Dysthymia

  Yet another case of US backing the wrong guy....  If you were a former bad guy, would you want to switch sides after seeing this?

Prominent Iraqi Sunni fighter sentenced to death | International | Reuters
BAGHDAD Reuters - A U.S.-backed Sunni militia leader whose arrest provoked violence between Sunni fighters and forces of Iraq's Shi'ite-led government has been sentenced to death for murder and kidnapping, a court spokesman said on Thursday.  Adil al-Mashhadani, who controlled part of east Baghdad's crime-ridden al-Fadhil neighborhood, is one of thousands of Sunni insurgents who now back U.S. forces after turning against al Qaeda.  The arrest of some of them after they switched sides has sparked anger among so-called "Sahwa" members, who fear the Shi'ite-led government is out to get them for crimes committed in their insurgent pasts.

I’d say this is a pretty solid argument for the return of ground-based air defenses around the nation’s cities.

COLORADO SPRINGS - The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style terrorism attack, an assessment aimed at determining whether the commitment of jet fighters, other aircraft and crews remains justified.

Senior officers involved in the effort say the assessment is to gauge the likelihood that terrorists may succeed in hijacking an airliner or flying their own smaller craft into the United States or Canada. The study is focused on circumstances in which the attack would be aimed not at a public building or landmark but instead at a power plant or a critical link in the nation’s financial network, like a major electrical grid or a computer network hub.

NYT: Anti-terror air defense reviewed - The New York Times- msnbc.com

Recently an amateurish poem about a citizen discovering a symbolic Marine standing in front of his house and guarding it began making the rounds via email. In return, all that the Marine wanted was to know that Americans recognized his sacrifice. It is vaguely similar to a poem about Santa Claus entering a humble dwelling and discovering a Marine catching a nap before returning to guard duty in a distant land on Christmas Eve. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then LTC (Ret.) Robert T. Fallon ’49, Professor Emeritus of LaSalle University, should feel very flattered. He wrote the original essay, “It’s Happening on Your Own Front Lawn,” after he was severely wounded as an Infantryman in the Korean War and not satisfied with the results of an interview with a local newspaper reporter. His essay appeared in the Richmond News Leader and was reprinted in a number of popular newspapers and magazines and submitted to ASSEMBLY in 1994 to make a point about the sacrifices made by our Soldiers in Operation Desert Storm. It deserves another read:

“I want to tell you something about a war. I want you to imagine for a moment that it is a very cold, wet wintry evening at about 10 o’clock. You have been sitting comfortably by your fireside reading the evening paper. It’s been a pleasant day, dismal outside but warm and restful by the fire. You decide to step out on the porch for a breath of air before turning in. I’m sure you’ve done it often. But on this particular evening, a strange sight greets you.

There’s a great hole right in the middle of your front lawn, and the dirt has been thrown up all around it, outlined sharply against the white, even snow. Squatting in the hole is a hunched figure. Let me tell you something about him.

He’s been in this area now for about three weeks, living in a dozen holes just like this one on your front lawn. The most apparent thing about him is that he is cold, and that’s because out on your lawn it’s about 20 degrees colder than where you’re standing. Every now and then he’ll grab his shovel and dig a little deeper in the hole just to keep warm. That’s the only way he has, because he’ll be seen if he builds a fire, and he may bring mortar fire into your living room.

He’s been cold for a long time—and wet. He can’t feel his feet, and he’s getting worried because he’s afraid they might be frostbitten. It’s going to be a long night, and it’s going to get colder. He’s very dirty. The grease from a hundred “C” rations is frozen to his parka and gloves, coating the two week’s beard which covers his face. Soot from the small fires he dares to make during the day is all over his pants and boots.

But he’s dirty all the way through. He hasn’t changed his underclothes in over a month, and he doesn’t intend to for some time to come. It’s too cold to go down that far. You can smell him, and it’s bad. He’s pretty hungry, too. They didn’t get his rations up to him until after dark, and he couldn’t build a fire to thaw them out. He’ll have to wait until morning. A cup of hot coffee would sure taste good. He looks old with that beard and sort of hunched-over posture. But he’s only 19, though not like any 19-year-old you’ve ever seen.

You may wonder what he’s thinking about as he sits there during those long, solitary hours. Well, it’s not very much. Just how cold it is and again how nice that coffee would be. Maybe every now and then he thinks of home, but that’s a long ways off and the cold, his feet and his hunger are much more immediate. You’d be surprised how those three things can fill your mind. You notice that he’s cut a hole through your hedge and his rifle is sitting on the pile of dirt, pointing in readiness through the opening. That’s another thing he’s thinking. When are they coming again? He gets a little scared out there all alone. He’d like to go over and talk with his buddy in a similar hole about two houses up, but it’s not a good idea to be crawling around at night. He wishes they weren’t so far apart, but it seems they always have a big sector to cover with never enough men to cover it. It doesn’t help being so far apart.

What would you like to do with this man? Ask him to your fireside, get him a cup of coffee? Would you like to loan him your razor and let him take a hot shower? Give him a bed to sleep in instead of the dirt and cold of his foxhole? Sure you would! You wouldn’t think twice about it. But I’m afraid you can’t. There’s someone on that hill over there who wants to get into your front door, and the man was told by his platoon leader that he’s supposed to take care of your house and the one next door. So he can’t come in, and you find that you can’t reach him. He’s very far away.

But you come out in the morning and he’s still there, huddled over his little fire, thawing out his hands and his rations, trying to get the feeling back into his feet. By this time the hole is pretty deep from all the digging and he’s cut down a little more of your hedge. He’s there again when you come home from work. While you are greeted by a comfortable fire in a living room, the Soldier is getting ready for another cold night.

I have told you about this Soldier, and placed him on your front lawn, because I want you to realize that every desolate hill that Soldier defends in that far-off land is, in reality, your front door. There are people who want to get in to do you harm, and it’s his job to keep them away. He’s going to do his job, and he’s not going to ask you to do it for him. If he has to sit on your front lawn in the cold, that’s just the way things go. He’s not going to begrudge you the comforts of your fireside or your dinner table, but he’ll be mighty bitter if finds out that you’re not doing your part of the job. 

What’s “your job”? Well, it’s not really important what I happen to think “your job” may be. But I think it is important that you find out soon what it is and start doing it, for whatever it is, it’s a vital part of a country’s struggle for existence. Perhaps it would be more clear to you what your job is if you returned home tonight to find that hunched, shivering figure sitting in a hole on your lawn.”

Any questions?

Your humble servant, J. Phoenix, Esquire

Did you know that a number of previous Gray Matter essays may be found at www.westpointaog.org? Click on “Publications” and then scroll down and click on “Gray Matter e-Newsletter.”

  If I were a Somali pirate, I'd immediately start seeking Spanish vessels....

Somali pirate: $3.3M ransom paid, 36 hostages free | World news | guardian.co.uk
Associated Press Writer= MOGADISHU, Somalia AP  Pirates freed 36 crew members from a Spanish trawler Tuesday after holding them for more than six weeks. A self-proclaimed pirate said the hostage-takers were paid $3.3 million in ransom, while Spain's prime minister said the country did what it had to do.

  It's nice to see that the Philippines is taking a stand against juicy girl trafficking, because USFK's crusade in the form of arbitrary off-limits lists, courtesy patrol, and "education" have obviously failed miserably....

Philippines takes aim at juicy bar trafficking | Stars and Stripes
UIJEONGBU, South Korea — Philippine women would no longer be allowed to work in South Korean “juicy bars” — where prostitution is often a byproduct — if Philippine Embassy officials’ efforts to tighten up immigration regulations succeed.  Embassy labor attache Delmer Cruz said he hopes that by the first quarter of 2010 women from his country will be prohibited from employment as “hospitality workers … at bars in the vicinity of U.S. bases or near the sea ports.”

Hate to break the news to you, Mr. Cruz, but there are places all over Korea with your "hospitality workers," not just areas near US bases.

  This headline didn't make much sense when I first saw it, so you'll have to read the entire article and wait to see what happens this winter compared with last.

Army suicides to top 2008, but progress seen - Military- msnbc.com
WASHINGTON - Soldier suicides this year are almost sure to top last year's, but a recent decline in the pace of such deaths could mean the U.S. Army is making progress in stemming them, officials said Tuesday.Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli said that as of Monday, 140 active duty soldiers are believed to have died of self-inflicted wounds. That's the same as were confirmed for all of 2008.

  This should be interesting...a Georgian company under French command, and later a Georgian battalion under US command....

Georgia sends first peacekeepers to Afghanistan | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novost
Georgia will dispatch 173 peacekeepers to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force $ISAF$, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.The personnel are Georgia's first peacekeeping contribution to the ISAF.

  Recognize this crap being sprayed on tents in Iraq?

Army using spray foam to keep tents cool - Discovery.com- msnbc.com
U.S. Army tents don't provide much relief from the heat of the Iraqi desert, where temperatures can soar to highs of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Even with air conditioning, soldiers are lucky to crank things down to a sweltering 100 degrees Fahrenheit. To cool down sweaty troops and improve energy efficiency, the U.S. military recently began coating 900 air-conditioned tents with spray-on insulating foam. The specialized polyurethane foam, called TerraStrong, will further shield the soldiers’ temporary homes against solar rays while preventing precious cool air from leaking out.

If you've ever been stationed in Korea, you know that this stuff has been sprayed all over the place since at least the '80s, especially on quonset huts.  So why is it being touted as a new big deal in Iraq?

Honeywell, which is carrying out the $12.5 million project, plans to train 50 locals for the job and then donate the technology to the Iraqis once the job is complete.

Yep, just like most other things in the Sandbox, just follow the money trail....

  Well this can't be good for hearts and minds of Muslims....

Fabled Foreign Legion finds a new war to fight - Afghanistan- msnbc.com
"We're meant for fighting. There's too much chatting around here," said Chief Sgt. Alex, downing beers in the legionnaires' clubhouse at Tora base, an open-air shed whose large flat-screen TV was showing hard-core porn videos to the music of "Viagra," a Ukrainian techno band.

  Why are only 100 Afghan troops accompanying 700 French?  Shouldn't that be the other way around?

French, Afghan troops push into hostile valley | World news | guardian.co.uk
Associated Press Writer= TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan  Hundreds of French and Afghan troops on Sunday pushed into a hostile valley in eastern Afghanistan where militants launch quick attacks, then disappear into hillside villages. The mission: secure the area for a planned bypass road around the Afghan capital to move supplies from neighboring Pakistan. About 700 French troops, joined by 100 Afghan soldiers, moved into the Tagab valley before dawn with more than 100 armored vehicles. U.S. and French attack helicopters roared overhead as insurgent snipers fired from the roofs of houses onto the advancing column of vehicles, according to a reporter for The Associated Press traveling with the French troops.

  I wonder if China did this in order to ensure that India would stay focused on Pakistan rather than China.  In case you don't know, China fought India in 1962.

Scientist: China gave Pakistan nuke blueprint - Washington Post- msnbc.com
In 1982, a Pakistani military C-130 left the western Chinese city of Urumqi with a highly unusual cargo: enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic bombs, according to accounts written by the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and provided to The Washington Post. The uranium transfer in five stainless-steel boxes was part of a broad-ranging, secret nuclear deal approved years earlier by Mao Zedong and Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto that culminated in an exceptional, deliberate act of proliferation by a nuclear power, according to the accounts by Khan, who is under house arrest in Pakistan.

The difficult part now seems to be figuring out exactly who Pakistan shared its nuclear technology with.

  Can you imagine blue helmets stationed on the US-Mexican border?  What would the US role be in such a deployment?  Just another reason I never want to go to Fort Bliss.

channelnewsasia.com - Mexican leaders call for UN help in Ciudad Juarez
WASHINGTON: Local leaders in Ciudad Juarez have asked for UN peacekeepers to help stem the alarming bloodshed in their city that is chasing business across the border to Texas, their representatives have said. Despite the deployment of 8,500 troops since February, more than 2,000 people have been killed so far this year in drug-related crimes, making Ciudad Juarez one of the world's most violent urban areas, business leaders told a press briefing on Wednesday. The city's Association of Maquiladoras (assembly plants) said it had requested "the intervention of United Nations blue helmets (peacekeepers) to control" the crime wave, said association president Soledad Maynez.

  Sounds like Russia is dragging her feet on this one, which is good news for the US and Israel just in case we need to implement preemptive retaliation.

S-300 missile deliveries to Iran under review — Russian official | Top Russian news and analysis onl
MOSCOW, November 12 $RIA Novosti$ - Russia is still considering the possible deliveries of advance air defense systems to Iran and will not freeze the contract as a concession to the United States, a government official said.  Russia signed a contract with Iran on the supply of S-300 air defense systems to the Islamic Republic in December 2005. However, there have been no official reports about the start of the contract's implementation since then.

Of course self-reporting is going to fail to identify Soldiers with mental illness.  Who screens those pre-deployment assessments, anyways? 

More than half of deployed soldiers diagnosed with mental disorders concealed their illnesses when completing a pre-deployment health assessment intended to screen out unfit warriors, according to a newly released military study.

The report, by a career Army epidemiologist, is the first scientific study of how well the pre-deployment form identifies service members with mental health problems. Its findings confirm what military leaders have heard for years: The form alone is of questionable value as a screening tool.

Before Deployment, Many Soldiers Leave Mental Problems Off Health Assessment -- Courant.com

If you’re a cheapskate and don’t want to pay $50 for Live OneCare, you might want to check out free Microsoft Security Essentials.

Accidental discharge?

China has detected a deadly nerve gas at its North Korean border and suspects an accidental release from its neighbor, according to a Japanese news report on Oct. 9.
The Chinese military is intensifying its surveillance activities after identifying the highly virulent Sarin gas in November last year and again in February, according to a report from the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, that cited anonymous sources from the Chinese military. The gas was found in Liaoning Province.

Epoch Times - China Detects Nerve Gas at its North Korean Border

I guess it's not just the Army....

Marines see sharp increase in suicides | Stars and Stripes
Recently released figures show Marines are taking their own lives at alarmingly high rates, and deployments appear to be taking a toll.

Through September, the Marines have recorded 38 confirmed or suspected suicides in 2009. Should the pace continue through the end of the year, the Marines would be facing a 20 percent increase from 2008 figures. Suicides also rose 27 percent from 2007 to 2008.

Ten suspected suicides this year remain under investigation, but those are classified as suicides because there is strong evidence to suggest that those Marines took their own lives, said Navy Cmdr. Aaron Werbel, suicide prevention program manager for the Marine Corps.

And while a recent Marine Corps report indicates that fewer than 42 percent of Marines who have committed suicide since 2001 had a deployment history, 56 of the 80 Marines who have taken their lives in the last two years have been to the war zones. That 70 percent figure is higher than Army figures for 2008, during which 61 percent of those who committed suicide were either deployed or had a deployment history.

This stretch of road is one of the scariest I've ever been on.  Here's a little history about it.

When GEN David H. Petraeus ‘74 comes to West Point to attend his 35^th Reunion this afternoon, he also will attend a ceremony for the re-naming of about a mile of County Route 107 in Cornwall, NY, currently known as Quaker Avenue, in his honor. GEN Petraeus was raised in Cornwall-on-Hudson, graduated from Cornwall High School, and then entered West Point, just eight miles away. Now Quaker Avenue connects to Highway 9W and has exit signs that are very prominent, but a more interesting section of road to re-name in the general’s honor would have been a lesser-known stretch of two-lane highway. Specifically, that section between West Point and Cornwall-on-Hudson of what is now known as New York Highway 218, the construction of which was a cause célèbre in the early 20^th Century.

Traveling north from Washington Gate along 218, it is exactly one mile to Lee Gate, now permanently closed as a post-September 11^th security measure, with large boulders marked with reflective tape and positioned to reinforce the decorative steel gate. Continuing north, one negotiates another mile of curving, twisting road, sometimes in relatively benign terrain, at other times clinging to the side of Storm King Mountain, with only a stone wall preventing one from plunging to the Hudson River fall below. This is also the section of the highway that experienced a major washout a few years back. After that one mile, there is a large, flat, angled rock incorporated into the stone wall. Perhaps it is a neglected historical marker worn smooth; more likely, it is a marker never completed, due to lack of time, funding, inclination or appropriateness. It could have been pressed into service as a marker for GEN Petraeus.

The next mile again is varied, although always twisting, with the mountain on one side but with some flat areas on the other, with no stone wall required. At other times, however, the drop off beyond the wall is over 200 feet. At the end of this mile, a large rock extends noticeably over the roadway to announce the last, short climb to the highest point on the road before the long descent into the “lower village” of Cornwall-on-Hudson a mile away.

Near the highest point, one finds a miniscule parking area between the road surface and the damaged stone wall on the river side. It only has enough space for two cars, or three mini-Coopers. Innocent in appearance, this little overlook, with a magnificent view of Bannerman’s Island (actually, Polopel Island) and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, has been the scene of at least two deaths in recent memory. The fatalities both were adventuresome tourists who, at different times, climbed over the wall to some rock outcroppings on the other side and fell to their deaths below, some say blown off by gusts of wind. A third death occurred from an avalanche in a snowstorm, but that is another story. Some time ago, chain link gates were erected just beyond Washington Gate and at Cornwall-on-Hudson to close the road when significant rain or snow increases the danger of slides, but there is nothing to dissuade wall climbers.

From the village entrance, it is about three miles to the junction with Highway 9W (the newer, upper road over the mountain) and the end of Highway 218. It is that earlier distance of four miles—from Washington Gate to the village limits—however, that most concerns us. When this short stretch opened in October 1922, it was described as the “new world’s most difficult engineering project” and “America’s boldest and most picturesque mountain roadway.” As a portion of then-State Route 3, it was touted as “the last link in an unbroken river highway between New York [City] and Albany.” But it wasn’t easy.

Discussions began as early as 1904, but by 1913 little had been accomplished. The federal government was concerned about providing a right of way through the West Point military reservation. New York State suggested digging a tunnel through Storm King Mountain, while the newly-formed Palisades Park Commission favored the “outside” route eventually adopted. A new survey was ordered that occasionally involved lowering men and all of their surveying equipment on ropes down the side of the mountain. At other times, a small cannon borrowed from West Point was used to shoot cans of paint against the mountain so that the colored splotches could be used as survey points. When final approval was received, a quarry of the Storm King Stone Company at the base of the mountain had to be condemned. By 1916, work was begun, but the stone company would not grant access across its property, so some machinery had to travel down the mountainside, negotiating dense woods in the process, and cement had to be packed in by mule.

Avoiding damage to buildings down by the river from rocks displaced by the extensive blasting required was a major concern—as was removing debris from the lines of the West Shore Railroad and repairing damaged rails and ties. When the nation became involved in World War I, skilled labor became in short supply, and the cost of necessary supplies and materials escalated. The four miles of road eventually cost one million dollars, and the anticipated opening in July 1922 had to be postponed. When the roadway did open in October, with little fanfare, the expected boon to the fortunes of Cornwall (the “upper village”) and Cornwall-on-Hudson did not materialize. What did materialize were traffics jams, as anyone with an automobile and a free afternoon wanted to try the new route. Another result: the bandstand that proudly stood in the middle of the intersection at the center of the “lower village” (Cornwall-on-Hudson) had to be moved to a safer location at the side of the road. Clearly, Murphy’s Law already was in effect in 1922, but perhaps the completion of this portion of the road represents a degree of difficulty that GEN Petraeus, as a division commander and then as overall commander in Iraq, would understand. And appreciate.

Actually, the original concept, presented to the legislature in Albany by State Senator William J. Larkin, Jr., was to rename this portion of Highway 218 in honor of GEN Petraeus. New York State, however, does not name state facilities for living persons.

Your humble servant, J. Phoenix, Esquire

Did you know that a number of previous Gray Matter essays may be found at www.westpointaog.org? Click on “Publications” and then scroll down and click on “Gray Matter e-Newsletter.”

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Iran test-fired a Shahab-3 in addition to shorter range missiles today.  This missile is an improvement over the North Korean No-Dong.

TEHRAN - Iran tested its longest-range missiles Monday, capping two days of war games meant to show the country is ready for any military threat at a time when it is under intense international pressure to fully disclose its nuclear activities.

State television said the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program, successfully tested upgraded versions of the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles. Both can carry warheads and reach up to 1,200 miles, putting Israel, U.S. military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe within striking distance.

There was no independent confirmation of the test firings. However, television footage showed a missile soaring into the sky in desert-like terrain, to shouts of Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest).

Ahead of talks, Iran tests long-range missiles - Iran- msnbc.com

I’d think you’d have to be pretty desperate to have surgery on a fake injury in order to avoid military service.

South Korean police said Sunday they had arrested three men and summoned more than 200 others for questioning in a massive crackdown on draft-dodging scams.

Police suspect them of undergoing surgery on fake injuries or using falsified medical records to dodge the two-year mandatory military service.

S.Korea cracks down on draft-dodging scam - Regional - MSN Singapore News - News

Methinks COL Reese won’t be making Brigadier General after this PR fiasco.

RAMADI, Iraq - The top U.S. general in Iraq said Tuesday that he disagrees with a colonel's memo urging an early troop withdrawal even though the security situation is better than expected since American forces turned over security in urban centers to the Iraqis more than a month ago.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the first senior American official to comment on the memo, told The Associated Press the Americans need to stay the course in Iraq.

The Iraqi security forces face corruption and other problems but "overall it's gone very, very well," he said. But, he added, the Americans are still needed to protect security gains.

U.S. general in Iraq nixes early pullout plan - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com

This is a far cry from my own Cadet Field Training (CFT), which was more of a mini-Ranger school than anything else.

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Cadets had already fought off an overnight attack by insurgents firing blanks when the morning brought even more simulated problems.

Local villagers — really, Arabic-speaking role players — massed outside their camp gate and made demands. Then cadets dispatched to stabilize a nearby village were hit by an explosive device. The ensuing battle went badly: Cadets suffered casualties and alienated the local sheik by ignoring him.

"You need to show respect to somebody when you enter their village and you have shot up their houses," Sheik Yusef (actually Joseph Khalipha, of Fort Pierce, Fla.) scolded cadets during a debriefing. "We are worried, and we are upset. We can't get to our homes."

West Point field training has ethical dimension - Military- msnbc.com

Jeez…I think we don’t need to worry about al Qaida taking root in Nigeria….

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Troops shelled the compound of an Islamist sect blamed for days of violence in northern Nigeria then attacked its mosque, killing at least 100 militants in a fierce battle.

Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf escaped along with about 300 followers but his deputy was killed in Wednesday night's bombardment, according to Army commander Maj. Gen. Saleh Maina.

The army was conducting a house-to-house manhunt Thursday on the outskirts of Maiduguri for Yusuf and his followers.

Dozens killed as Nigeria mosque attacked - Africa - msnbc.com

I should be in Iraq helping them write an Area Air Defense Plan (AADP), but no, I had to get stuck on some National Police Transition Team.  Another typical Army waste of MOS skill for the sake of numbers.

Odierno says Iraq won’t be able to defend own airspace by end of 2011 | Stars and Stripes