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Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Iraqi policemen with the Public Order Brigade and Marines with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment gather around insurgents they detained here Aug. 10. Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Marines apprehended a total of four suspected terrorists for weapons possession, emplacing roadside bombs, and possible involvement in a nearby firefight.
Photo by: Cpl. Mike Escobar

Full Story at Marine Corps News

An email to Soldiers' Angels from a Hero...

Hello Everybody,
I wanted to send all of you a huge thank you for your support.We are doing good things over here contrary to what you might see in the news. It is terrible news hearing the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has caused. I know things will be taken care of at home and it always seems nothing can happen fast enough. For those of you that have family affected know that we watch the news daily here and are hoping you and your families are safe.

I have been successful in one of my first projects. Initially I was trying to get a wheelchair sent over here for a small crippled child. Well the Post Office was of no help and the freight companies wanted an arm and a leg for shipping. With the help of Soldier's Angels I was able to get it done. A gift certificate was sent to me for Amazon.com. I still couldn't get the darn wheelchair shipped though. So I took my cash and sent one of my Interpreters ("Imad", he is a great guy, dual citizenship in Iraq and Lebanon) to Baghdad.

We were looking for some second hand wheel chairs. Not only did he get NEW wheelchairs, but he got THREE, I was blown away. Today, we are going to give one to a young old boy that can't walk. I see him crawling around each time we go to his village. I have been waiting to do this for over two months now. And we are going to give one to another boy that has a wheelchair, but his is in great need of repair. We will take his old one and get it repaired and hold onto it for a future need. The last wheelchair is going to an elderly lady. She can not walk and has had no wheelchair at all. The best thing is that none of them know we are doing this.

I will post pictures for you all to see when I return. I owe alot to all of you for your support. Doing things like this makes being here bearable. My friend, "Imad" (that's his code name) came back from Lebanon to help as interpreter so he could make a difference in his home land. He too could not believe the support from back home and thanks you also. Mission One accomplished.

I have received several boxes of school supplies from some of you and I thank you for that also. School starts here on the 15th this month. We will be going to the local schools to hand out the supplies. Just so you know, we are in a poor farming community where there is only a primary school, grades one through six. Most of the kids do not go on the secondary school as it is too far away, in the city. The families can't afford to send them. It actually costs $10 US for each kid to go to school. Our unit has agreed to pay the money for any family that truly can't afford it. Last week we delivered a generator to one of the local schools. (This was Imad's project and we all chipped in to buy it) We have asked the headmaster of the school to let at least 20 children come to school for free because of our gift to his school.

I know some of you are sending sandals and shoes. I am very excited about that as well. I look forward to recieving those as well. I know all of you have done alot and probably even before I got here. I really appreciate the support. Your efforts have really helped me get through some tough days over here. I have been away from my children for almost a year now, with training for the mission and being here now almost four months. I still have at least three more months before I can come come on leave. And then another four more months here. All told it will be about 18 months away from home. When we are not on patrol or working on our vehicles, or training, or sleeping, we watch movies and listen to music. But, reading your letters and emails really make me smile.

Proud to serve you!

Joe


Gotta love Soldiers' Angels - and Gotta love our Heroes!

Joe, thanks for going above and beyond, and for being the Hero that you are. Keep your helmet on - take care, and stay safe.

NEW ORLEANS -- With a combined force of 26 helicopters and about 400 people, pararescue teams composed of reservists and active duty Airmen are flying 8- to 10-hour missions over New Orleans' flooded city to save lives. Rescuing more than 2,000 people in five days, the pararescue teams locate and retrieve the residents, drop them off at a collection point, and then circle around again looking for more. (Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez)

Some Words for Michael Moore...

Michael Moore's written several of the world's most inane letters over the years; the latest is posted here.

It's full of the usual vitriol; here are a couple of the choice bits:
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!


Recently, I received this via email - a response for Mr. Moore from an IWT reader:

Dear Michael,

I’m preparing to enter the Army to try to make a difference in my nation’s history. I could take the easy road, I guess, and make a movie or some other useless appendage of our modern culture of ease and indifference. After all, I have a degree in English Writing – paid for in full and with no government loans by my father’s investment in the stock market. Hell, I could sit around, eat Cheetos, and create sly innuendos about other people’s actions and motivations designed to undercut everything they do. I could take people who are half crazy with grief and callously use their creeping insanity to further my radical social agenda, if I wanted. After all, the federal government’s callousness to the suffering of Americans doesn’t take my libertarian heart by surprise. I remember Waco, after all.

Of course, that the government, having been empowered and entrusted with our safety and security, should respond by betraying that trust and abusing that power is a historical lesson you might want to look up some time. Try Russia, 1917. France, 1790-ish. Or Vietnam, 1975. Once your pet movement got what it wanted and our boys came home, over three million South Vietnamese peasants were slaughtered by social engineers. Of course, they don’t count in your eyes. They were in the way of social progress, whatever your current definition of THAT is. And non-interference with Cambodia led to a worker’s paradise there that people are STILL talking about. Piles of skulls are the eternal pillar that your peace and progress cult built.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t try to make things better. Unless we get involved, of course, nothing will improve. So I suggest, Michael, instead of running huge publicity stunts, why not run for office? Why not join the Guard? The standards are dropping, thanks to your efforts to dissuade recruitment. You might have to shed a few pounds, but that would only give you a longer life to make slick presentations undermining anything you had paranoid fears of.

I hope that my family’s bourgeois success story doesn’t put you off from reading this missive. I realize I’m not your target audience. I’m one of those “privileged” kids you kept trying to get to go to Iraq (as though a career making movies doesn’t qualify you as privileged when compared with the whole vast tapestry of human labor throughout history), and guess what, buddy? I volunteered. It ain’t that easy to get into the military, as you would have found out had you ever tried. I tell you what, getting up at six and running a couple of miles to get in shape is hard to do! Of course, you might not know much about that. I tell you what, you should drop by and run with me. I’ll try not to give you a heart attack, but you might get an education.


A Soldier in Pittsburgh


What can I say to that but HOOOAH!
New Orleans (Sept. 5, 2005) – U.S. Navy search and rescue (SAR) swimmer, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class Tim Hawkins, retrieves and evacuates a victim of Hurricane Katrina from a rooftop in New Orleans into an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter. The Navy's involvement in the Hurricane Katrina humanitarian assistance operations is led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in conjunction with the Department of Defense. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh

Operation A.C.

The folks at Operation AC, who have partnered with Soldiers' Angels for the Operation Katrina Soldiers' Relief Fund, could use your help. Here's some info (forwarded via email):

OPAC NEWS - 2 September 2005

UPDATE: Over night we delivered 6 generators, fuel stabilizer, oil and electrical cords to the Delaware National Guard who are in Gulfport, MS. The generators flew on a DE Air Guard C130 to Jackson, MS this morning. I have received calls for air conditioners and generators for the MS National Guard at Camp Shelby, MS. I am in great need of funding to make this happen. I understand that these ACs and generators will be taken by the National Guard to the Gulf Coast Areas of Jackson County, Hancock County, and Pascagoula County. There are 10,000 troops expected there this weekend.

If you can help, go to the Operation AC website: http://www.operationac.com/
SECURING A SCHOOL — U.S. Army soldiers secure an area around a local school in West Baghdad, Iraq, where they will perform a humanitarian mission, Aug. 28, 2005. The soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jorge A. Rodriguez

In Today's News - Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Quote of the Day
"When the political columnists say 'Every thinking man' they mean themselves, and when candidates appeal to 'Every intelligent voter' they mean everybody who is going to vote for them."
-- Franklin P. Adams

News of Note
Hurricane Katrina
Katrina children seeking parents shown on Web site
New Orleans police break out of their 'Fort Apache'
KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
Major New Orleans levee breach repaired; weeks of pumping ahead
Hurricane Katrina: Day 8
Residents Fight Looters
Bush Back in Storm Region
Many Refuse to Leave
More Troops for Katrina
Video: Bush Visits Victims
Ex-Presidents Begin Aid Fund
Some Stuck In Miss. Mud
People Step Up to Help
Pets Are Katrina Victims Too
Victims Poorer Than Average
Reopening the Refineries
Katrina's Economic Impact
Video: Hurricane Relief Fund
200 evacuees arrive Thursday at McChord base

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Annan: Iraq Is Terror Center
Gunship Attack Kills Iraqi Terrorists
Hussein Trial in '82 Deaths Set to Begin Next Month
U.S. Hands Over Najaf Base to Iraqis

Operation Enduring Freedom
Coalition Forces, Taliban Clash in Afghanistan
Operations Stop Bomb Makers in Afghanistan

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Most-Wanted Terrorist Killed in Saudi Shootout

Supreme Court
Roberts Tapped for Top Spot
Rehnquist Burial Set for Wed.

U.N. Scandals
Probe: 'Corrupt Behavior' in Oil-for-Food Program

Moonbat Watch
Feingold Could Be First Anti-War Candidate

Fox News
Fire Kills 29 in Egyptian Theater
Teen Argument Led to Deadly French Fire
Jury Selection to Start in Massacre Trial
Typhoon Kills 95 in China; 30 Missing

Reuters: Top News
Indonesia probes air crash as neighborhood mourns
Israel should defy US on settlement blocs-minister
Democrats seek increased scrutiny of Roberts

The Seattle Times
National average gasoline price hits $3 a gallon

JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Cause of Indonesia jet crash investigated
U.S. Marine jets bomb two bridges in Iraq
Holiday travel slows as gas prices level

Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Saddam meets Iraqi lawyer ahead of trial
Insurgents Seize Key Town in Iraq

CENTCOM: News Release
ABU GHRAIB IED CELL, MEMBERS CAPTURED
TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIERS STOP AMBUSH, DETAIN EIGHT IN AD DULUIYAH
WEAPONS CACHE DESTROYED, TERROR SUSPECTS CAPTURED NEAR AL-AMIRIYAH
SECURITY FORCES CONTINUE TO TAKE CHARGE AGAINST TERROR

Department of Defense
Military Support to Katrina Relief Continues – Story
Distribution Sites Sprout from Devastation – Story
Engineers Clear Way in Gulf
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2005 – Story
Rumsfeld, Myers Observe Relief Efforts – Story
Guard Chief Describes Katrina Operations – Story

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORT
Hurricane Katrina

IN IRAQ
Iraqis to Provide Election Security
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Fact Sheet: Helping Women in Iraq

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Guard Families Have Access to Free Legal Counsel
Troops Put Lives on Hold to Respond to Katrina
AAFES Waives Interest for Hurricane Victims
More Active, Guard Troops Deploy to Help
Alabama Guard Provides Disaster Response
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty — Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1620
- Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth, England, headed for the New World.
1628 - Puritans land at Salem, from Mass Bay Colony.
1862 - Confederate General Stonewall Jackson and his troops occupy Fredrick, Maryland.
1863 - Confederates evacuate Fort Wagner, SC, after a 59-day siege.
1869 - The first westbound train arrives in San Francisco; A mine fire kills 179 at Avondale, PA.
1876 - The Southern Pacific line (LA to SF) is completed.
1899 - Carnation processes its first can of evaporated milk.
1909 - Word is finally received that Admiral Peary discovered the North Pole 5 months earlier.
1914 - Germans prevented from occupying Paris in the Battle of the Marne.
1941 - All Jews over the age of 6 in German territories are ordered to wear a star; Jews are confined to a ghetto in Vilna, Poland.
1948 - Juliana becomes queen of the Netherlands
1966 - "Star Trek" premiers on NBC TV
1968 - Swaziland gains independence from Britain.
1976 - A Russian pilot defects to Japan in a Mig-25 jet.
1978 - Israel's Begin and Egypt's Sadat meet at Camp David to discuss peace.
1982 - Polish dissidents seize the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland.
1983 - The U.S.S.R. admits to shooting down a KAL jetliner on 9/2.
1984 - The "Today" Show begins live remote telecasts from Moscow.
1986 - The U.S.S.R. charges news correspondent Nicholas Daniloff with spying.
1988 - The U.S.S.R.'s crippled Soyuz TM-5 lands safely with two cosmonauts aboard.
1991 - The U.S.S.R. recognizes the independence of the 3 Baltic republics.

Birthdays
1711 - Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, founder of U.S. Lutheran church
1757 - Marquis de Lafayette, American patriot, French revolutionary
1766 - John Dalton, chemist, developed atomic theory of matter
1811 - James Melville Gilliss, founder of Naval Observatory in Washington
1814 - Sir George Cartier, Canadian co-PM (1858-62)
1817 - Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, Canadian founding father
1860 - Jane Addams, American pacifist/social worker/feminist, Nobel Prize winner (1931)
1883 - Lord Birkett, judge (Nuremburg Trials)
1888 - Joseph P. Kennedy financier/diplomat, father of JFK, RFK, Teddy
1915 - Franz Josef Strauss, German Minister of Defense (1956-62)
1946 - Bryan D O'Connor, Colonel USMC / astronaut (STS 61B, STS 40)
1947 - Jane Curtin, actress (SNL)
1961 - Peggy MacIntaggart, Playboy playmate (January, 1990)

Passings
1701
- King James II of England (1685-88)
1901 - President William McKinley, assassinated by Leon Czologosz
1966 - Dr. Verwoerd, South African PM, assassinated in assembly

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Bundy, Norman L., USN (FL); RF8G crashed, Killed, body not recovered

1968
Coskey, Kenneth L., USN (MI); A6A shot down (pilot), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive as of 1998

Deichelmann, Samuel M., USAF (AL); O1F disappeared en route from Vietnam to Laos.

1972
Lindland, Donald F., USAF (OR); A6A shot down (pilot, w/Lerseth), remains returned June, 1983

Lerseth, Roger G., USAF (WA); A6A shot down (B/N, w/Lindland), released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - retired from USN as a Commander - alive and well as of 1998

nocashfortrash.org