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POPSArming Iraq Front page story from the Wall Street Journal lays out both business and national security implications of the potential deal, notably underscoring the importance of Middle Eastern market for defense contractors. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, General Electric, and United Technologies get mentions.
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POPSJoe Biden, Friend of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps And the IRGC and its Quds Force were both designated “supporters of terrorism” in October 2007. Though the latter two designations would not have been so had Biden had his way. And most importantly – for the sake of sanctions and the unequivocal denial of any form of support to terrorists and terrorist supporters – the amendment said, “the United States should designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization … and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The text of the amendment included Congressional testimony from then-commander of Multi-National-Force Iraq Gen. David Petraeus, who said, “Iran, through the use of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps Quds Force, seeks to turn the Shiia militia extremists into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq.”
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POPSGen. David Petraeus beats megastar Angeline Jolie.... People in the *real* world know who is truly important. No disrespect to Ms. Jolie, but her influence is minimal when it comes to life & death issues. This is also true of Crews, Baldwin, Franken, Hayden, etc..... Celebrities are useless when it comes to getting things accomplished. Nice article that gives credit where credit is due.
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POPSObscene Pentagon Budget disappearing down the Rabbit hole of corruption
Money Problems The Pentagon has its work cut out for it. Keeping track of its more than half trillion dollar budget and the hundreds of billions more in war spending is no easy task. There is bound to be some slippage here and there. But the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s Office recently reported to Congress that the Pentagon is unable to account for nearly $15 billion earmarked for the Iraq reconstruction effort. In a May report to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Inspector General’s Office highlights $7.8 billion paid to contractors for everything from telephones to trucks without any support documentation—like a check for $5.6 million to an Iraqi contractor. For what? No one knows. Or the $32 million doled out to build a facility for the Iraqi military. Never built. Why not? No one knows. One reason that money just seems to disappear is that there are not enough people watching the books. While the Pentagon budget has soared in the past seven years,
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POPSGreen Zone looking like Sitting Duck
I was just thinking how the recent fighting in Baghdad, focused around the Green Zone and Sard City, had comparisons to the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and those pictures of the US helicopters fleeing of the roof of the Hanoi US embassy. As a sidenote, It is interesting how an indigenous force uses the terrain and the weather while an occuping army fights against it. Could you imagine the US Army planing actions around sandstorms? I read that in Vietnam the Vietnamese quickly realized US actions, especially air strikes, always took a break for lunch. The USA should negotiate some final political settlement and get out of Iraq. I note there is a lot of the now-common propaganda between the lines involving latest battles, such as the idea the US is battling an "army." It is not an "army." It is a militia. It's made up of citizen soldiers mainly from their own neighborhoods. Compared to the US Army they are like fleas on the back of a dog; fleas that are apparently hard
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POPSIraqi Air Force Lifted By Support Missions In 1991, the Iraqi air force had 16 bombers, including Tu-22 and Tu-16; 360 fighter ground attack craft, which included J-6, MiG-23, Su-7, and Su-20; and 275 fighters, including the MiG-21, Mirage and MiG-29. Today, it has 17 reconnaissance planes, three transport planes and only several aircraft for training. Despite the shortage, the recovery of the Iraqi air force over the past few years is considered a successful endeavor for Iraq-U.S. relations. Since November 2006, the U.S. Air Force has been aiding Iraqi military commanders in an effort to get the fledgling branch to solely take on military operations. "We will continue our relations and future as friends," said Gen. Barzanji, he added that "Iraq will one day be a good example for the rest of the Middle East."
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POPS24 hours in pictures - Mar 28th 7 Chuzom, Bhutan: Indian women labourers carry rocks while working on a road widening project. Tens of thousands of migrant workers, mostly Indians, do the hard manual jobs that Bhutanese shun, such as building roads and construction 2 Baghdad, Iraq: Supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shout slogans during a protest against a crackdown on Shia militia in Basra and Baghdad by Iraqi government forces 14 London, UK: A work of art entitled Washed Up Fingers by Emma Donovan. It is part of a collection of work from 60 finalists entered in the BlindArt: Sense & Sensuality competition at the Henry Moore gallery, Royal College Of Art 13 Moscow, Russia: A model displays a creation by Antonina Shapovalova at a fashion show
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POPSThe Man on Both Sides of Air War Debate As the U.S. military has significantly stepped up its use of airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistan, Garlasco has tracked every bomb, noting their effectiveness and their potential for killing the innocent. The United States increased its use of aerial bombs in Iraq by more than 500 percent from 2006 to 2007 and dropped more than 20 times as many bombs on Afghanistan last year as it did just a few years ago. That increase, part of a strategy by U.S. commanders who want to attack enemies in areas they have controlled for years, has made Garlasco’s work all the more relevant. And his previous work on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff has given him a level of credibility and a voice that few human rights activists have. He can call up officers in the Air Force’s secret facility in Southeast Asia and can walk up to U.S. command posts in Afghanistan to learn what is being done.
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POPSUS General & Envoy: Bush unwittingly driving Turkey and Iran together. More: The White House and the U.S. military have appeared leery about opening a new front in the war in Iraq — particularly in generally stable northern Iraq — by launching assaults against the PKK. Neither the U.S.-backed Iraqi government nor the semiautonomous Kurdish Regional Government has shown any inclination to go after the group. The officer who commands U.S. forces in northern Iraq, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Nixon, last week said he planned to do "absolutely nothing" to curb PKK activities. Ralston, a vice chairman of the Washington-based Cohen Group, a consulting firm, said the statement was "directly opposite" promises Bush has made to Turkey. Asked whether the Turkish military would invade northern Iraq, which PKK fighters use to launch attacks into Turkey, Ralston said: "They're going to have to, in the absence of the U.S. doing anything."
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POPS Deadly Game British special forces have carried out several operations inside Iran in recent months in an attempt to prevent the Revolutionary Guard's Al-Quds force from shipping weapons to Iraq.
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POPSLeFigaro-pt1: French view of Syria raid
Israel, Hezbollah and Gulf Monarchies Preparing for the Possibility of Strikes in Iran ... Le Figaro "In anticipation of a possible Iranian riposte to US bombings, Israel has also decided to bury its Defense Ministry in Tel-Aviv, where "bunkerization" works proceed apace. Israel, which fears a hijacked airplane crashing against a tower of the Defense Ministry, has learned its lesson from the Iraqi Scuds' launch against Tel-Aviv in 1991. 100 kilometers to the north, Hezbollah is also getting ready. No longer only to the north of the Litani River where a rearmament has been observed since the beginning of the year in South Lebanon" "Lately, truck convoys have been sighted at night, as well as trenches dug amid the palm groves and immediately recovered; suspicious explosions have been heard: so many indications that strangely recall the 2005-2006 preparations, when, in anticipation of a conflict with Israel, Hezbollah dug tunnels, fortified bunkers and secured its radio communicatio
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POPSWaxman Alleged to have Helped Iraqi Terrorists I believe President Bush has recently signed a finding that outlaws this sort of thing, and empowers the U.S. government to seize any funds from any organization which undermines the stability of Iraq. Therefore "United for Peace and Justice", and Code Pink should have all assets stripped and their principals indicted for criminal activity. If it can be proven that Waxman enabled this activity, he should be prosecuted and his assets stripped.
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POPSTroops Find ID Cards of Missing Soliders in Iraq Its upsetting that the army hasn't the leadership and training to help prevent these losses. I am very proud of the Troops, the leadership and training needs to be evaluated for the simple fact that always it seems that there are branches of the U.S. Military that have allot of "trouble" in combat zones. If you go to war, go with the Marines, if your in the rear, go with the Air Force....Better chow!
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POPSU.S. Iraqi Nursing School Graduates First Class “This is my first class since middle school,” said Madha Alawi Hussein, a 38-year-old PINC student. “I have never been (afforded) the chance to go to class since I was a girl. I am very happy.” This Iraqi woman's happiness highlights the success of our mission. Should the democrats manage to prematurely pull our troops out, guess what the future of these brave young women holds?? Think about it, Pilosi, you coward.
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