Dispatches: The Military: Marines Plan to Use Velvet Glove More Than Iron Fist in Iraq

From The New York Times: Dispatches: The Military: Marines Plan to Use Velvet Glove More Than Iron Fist in Iraq:

"CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Dec. 10 � No force has a tougher reputation than the United States Marines. But the marines who are headed to Iraq this spring say they intend to avoid the get-tough tactics that have been used in recent weeks by Army units. "

More proof Marines are smarter than Army grunts. Of course, we have a lot more experience fighting "small wars" at the behest of the administration. One thing Marines pride themselves on is learning from mistakes and successes.
Lt. Gen. Conway sounds like one hell of a leader; so many in the military would have made noises like they were going to bring even more death and destruction, just to salvage ego and no matter what they had planned. To be willing to say, "We're going to try and work with the Iraqis" is a good sign for the sucess of the operation, as is sending in the Marines generally.
One last thing: Conway is too classy to make this point, but one advantage the Marines will have is that everybody is expected to have basic infantry skills, including ambushing, responding to ambushes, patrolling and operating both personal and crew-served weapons.
From MARINE CORPS ORDER 1500.51A--MARINE BATTLE SKILLS TRAINING (MBST) PROGRAM
5. Policy
a. Every Marine regardless of MOS will be taught those
fundamental combat skills needed to survive and fight on today�s
battlefield. The references contain the tasks and standards
required of Marines (private - gunnery sergeant). Sustainment of
these skills is the responsibility of commanders at all levels.
b. Combat skills proficiency is an integral part of every
Marine�s performance of duty. Commanders will consider a Marine�s
combat skills proficiency when assigning proficiency marks and
writing fitness reports.

Op-Ed Columnist: Returned to Life

From "Returned to Life" by Bob Herbert in The New York Times: "As for the work that he and his students are doing: 'Some people think it's inspiring,' the professor said. 'I think it's dismaying. Seniors in college should not be the last line of defense against an innocent person being executed.'"
Dismaying indeed. It's not that I'm against executions entirely, but to kill 2-3 innocent people out of every 10 is simply unacceptable for a civilized society.

Appeals court lets 'do not call' list go forward - Oct. 7, 2003

Appeals court lets 'do not call' list go forward - Oct. 7, 2003
And here I thought it couldn't get more confusing. Telemarketers, just close now and save us a lot of trouble.

The Do Not Call Squall - The constitutional smack-down at the heart of Do Not Call. By Dahlia�Lithwick

From Slate:The Do Not Call Squall - The constitutional smack-down at the heart of Do Not Call. By Dahlia�Lithwick:

"Well, here is one way not to think about it: The fact that 50 million Americans signed up for the list is not constitutionally compelling. Nor are the tens of irate letters-to-the-editor complaining about how annoying telemarketers are. It might seem intuitively obvious to you that the right to be left alone is more constitutionally urgent than the right to hear crap in which you have no interest. But the First Amendment exists to protect unpopular speech. Fifty million Americans probably would sign up to ban speeches against the war in Iraq or to bar Carrot Top from ever performing again. And that's why the First Amendment is not about the popularity of the speech in question."

While I made this very point recently, the Carrot Top issue could make me change my mind.

House panel: CIA�s report on Iraq shaky

House panel: CIA�s report on Iraq shaky
Intelligence chief seeks inquiry into possible leak naming agent
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES

WASHINGTON � The White House, laboring to build domestic and international support for its postwar efforts in Iraq, is facing renewed criticism about how it managed the intelligence that underpinned its case for the war.
The debate over the rationale....
There were 'too many uncertainties' in the outdated and inadequate information ....
At the same time, officials confirmed that Tenet had asked the Department of Justice to look into whether one or more administration officials had leaked information to news media disclosing the identity of a covert CIA agent. Tenet�s request was first reported by NBC News."

I believe this is called "burying the lede," but I suppose the nation's most misnamed paper deserves some credit for the kicker.

Another up, and down, for the national do-not-call list

>From the NewsHour Website via a link on AETN's home page:
[ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donotcall_09-25-03.html ]Federal
Judge Declares Do-Not-Call List Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Denver declared a new national registry designed to
stop most unwanted telemarketing calls unconstitutional Thursday, just
hours after both houses of Congress passed legislation aimed at nullifying
another court's decision to halt the list's enactment earlier in the week.
(9/25/03)

I hope no one doubts the direct marketers are briging big money to bear on
this. I expect legal challenges until they win or die--this law smashes
thier business model all to heck. Maybe then we can look at getting
politicians and the other loopholers blocked, too.


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Price of Oil Climbs as OPEC Plans to Cut Output

Price of Oil Climbs as OPEC Plans to Cut Output
Now can we talk about renewable energy and cutting the oil ubilicus without being branded lunatic-fringe hippies?

Court Knocks Down 'Do Not Call' List (TechNews.com)

Court Knocks Down 'Do Not Call' List (TechNews.com)
The real damage was or will be done whenever DMA gets the list via discovery.

Why haven't I seen this?

Why haven't I seen an infographic on the 32 countries (by SecDef Rumsfeld's count) with "soldiers" in Iraq?
I have a hunch that it would look like those graphics seen during every Olympics where it becomes very obvious that one or two countries were getting most medals while a slew of other nations would manage to win one or two events. (Ah, for the days when national pride was measured every four years by the colored bars for the US and USSR. Of course, the simplistic worldview engendered during those times when things seemed binary is at least one root cause for the hubris that is miring our troops in Iraq.)
Surely some news outlet has this important information in an easy-to-apprehend graphic.
Update: the Coalition Joint Task Force Seven is the overarching unit and has a list that was current on May 15, paraphrased below. I count only 16 countries with "forces" committed (several are either prepared or preparing to deploy or are not exactly in Iraq) and 32 supporting financially. This isn't a force I would compare with the coalition in Gulf War I, WWII or any of the other the DoD and White House constantly compare with it.

Countries (16) supplying ground, air or sea forces, medical supplies or personnel, or humanitarian aid:
1. Albania: one infantry company
2. Australia: two C-130s of medical assets; Special Operations Forces; two frigates and one support ship for enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq; two P-3 aircraft for Maritime Patrol; 14 fighter aircraft, three helicopters, and two aircraft for airlift.
3. Bulgaria: Prepared to deploy a light infantry unit
4. Czech Republic: 50-bed Level III Field Hospital; six water purification units; a nuclear, biological, chemical consequence management unit.
5. Denmark: a three man surgical team; one coastal submarine and one frigate.
6. Italy: a Level III field hospital, with associated security personnel and water, sanitation, and civil engineering specialists; Prepared to deploy a mechanized infantry brigade.
7. Kuwait: Forces for defense of Kuwait; medical supplies; a Field Hospital with 40 beds.
8. Lithuania: a cargo handling team; four medical personnel with trauma and orthopedic surgery specialties.
9. Netherlands: Patriot batteries to Turkey to support NATO Article IV defense of Turkey.
10. Poland: an NBC consequence management unit, Special Operations Force, preparing to deploy a division and assume operational responsibility of one sector in Iraq.
11. Republic of Korea: a Medical Support Group, consisting of a 60-bed Level II+ Field Hospital; a construction and engineering support group.
12. Romania: an NBC consequence management unit; maintains additional units on a 'prepare to deploy' order.
13. Slovak Republic: an NBC consequence management team
14. Spain: one frigate and one support ship; one medical facility (Level II+, 14 beds) and one deployable Field Hospital (Level II+, 40 beds), both still at sea.
15. Ukraine: an NBC consequence management unit.
16. United Kingdom: ground forces not specified in document; 31 vessels, including destroyers, frigates, aircraft carrier, helicopter carrier, supply ships, mine counter measure forces, and submarines; 66 fighter aircraft, 14 tanker aircraft, 41 helicopters, 10 reconnaissance aircraft, four AWACS aircraft and four aircraft for airlift.

Countries (32) offering financial support:
1. Australia
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Croatia
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. Germany
10. Greece
11. Hungary
12. India
13. Ireland
14. Italy
15. Japan
16. Jordan
17. Korea
18. Kuwait
19. Liechtenstein
20. Lithuania
21. Luxembourg
22. Netherlands
23. New Zealand
24. Portugal
25. Saudi Arabia
26. Spain
27. Sweden
28. Taiwan
29. Turkey
30. United Arab Emirates
31. United Kingdom
32. United States of America.

The Miami Herald | 07/21/2003 | Issue of slavery can't be `fixed'

The Miami Herald | 07/21/2003 | Issue of slavery can't be `fixed'
Again, Mr. Pitts hit the racial nail square on the head. Again, he illuminates this discourse with a take on an issue I've never before seen.

NATIONAL POST

They should know better: Humanities Scholars spend lots of time reading, so why can't they write?
It's wonderful to see over-inflated writing skewered. I have spent time in animal-cunning mode, even though I'm far more likely to do what I want and damn the consequences--a strategy that works far better when an undergrad; the high marks required to stay in graduate school means there is little chance to make up for a bad grade.

New Details Emerge on Uranium Claim and Bush's Speech

New Details Emerge on Uranium Claim and Bush's Speech
So much for Tenet falling on his sword. Or maybe the rest of the CIA is saying, "Go ahead, George, you fall on it. Be a team player. But we'll take a pass."

White House E-Mail System Becomes Less User-Friendly

White House E-Mail System Becomes Less User-Friendly
I suppose this should come as no surprise to anyone who has been keeping an eye on the Bush administration. It is a tour de force, combining several of the administration's favorite activities: obfuscation, obscuration, debate limitation, and the obligatory misdirection. Somehow, I don't believe a campaign donor will have to navigate the multiple screens.