Gallipoli

Here’s a PSA for my fellow history buffs.  Premiering Sunday on Smithsonian Channel, which is fast becoming one of my favorites.

Obama to Comment on Alleged End of War After Vacation

lol

President Barack Obama plans a major speech on Iraq after his return to Washington as the last U.S. combat troops prepare to leave Iraq.

That’s according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because details are being finalized.

The speech will come shortly after Obama returns to the White House on Aug. 29 from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation.

Such compassion.  Such leadership.  SUCH LOVE OF THE TROOPS! 

Not. 

Combat Troops Out of Iraq

To all who fought in Iraq… THANK YOU. 

Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Barack Obama’s Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.

Manning’s Profile

Interesting.

People who say they know Manning describe him as naturally adept at computers, smart and opinionated, even brash. Friends and acquaintances paint a picture of a person who, from a young age, couldn’t help but get involved when he perceived an injustice. It was a tendency that sometimes sparked confrontation with authority figures and those who disagreed with him, they say.

According to friends and his own writings on the internet, Manning is openly gay.

Judging by his Facebook page, the young soldier’s politics appear to be left-leaning, and he’s an ardent supporter of groups working to achieve full civil rights for gays. Manning listed on his page causes such as “Repeal the Ban - End Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and included links to “No on Prop 8,” a California ballot measure that eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples, Human Rights Campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

It’s unclear, however, if those politics may have had any role in what authorities suspect him of doing: leaking military documents; or whether he was angry over the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” that allows gays to serve in the armed forces as long as they are not open about their sexuality.

Manning Aided By Civilian

It’s beginning to look more and more like Wikileaks is a bit more involved than merely being the data repository. 

A military official, who was not identified, acknowledged to the Times on Friday that Army investigators were looking into whether Manning physically handed compact discs containing classified information to someone in the U.S. Manning, an intelligence analyst who was deployed over the past year in Iraq with the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division at a remote base east of Baghdad, visited friends in Boston during a home leave in January, the Times reported.

Adrian Lamo, the Sacramento, Calif.-based computer hacker who turned in Bradley to military authorities in May, claimed in a telephone interview Saturday he had firsthand knowledge that someone helped Manning set up encryption software to send classified information to WikiLeaks.

Lamo, who’s cooperating with investigators, wouldn’t name the person but said the man was among a group of people in the Boston area who work with WikiLeaks. He said the man told him “he actually helped Private Manning set up the encryption software he used.”

Lamo said the software enabled Manning to send classified data in small bits so that it would seem innocuous.

Ripon Woman Becomes International Arms Dealer

Sort of...

Earlier this month, the Ripon Police Department received a tip from a firearms dealer in Iowa who said someone used a stolen credit card number to order a $1,600 rifle scope and have it shipped to an address in Ripon, Wallner said.

Police launched an investigation into possible credit card fraud and instead uncovered an intricate system to obtain military equipment banned by the U.S. State Department for overseas shipping.

Police identified several packages being sent to the same address and obtained a search warrant, Wallner said.

Inside they found about 20 packages, containing high-end rifle/sniper scopes, night vision equipment, police and military uniforms, GPS units, and electronics, all addressed to different names, that the woman was planning to readdress and ship to Novorossijsk, Russia - a city located on the north coast of the Black Sea and north of Iraq.

The woman, who police say has been cooperative with the investigation, told police the online temporary agency that hired her previously had sent five boxes with baby clothes and diapers that she opened, repackaged and shipped to what she thought was an orphanage in Russia.

The agency told her she would be paid $30 per package through her PayPal account and that the next packages didn’t need to be opened and repackaged, just readdressed and shipped.

Luckily, Wallner said, the woman had sent only the baby clothes and diapers by the time police intervened.

Police confiscated more than $15,000 worth of property purchased with credit card information stolen from at least 20 different victims across the U.S.

It’s hard to find fault with the woman other than by the old yarn, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” 

WikiLeaks Endangers Lives

Whoever leaked these documents has engaged in sedition and should be treated as such. 

U.S. officials said U.S. operatives inside Afghanistan and Pakistan may be in danger following the massive online disclosure Sunday.

In his first public comments, President Barack Obama said the leak of classified information from the battlefield “could potentially jeopardize individuals or operations.” He spoke in Washington after meeting Tuesday with Congressional leaders from both parties on the topic.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said a Pentagon investigation will determine whether criminal charges will be filed in the leaking of Afghanistan war secrets. Holder, speaking during a visit Wednesday to Egypt, said the Justice Department is working with the Pentagon-led investigation to determine the source of the leak.

In Baghdad, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters he was “appalled” by the leak.

“There is a real potential threat there to put American lives at risk,” he said.

What Lies Beneath

Wow.

There are dump sites in waters around the world, according to a 2009 Annual Report to Congress from the Department of Defense Environmental Programs. In waters bordering the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, tens of thousands of ammunition and explosives, as well as millions of pounds of chemical munitions lurk on the sea floor.

There are at least 5,400 tons of sulfur mustard in waters off the Atlantic coast and 9,100 tons off the Pacific coast.

The Department of Defense estimates that a total of 17,000 tons of sulfur mustard exist in United States waters, when the 2,300 tons buried off the coast of Hawaii and the 57 tons in Alaskan waters are included.

Although the number of dumped weapons may seem ludicrous in the environmentally conscious 21st century, it was considered the safest option for munitions disposal until 1970, according to a 2009 Department of Defense report.

The vastness of the ocean and its inaccessibility at certain depths seemed like the ideal trashcan for the volume of dangerous weapons left after two world wars. It was believed that seawater would dilute toxic chemicals, and that weapons deep underwater would be permanently unavailable to the hands of foreign powers.

NK Threatens Nuclear Response

Someone might want to look into this. 

North Korea says it will use its “nuclear deterrent” in response to joint US-South Korean military exercises this weekend.

Pyongyang was ready to launch a “retaliatory sacred war” at any time, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Washington and Seoul say the war games are to deter North Korean aggression.

Tensions between the two Koreas have been high since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

Two Vietnams

What!?!?

Dole Inspires/Inspired

Sometimes it’s too easy to forget those who have given so much for the betterment of our great nation. 

One of the most famous veterans of the “Greatest Generation” has joined the ranks of recently injured members of the military at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Former Sen. Bob Dole was so badly wounded 65 years ago that he almost didn’t make it off the battlefield. Now, he is recovering from surgery alongside troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m just sort of one of the group. We show up at 10 o’clock and do our stuff,” Dole said as he pedaled a stationary bike during a morning physical therapy session.

Dole, who turns 87 this month, is at Walter Reed for rehabilitation connected to knee replacement surgery. A bout with pneumonia lengthened his post-op recuperation, so he’s been with the young troops since they arrived from the battlefield.

[...]

Army Sgt. Lee Langley, 26, said knowing how much Dole has accomplished after being seriously wounded on the battlefield gives him, and troops with more severe injuries than his, hope.

“It just means that I have all the opportunities in the world,” Langley said. “A lot of people are paralyzed, a lot of people don’t have legs or arms, but they can still have a good life afterwards.”

Obsession About The Timeline

Gee… I seem to recall a time when Obama was very focused on timelines.  16 months, wasn’t it?

President Barack Obama said Sunday that there’s “a lot of obsession” about the withdrawal date for U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He said his focus is on making sure the mission there is successful.

Obama’s show of frustration about when he will end the unpopular war in Afghanistan came in the closing press conference at the G-20 summit in Toronto, where industrialized countries committed to slash their budget deficits in half by 2013. The president said the United States shares that commitment.

In any case, good for him for abandoning artificial deadlines in this case. 

Iran Cancels Plan to Send “Aid” Ship to Gaza

Good.

The Iranian ship called “Infants of Gaza” had been expected to sail Sunday for Gaza carrying 1,100 tons of relief supplies and 10 pro-Palestinian activists but plans were canceled “due to restrictions imposed by the occupying Zionist regime,” Bighash said.

Iran made the announcement Tuesday prompting Israel to warn its archenemy to drop the plan.

Israel considers Iran a threat because of its suspect nuclear program, its long-range missiles and its support for Lebanese and Gaza militants.

Israeli security officials said the prospect of an Iranian boat headed for Gaza had Israel deeply worried, and that naval commandos were training for the possibility of taking on a vessel with a suicide bomber on board.

McChrystal Out.  Petraeus In.

Heh.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama sacked his loose-lipped Afghanistan commander Wednesday, a seismic shift for the military order in wartime, and chose the familiar, admired — and tightly disciplined — Gen. David Petraeus to replace him. Petraeus, architect of the Iraq war turnaround, was once again to take hands-on leadership of a troubled war effort.

Obama said bluntly that Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s scornful remarks about administration officials in interviews for a magazine article represent conduct that “undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system.”

Few thoughts…

Obama had to sack (yes, I know he technically resigned) McChrystal.  His mouthing off was clearly intolerable insubordination by a top commander that irreparably harmed his relationship with the CIC. 

Petraeus is a great replacement.  He’s a proven leader with a successful track record. 

It’s fun to watch the reaction of some lefties who vilified Petraeus during the election.  Now this soldier is coming to Obama’s rescue after Obama’s hand-picked general imploded. 

It’s important to remember that Obama is the CIC and that McChrystal was not canned for his war plan, performance, or policy in Afghanistan.  He was canned because he embarrassed his boss.  Now we will see whether Petraeus wants to, or is allowed to, modify those policies.  It’s a little sad that Petraeus is such a good soldier that we will never know for sure, but hopefully the proof will be revealed in the results.

Coast Guard Halts Oil Barges Over Life Vests

While I appreciate the Coast Guard looking out for their safety, WTF?

Eight days ago, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered barges to begin vacuuming crude oil out of his state’s oil-soaked waters. Today, against the governor’s wishes, those barges sat idle, even as more oil flowed toward the Louisiana shore.

[...]

But the Coast Guard ordered the stoppage because of reasons that Jindal found frustrating. The Coast Guard needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and then it had trouble contacting the people who built the barges.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for the Coast Guard to just provide some vests and fire extinguishers if they couldn’t find them on board?  Why halt the barges for any time at all for something like this?  What are their priorities?