Night Flashes

Israel begins its op in Gaza ... IRIS roundup says Israeli body found in Ramallah, planes hit 3 bridges, and a second Israeli is reported abducted ... AP via JPost reports the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) threatens to kill a hostage if Israel doesn't halt its raids ... the JPost has this: 'The IDF received reports on Tuesday night than an Israeli body was found in Ramallah. The security forces were investigating the credibility of the reports, Army Radio reported. Meanwhile, the security establishment has assessed on Tuesday that 18-year-old Eliyahu Asheri from Itamar was in fact kidnapped. The assessment was made based on circumstantial evidence, without concrete proof.' ... Aluf Benn at Ha'Aretz says this means Olmert's convergence plan is on hold, in the face of increasing opposition from an Israeli public seeing Qassam attacks and an out-of-touch Prime Minister ... Israpundit quotes A7 reporting that 'The Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon, stated early this morning that if Gilad Shalit is released and is safe and well, Israel will halt its current military operation in the Gaza Strip.' Israpundit isn't happy with that ...

Finally, Debka's latest update: 'First Israeli tank columns roll into southern Gaza Strip Tuesday night after Israeli air strike knocks out a main transformer station south of Gaza City. Palestinian sources say the Israeli force is taking up positions around Rafah where captured Israeli soldier Gideon [sic] Shalit is believed held by Hamas captors. Much of the territory has gone dark. Israeli artillery also opened up from the tank emplacements at Nahalf Oz, Kisufim and Sufa to prevent the Palestinians shooting Qassam missiles . The Israeli incursion followed breakdown of diplomatic efforts to negotiate the Israeli corporal’s release. Palestinians have been setting up sand barriers sown with explosives and mining routes in the path of Israeli tanks and armor and building concealed firing positions.' The captured soldier's name is reported elsewhere as Gilad Shalit; the civilian abducted two days later is Eliyahu Asheri.

Guadalcanal!

Regular readers of the Blogger site will already be familiar with my father's World War II memoir, which I am publishing online as Pacific Memories. Chapter 11 is now complete and we are entering Chapter 12 - and the fabled Guadalcanal:

Guadalcanal seemed the essence of jungle warfare as Americans at home and overseas came to know it. Its malevolent dense growth assailed one both physically and spiritually ...

Read the rest here.

Military Roundup

Jason on the Two-Timers. Jason van Steenwyck of Countercolumn rebuts Jay Rosen's soft talk on the duplicitous New York Times and Los Angeles Times:

Watch this: Rosen is going to admit that what the paper did is against the law, that it potentially harmed national security, and further stipulate that newspapers are "not above the law." And yet it's "too far" to talk about prosecuting the paper.

is there some chance that the story could have aided terrorists? I suppose I would say that there probably is some chance of that, yeah. And the Times is not exempt from the laws of the country, no.

Wow. Breathtaking.

What's it going to take, Jay? I mean, any of the rest of us would go to jail for divulging such details in a heartbeat. Sandy Berger got in heap big trouble for doing next to no damage to national security, other than perhaps tampering with records. I'd be sitting in Leavenworth right now if I posted about the SWIFT program on the web. Why? Because I'm not above the law, that's why.

If the Times is not above the law, as you say, then it is by definition not too early to talk about prosecuting them. The only way it is too early to talk about prosecuting them is if you do believe that they are, in fact, above the law that governs the rest of us. Sauce for the goose.

And Jason is just warming up. Go read it all at the link.

Good news from Yemen. By way of Jonah's Military Guys:

Task Force Rebuilds School, Clinic in Yemen
By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Palomares

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa

ADEN , Yemen , June 20, 2006 — The quiet, yet steady, humanitarian efforts of U.S. and coalition forces continue to foster stability in the region.

Thomas Krajeski, the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen , and U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen Johnson, the chief of staff for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa , were on hand to officially dedicate the Zenab Girls’ Secondary School and the Al Mansura Clinic here on June 6.

"We believe the school will inspire young women to learn and we are confident that it will provide educational opportunities for future leaders. This work represents another step towards peace and prosperity throughout the region", U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen Johnson.

“I am happy to be here with you all today to dedicate - or rather, to rededicate - the Zenab Girls’ School,” Krajeski said.

“This project is for you,” he said to the young women who will study at the school. ...

Which is not to say that all the news from Yemen is good ... be sure to stay on top of Yemen events with Jane at Armies of Liberation.

Michael Yon says: Reach out and care. Michael Yon profiles Brad Blauser:

1. How do you describe what you do with your project?

Through emails and networking, I help raise funds for donations to ROCWheels.org in Montana. ROC Wheels, among other projects, provides pediatric wheelchairs to soldiers in Iraq shipped via the Denton Program for distribution to disabled Iraqi children.
2. What inspired you to undertake this work?

In Summer of 2005, I asked friends and family on my email list to send over pediatric wheelchairs for disabled Iraqi children. One of my friends at Chapel, then MAJ David Brown (now LTC) with ‘Deuce Four’ (1-24 Infantry Strykers) told me of kids he meets while out on Medical Missions in the city who were disabled from Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida and various other maladies. I offered to send an email home to ask friends and family to coordinate the donation and shipping of twelve pediatric wheelchairs for these kids, and David accepted the offer. Within four weeks, 31 chairs were on location ready to be distributed. In the weeks that followed, CPT Matthew Fargo and medics of the 1-17 Strykers from Alaska were able to give a special gift of a different type of freedom to 31 Iraqi families. ...

Go visit the ROC Wheels site, and donate if you possibly can. I can personally attest that their online donation form works.

Morning Report: June 27, 2006

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! Behind the media's smokescreen, Iraq makes progress as insurgent groups start to come around. New gestures between Baghdad and Tehran leave room for speculation, but there's no doubt that Israel means business on its western corner. And further south, a hideout becomes a last stand for three suspected terrorists.

A step in the right direction. The Belmont Club comments on Mohammed's post at Iraq the Model reporting that seven insurgent groups have expressed interest in joining the political process. ITM: 'So far, everybody in Iraq feels good about Maliki's plan and expressed their hopes for it to meet success and ease the suffering of the Iraqi people; everybody except for the Sadrists and the association of Muslim scholars who both criticized the plan and said it wasn't acceptable and expected it to fail. The question is do they are expecting it to fail only because they think it is not framed in a workable way or because they wish for it to fail? I'm afraid the latter is the likely answer.' They're not the only ones. The Belmont Club: 'The BBC will probably note that the initial intake will consist of groups peripheral to the real fighting, the weaker insurgent groups, the half-hearted Jihadis, and they will be right. However, Maliki is probably trying to get momentum going and the only way to do that is to work on the weakest links of the insurgency first.' (ITM, Belmont Club)

Iraq: The real world vs. the media's world. Strategy Page: 'One of the more interesting types of stories exchanged by Iraq veterans is how their embedded reporters get screwed by their editors. The basic problem is that reporters tend to get close to the troops they are embedded with, and the troops form a good sense of what kind of story is being written. But then, when the story appears, it often has no connection with what actually happened, other than the names of the reporter and the soldiers or marines. The troops get curious about how this can be. ... The answer to all these queries is simple. The reality of Iraq is too positive for the editors back home.' Full article at the link. (Strategy Page)

Ahmadinejad to visit Iraq. Marze Por Gohar: 'Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Iraq soon, the Tehran-based Fars news agency reported on Monday. The president will visit Baghdad in the coming weeks to meet Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, and then travel to Najaf where he will hold talks with Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Fars reports.' Meanwhile, Iran Focus reports that 'Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari arrived in Tehran on Monday to hold talks with Iranian officials, the government-run news agency Fars reported.' It's not clear what is behind these overtures. Could it have anything to do with an attempt by the IRI to intervene on behalf of Russians abducted in Iraq? Some items via Regime Change Iran. (MPG, Iran Focus, RIA Novosti)

Gaza: Rebuilding Israeli deterrence. Following a Hamas attack on an Israeli post that left two Israeli soldiers dead and a third captive, Israel is gearing up for a no-nonsense response. Debka: 'Steely lines of hundreds of tanks, thousands of armored infantry and commandos menaced the Gaza Strip as of Monday night, June 26, from three jumping-off points: the Nahal Oz base opposite Gaza City, Kissufim opposite Deir al Balah and Khan Younes in the south and Sufa opposite Rafah. Made up of the Golani and Givaty armored brigades and special operations units including the elite Sayeret Matkal, they presented a picture of armored might not seen for many years on the world’s television screens, even in US military sieges of Karbala and Falujja, in Iraq.' The Israeli site notes that the campaign is designed to rebuild the credibility of Israel's deterrent force in the Gaza area, while addressing numerous security concerns including the incursion of al-Qaeda into Gaza, the Palestinian takeover of the Philadelphi border crossing, and the continuing threat of Qassam attacks from the Gaza region. In assessing the likely course of the campaign, Debka concludes: 'A large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip must aim not only at rescuing Gilead Shalit but also replacing the bankrupt Sharon security strategy with a doctrine that arms Israel with the tools to repel and win the current round of the Palestinian war. This is a tall order for Israel’s top military tacticians. They must come up with a winning card when the Palestinians hold an ace, the hostage Gilead Shalit. ... DEBKAfile’s military experts do not expect the Palestinians to show massive resistance in the first stage of this operation, except for directing scattered Qassam, mortar and rocket fire against f the invading Israeli force. The real crunch will begin when Israeli troops strike into populated districts. But that will only happen if they fail to find the missing soldier in Rafah.' Go to the link for the full analysis. (Debka)

Three bombing suspects killed in Egypt. AP via Jerusalem Post: 'Security forces on Tuesday killed three people wanted for the bombings in a Sinai resort that killed 21 people two months ago, police said. The police shot dead Ibrahim Hameed Freg, his brother Sami and Ibrahim's wife Fawziya Musleh at a hide-out in a farm in the desert near El Arish, said the chief detective of North Sinai police, Gen. Adel Fawzi.' (JPost)

Who is Michael J. Totten? Fifty-one things you probably didn't know about Portland's citizen of the world here. (MJT)

Commentary. A month ago, an item on Marze Por Gohar headlined Iran-Iraq to Seal Border Against Insurgents attracted little attention. The report stated that

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki of Iran, on the second day of his visit to Iraq, said on Saturday that the two countries had agreed to form a joint commission to oversee border issues and that its primary task would be to "block saboteurs" crossing the 700-mile border.

"We plan to form a joint commission between Iran and Iraq to control our borders and block the way to saboteurs whose aim is to destabilize the security of the two countries," he said in Najaf after talks with Iraq's most powerful Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Mr. Mottaki, whose visit was only the second by an official Iranian government delegation since the downfall of Saddam Hussein, said improved border controls would be part of a wide effort to build close ties between the countries, including $1 billion in Iranian economic assistance to Shiite and Kurdish areas of Iraq.

It's hard to guess what is going on behind the scenes in the Washington/Baghdad/Tehran triangle, and Morning Report will refrain from speculating. But DebkaNet Weekly (subscription service) reports that Iraq's highest-ranking Kurdish leaders, President Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani, are not pleased with the possibility of a backing-down on Washington's part. Whether President Bush will hold the line against the Iranian mullahs remains to be seen.

Israel
Iraq
Iran

Ann Coulter, Deadhead

From James Hudnall by way of Pajamas Media, Ann Coulter is revealed to be a Grateful Dead fan.

(PS - The interview is worth reading in any case, but especially for the image of Ann Coulter covered in purple Crisco.)

This is funny, because I was just thinking about the Grateful Dead this evening. I always enjoyed their music, and I managed to catch a few concerts back in the day. What I loved about the music was that it was spiritual, deeply joyful, and always fresh and new. And, yeah, Jerry Garcia was simply an amazing guitar player.

I think Ann Coulter is on to something when she says "true Deadheads are what liberals claim to be but aren't: unique, free-thinking, open, kind, and interested in different ideas". That was always my impression too.

Would it be trite to say that I wish I'd spent more time listening to the Grateful Dead? It's true. And I think their music captured something precious and beautiful, something that's in danger of being lost in today's world. I'm glad I had the chance to get a glimpse of it in their music.

Stacy Bias in Curve

Congratulations to Portland's Stacy Bias for making the hallowed pages of Curve this month! (Hallowed page number twelve, to be exact.) Stacy is the brains behind Technodyke and the architect of Cupcake, an all-genders, all-sizes event in Portland. Stacy is a big figure in queer and fat acceptance activism. Here's her homepage.

You go girl!

Interview with Ghazal Omid

Dreams Into Lightning exclusive: Interview with Iranian activist and author Ghazal Omid.

She is the author of "Living in Hell: A Young Woman's Life in Revolutionary Iran". You can read her columns here. I've previously posted on Ghazal Omid here and here. Now I'm pleased to be able to bring you an interview with her. I spoke with Ghazal by phone for about 45 minutes this evening. What follows is not a verbatim transcript, because I was taking notes by hand, but it does represent the essential points of our conversation.

(Please tell us your thoughts on the recent terrorist arrests in Canada.)
I've been telling the Canadian government about terrorism for a couple of years. Canadian laws are designed to protect everyone; the terrorists understand this and use it to their advantage. [Terror suspect Abdul] Kahar was from a family of terrorists - his father was an officer of Osama bin Laden, and was killed in Afghanistan. We could have had another 9/11 on our hands. Canada is a backdoor for terrorism because of lousy laws. We need to be more careful. When somebody is proven guilty, why are we keeping them in this country?

(On Muslim identity and government incompetence.)
I receive hate mail and phone calls every day, from Muslim fanatics. And yet, I was detained at the border for 45 minutes after I returned from Dubai. Another example: When I took [copies of threatning messages] to the police, they said, "you choose your actions, you receive your reactions." The police showed no enthusiasm and shrugged their shoulders. This is ludicrous. The government needs to know who the good guys and the bad guys are. I believe it's my Muslim duty, and my human duty, to stand up to terrorism. I'm with you - what are you going to do to protect me?

(Tell me about your upcoming three books.)
The first book is called "Poverty in Paradise". It's inspired by my trip to Dubai. In many countries like Dubai, they have a misrepresented image of the United States. It's a corrupted image. They think everyone is like Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson. When I asked male acquaintances in Arab countries what they thought about America, they thought of women running around in bikinis. The image that's presented abroad, via satellite programming, is even more distorted than the portrayals on domestic television. Working-class North Americans aren't portrayed. Yes, the United States holds a large share of the world's wealth, but most people in America work very hard, long hours. They're not rich. I want to make people in other countries feel we all belong to the same family. My second book is called "Islam 101" and it's an introduction to Islam. The religious section is separate from the political section, because I feel these things should be kept separate. The third book is about Iran's future. It's essential to educate women and children if you're going to stop terrorism. You don't want to get to them when they're 20; you want to get to them when they're 3. This book will be a message of humanity and education about Islam and other things.

(You've brought up the subject of wealth and poverty, and the fact that many people in other countries have a false - and harmful - belief that "all Americans are rich and decadent". As you were speaking, I was reminded of the section early in your book "Living in Hell" where you describe the paradox of growing up being rich and poor at the same time. Can you tell me a little more about how this experience influenced your thinking?)
When I was 12 years old, my father would bring home money in potato sacks. When I asked him why, he said, "People give me money so I can hide it." They trusted him more than they trusted the banks. My mother would have me count the money by hand. She wanted me to hold it in my hand so I would get used to the feel of it and not yearn for it. But although Father didn't take care of us - how many days did I live on bread and milk? - we never took his money. He could leave it in his coat pocket and we would never touch it. I have my pride - I'm not gonna beg! But I want to educate people about what they can say and what they can't [so that they can speak out on injustice in a productive way]. I need to respect me before I respect anybody else; I need to love me before I can love anybody else.

(Tell me why, as a religious Muslim, you feel it's important to end the Mullahs' dictatorship in Iran.)
The Mullahs are parasites - they're charlatans. They are distorting the image of Islam; they're no better than bin Laden.

Apart from getting rid of the regime, what changes do you think are necessary for Iranian society?
Education is critical, especially for women. And cultural education. The practice of marrying young girls has nothing to do with the current government, they only increased the problem that was already there. Educating a young girl is like painting a masterpiece - it takes time. We need to raise a generation of strong women.

Do you think you might seek political office in a future, democratic Iranian government?
Yes. I will change the pace of society and work for women's rights. There will be a new sheriff in town!

(Other comments.)

Shirin Ebadi is an opportunist; millions of dollars are funneled to her organization.

When you have a charity in Iran, you have to have someone in the government [who's getting paid off]. When you give money to that charity, your money goes to the government.

Voice of America is using its funding the wrong way; it's actually helping the regime. The Iranian government shows the same images of wealthy, decadent Americans and says to the people, "look, do you want to be like that?" There have been some positive changes at VOA, but it needs to change more.

The US Government is wasting a lot of its money for Iran. Many of the grantees are crooks. The Iranian people need to see tangible efforts, not just TV broadcasts.

A couple of years ago, I saw how people in Washington State took up a collection from their own money to help Iranians after the earthquake. The US needs to do a better job of publicizing efforts like this - sometimes it's OK to let people know when you're doing something good.

I would have loved to help the US Government, if they would listen. I would like to immigrate to the United States, but it could take 15 years unless I can find a way to speed up the process. They did it for Pamala Anderson. Look, Pamela Anderson got into the US because of her breasts ... I should be able to get in because of my brain.

We can help children understand that they are not different from one another because of nationality. We can touch the hearts of children with things they can relate to. Things that touched me as a child: bedtime stories, and listening to radio programs. We love our history. If people in Iran knew how much other people around the world care, they would throw this regime out. If Americans and Iranians really understood one another, they would fall in love with each other.

Department of Outrages and Atrocities

Some

Marg bar Israel, Marg bar Amrica …

Comment by Kiumars — June 11, 2006 @ 11:24 pm

things

How exciting! Notice that poster Kiumars’ idea of an “opposite” view is to flame us with “death to Israel, death to America” in Arabic. ...

Comment by Shy Guy — June 12, 2006 @ 1:31 am

just piss me off.

New Fiction

The Queen's Courtesan.

Tammy to Air on New, All-Woman WVIE Baltimore

Tammy Bruce:

Starting Monday, June 5 the Tammy Bruce Show welcomes a new East Coast flagship to the Tammy Radio family--WVIE AM 1370 in Baltimore. A 50,000 watt station, WVIE will carry the show live, 12p-3pm ET, and it will be heard throughout the entire region. It's uniqueness will be immediately obvious--all the hosts are women. The Baltimore Sun broke the story today.

Baltimore Sun: Women's Voices at WVIE

BREAKING: Zarqawi Killed

Is Zarqawi dead? We've heard it before, but it sounds like it could be for real this time. Winds of Change:

On June 08, 2006, ABCNEWS reported that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been confirmed to have been killed in Baghdad in a bombing raid by a United States task force hunting him. His death has been confirmed by mutiple sources in Iraq.
With thanks to Pamela at DL.

WoC links to Reuters:

Iraq's prime minister will announce the death of al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, state television reported on Thursday.

Pajamas Media has this:

We’ve heard if before, but news channels are right now reporting that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq, has been killed in a bombing operation, according to an aide to Iraq’s prime minister. No links yet; more soon.

UPDATE (12:21am Pacific): CNN International is showing footage from Al Arabiya TV of Prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki in a press conference confirming the news. Wild applause in the audience.

Blackfive:

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is currently backstroking in The Lake of Fire. Good riddance, bitch! Few details at this point, I just caught it on a Fox News Alert at 0030 PST 8 June 2006. Wake up with a smile America, Zarqawi ate a 500lb bomb in Baquba yesterday and this is confirmed.

0049 General Casey is now confirming that Zarqawi is dead and identified by fingerprints and facial recognition. Ding Dong the witch is dead. HOOYAH!!!

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

UPDATE - ITM:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has just announced the death of terror leader Abu Musa'ab al-Zarqawi in a joint press conference with Ambassador Khalil Zad.

Al-Maliki explained that Zarqawi (and 7 of his aides) was killed in a US-Iraqi raid in the little town of Hibhib 8 km north of Baquba after receiving tips from residents in the area.

General Casey says more details on the operation will be available in a briefing at 3 pm local time. General Casey mentioned that Zarqawi's identity was confirmed through his fingerprints.


CONGRATULATIONS TO IRAQ, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WHOLE WORLD ON THIS VICTORY.

Reuters, quoting ABC: "They handed him over to the Iraqis and he later died of his injuries."

Heh.

MORE UPDATES:

Totten: "Got the Motherfucker".

Belmont Club: Z-man RIP. 'It will have been a dramatic comedown for a man who on only on March 22, 2006 was acclaimed "the superstar of the international jihad".'

Counterterrorism Blog has a round-up.

Debka:

Iraq’s most wanted man, al Qaeda chief Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was killed in a safe house 8km north of Baquba, along with seven aides. One senior aide was captured.

June 8, 2006, 11:12 AM (GMT+02:00)

The tip-off from Iraqi sources led to an air strike by US forces, US commander Gen. George Casey confirmed after the announcement by Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki

The most wanted man in Iraq with a $25m US bounty on his head, he was personally responsible for the most barbarous terrorist attacks, including beheadings, massacres of civilians, suicide attacks and an all-out war on Shiites which touched of sectarian warfare in Iraq.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad congratulated US commander Gen. George Casey and the forces which carried out the operation against the “godfather of sectarian killing in Iraq.” His death does not end the violence in Iraq but is a step in the right direction and a good omen for the new government and the global war on terror.

Let's blogroll!

Not PC, just common decency is what should make you think twice about using certain kinds of insults, says Tuomas at Creative Destruction. Hear, hear. And also from the estimable CD, Ampersand - no bushbot he - insists that, contra Rolling Stone, the Ohio election wasn't stolen ... but "fair" is another matter, and Amp raises some questions about Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

Patti at White Pebble links to an inspiring coming-out story.

Alcibiades at Kesher Talk asks some important technical questions but forgets one: Is the damn thing pronounced "rooter" or "rowter"?

"The tide of the war in the Pacific was turned in the time it took a few squadrons of American dive bombers to make their runs on this day 64 years ago." From a thought-provoking post at Winds of Change on the aptly-named Midway battle; and go check out the photo of the ill-fated Yorktown.

Cross-posted at Dreams Into Lightning - TypePad.