B36 News - 25 October 2006

PT tests, inventories, weapons ranges... we've been really busy here lately. The busyness comes in bursts though. Half of the day will be spent twiddling our collective thumbs, something will happen and the rest of the day is spent running around like madmen with our hair on fire.

It's all ok though. Whatever hoops they put me through, I jump with a smile on my face because I know that I'll be headed home soon.

The news has been looking pretty good lately too. Of course all you're hearing in the MSM is body counts, car bombs, sectarian violence, blah, blah, blah... To the collective 'Chicken Little Media' I only wish to quote General Casey:

The tearing down that our enemies do is infinitely easier than the building up that Iraq requires after three decades of neglect. But building is what Iraq needs, and we have committed $400 million already to projects in support of the Baghdad effort, with almost 600 more million dollars in additional projects to kick in here over the next couple of months

Make no mistake about it, we are in a tough fight here in the center of the country and in Anbar province. But I think it's important to remind people that 90 percent of the sectarian violence in Iraq takes place in about a 30-mile radius from the center of Baghdad; and that secondly, 90 percent of all violence takes place in five provinces. This is not a country that is awash in sectarian violence. The situation is hard, but it's not a country that's awash in sectarian violence.

The American people already know what a magnificent job the men and women of their armed forces are doing here, and we continue to be grateful for their continuing support. But they should also know that the men and women of the armed forces here have never lost a battle in over three years of war. That is a fact unprecedented in military history. They and our Iraqi security forces continue to carry the fight to the enemy every day, and I continue to be in awe of their courage, their agility, their resourcefulness, and their commitment. You can be confident that our service men and women are well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led.

And here's my challenge to the American media:

How about you take the knife out of the back of the those of us who protect your freedoms and stick it in the evil-doers who would pull said knife from our back only to cut our head off with it.

These Chicken Littles say that troops are doing a magnificent job in spite of our civilian leadership. I say we're doing a magnificent job in spite of the subversion of the media.

General Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, held a press briefing in which he tactfully and subtly leveled the same accusation at the media. Basically he said that the bad guys know that the will of the American people is what allows the military to do its job and that the media was doing a good job of helping them defeat that collective will. To all you 'average Americans' out there, this means that the bad guys are trying to make you think it's not worth it and we should come home... this is what the bad guys are saying, sound familiar?

Oh yeah, let's not forget Anbar. The Iraqi Army assumed security responsibility for more of Anbar during the week. This is in spite of media reports claiming Anbar was 'lost'. Also, in the Salah ad Din province, which borders Baghdad to the north east, the tribal leaders followed the example of those in Anbar and are coming together to help secure their province. Shia and Sunni working together to make life better for everyone.