B36 News - 18 September 2006

I've been reading a bunch of stories and articles lately citing "anonymous sources" and "high-ranking government officials" that are critical of various aspects of the war and its prosecution. Treading delicately here because I know when I point this finger I'll have three pointing back at me; I wouldn't be the slightest bit suprised if most of these unattributable citations were, in fact, invented by the author.

Think about it like this: "High-ranking, anonymous government sources claim that American troops aren't actually in Iraq and that the funding that supposedly supports the American war effort is actually being used to pay for billions of hot-dogs for Whitehouse barbeques on the Great Wall of China." -- yeah, right.

Step 1 - Make wild claim.
Step 2 - Attribute it to 'Anonymous Source'.
Step 3 - Publish.
Step 4 -
Step 5 - Profit
(Yeah, I had to throw step 4 in just to try and get a laugh.)

In light of the fingers pointing back at me on this one, consider this - how many articles have I authored vs. commented on?

IGFC to Assume 4th IAD
If you understand the headline then congratulations, you win the 'Armyese Speak' award for the day. What that means is that the Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC) will be assuming operational control of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, a transition that is slated to happen in about a week or so. A couple weeks ago, the IGFC assumed responsibility for the 8th IAD and when the 4th IAD is assumed it will mark the second of 10 Army divisions that will ultimately be responsible for securing Iraq along with the police force.

Watch this kind of thing closely if you want an idea of when we'll be coming home. It's not the only indicator, but it's a good one.

OTF - The MSM's POV
The acronyms just keep coming. One of my bosses recently forwarded me a link to an artical written by Rod Nordland of Newsweek in which he writes about a trip he went on with GEN Casey to the Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya which used to be one of the most violent areas in Baghdad. That was until Operation Together Forward (OTF) brought Coalition and Iraqi security forces in to secure the area. Now 4-star generals commanding the entire fight in Iraq can walk the streets in broad daylight.

Overall I'd give the article a thumbs up. I think it does a good job of staying honest, impartial, and just presents the facts without a slant one way or the other.

Auto Iraq
Here's another one you probably didn't hear about. Irbil is what would classify as "the other Iraq" and hosted an international auto show over the weekend. That's right, a car show in Iraq. And do you know why you didn't hear about it? Beacause it was a success. No one was shot, no one was blown up, no one bled, no one outside Iraq heard about it. Except for the 800+ companies that had exhibits of course.