Uncle Jimbo Sees Combat

There is a series of posts over at Blackfive that are just too damn funny for words. There is a backstory to this, but you'll have to do your own research. It involves a hijacker and irrelevant rantings.

TSA handcuffs dangerous man at Seattle Airport

We are in the very, very, best of hands.......

Michael Yon, America's premier independent war reporter and genuine hero was arrested (as per any definition I can find) by our The Stupid Agency aka America's Security Theater troop.
From his Facebook Page:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not "arrested", but they definitely handcuffed me.)

Michelle Malkin and Mudville Gazette are both on the story. Gateway Pundit even has a follow up from Michael Yon.

Of course, Laughing Wolf lets us know what he thinks about it....

Michael Yon vs BS Bob

Michael Yon is at war with the British.

British Media Ops, that is.

The Major and I were driving in Camp Bastion around midday when it was very hot. A British soldier ran by wearing a rucksack. He was drenched in sweat under the blazing, dusty desert. I smiled because it’s great to see so many soldiers who work and train hard. Yet the Major cut fun at the soldier, saying he was dumb to be running in that heat. I nearly growled at the Major, but instead asked if he ever goes into combat. The answer was no. And, in fact, the Major does not leave the safety of Camp Bastion.

That a military officer would share a foul word about a combat soldier who was prepping for battle was offensive. Especially an officer who lives in an air-conditioned tent with a refrigerator stocked with chilled soft drinks. Just outside his tent are nice hot and cold showers. Five minutes away is a little Pizza Hut trailer, a coffee shop, stores, and a cookhouse.

This very Major had earned a foul reputation among his own kind for spending too much time on his Facebook page. I personally saw him being gratuitously rude to correspondents. Some correspondents—all were British—complained to me that when they wanted to interview senior British officers, they were told by this Major to submit written questions. The Major said they would receive videotaped answers that they could edit as if they were talking with the interviewee. (Presumably, senior British officers are avoiding the tough questions, such as, “So, when do you plan to send enough helicopters?”)

When I asked a different Media Ops officer about meeting with a senior British General in Afghanistan, I was told that submitting a CV (curriculum vitae) would be helpful, to which I laughed. A CV? How about this:

Name: Michael Yon
Profession: Writer
Experience: Years
Notes: I will be in and affecting your battle space for years to come. (By the way, you are losing the war. Hiding from correspondents does not change that fact.)

This war is moving fast and there is no time for games. If a general does not want to tell his story, someone will tell it for him. He will have failed by losing another winnable media battle.

Go read the rest and remember that he is supported by reader donations.

Set Your Clocks

This Tuesday, June 17th at 5:00PM EDT, Author and Talon contributor Ronald Winter ("Masters of the Art; A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam") will be the sole guest for one hour on the top rated program at Global Talk Radio's "Calling All Authors."
Valerie Connelly is the host for this popular long running show. You can listen live and call in to ask Ron questions by visiting http://www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/callingallauthors/

I have just finished reading "Masters of the Art" and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a true account of Viet Nam by someone who was there, on the ground, voluntarily.

I'm trying to finish "House to House" by SSG David Bellavia, which I also recommend (GET THIS BOOK READ THIS BOOK) and have just received a copy of Michael Yon's "Moment of Truth in Iraq", which is next on my list.
Unless I get my copy of "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell back from my buddy Hershal in time.

I'm also deeply engrossed in this riveting piece of literature. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's a real page turner, folks. Leave the lights on and make sure the phone works before you start this one.

Michael Yon reports: Let's 'Surge' Some More

This makes so much sense! So, of course he will be ignored by the press (other than the WSJ), the administration (whichever one comes to power) and the military.

Over at the Wall Street Journal, Michael Yon reports on the status of the Iraqi theater.

It is said that generals always fight the last war. But when David Petraeus came to town it was senators – on both sides of the aisle – who battled over the Iraq war of 2004-2006. That war has little in common with the war we are fighting today.

I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.

The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."

As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda's brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.

He leads into this(my emphasis):

...This leads us to the most out-of-date aspect of the Senate debate: the argument about the pace of troop withdrawals. Precisely because we have made so much political progress in the past year, rather than talking about force reduction, Congress should be figuring ways and means to increase troop levels. For all our successes, we still do not have enough troops. This makes the fight longer and more lethal for the troops who are fighting.

When Congress plays politics with the budget, people die

Michael Yon is reporting from Iraq again. Along with a few other brave embedded freelance reporters, Mr. Yon is reporting facts and conditions found in Iraq that will NEVER be found in the main stream media. He has no agenda except reporting the conditions as he finds them.

If you want to support the mission and his work, go here.

Some excerpts from his latest post: (all emphasis is mine)

"At first the talk was higher level, with Gibbs explaining a few things about money hold-ups back in America due to some political issues, and how there were some issues with the Iraqi government and yada yada yada."

"The lunch over, it was time to go, and so I asked to ride back in Colonel Gibb’s MRAP to check out the new machine which he’d set up as a command vehicle. Along the way back, we stopped at a park that was under construction, but stalled because the American funds had dried up. I couldn’t help thinking that politics that fails to keep our word always true is more than dumb–it’s dangerous."

"As we were riding in the back of the MRAP, talking over the headsets, Edward told me about an incident that happened in Arab Jabour about three weeks ago. More than 30 al Qaeda had come and kicked an old lady and her family out of their house. She called the Americans. Edward was one of the Americans, and gave Edward the exact location of the house, which the Americans confirmed before dropping a bomb on it and killing more than 30 al Qaeda. The Americans are now going through the process of paying for the house."


This is what our budgets pay for. This is what brings the Sunni and Shia and Kurds to our sides. We are helping them rebuild their country. We are acting as the "sheik." If the sheik does not keep his word, then he is replaced. Iraqis saw that we would keep our word when we did not listen to the Democrats and we instigated the "Surge;" Now we have to keep our word and help them rebuild or pay for our damages.

Thanks and Praise - Michael Yon

Short and sweet from Michael Yon:

A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from “Chosen” Company 2-12 Infantry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John’s, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers.

Michael Yon is entirely reader supported. He relies on his readers to help him replace his equipment and cover his expenses so that he may remain in Iraq and bring you the stories of our soldiers. If you value his work, please consider supporting his mission.

Al Quaeda is defeated

Via the incredible Michael Yon (check out his site. Donate.)

Iraqi Islamic Party: “Al Qaeda is Defeated”

“Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated,” according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been “defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically,” referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group’s tactics have backfired. Operatives who could once disappear back into the crowd after committing an increasingly atrocious attack no longer find safe haven among the Iraqis who live in the southern part of Baghdad. They are being hunted down and killed. Or, if they are lucky, captured by Americans.

Michael Yon - Who's got the holy hand grenade?

Michael Yon, in case you did not know, is an embedded free-lance reporter, doing the job the way it is supposed to be done. He's been in the combat theater more often than some troops. Here is another taste of what is actually going on in Iraq, Baqubah, especially.....
Make sure you read the rest of his stuff. BTW, he is not paid for this. Please support his next dispatch.

Al Qaeda still lurks in the area, so the farmers were happy to see us. One woman said that seeing the Army out there was a blessing from God, which made the Soldiers happy. There’s not a lot of happiness to be had here, but the Soldiers respond when people show gratitude. It charges their batteries. And they really love those cards from home where kindergartners and first graders ask all kinds of funny questions like, “Is it hot in the desert?” Yes, a little bit. But along the waterways in Iraq, such as here next to the Diyala River, it’s hot and humid. Practically steaming. Even the mosquitoes must sweat here.

I watched during the Senate hearings on 11 September 07 as some Senators attempted to corner General Petraeus, insinuating that the war in Iraq was a distraction from the fight against al Qaeda. It was clearly that during the initial invasion, but not today. These photos were taken at the center of what al Qaeda claimed to be their worldwide headquarters. Listening to some of the Senators’ questions, the true magnitude of the gulf between what is happening in Iraq and what people in America think is happening in Iraq became apparent.

We were now on Route Burga, which haAmerican Soldiers closed in. This was fantastically dangerous. I remember wondering what their families might think about them moving in to take the guys alive, when this could cost American lives. How would I write about such Soldiers should they get blown up by a suicide vest planted to specifically take advantage of our Soldiers’ sense of decency?d not been cleared. Our guys could all be blown to pieces, but they kept moving forward.