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Blackfive: The whole of government approach
Blogs & New MediaMarch 9, 2010 9:44 am
Warrior Legacy Institute Fellow Brad Patty has a piece up at the American Security Council Foundation's site about how we need to get all of our agencies on the same page to succeed at stability operations. The world is a dangerous place. Two things make it safer for freedom and families: strong leadership, and charitable efforts for those who need it. The United States military has provided strong leadership that is capable of creating a window of stability even in a failed state. Inside that window of stability, as in the eye of a hurricane, we can try to help the people of the region build strength to stand on their own. That requires charity. If the military is our strength, the civilian agencies are often better equipped to be the directors of humanitarian assiatance. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has reached out to the farthest corners of the world: I have seen docks and water pumping stations built in places like Tawi Tawi and Sanga Sanga in the Philippines. The State Department in Iraq has directed the formation of embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams (ePRTs) that work alongside the military. I have attended meetings where a Brigade Commander sat alongside a Foreign Service Officer, negotiating with tribal sheikhs for the building of drip irrigation projects, support for the poultry industry, or sewing centers. This approach is going to be needed in many places around the world, whether an insurgency, or corruption or other factors are causing a government to fail it's people

Blackfive: An election in Iraq? Who knew?
Blogs & New MediaMarch 8, 2010 9:46 am
So I have to say that the simple fact that the Iraqis held an election and it got as little publicity as it did is a good thing. Sure the reports that did come out focused on the bombings, but if it had gone poorly they all would have piled on. Creaky and messy and still fragile, but it's a bouncing baby democracy. Congratulations to all who had a hand in making that so. Here is a boots on the ground and celebratory bullets raining down report from Bill over at The Donovan's. Right at sunset, after the polls closed over here, the mezzuins started in. They were chanting the same prayers, but the rhythm was subtly different -- they were almost *singing* the prayers, and there were half-heard, half-imagined undertones of music in the background. They were *happy*. I never heard happy calls to prayer before, even in Bosnia during Bajram, which is the Bosnian four-day equivalent of Christmas. Since it's way too early for the election results to be known, there could only have been one thing for them to be happy about -- the fact that there *was* an election, and they voted for whomever they chose, without a diktat from the central government, and without fear that someone would inform on the neighborhood enforcers that they hadn't voted the Party line. They voted for the candidate of *their* choosing

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Defense Department Prepares for Recruiting Challenges
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 18, 2010 1:00 am
Despite historic recruitment rates since the end of the military draft, the Defense Department continues to take measures to ensure prolonged recruitment successes, a senior Pentagon official told Congress.

Gates Notes Contributions of Military Women
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 18, 2010 1:00 am
The nation depends upon women, both military and civilian, at all levels of the Defense Department, from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan to the upper echelons of military command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.

Senators Salute National Guard's Value
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 18, 2010 1:00 am
U.S. senators applauded the National Guard's domestic and overseas contributions at a Capitol Hill breakfast.

U.S.-Japan Relations Remain Strong, Official Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 18, 2010 1:00 am
U.S. military relations with Japan remain strong despite disagreements over basing and other aspects of the bilateral security agreement, the Pentagon's head of East Asian relations told Congress.

Bill Roggio: Race tightens between Iraq's Maliki, Alllawi
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 5:18 pm
With more than 80 percent of the vote counted Maliki's State of Law party and Allawi's secular Iraqi National Movement party are in a dead heat

Blackfive: Capturing Bin Laden
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 12:31 pm
Closely related to McQ's question about what the ACLU is doing meddling with our drone strike policy is the statement by Attorney General Eric Holder about the impossibility of capturing bin Laden. Osama bin Laden “will never appear in an American courtroom,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told House members at a hearing Tuesday. “Let’s deal with the reality here,” Holder said in response to questions from Rep. John Culberson (R-Tex.). “The reality is, we will be reading Miranda rights to a corpse.” Members of an Appropriations subcommittee pressed Holder about the Justice Department’s response to the failed Christmas Day bombing plot and the abortive decision to try in Lower Manhattan the alleged masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He grew most heated, however, amid GOP attacks over the hypothetical capture of bin Laden. No law enforcement response would be necessary, he said, because “he will be killed by us or by his own people.” As Desert Storm vet James Joyner says, though, "members of the special forces or intelligence team... [would] much rather have the intelligence and propaganda value of dragging the Big Cheese in." That's no doubt true. There is probably a middle course, in which we'd take him alive if possible; but if the window of opportunity didn't permit it, he's a target of about the same level as Zarqawi or Saddam. Saddam ended up being taken alive after serious effort, but early in the war we were quite willing to drop 2,000 pound bombs on places where he was reliably reported to be. And as for Zarqawi, let's not forget what happened to him. The problem is that we've got this very confused two-track approach. If we'd taken Zarqawi alive, he would have been turned over to the government of Iraq (as Saddam was). If we take bin Laden alive, he will be... what? Prosecuted as a criminal in civilian court? Prosecuted by military tribunal, like Nurmberg? Held until the end of the conflict, as would be the limit case for Prisoners of War? Because we're kind-of treating the war as a law enforcement operation under Holder, the ACLU has a window to make these kinds of inquiries into what sorts of "due process" we are employing before depriving our enemies of "life, liberty or property." That would be fine, if this were a peacetime issue that was meant to be handled in a court of law. It's just not, and the administration needs to get its head on straight about that. They are fighting a war, whether they like it or n

Blackfive: A stroll through the foothills
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 11:20 am
Yeah right. SGT Maurer of C Co. 1/503 ABN sends these pics of a patrol. I love his comments. The pictures I attached are from an overwatch mission my squad(weapons) pulled. It seems as if the "valley" part of Tangi Valley does not apply to my squad, as we rarely make an appearance in the low ground. At least our girlfriends back home won't complain about the shape we'll be in. Heh

Blackfive: Lawfare - ACLU sues over drones
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 11:19 am
And frankly I'm puzzled as to why: The American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government Tuesday to learn the use of unmanned drones for targeted killings by the military and CIA. “In particular, the lawsuit asks for information on when, where and against whom drone strikes can be authorized, the number and rate of civilian casualties and other basic information essential for assessing the wisdom and legality of using armed drones to conduct targeted killings,” the ACLU said in a statement, announcing its action. The nonprofit civil liberties group filed initial Freedom of Information Act requests with the Defense, Justice and State departments and with the Central Intelligence Agency on Jan. 13. Only the CIA responded, and the ACLU is pursuing that request with an appeal to the agency. What am I missing here? How would striking them with an piloted aircraft be significantly different than a drone strike? The drone is remotely piloted. Would they be asking the same questions about air strikes against the Taliban? And since when was it the job of the ACLU to determine the "wisdom" of using drones, much less the "legality"? Does it also claim the right to determine the "wisdom" and "legality" of artillery strikes? Air strikes? “The government's use of drones to conduct targeted killings raises complicated questions – not only legal questions, but policy and moral questions as well,” said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project. “These kinds of questions ought to be discussed and debated publicly, not resolved secretly behind closed doors. While the Obama administration may legitimately withhold intelligence information as well as sensitive information about military strategy, it should disclose basic information about the scope of the drone program, the legal basis for the program and the civilian casualties that have resulted from the program.” Again we're talking about a weapons delivery means. The only difference is the means - not the intent. The intent is chrystal clear - kill the enemy where he lives. The "how" produces no "legal, policy or moral" questions for me. And the "why" is quite simple - we're at war. This isn't a legal exercise. The legal basis for the war has been in place for years. And here's a further thought - even with strict guidelines in place, and every attempt to ensure that innocent civilians aren't mistakenly targeted, what would disclosure of civilian casualties (which I assume would

Blackfive: McChrystal takes operational control of Spec Ops forces
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 11:07 am
This is an interesting but in the end understandable step, although the long term implications may be troubling. KABUL, Afghanistan — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, has brought most American Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field. “What happens is, sometimes at cross-purposes, you got one hand doing one thing and one hand doing the other, both trying to do the right thing but working without a good outcome,” General McChrystal said in an interview. As former commander of JSOC, McChrystal has deep experience with the intricacies of running these types of operations. This multiple chains of command was a source of friction between he and current Ambassador Eikenberry when McChrystal sought then Gen. Eikenberry's approval for operations to be conducted there. It also seems that some units are exempted from this. Only detainee operations and “very small numbers of U.S. S.O.F.,” or Special Operations forces, are exempted from the directive, Admiral Smith said. That is believed to include elite groups like the Army’s Delta Force and the Navy’s Seals. There is a lot of commentary that this was in response to particular incidents where there were civilian casualties. While politics and host nation concerns always play a role, Gen. McChrystal stood up for our forces. He depicted General McChrystal’s new policy as a natural outgrowth of the general’s plans all along to unify his command; when he first took charge, he brought together under his control what had been separate NATO and American command structures in Afghanistan..... General McChrystal addressed that concern in the interview. “There are no operators in this country that I am not absolutely comfortable do exactly what I want them to do,” he said. “So I don’t have any complaints about that, particularly after the latest change.” There are many other reasons to want operational control and coordination. I have heard of multiple instances where a conventional unit was operating and building rapport with civilians in their area and a raid would be conducted by a Special Ops unit. Sometimes this would remove a tribal member the conventional unit believed they had turned to our side, or it could simply damage relations with the locals. The changes being made will help avoid those situations. The concern I have is that

Bill Roggio: US kills eight terrorists in two new airstrikes in North Waziristan
Blogs & New MediaMarch 17, 2010 1:32 am
The US launched a strike in the village of Hamzoni and another in Datta Khel, the second there in two days

Commanders Tout Value of Training Indigenous Forces
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
The military's increasing practice of training and equipping indigenous forces to counter terrorism in their home countries is a highly decisive, comparatively low-cost approach to fighting global terrorism, the commanders of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command said.

McChrystal Reports on Progress in Afghanistan
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
The commander of NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan said he is pleased with the progress in the country so far while acknowledging that much more needs to be done.

Nuclear Review Nears Completion
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
Several conclusions drawn from a nearly complete review of the nation's nuclear posture already have been incorporated into the Defense Department's fiscal year 2011 budget request, a senior Pentagon official told Congress.

Joint Forces Paper Cites Possible Future Threats
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
U.S. Joint Forces Command is providing military leaders with valuable insight for the future of the military.

Ceremony Honors Fallen Medical Servicemembers
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
More than 300 people gathered at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., for the Military Health System's 2010 Remembrance Ceremony dedicated to fallen military medical personnel.

NATO Seeks More Trainers for Afghan Forces
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
The NATO training mission in Afghanistan needs more trainers to build a high-quality Afghan military institution.

Forces Detain Suspects, Find Drugs, Weapons
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
Afghan and international forces detained several suspected insurgents and seized illegal drugs and enemy weapon stockpiles.

Transcom Provides Key Advantage, Commander Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
One of the U.S. military's greatest advantages over its adversaries is its ability to move an enormous amount of people and equipment quickly anywhere in the world, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command told the House Armed Services Committee.

More Dwell Time Coming in 2011, Army Vice Chief Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 17, 2010 1:00 am
Soldiers should find themselves spending twice as much time at home station as they do deployed by 2011, the Army's vice chief of staff said on Capitol Hill.

Blackfive: Now You're Talking!
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 10:38 pm
British officer awarded the Military Cross for bayonet fighting. Lieutenant James Adamson was awarded the Military Cross after killing two insurgents during close quarter combat in Helmand's notorious "Green Zone". The 24-year-old officer, a member of the 5th battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, revealed that he shouted "have some of this" before shooting dead a gunman who had just emerged from a maize field. Seconds later and out of ammunition, the lieutenant leapt over a river bank and killed a second insurgent machine-gunner with a single thrust of his bayonet in the man's chest. TRADOC is certain that we'll no longer need to prepare for situations like this one. Fortunately, we still have the Scots on our side! (Hat tip to Eric at Grim's Hall.

Blackfive: St. Patrick's Day Technology - The Science Experiment
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 3:13 pm
Greetings from Timmy O'Toole's in Chicago! (Gracie O'Malley's ain't open yet) *Glug, glug, glug. Ahhhh.* Uncle Ben from the Filipino side of the family, an engineer and beer scientist, sends this Reuter's article on scientific analysis: LONDON - People celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Wednesday can cross one topic of conversation off their lists. Guinness bubbles really do sink. Scientists said Monday they had finally proved that the dark stout’s creamy bubbles defy expectations and flow down instead of upwards. I dispute this claim and will conduct many, I mean MANY, experiments today to disprove this theory! It is my responsibility as an Irishman and graduate of the University of Chicago Physical Sciences Division to put this theory to a rigorous, accurate, and complete test. I will even use MATH! Oops. Looks like they thought of that already. *Hey, Phil, pass me another one will you? Thanks, pal.* “Our group carried out preliminary experiments at a local pub a few years ago, but the results proved inconclusive,” said Dr. Andrew Alexander, from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry. They first thought the dark liquid flowing down as a pint was poured gave the illusion the bubbles were going down as well. Now close examination has revealed that, as a pint settles, bubbles touching the walls of the glass experience drag, similar to that a person feels sliding a finger along glass, and that prevents them floating up. The bubbles in the middle however, are free to rise, creating a circular flow within the glass that causes bubbles at the edge to be pushed downwards on the inside surface of the glass. The Edinburgh team, working with researchers at Stanford University in California have produced high-speed video footage of the sinking bubbles — to put at rest the minds of any drinkers who might have felt they were seeing things. BRILLIANT!!! Well, I still want to test this theory. You can't trust anyone who goes to or graduates from a school without grades (*cough* Stanford *cough*). *Next pint, please. Science will not be denied!

Blackfive: the Irish Palm Pilot on St. Patrick's Day
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 3:08 pm
You can't remote blog with my Irish Palm Pilot. Now, I'm off to Govnor's, O'Toole's, Dublin's, O'Neil's, Durkin's, etc..... Have a great day, everyone

Blackfive: Blackfive - Out of the Office
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 3:04 pm
"Finally caught up with Matt. It was like trying to find Santa on Christmas Eve." - Uncle Ben, good friend (and reader) of Blackfive, on St. Patrick's Day in Chicago 2004 Not-safe-for-work. Blackfive-approved, best-last-call-song-of-all-time, after the Jump: Download irish_drinking_song_bugger_off.mp3 (Right click, save as)

Blackfive: Ian Malone - Irish Guard in Life, Uniter in Death
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 2:59 pm
Sandstorms settled in the south of that sour place, and terror-men opened wide a mouth etched in a hate-filled face. The rifle-spit struck down Malone and he in a moment gave a life well-lived, alone, to set men free of the grave. In later days men drew down statues from on high; they struck Iraqi ground so dust and cheer could fly. What, one Irish fighting man to free millions from cold chains? Not noble words, not gracious plan could make real such gains. Or--Is our time so coy, so wild and free a thing? Not Harvey nor Kelly, boy of Killarn, not the Brian King Freedom bought at such a cost, where glory's priced so steep: Where the name of each good man lost Can memory's Herald keep. -Poem by Grim, April 10th, 2003, in honor of Ian Malone This is an annual Someone You Should Know (St. Patrick's Day Edition) post to celebrate an Irish soldier's sacrifice. Below is the story of Ian Malone - a young Irishman who bridged the divide between Ireland and England in life and death. Ian died during the invasion of Iraq in April of 2003 doing what he wanted to do - Soldiering for his country. Below is his story, told expertly by Philip Watson of the Telegraph: Ian's death brought people together By Philip Watson Lance Corporal Ian Malone died in an ambush on the streets of Basra in April last year. Throughout a long, hot Sunday, he and his armoured brigade had been pushing through the southern suburbs of Iraq's second city, flushing out enemy soldiers. While most of the regular Iraqi Army had fled, the streets and houses contained pockets of determined Fedayeen fighters, paramilitaries who remained loyal to Saddam Hussein. Having reached the edge of the old city and achieved their objective of securing a university campus, Ian Malone and his colleagues had left their Warrior armoured personnel carrier, and were regrouping. They had scoured the area and, in the dusty shade of dusk, all seemed safe. In an instant, however, two Fedayeen in civilian clothes broke cover and sprayed the crew with automatic fire. Four soldiers were hit. Ian Malone took two bullets - one through the neck, the other in the head - and died instantly, becoming one of 55 British soldiers killed in Iraq in the past year. What made the 28-year-old Lance Corporal remarkable, though, apart from the peerless qualities that all who knew him instantly recognised - he was a thinker and philosopher; courteous and religious; a talented chess player and musician; an exceptional soldier; and, as his scho

Bill Roggio: US Predator strike in North Waziristan kills 11 Taliban, al Qaeda
Blogs & New MediaMarch 16, 2010 10:16 am
Two compounds were hit in Datta Khel, a known al Qaeda hideout

Iraqis Arrest 9 Terrorism Suspects
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 16, 2010 1:00 am
Iraqi security forces arrested nine terrorism suspects after Iraqi judges issued arrest warrants.

Drug, Weapons Seizures Highlight Afghanistan Operations
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 16, 2010 1:00 am
Drug and weapons seizures, and the capture of a senior Taliban commander and other insurgents highlight recent operations.

Success in Afghanistan Achievable, Petraeus Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 16, 2010 1:00 am
Though considerable challenges remain in Afghanistan, success there is achievable and important, the commander of U.S. Central Command said.

Centcom Looks Beyond Iraq, Afghanistan, Petraeus Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 16, 2010 1:00 am
While the United States draws down in Iraq and builds up in Afghanistan, "we must not lose sight of our other challenges" in the Middle East, the commander of U.S. Central Command said.

U.S. Cyber Command Preparations Under Way, General Says
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 16, 2010 1:00 am
Preparations for the formal establishment of U.S. Cyber Command, which will operate and defend the Defense Department's information networks, are in progress, a senior military officer told the House Armed Services Committee.

Bill Roggio: Maliki, Allawi surge in Iraq's early vote count
Blogs & New MediaMarch 15, 2010 8:06 pm
Prime Minister Maliki looks strong in the South, while Iyad Allawi gets the vote in much of the North. The Shia Islamist parties are coming in a distant third

Bill Roggio: Hakeemullah Mehsud is alive, says former ISI officer
Blogs & New MediaMarch 15, 2010 5:00 pm
Khalid Khawaja, the "consigliere" for the Taliban and al Qaeda, said the Pakistani Taliban leader met with his associates on March 9

Blackfive: Counterterror schizophrenia
Blogs & New MediaMarch 15, 2010 2:31 pm
I have a piece up at the American Security Council Foundation's site that discusses the disconnect in our policies regarding how we deal with captured terrorists v. those we just vaporize out in the field. Our counterterror policy is suffering from a self-inflicted case of schizophrenia. We cannot seem to decide whether we are fighting a war against an implacable enemy sworn to our destruction or policing the world to capture criminals who occasionally commit violent acts. Our current policies are an incoherent mix of both. Take the case of al Qaeda Christmas bomber Uma Farouk AbdulMutallab. After 9/11 Congress overwhelmingly passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) which essentially put the United States at war with al Qaeda. This group trained him, equipped him with a bomb and sent him on his way. Their general incompetence saved us from having several hundred lives snuffed out above Detroit, but nonetheless they attempted an act of terrorist sabotage and murder. When the plane landed Abdulmutallab was detained and less than a day later read his rights and given a lawyer. He now awaits trial in civilian court During World War II the Germans sent eight saboteurs to attack our wartime industries. They were caught, given short military trials and sentenced to death for violations of the Laws of War. They had no civilian lawyers and were treated as unlawful combatants. What makes the case of AbdulMutallab any different

Blackfive: What is Petraeus up to?
Blogs & New MediaMarch 15, 2010 12:05 pm
There is an element within the US foreign policy establishment that believes that virtually every problem we have with Arab and/or Muslim countries can be tied to our support for Israel. They take the realpolitik view that since this is what their counterparts from these countries say then we should adapt our policies accordingly to gain traction with them. There is no question that our alliance with Israel makes our relations with many countries more difficult. The question remains as to whether changing this will actually benefit us and if that is worth throwing one of the few true allies we have in the region under the bus. It is fair for our military leaders to examine the political and diplomatic issues which affect their areas of operation, but that should be a fairy limited exercise. This report about Gen. Petraeus and his actions and requests about the CENTCOM theater is a little disturbing. On Jan. 16, two days after a killer earthquake hit Haiti, a team of senior military officers from the U.S. Central Command (responsible for overseeing American security interests in the Middle East), arrived at the Pentagon to brief Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The team had been dispatched by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus to underline his growing worries at the lack of progress in resolving the issue. The 33-slide, 45-minute PowerPoint briefing stunned Mullen. The briefers reported that there was a growing perception among Arab leaders that the U.S. was incapable of standing up to Israel, that CENTCOM's mostly Arab constituency was losing faith in American promises, that Israeli intransigence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was jeopardizing U.S. standing in the region, and that Mitchell himself was (as a senior Pentagon officer later bluntly described it) "too old, too slow ... and too late." The January Mullen briefing was unprecedented. No previous CENTCOM commander had ever expressed himself on what is essentially a political issue; which is why the briefers were careful to tell Mullen that their conclusions followed from a December 2009 tour of the region where, on Petraeus's instructions, they spoke to senior Arab leaders. "Everywhere they went, the message was pretty humbling," a Pentagon officer familiar with the briefing says. "America was not only viewed as weak, but its military posture in the region was eroding." But Petraeus wasn't finished: two days after the Mullen briefing, P

Michael Yon: Army to Army
Blogs & New MediaMarch 15, 2010 6:39 am
pAmerican Colonel Writes to Spanish Colonel/p pstrong15 March 2010/strongbr /emKandahar, Afghanistan/em/p pResponding to a document first published a href="http://www.michaelyon-online.com/of-concern.htm" target="_blank"here/a on 08 March, U.S. Army Colonel Robert J. Ulses writes to Spanish Army Colonel Jesus De Miguel Sebastian./p pThe letter from Colonel Ulses contradicts the a href="http://www.michaelyon-online.com/of-concern.htm" target="_blank"previous memo/a by a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel./p pimg src="http://www.michaelyon-online.com/images/stories/armytoarmy/image001.jpg" border="0" //p pRisking liberties to read between the lines, the letter might translate: “Situation rectified.  Moving to tamp down the controversy.  Let’s move on.”/p pClearly it’s social grease, designed to spackle over rough spots.  Spots that could have gotten our troops killed.  I’ll ask some of our people in the next week or so if the situation has improved.  You’ll be the first to know./p p /p p{loadposition user8}/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?i=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:wF9xT3WuBAs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?i=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:wF9xT3WuBAs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:7Q72WNTAKBA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?a=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/michaelyon-online?i=GbXIi8UcCBM:MPuKT_hlnDk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /di

A Father's Pride in His Late Son's Service
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 15, 2010 1:00 am
An Army two-star general tells his story of meeting the grieving, but proud, family of a fallen soldier returning home.

Corpsman Helps Marja's Elderly
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 15, 2010 1:00 am
Navy Seaman Vince Edward Chu Lo, a corpsman for 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, enjoys helping Afghans in need of medical attention.

Forces in Afghanistan Kill, Capture Militants
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 15, 2010 1:00 am
Afghan and coalition forces killed a senior Taliban operative, detained numerous suspected insurgents and seized weapons and drugs.

Iraqis Capture Suspected Terrorist Leaders
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 15, 2010 1:00 am
Iraqi police arrested three suspected terrorists, two of whom are believed to be al-Qaida in Iraq leaders.

Holbrooke Hails Marja Operation, Relationship with Pakistan
American Forces Press ServiceMarch 15, 2010 1:00 am
The ongoing U.S.-Afghan operation in Marja, Afghanistan, probably is the greatest in the history of counterinsurgency.