US Has First Fatality-Free Month In Iraq

United States Army soldiers conducted a patrol on Monday with Iraqi soldiers in Sadiya, near Baquba, in search of men suspected of planting explosives. Joseph Sywenkyj for The New York Times

Iraq War Marks First Month With No U.S. Military Deaths -- New York Times

BAGHDAD — Under increased pressure from the United States, an Iraqi crackdown on Iranian-backed Shiite militias has helped produce a previously elusive goal: For the first time since the American invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying.

The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years, and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting.

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More News On The First Month Where There Has Been No U.S. Fatalities In Iraq

First fatality-free month for US military in Iraq -- AFP
US Military Has First Fatality-Free Month In Iraq -- Radio Free Europe
Iraq: US troops' first fatality-free month since 2003 -- BBC
Iraq War marks first month with no U.S. military deaths -- Stars and Stripes
August the First Month of Iraq War With No U.S. Military Deaths -- National Journal
August: No U.S. troop deaths in Iraq -- UPI
No U.S. troops killed in Iraq for first month since invasion -- CNN
FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, August 31 -- Alertnet

Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam Vows To Continue The Fight

Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Vows To Continue The War And Retake Tripoli -- The Telegraph

Col Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam made the first public appearance by a member of his close family since the fall of Tripoli last night, vowing to continue the war and retake his father's capital.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, widely held to be his father's most likely successor, said 20,000 armed soldiers were ready to defend Sirte, the central Libyan city that was Col Gaddafi's birthplace and remains his firmest stronghold.

At the same time, the regime's chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, rejected a rebel ultimatum to surrender in Sirte and two other cities that are holding out, Bani Walid and Sabha, by Saturday to avoid further bloodshed.

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My Comment: This is my definition of being delusional.

Does Extreme Weather Cause War?

Photo: U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division wait to board a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during an air assault mission in the Al Jazeera Desert, Iraq, on March 22, 2006. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon, U.S. Air Force.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Insurgency -- Foreign Policy

Does extreme weather cause war? Don't count on it.

As the East Coast of the United States was pounded by a hurricane over the weekend, mere days after an earthquake had cracked monuments and upset lawn furniture from Virginia Beach to Baltimore, Mother Nature was once again front-page news across the country. So it was fortuitous that last week's issue of the scientific journal Nature included a much-talked-about article linking the wrath of nature to the wrath of man. "Climate Shifts Cause War" and "First Proof that Climate Is a Trigger for Conflict," the headlines suggested.

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My Comment: What is my view? I have studied wars and conflicts throughout my life, and I have found that it has been ideologies/religions//personal agendas/tribalism/sectarianism/racial and cultural conditions and situations that have brought about conflicts and wars .... not extreme weather.

Arab Uprisings Mask Expansion Of Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran Using Arab Spring As Cover To Accelerate Nuclear Program -- Haaretz

Iran appears as keen as always to produce nuclear weapons, amid reports about increasing cooperation with North Korea.

The unrest and uprisings in the Arab world are distracting the international community from Iran's nuclear program. Iran is taking advantage of the situation to accelerate its efforts. The head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, announced this week that his country would continue to enrich uranium. He said enrichment would be done at both the country's facilities: to 3.5 percent at Natanz to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that would produce electricity, and to 20 percent at the fortified underground facility near Qom, intended for the research reactor in Tehran to produce isotopes for medicinal purposes.

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My Comment: The media's attention (and diplomatic/political core) may be focused elsewhere .... Arab spring, financial/debt crisis, etc. .... but intelligence services are not. But its cooperation with North Korea (if true) is the most troubling to me .... because it will be North Korea that provides the perfect cover for Iran to assemble and obtain information/materials to have an undeclared (but present) nuclear arsenal.

From CIA Director To U.S. Secretary Of Defense

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta talks to reporters from Stars and Stripes, Military Times, and American Forces Press Service in his Pentagon office, Friday, Aug. 19, 2011. DOD

Panetta Discusses Shift From Spy Chief To Caretaker -- Stars And Stripes

WASHINGTON – Once the nation’s spy chief, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is settling into his new role as caretaker of the world’s largest volunteer military force and their families, and facing down all of the challenges that come with the job.

“It’s a much bigger responsibility,” Panetta, the former CIA director, said in a recent interview in his Pentagon office.

But while some basic job descriptors are the same – defeat al-Qaida, protect the country – with the government ordering a massive budget-cutting season ahead, Panetta has a new responsibility: protect the military.

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My Comment: His primary focus will be cutting the Pentagon's budget. That is the emergency in Washington today (and tomorrow), and that is where his energies will be directed at.

New Gay Military Magazine At Military Exchange Stores

An article found inside Outserve Magazine.

New Gay Military Magazine Headed for Base Newsstands -- FOX News

With the official repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" less than a month away, members of the military can expect to see a new gay-themed magazine available at military exchange stores on Sept. 20, the same day the repeal goes into effect.

The gay-advocacy group OutServe launched the magazine last Spring and has already produced two editions. The group says its September edition will be available for free at select Army and Air Force bases.

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My Comment: Yup ..... the times are a changing.

Picture Of The Day

A Navy boat launched from the USS New Orleans carries maritime raid force members to a vessel the force's assault element later boarded during counterpiracy and counterterrorism training several miles off southern California's San Clemente Island, Aug. 14, 2011. The force's members are assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Justin Stein

U.S. Air Force Is Putting All Of It's Eggs In One Basket

F-35

The Air Force’s Sky-High Hopes For The F-35 -- DoD Buzz

Newspaper editorial boards, white-paperists and blue-ribbon panels all have called for the F-35 to be cancelled, but as we’ve seen many times, it’s so big and expensive it stands a very good chance of surviving in Austerity America. Here’s another reason to throw on the pile: If you cancelled it, you’d be canceling a lot of the Air Force.

The service’s almost complete dependence on its F-35A Lightning II was driven home again last weekend when Gen. Edward Rice, head of Air Education and Training Command, officially ‘rolled out’ the Air Force’s first jet at Eglin AFB, Fla. (The fighters have been around for years, but you know how these guys are — any excuse for pageantry and ceremony, right?) Rice characterized the A as the absolute zenith of aviation, per an official Air Force story:

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My Comment: If F-35 production will only be 3 per month .... cough cough .... sorry, but these "sky-high" hopes for the F-35 are clearly misplaced.

Was Killing Of Al-Qaida No. 2 A Huge Blow To Terror Group

Photo: John Brennan

White House Counterterror Chief Says Killing Of al-Qaida No. 2 Was Huge Blow To Terror Group -- Washington Post/AP

WASHINGTON — White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan says al-Qaida is on a “on a steady slide” after the death of al-Qaida’s latest second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, in Pakistan.

Brennan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it’s a “huge blow” in the first official White House comment since Rahman’s reported killing by CIA drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal areas last week.

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My Comment: I have doubts that this is the case. Al Qaeda sympathizers number in the hundreds of thousands .... if not millions. Killing one, two, ten, hundred .... there are more who would want to take the place of those that we kill.

General Petraeus Retires From The Army -- News Roundup

PETRAEUS FAREWELL - Army Gen. David H. Petraeus reviews troops at his retirement ceremony and Armed Forces Farewell on Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Va., Aug. 31, 2011. Petraeus retired from the military after a 37-year career to become CIA director. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Petraeus Retires, With A Warning -- New York Times

WASHINGTON—An era in the American military came to an end on Wednesday when David H. Petraeus, the most influential general of his generation, retired with a 17-gun salute and a warning that coming budget cuts should not lead to the “hollow Army” that occurred after the Vietnam War.

Just 11 days before the 10th anniversary of Osama Bin Laden’s attacks on New York and Washington, General Petraeus also implicitly cautioned that the United States should not abandon the troop-intensive and expensive counterinsurgency doctrine that was his hallmark when he commanded the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The general spoke as the Obama White House is shifting from a broad counterinsurgency strategy of trying to build roads, schools and good government in Afghanistan to a narrower and more secretive counterterrorism mission of hunting down terrorists.

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More News On General Petraeus Retiring from the U.S. Army

Petraeus Garners Praise at Retirement Ceremony -- US Department of Defense
Petraeus retires, warns against budget cuts. The general is set to take over as CIA director Sept. 6 -- MSNBC/Reuters
General Petraeus hangs up uniform, warns on budget -- Reuters
As he hangs up uniform, Petraeus warns on defense cuts -- AFP
Petraeus: Budget Cuts Must Not Impair Military -- ABC News
Petraeus Retires, Warns Against Military Cuts -- ABC News
Petraeus Bids Farewell to US Military -- Voice of America
David Petraeus officially retires from Army -- Politico
Petraeus bids farewell to military, but not to Washington -- Stars and Stripes
Gen. Petreaus Retires From Army, to Head CIA -- Epoch Times
After Leading Two Wars, Petraeus Retires From Army -- NPR
Petraeus ends 'historic' military career to lead CIA -- CNN
Petraeus Says US Must Maintain Military Versatility -- Voice of America
Petraeus retires from US military ahead of CIA post -- BBC
Obama speaks to Petraeus -- USA Today
Gen. Petraeus Honored in Retirement Ceremony -- PICTURES -- National Journal
The impact of Gen. David Petraeus, in four takes -- Jason Ukman, Washington Post
In the End, Petraeus Really Was That Good -- Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room