requirement.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/11/it-shows-how-stupid-they-are-iraqis-revel-in-poetic-justice-of-instructor-blowing-up-aspiring-suicide-bombers/

More Honor Killings in the US

As the muslim population in the US increases, don't be surprised to see more these - coming to a town near you soon.

Muslim Television Channel Founder Charged With Beheading His Wife

Here's what this prick had to say about the founding of his TV station.

"Every day on television we are barraged by stories of a 'Muslim extremist, militant, terrorist, or insurgent,'" Hassan said in the 2004 release. "But the stories that are missing are the countless stories of Muslim tolerance, progress, diversity, service and excellence that Bridges TV hopes to tell."

Good job asshole, hope you rot in hell. The other travesty on this is New York is charging this guy with SECOND degree murder. WTF? Where is CAIR on this?

What we have Wrought

Thought for the day - "The Americans promised they would make Iraq a symbol of liberty and prosperity. Now it has neither."

As I have said before no one I know takes pride in defending the Islamist parties in power. They are corrupt and incompetent, and almost certainly backing the Islamification of Southern Iraq and in the pockets of Iranian agents. Women, especially, are certainly much worse off than under Saddam, at least by many accounts. I can't say much about the alternative, because that goes against official policy and I don't want to run afoul of the State department.

Of course, we shouldn't expect too much from a country like this, they can't live up to American expectations in such a short time frame, and there are many, many good Iraqis trying hard to bring forward a better future for their country. But it will take time and it will take blood. And when I see stories like this - "Bad" Women Raped and Killed - it really makes me hate this place.

If you need a lift after such a negative post, check this blogger out PPT Ranger- pretty funny stuff.

Seriously, who could support such idiocy?

One of the worst things about being here in Iraq is that we are defending the democratically elected Islamist parties in power. Here are some of the great things Sharia-based laws have brought us this week. If you are of the mind that we need to "accommodate" this type of Islam in America, please do me a favor and kill yourself right fucking now.

• A 20-year-old Saudi woman has been sentenced to be lashed after pressing charges against seven men who raped her and a male companion. (Whoa Tonto, did catch that last part right? Homosexuality is banned under Islam, but that only applies to catcher apparently. Ask any Afghan Vet.)
  
• Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad." (I have named my roll of toilet paper Muhammad, bring it!)
  

Not sure yet, well, while it is true, Catholic Wedding vows include the phrase "A silent wife if a gift from the Lord" (wink, sis), the Quran (4:34) orders a man to beat his wife if she doesn't obey him? Check it out over at The Apostates of Islam Anyone tries to treat my daughters that way is going to get the ass beat - and not by me.

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UPDATE:
Thru my friends at a three letter agency, I have been able to get satellite imagery of the protest in Sudan mentioned above. Just don't tell anyone where I got this.

Something Right in Iraq, Something Wrong in Massachusetts

Something Right

Check out Michael Yon's latest piece about the re-opening of St John’s Church in Baghdad.

Muslims mostly filled the front pews of St John’s. Muslims who want their Christian friends and neighbors to come home. The Christians who might see these photos likely will recognize their friends here. The Muslims in this neighborhood worry that other people will take the homes of their Christian neighbors, and that the Christians will never come back. And so they came to St John’s today in force, and they showed their faces, and they said, “Come back to Iraq. Come home.”

Something Wrong

Some idiot in Cambridge (People's Republic of Massachusetts) complained about the Boy Scouts there collection toiletries for our deployed troops (like me, who can't get any toiletries other than what my family mails me.) So the City government, based on the complaint of one whiner, caved-in and took the boxes away. Grow a pair pal, and stand up for what is right. Doesn't anyone teach their kids that anymore. Or I guess he wouldn't have actually gotten his position is he did that. Check it out here, here and here. The Scouts apparently spent $1,500 of their money to get this all set up. Please show them your support, for they stood with us.

Boy Scouts of America
Troop 45
PO Box 38-1241
Cambridge, MA 02238

Scouts of Troop 45 - We are with you, for you understand Duty, Honor, Courage, and Selfless Service. Let me know if there is anything I could send you from here as a heart-felt "Thank You."

And if you want to let Cambridge know how you feel about this, here is their contact info:

Marsha Weinerman:Executive Director

Cambridge Election Commission
Phone: (617) 349-4361
Fax: (617) 349-4366
Monday:8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Tuesday to Thursday:8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday:8:30 a.m.-Noon

Email to:Elections2@Cambridgema.gov

Now, if you oppose the war in Iraq, as many Americans do, I can respect that. I can even respect voicing your opposition in public - it is a right I am sworn to defend. But to oppose Government policy, by attacking, disparaging, or preventing support for our Troops is wrong, dim-witted, and cowardly. Soldiers don't make National Policy, your elected Representatives do. If you are really opposed to this war, then put something at risk to end it. Get out on the street protesting, lobby your Representatives, do something. Oh, but that's right you're a coward, and you aren't going to do something that might expose you, are you. Or maybe you're just opposed to it because everyone else is, like so many sheep. Much easier to anonymously pick on some Boy Scouts.

I got something waiting for ya'

Situation Normal

Things here are that weird Army mix of numbing boredom and pandemonium. At a moments notice everyone will be spun up that something has to get done 5 minutes ago, and all the while the (Master and) Commander is coming up with new checklists he wants on his desk - "by COB big Sarge." The next minute the entire team is hanging around with nothing to do, but no one leaves to take care of personal business because a new emergency could erupt at any moment.

Which reminds me of a little encounter between yours truly, and let's call him Chief (who ostensibly conducts our team meetings. I would like to say he facilitates our meetings, but that would be a lie.)

Anyhow, we were off to a mandatory Battalion meeting right before the start of the weekend. Everybody else was dismissed for the day - "go to the meeting then take off." Not us:

• Chief: Okay, we need to head out to <place>, so make sure you are all there by 1400. Then let's get back here by 1630 in case there is anything to put out.
  
• Grumpy: Uh, Chief, is there anything to put out?
  
• Chief: That's what the meetings for.
  
• Grumpy: *squints* Well, if there's nothing to put out then we don't need the meeting, so is there anything to put out.
  
• Chief: We're gonna figure that out at the meeting.
  
• Grumpy: *grimace* No, you're not following me. Does anyone here have anything to put out? If not, we can let the Troops go.
  
• Chief: Damn it, I don't know - that why we need the meeting. Stop being so difficult!
  
• Sergeant Major: Hey, are you still grumpy?
  
• Grumpy: I told you, I'm not Grumpy, I'm bitter, get used to it
  

That was what led me to get my drink on, then somehow a party got started in my room, and my buddies drank all my roommates beer. (hic) Which may partially explain my previous post. But I won't have to worry about drunk blogging soon, more on that and G.O. #1 in a future post.

Among the men we sing that circus diddy (Thunder and Blazes, actually) whenever things start getting stupid. You know, "dunt-dut-duh-di-duh-duh", where the clowns coming running in, going in all directions. Gotta maintain a sense of humor or you'll break [;P

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And in a post-script to the story of Ohmygodinajad speaking at Columbia, Iranian students didn't give him an ovation during his speech at Tehran University on Ocober 8th.

Mr. Ahmadinejad angered students and professors at the university after his election in 2005 when he appointed a cleric as the university’s president. Many liberal professors and students have been dismissed since then.

Student leader Abedini said that although Ahmadinejad responded to students' questions during his visit to Columbia University in New York last month, "he's not ready to listen to the questions of students at Tehran University and answer them." Well, I am sure we are all shocked that freedom of expression is repressed in that bastion of intellectual freedom that is Iran. At least the Iranians can be proud their students know how to stand up to a tyrant.

Absurdity of the week

Rant Warning! OK, so I haven't been posting these weekly, but hey, there has been plenty of absurdity, trust me. The challenge is always where to start. So here's a few recent choice items.

Leadership:

• My favorite quote from last week was "Ok, that's enough. Don't ask any more questions, it's complicated" So, let me get this straight - it's complicated, so in order for me to understand what it is I am supposed be doing I should not ask any questions. Hmm. Or is it that you don't understand and don't want a Staff Sergeant making you look stupid.
  
• Most good leaders understand their subordinates are the one who make them succeed or fail, and seek out their buy-in and advice for major decisions - often we aren't even informed of major decisions until after the fact.
  

Training:

• Being told we couldn't go to a questioning class because we have a lot of range time in September we can't miss. The problem is the training was in August. Trying to explain that to the SGM only gets you called a "whiner."
• Sending the guys with the most experience to training and holding those who could use the training most in the rear to do admin bull.
  
• Then sending off to another school the one guy who knows how to do the admin crap.
  

Absurdity of the week

Rant: We have been working pretty hard this week - on the order of 14-16 hours a day. Now, this isn't a problem in and of itself, because one of the causes is that we have some good training lined up. But yesterday we were forced to endure a 90 minute status meeting that started at 1600! 90 f'in minutes for a status meeting of a team of 20 Soldiers. WTF. Anyone who has worked with me knows how much this would drive me crazy. And again today we almost missed dinner chow because a few oxygen bandits wanted to hear themselves talk.

A few choice quotes from meetings like this:

• "I know it goes without saying, but ..." if it goes without saying, then shut the hell up!
  
• "I know the Sergeant Major just said this, but I want to reiterate ..." the Sergeant Major just said it, we all heard it and clearly so did you, so shut the hell up!
  
• "I don't really have anything to added to that." (but then you proceed to restate exactly the same points that the person before you just said) Shut the hell up!
  
• "Yada, yada, yada", "Excuse me chief, Sergeant Hammer just covered that.","Umhhh, oh, well then can you restate what the resolution was, I wasn't paying attention"Rrrrrrrrgghhhh!
  
• Ah! Yeah. It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great.OK, maybe I slipped into a daydream at this point, but PLEASE shut the hell up!
  

Absurdity II
"Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists."
This is the same Congress that unanimously confirmed General Petraeus, promised to give him the support he needed, and heard him say he would need until September to report back on the progress his approach would make. For those who have never experienced it, this is called being set up for failure.

As I've written before, there are indications that progress is being made, but no one in Iraq is going to be motivated to follow through on these glimmers of hope if they see that we, America, are going to abandon them to the thugs who would terrorize them.

It is true that Iraqis want us to leave, who would want their country to be occupied? Well the Bosnians for one, and many Rawandans, and Sudanese I would guess. Many groups who were fighting US troops even last year have turned on al-Qaeda.

I was standing there with Abu Ali, with American soldiers and 1920s people milling all around. We had certainly killed a lot of his people, and the 1920s certainly had killed many American soldiers. During severe fighting with al Qaeda in April 2007, the 1920s reached out to American soldiers, and together they have been dismantling al Qaeda here in Baqubah and other places.

Al Qaeda’s ultimate failure in much of Anbar and now in parts of Diyala relates back to one of the pillars of success—or failure—in this war: Values.
-Michael Yon

Discuss amoungst yourselves.

Trying to leave Louisiana

Well, I am done here in Louisiana - it has been hot and muggy most of the time, accompanied with afternoon thunderstorms which you would hope would cool things down, but really just make you soaked and hot.

The training here is the best you can get without actually going into a combat zone, there are whole villages with real people role-playing Iraqis, and a US Army unit that plays the insurgency, and the best laser-tag system in the world.

Our team had never worked together before, so there were lots of issues to work out and team building to be done. By design or not, our commander has managed to alienate all the enlisted, thereby causing us to bond together in our frustration with his style. I will not go into any rants at this point, as I am inclined to give the man some time to grow into what is after all a new role for him too.

The group of men I am serving with are from California and Colorado units, with some men from other States including Arizona, Wyoming, and Texas. The last time I served in a composite unit it turned nasty with the MN parent unit having a lot of disdain and lack of understanding of the Cali Soldiers attached to them. This time there is nothing of the sort, but the Active Duty unit we are attached to does have quite a bit of institutional bias against Guardsmen.

Rant: The fact that most of the Guard guys have more military experience and vast civilian skills seems lost on them. And without exception Guard Soldiers work much harder than Active Soldiers, who seem to think they are on some form of workfare.

We were supposed to fly out of here today on a C5, but the Air Force couldn't get all the engines to start, so we are stuck here tonight and will try again tomorrow.

And lastly, this absurdity of the week:

Do you have thoughts of killing others?
- from a pre-deployment mental health survey

Answering yes to this will earn you a trip to a psychologist. I'm confused, we're getting ready to deploy, we spend all day practicing how to killing the enemy. WTFO?