donkey o.d.: Backdoor Draft, Back Again

AP Enterprise: Soldiers Beef Up Humvees

Looks like adding additional armor. This should be done before going to Iraq and Afganistan.

By RYAN LENZ

TIKRIT, Iraq - Soldiers exposed to Iraq's increasingly lethal roadside bombs, which can rip through armored Humvees, are drawing on wartime experience and stateside expertise to protect their vehicles with stronger armor and thermal detection cameras.

The upgrades are being done by individual soldiers and units as the
Pentagon decides how Humvees should be changed, and follow public criticism of the Bush administration for not armoring all Humvees ahead of the war.

Nearly three years after rolling into Iraq in trucks covered in many instances only by canvas roofs, the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade is adding extra layers of armor to its Humvees.

Col. Michael Steele, the brigade's commander, said he ordered the improvements because the insurgents' roadside bombs — known to the military as "improvised explosive devices" — have become bigger and harder to detect.

"The responsibility of the commander is to figure out what we need to respond to this evolving threat. The easiest, the fastest and most appropriate answer is add additional armor," Steele said.

Iraqi insurgents are also using more anti-tank mines and making bombs that can penetrate the Humvee's current armor. Among the more deadly devices are explosives shaped to funnel a blast through Humvee plating — sophisticated bombs that officials suspect are being imported from neighboring countries like
Iran.

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US missiles blamed for 18 deaths on Pakistan border-Reuters

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani security official and residents of a border region said U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan killed 18 people, including women and children, when they fired missiles at pro-Taliban Islamists early on Friday.

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AP-U.S. Army Helicopter Goes Down in Mosul

By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer

MOSUL, Iraq - A U.S. Army reconnaissance helicopter went down near Mosul in northern
Iraq on Friday while aiding Iraqi police who came under hostile fire, and its two pilots were seriously injured, military officials said.

Both pilots of the OH-58 Kiowa, which is armed, were alive but unconscious when they were evacuated, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joel Burger, of the 172nd Stryker Brigade's 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, said at the scene of the crash. It was unclear why the helicopter went down at about 2:15 p.m.

"They were not conscious. It's not looking good. I've spent a lot of time in Iraq and these guys were pretty beat up," Burger said.

Update:

US says helicopter was shot down near Mosul

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military helicopter was shot down on Friday by insurgents near the city of Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad, a senior U.S. command official said.

Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters at the
Pentagon from Baghdad: "The indicators are that it was due to hostile fire." A defense official said it was an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, a two-seat, single-engine helicopter. Officials did not offer details on any casualties.

2nd Update:

US helicopter downed in Iraq, two dead

By Nabeel Nooredeen

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Rebels in northern
Iraq apparently shot down an armed U.S. reconnaissance helicopter on Friday, killing its two pilots, in a rare instance of American air power being challenged by guerrillas on the ground.

"The indicators are that it was due to hostile fire," said Lieutenant General John Vines, the deputy U.S. commander in Iraq. Witnesses at the scene in the city of Mosul said they saw fighters fire on the two-seater aircraft with heavy machineguns.

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Sgt. Michael J. McMullen

1/12/06-DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Michael J. McMullen, 25, of Salisbury, Md., died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10 of injuries sustained in Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 24, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position. McMullen was assigned to the Army National Guard's 243rd Engineer Company, Baltimore, Md.

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Darren D. Braswell

1/12/06-DoD Identifies Department of Defense Civilian Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Department of Defense civilian who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Darren D. Braswell, 36, of Riverdale, Ga., died Jan. 7 near Tal Afar, Iraq, when the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed. Braswell worked for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

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Army's "stop-loss" policy may have kept slain vet from retiring

Veterans For Common Sense

TALLADEGA, Ala. - A 20-year Army veteran who was killed last week in Iraq may have been denied retirement - despite having seven children and his wife on duty in Iraq - because of a restrictive wartime policy known as "stop-loss," an Army official said Monday.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White was one of five soldiers killed Thursday in An Najaf by an improvised explosive device that detonated near his military vehicle.

Stanley White said his brother tried to retire last year, but the Army denied his request.

"He'd been in the Army for 20 years, he put in for his retirement last year, and it was denied. Why? This was his fifth tour," White told The Daily Home of Talladega.

White was assigned to a unit based in Fort Hood, Texas.

Fort Hood spokesman Sgt. Damian Steptore said Monday he couldn't give specifics about Stephen White's retirement request. However, he said White may have been denied retirement because of the stop-loss practice that has kept tens of thousands of soldiers from leaving the service at the end of their enlistment tours or retirement dates.

Under the current practice, soldiers in units that are under orders to prepare to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan are prohibited from leaving the service during the 90 days before their deployment and for up to 90 days after they return - even if their enlistment period ends during that time or they had planned to retire.

Steptore said the Fourth Infantry Division, which includes White's battalion, has been under stop-loss policy since June 1, 2004. White's unit deployed to Iraq in December.More...

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Navy Searches for Missing Aircraft, Crew

ELLIJAY, Ga. - The Civil Air Patrol is awaiting clearing skies to begin its search in north-central Georgia for a missing Navy aircraft carrying four aviators that failed to make its scheduled arrival at Pensacola Naval Air Station.

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Think Progress-Milestone: Bush Has Gone Two Years Without Majority Support on Iraq

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Maj. Stuart M. Anderson
Maj. Douglas A. Labouff
Capt. Michael R. Martinez
1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell
1st Lt. Joseph D. deMoors
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chester W. Troxel
Spc. Michael I. Edwards
Spc. Jacob E. Melson

1/11/06-DoD Identifies Iraq Casualties

The Defense Department announced today the identities of soldiers who were killed recently in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Eight soldiers died near Tal Afar, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed.

Killed were:

• - Maj. Stuart M. Anderson, 44, of Peosta, Iowa. Anderson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 3rd Corps Support Command, Des Moines, Iowa.


• - Maj. Douglas A. Labouff, 36, of California. Labouff was assigned to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.


• - Capt. Michael R. Martinez, 43, of Missouri. Martinez was assigned to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.


• - 1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell, 25, of Ephrata, Wash. Campbell was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska.


• - 1st Lt. Joseph D. deMoors, 36, of Jefferson, Ala. DeMoors was assigned to the Army's 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.


• - Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chester W. Troxel, 45, of Anchorage, Alaska. Troxel was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska.


• - Spc. Michael I. Edwards, 26, of Fairbanks, Alaska. Edwards was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska.


• - Spc. Jacob E. Melson, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska. Melson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska.

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AP-Bush to Democrats: Don't Slam Iraq Policy

WASHINGTON -
President Bush warned Democratic critics of his
Iraq policy on Tuesday to watch what they say or risk giving "comfort to our adversaries" and suffering at the ballot box in November. Democrats said Bush should take his own advice.

There are still 10 months left before congressional elections in which the president's Republican Party could lose its dominance of Capitol Hill; a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Americans prefer Democratic control over a continued GOP majority by 49 percent to 36 percent. More...

And From AMERICAblog

Why doesn't Bush just arrest us all and have us shot and be done with?

by John in DC - 1/10/2006 07:03:00 PM

Seriously. If Bush is going to go on national TV and declare that the Democratic leader in the Senate (Harry Reid), the head of the Democratic Party (Howard Dean), and a lead Democratic Senator (Dick Durbin) are committing treason by "giving comfort to our adversaries" by criticizing Bush's disastrous handling of the Iraq war, then arrest all three of them and have them summarily shot without a trial and let's be done with it.

I'm serious. If our president is going to argue in favor of America embracing the ideals of a Soviet police state, if that's the reason hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives during WWII, if that's the reason 160,000 US soldiers are risking their lives in Iraq right now, all for the purpose of America touting the ideals of our worst enemies, some of the most repressive and hated dictatorships in the history of the world, then be enough of a man to admit it, do it, and be done with it.

Otherwise shut up and start acting like the commander in chief of the greatest democracy on earth rather than some sniveling coward who doesn't even known enough about his own country, let alone the world, to understand what it is we're really fighting for.

John, you speak for me.

Semper Fi

Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Brown
Lance Cpl. Jeriad P. Jacobs
Lance Cpl. Jason T. Little
Cpl. Brett L. Lundstrom
Lance Cpl. Raul Mercado

1/11/06-DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of five Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom:

Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Brown, 22, of Newport News, Va.

Lance Cpl. Jeriad P. Jacobs, 19, of Clayton, N.C.

Lance Cpl. Jason T. Little, 20, of Climax, Mich.

Cpl. Brett L. Lundstrom, 22, of Stafford, Va.

Lance Cpl. Raul Mercado, 21, of Monrovia, Calif.

All five Marines died on Jan. 7.

Mercado was killed when his vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Al Karmah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Little was killed when his tank was attacked with an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ferris, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Brown, Jacobs and Lundstrom were killed by enemy small arms fire in separate attacks while conducting combat operations near Fallujah, Iraq. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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CNN-Clinton, troops have chance encounter

Former president, returneees from Iraq meet at Maine airport

BANGOR, Maine (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton surprised U.S. troops from Iraq when his refueling stop at the Bangor International Airport coincided with their arrival.

More...

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Judge: Fla. Lawmaker to Pay for Violations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A state senator with two homes and a leased Lexus is not too poverty stricken to pay $8,750 in fines for campaign law violations, a judge said.

State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla can afford to pay the fines, Administrative Law Judge Jeff Clark wrote. The Florida Elections Commission will now decide whether to accept Clark's recommendation for $8,750 in fines for violations during his 1999 election or instead order the Miami Republican to pay up to $17,000.

Diaz de la Portilla had faced a record $311,000 in fines for 311 violations found by the elections commission. But an appeals court in 2003 struck down all but 17 of the 311 violations.

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Bush Pleading With The Iraqis to stop Killing Each Other

Oh, like that's going to work.

Bush Urges Unity to Clear Hurdles in Iraq

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -
President Bush urged Iraqis on Tuesday to put aside political, religious and sectarian differences to form a government of national unity, warning that the country "risks sliding back into tyranny" if it dwells on old grievances.

"Compromise and consensus and power-sharing are the only path to national unity and lasting democracy," Bush said in a speech to a gathering of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Snip

An AP-Ipsos poll found just 39 percent of those surveyed last week approved of his handling of the war, compared with 41 percent in early December.

Violence against Iraqis and U.S. troops has surged in recent days. Bush vowed that the United States would not change course because of the bloodshed. "We will settle for nothing less than complete victory," the president said.

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When will the American people wake up and demand that we get out of Iraq! Iraq is another Vietnam.

Sgt. Adam L. CannCpl. Albert P. GettingsLance Cpl. Ryan S. McCurdy

1/09/06-DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Adam L. Cann, 23, of Davie, Fla.

Cpl. Albert P. Gettings, 27, of New Castle, Pa.

Lance Cpl. Ryan S. McCurdy, 20, of Baton Rouge, La.

Cann was killed in action Jan. 5 by a suicide bomb attack on an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to Security Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Gettings and McCurdy died Jan. 5 from wounds received as a result of enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. Gettings was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. McCurdy was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Semper Fi

Sgt. Nathan R. FieldSpc. Robert T. Johnson

1/09/06-DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their HMMWV was hit by a civilian vehicle.

Killed were:

Sgt. Nathan R. Field, 23, of Lehigh, Iowa. Field was assigned to the Army Reserve's 4249th Port Security Company, Pocahontas, Iowa.

Spc. Robert T. Johnson, 20, of Erwin, N.C. Johnson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 805th Military Police Company, Raleigh, N.C.

Semper Fi

Sgt. Radhames Camilomatos

1/10/06-DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Radhames Camilomatos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 7, from non-combat related injuries. Camilomatos was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

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Spc. Clinton R. Upchurch

1/10/06-DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Clinton R. Upchurch, 31, of Garden City, Kansas, died in Samarra, Iraq, on Jan. 7, during patrol operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. Upchurch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

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Sheehan Urge Supporters to Take Action

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Activist Cindy Sheehan told supporters at a peace forum Saturday that troops would get out of Iraq if millions of U.S. citizens took the simple step that she did outside President Bush's vacation home last summer.

"Anybody could do what we did in Crawford, Texas. We just went down and sat down," Sheehan told the crowd of several hundred people, with Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn in the front row.

She urged them to lose their apathy and do something. "We have to get so freakin' fed up with what's going on that we all go and sit down," Sheehan said.

Sheehan, a Berekley resident whose 24-year-old soldier son died in Iraq, attracted hundreds of anti-war protesters to her makeshift camp near Bush's ranch in August.

"These people, they're not going to change unless they see us out in the streets," she said at the forum that organizers said was among dozens of town hall-style events held across the nation.

More...

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan of the U.S. claps during a protest in front the U.S embassy in Madrid, December 17, 2005. Sheehan, who won wide attention with a vigil outside President George W. Bush's ranch in the name of her soldier son killed in Iraq, is in Spain as part of her European anti-war tour. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

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Afghan School That Taught Girls Torched

AP-KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Suspected Taliban gunmen burned down a primary school in Afghanistan's main southern city Sunday, the latest in a spate of attacks against teachers and institutions that educate girls.

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U.S. helicopter crashes in Iraq, killing all aboard

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in northern
Iraq late on Saturday night, killing all people on board, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

Four crew and eight passengers were listed as being on board, the U.S. military said in a statement, adding that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

The helicopter went down in a sparsely populated area 12 km (7.5 miles) east of the town of Tal Afar shortly before midnight on Saturday. It had been flying between bases in northern Iraq when communications were lost with the aircraft, the statement said.

An immediate search and rescue operation was launched from nearby military installations. The aircraft was located at midday on Sunday.

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Five Marines Killed in Iraq, Military Says

AP-BAGHDAD, Iraq - Five U.S. Marines were killed by small arms fire and roadside bombs this weekend, the military said Sunday.

Three Marines were killed Sunday by small arms attacks in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, the military said.

On Saturday, two Marines were killed by roadside bombs in separate incidents, the military said. One blast occurred about 50 miles west of Baghdad, while the other happened about 35 miles north of the capital.

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Democrats: GOP selling U.S. to 'highest bidder'

Rep. Slaughter says corruption may be worst in Congressional history

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Under Republican control, America has been "put up for sale to the highest bidder" and its government has been transformed into an "engine of patronage, not one of responsible policy," a Democratic congresswoman said Saturday in the party's weekly radio address.

"As Americans, we have a right to expect that our government will be defined by the integrity of its office holders," said Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York. "And yet today, we are suffering the consequences of what may be the worst corruption in the history of our Congress."

Slaughter cited the case of Rep. Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who has been indicted on criminal charges of money laundering, and that of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who resigned after pleading guilty to bribery.

She also noted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty this week to charges of bribing public officials, tax evasion and fraud.

But the problem, she said, is larger than those people -- it's "a problem rooted in the Republican establishment which has held power in our nation's capital for more than a decade."

"Since 1995, Republicans have turned our democratic government into an engine of patronage, not one of responsible policy," she said. "They have linked their party, and the business of the country, to powerful lobbyists in an unprecedented attempt to eliminate the will of the American people from the legislative process."

More...

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Study: 1,000 Homeless Kids in Sao Paulo

AP-Sat Jan 7, 10:42 PM ET

SAO PAULO, Brazil - More than 1,000 children have been living underneath highway overpasses, inside tunnels and on city squares in South America's biggest city, according to a study reported by Brazilian media Saturday.

The study, conducted by Sao Paulo city officials, showed that about 1,030 children are homeless in Sao Paulo, a city of more than 10 million people, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said.

It said another 3,000 who are not homeless work on the streets, selling candy or begging to help their families.

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