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Monday, March 31, 2008

Blogwatch - Michael Yon: Color of War

Desert Battles are unfolding in hidden and faraway places. Bullets snapp through air, then splap through flesh and men fall. Bodies crumple onto the desert, a fly lands on the lip of an open mouth, fingers twitch as the flesh dies and the winds kick up and dust settles on unblinking eyes. The dry earth drinks their sticky blood and they are forgotten. Their families do not know they are dead. They came to kill Americans and innocent Iraqis. Instead, they were killed themselves. In a desert landscape, sometimes the color of a war can bleed out into black and white.

Read the Rest

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posted by Pam @ 12:39 PM |

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Michael Yon: Moment of Truth in Iraq (Coming April, 2008)



Click on the picture to put in your Advance Order now!

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posted by Pam @ 3:58 PM |

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Blogwatch - Michael Yon on the ISF

Michael Yon is dispelling some media myths about the ISF:

[...]Although there have been some grumblings from journalists that illiterate ISF have been hired, there is a literacy standard for the Iraqi police. I have seen literacy tests administered in Anbar, for instance [...] Meanwhile, an increasingly capable ISF is being formed from the available men and women in Iraq [...]
Michael's had an opportunity to view several stages of the development of the ISF, and notes that although issues remain, there's definitely been progress:

[...] It’s been more than three years since I first started watching ISF up close, and there is no mistaking that there are more ISF, and their quality is improving. They fight well and courageously, taking far more casualties than we do. Iraqi soldiers and police are increasingly adopting the habits of the Americans they work with. So I will say with certainty that the Iraqi Army is getting better, and fast, because I have seen it firsthand across Iraq [...]
His latest "RUBs" dispatch is well worth the read; check it out here.

Also, Michael did an interview on NPR today - audio here and here.

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posted by Pam @ 10:55 PM |

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Blogwatch - Michael Yon: Infrastructure to MRAPs

Michael Yon has a new post up, which in addition to more good news about the fight against Al Qaeda's scum, also takes a look at the challenges of repairing Iraq's infrastructure.


Even criminal gangs—like local mafias—who feed off the chaos al Qaeda drags around like a fetid shadow, are now feeding information about them to American forces.

The government infrastructure that I referred to as being “demolished” was of the human order. It was as if we spared a fleet of Iraqi aircraft, but disbanded the crews while they were in flight. The crews mostly parachuted out and landed in places like Syria. Subsequent to sparing most of it, a lot of the infrastructure has fallen to crooks and insurgents at worst, or is just succumbing to natural entropy.
He also offers some thoughts on the new MRAP vehicles

Check it out - and while you're there, don't miss the piece on Sheik Twitty al Ameriki

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posted by Pam @ 9:42 PM |

Monday, July 23, 2007

Blogwatch - Michael Yon: 7 Rules: 1 Oath

Michael Yon brings word that in Baqubah, things are getting quiet:

Today marks D+30 since the start of Operation Arrowhead Ripper. The initial goal of Arrowhead Ripper was to clear Baqubah of al Qaeda, and then attempt to “jump start” the city back into civic life, which had all but ceased while the terrorists were in control. Though relatively minor clearing operations are still underway, there is little combat in the city...


Read the Rest

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posted by Pam @ 8:28 AM |

Friday, July 13, 2007

Blogwatch

A few posts of note in the wake of the disgusting, but predictable, House vote to withdraw troops (spineless traitors):

The Thunder Run:
Democrats Vote to Surrender
...Compare their doom and gloom assessment with the assessment being given by men on the ground and you'll see who is living in an alternate reality. We can only hope that the deadline date of April 1, 2008 some kind of sick joke on the aprt of the Democrats, who will at that time, simply jump up and scream, "Got Ya, April Fools!"

I guess America's cowards can't handle the thought of actually winning...

Michael Yon:
Al-Qaeda on the Run: Feasting on the Moveable Beast
...Al Qaeda’s ultimate failure in much of Anbar and now in parts of Diyala relates back to one of the pillars of success—or failure—in this war: Values. People who understand how to tamp down this war realize the critical pillar that values can play into success or failure in counterinsurgency, or COIN...


Nor can they work up the spine to stop horrors like this:

Michael Yon:
Bless the Beasts and Children
...I told the Iraqi commander, Captain Baker, that it was important that Americans see this; he took me around the graves and showed more than I wanted to see. He said the people had been murdered by al Qaeda. I made video of him speaking, and of the horrible scene. The heat and stench were crushingly oppressive and broken only by the sounds of shovels as Iraqi soldiers kept digging...

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posted by Pam @ 6:37 AM |

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Michael Yon: Be Not Afraid

Michael Yon is seeing firsthand what Operation Arrowhead Ripper is all about:

"By the time you read this, we will be inside Baquba, and we will be killing them. No secrets are spilling here. ... The idea this time is not to chase al Qaeda out, but to trap and kill them head-on, or in ambushes, or while they sleep. ... It will be horrible for al Qaeda. Horror and terrorism is what they sow, and tonight they will reap their harvest. They will get no rest."

Click the picture below, taken by Michael in Baquba on January 11, 2005, to go to his latest dispatch - Be Not Afraid



Michael Yon's photos are posted with permission, and should not be reposted or republished without same.

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posted by Pam @ 4:32 AM |

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Posting Delay Today...

Whole lot of stuff to do this morning, so posting will be up later this afternoon.


While you're waiting for me to get back to the computer, why not stop at Michael Yon's site for the latest installment in the "Death or Glory" series:

"The shepherds know every rock and cranny out there, and they know where the explosives are. Treat those shepherds bad, and soldiers get blown up. Treat them with humanity and respect, and they can be business partners."

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posted by Pam @ 8:34 AM |

Friday, June 08, 2007

Blogwatch: Michael Yon - Death or Glory

Part II of Death or Glory is up on Michael Yon's site:

The intended target in an ambush never knows when it’s over. Yesterday’s
ambush, which killed two soldiers and wounded three others, is a case in point. Once the Brits had dealt with the immediate aftermath of the ambush—setting up security, calling in air support, tending to the wounded and getting EOD in to deal with the remaining dozens of bombs—our convoy still had its mission objective. So we put the disabled vehicles in tow and continued our journey deeper into the desert.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Michael is one of the best there is.

Also up are these posts you'll want to check out:

"Seeing" by Chris Muir of the "Day by Day" cartoon, includes audio files of interviews he conducted (including one with a local radio station manager who is sleeping at the station due to threats on his life), and an exerpt from Lt. Scott Beals's journal, covering his experiences in Mosul.

Update on the Books of Salah al Din is an update to his 2005 post about the US medical community's efforts to resupply Iraqi medical libraries. The project is still going strong.

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posted by Pam @ 8:56 PM |

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Michael Yon: Death or Glory

After reading "The Final Option," you'd think Michael Yon would be hard pressed to top it.

You'd be wrong.

Michael Yon's latest dispatch, "Death or Glory (Part I of IV)" takes a look at British troops in southern Iraq. It's a rare look at our Coalition allies and what this war is like for them:
British soldiers truly are fighting in Iraq. On three consecutive missions with three different British units, their soldiers killed roughly 40 enemy in combat action that also saw two British soldiers killed in action, and three wounded...

The Brits have gotten their share of bad press in Iraq, and their treatment in the media has paralleled the treatment of our own Heroes. But make no mistake, the Queen's Royal Lancers are fighters, deserving of respect. They know how to go without:
The Queen’s Royal Lancers have been living out in the desert for about six months, like nomads moving from place to place, sleeping under the stars, getting much of their resupply of food and water by nighttime parachute drop as they patrol the Iran-Iraq border...
And they know what it is to be ambushed:
We had taken off nearly three hours earlier at 0830. At about 1120, the convoy entered the ambush. Eight of the 46 bombs detonated. EFPs tore through metal, ball bearings puncturing the vehicles, peppering them with holes...
It's an incredible dispatch, with lots of photos. It's another reminder of why I admire, and respect, Michael as much as I do. What he does takes serious stones.

Don't miss this chance to get to know a little bit about some of Britain's Heroes, who are every bit as 'in the sh**' as ours.

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posted by Pam @ 7:18 AM |

Monday, June 04, 2007

Another Great Photo by Michael Yon


Michael Yon took this photo while the helicopter dropped off and picked up passengers.

Click it to view larger, and check out the static on the rotor tips!


I can't say enough about the work that Michael does - it's phenomenal. Stop by his site to check out the latest dispatches. His reporting is supported through his own resources and reader donations - when you stop by the site, please consider a donation to help him continue to get the truth out about the work our Heroes are doing in Iraq.



Michael's photos are copyrighted, and are posted here by permission. Please do not repost or republish without same.

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posted by Pam @ 9:56 AM |

Friday, June 01, 2007

A Michael Yon Must-Read

In Al Anbar province, where so much progress has been made, there nevertheless exists the risk that it could all be lost.

American forces have gone to great lengths to stress the need for the Iraqis to take an active role in securing Hit, and the Iraqis have responded. But when they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'd better be doing the same.

Even if that means making a difficult call, and a risky arrest.

Michael Yon has the riveting story of one American LTC who did just that.

Don't miss Michael Yon's The Final Option

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posted by Pam @ 7:48 AM |

Monday, May 28, 2007

Michael Yon: A Memorial Day Message

Memorial Day weekend is upon us. I am out here in Anbar Province with
Task Force 2-7 Infantry. The area around Hit (pronounced “heat”) is so quiet previous units likely would not recognize the still. There was a small IED incident this morning, and the explosion was a direct hit, but the bomb was so small that mechanics had the vehicle back in shape by late afternoon. Calm truly has fallen on this city...

...Now I did get news over the previous two days of two friends being shot in other cites. Each man might have a problem with having the facts of their wounds being used to tell only part of their story. The fact that I have written about both of these soldiers before, and both have written material published on my website, will hopefully help me avoid any wrath when I see them next...



Read the whole dispatch

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posted by Pam @ 1:05 PM |

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Michael Yon: Maysan

Numerous British units are stationed in Basra, including the Queens Royal Lancers, whose motto is “Death or Glory.” There is no assurance of Glory. I spent most of April 2007 with the Brits, which turned out to have been the most deadly month for British forces since the beginning of the war. The loss of any fallen soldier is significant. We lost about a hundred; the Brits lost about a dozen. The word “about” is not used to suggest a casual callousness about the fallen, but for a more specific conveyance: persons who are listed as wounded in action often later succumb.

While progress in Anbar is robust enough to make mainstream news reports, down in southern Iraq, the enemy is resurging. They are well-resourced, resilient and intelligent, and capable of landing hard punches. They recently “shot down” a C-130 with IEDs planted by the landing strip. The enemy may be good, but American and British forces are much better...


Another great dispatch by Michael Yon; this time, a look at our British allies in Basra, and "a small battle in the media war."


Make sure to stop by and check it out

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posted by Pam @ 11:12 PM |

Monday, May 14, 2007

General Petraeus Stresses Ethics

Michael Yon has a post up regarding General Petraeus' recent letter to the troops. In that letter, the General speaks about the recent survey on ethics in war, and the need for our troops to remain morally above the enemy.

Among the insights that Michael has, gained from his own experiences in Iraq:

"This letter from General Petraeus deserves the widest possible dissemination. It should be published widely, and posted on every headquarters wall, and read aloud by every troop in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can pummel al Qaeda and other terrorists mercilessly and grind them into the dirt, but we cannot afford to turn local populations against us while we do it."
I always find the concept of "ethics in wartime" to be somewhat dubious; you can't judge actions in war by the standard of every day societal mores. It's the reason I have such a problem with troops being placed on trial because they reacted in a way judged to be incorrect in hindsight. But I have to give credit where credit is due. General Petraeus here makes a pretty strong statement about not losing what makes our troops ideologically a world apart from the enemy, and that's to be commended.

Read Michael Yon's "Values Message"

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posted by Pam @ 11:38 AM |

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Rattlesnake...

“Yeah, breaker one-nine, this here’s the Rubber Duck, you got a copy on me Big Ben? C’mon.”
“Ah yeah, ten-four Big Ben, for sure, for sure. By golly it’s clean clear to Flagtown. C’mon.”
“Yeah, it’s a big ten-four there Big Ben. Yeah, we definitely got the front door good buddy. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy.”

A young British soldier named Simon expected to be driving logistics trucks into Iraq, and so adopted the dusty old hit “Convoy” as his fight-song and personal anthem. A man doesn’t have to wait long to hear Simon play it again, yet instead of barreling up Iraqi highways, Simon finds himself at Basra Air Station, shuttling occasional journalists, and performing base duties, including escorting Iraqis hired for manual labor. Asked for his take on that task, Simon opined with tones of befuddlement and wonder, as when a person sees what appears to be intensely conflicting signals....

So starts Michael Yon's latest dispatch, Rattlesnake. If you haven't checked it out yet, make the time. Lots of great pictures, and a rare look at British forces in Basra. Well worth the stop.

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posted by Pam @ 6:47 AM |

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Blogwatch - Michael Yon

Michael Yon sends word that at about 10 a.m. today, he will be posting a dispatch about a firefight he witnessed while embedded with British troops.

The dispatch describes a large firefight the Brits had on Monday. They fought very well, and allowed me to get as close as I dare. I got right in the middle and took photos...

He says that the Brits he's with are "an excellent group of infantry soldiers."

He sends these photos, which are some of those that will be in the dispatch:





Make sure you check it out!!


Michael Yon's photos are posted with permission, and should not be reposted or published without same.


UPDATE: The post is up at Michael's site:

Greetings:

I am in Basra, with our British Coalition partners, who this week launched a clever operation that lured enemy fighters into combat, a decision that proved fatal for more than two dozen of militia members and terrorists. Please click the link to read about Operation Arezzo.

New readers will find the dispatch Tabula Rasa gives context to my work from Iraq.

Another dispatch, with more than 100 photos of the 1-4 Cav at work in Baghdad, is nearly ready. What an excellent bunch of soldiers! I'll send out an announcement when "Desires of the Human Heart" is published and folks at home can see and read about things rarely reported.

I am energized by this embed with British soldiers, which has me in the thick of things with their soldiers who are engaged with the enemy. I broke yet another lens in combat with the British on Tuesday.

Before it got smashed, the lens was taking great photos, some of which you'll see in the latest dispatch, and others will be published in the coming days.

This site is wholly contingent on reader support, for which I'm truly grateful. In addition to keeping me in camera lenses, reader support is the best indication I have of how important it is for me to continue this work.

Respectfully,

Michael

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posted by Pam @ 7:42 AM |

Thursday, April 05, 2007


Michael Yon sends this photo of Iraqi Police in Baghdad. The photo will be part of the upcoming dispatch, "Desires of the Human Heart."

Michael is headed out to Basra with British troops - safe trip, Michael.



Michael's photos are posted with permission; please do not repost or republish without same.

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posted by Pam @ 8:09 AM |

Wednesday, April 04, 2007


Michael Yon took this photo of mementos found inside a Christian college in Baghdad last week.

Be sure to visit his site today for a new dispatch - RUBS #3, and make sure to check back for the upcoming dispatch "Desires of the Human Heart"


Michael Yon's photos are posted with permission - please do not repost or republish without same.

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posted by Pam @ 7:55 AM |

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Another Great Photo by Michael Yon

Michael Yon sends this photo with word that he expects to have another dispatch, "Desires of the Human Heart," posted within the next few days. This is one of the photos in that dispatch:

Michael says, "She sure was happy to show off her baby!"


And who can blame her? What a cutie!


Michael Yon's photos are posted with permission, and should not be reposted or republished without same.

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posted by Pam @ 11:25 AM |

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