As the sun was rising over Baghdad, approximately seven rockets could be seen and heard flying toward Baghdad International Airport. Launch occurred just at 0600 local time. Impact apparently was on or near the runway. No casualties were reported.

The story of General Petraeus getting accidentally shot in the chest is a case in point. One of his own soldiers had pulled the trigger. Normally, something very bad would have happened to that soldier and his commander. Instead Petraeus sent that soldier to Ranger School, and his Captain (Fred Johnson) was promoted early. In June, I witnessed LTC Fred Johnson helping to restore security and rebuild Baqubah. Fred Johnson is a believer in second chances.

“Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated,” according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe. Speaking through an interpreter at a 31 October meeting at the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in downtown Baghdad, Sheik Omar said that al Qaeda had been “defeated mentally, and therefore is defeated physically,” referring to how clear it has become that the terrorist group’s tactics have backfired.

Consumer Reports: Geared for Combat

Installment One: Digital Cameras

“Michael, I am amazed at the photographs in your latest dispatch about British soldiers. What kind of camera are you using now?”

“I am a photographer heading over to Afghanistan for the first time. I read your stuff all the time and notice you mentioned breaking some lenses recently. What can you tell me about the gear you use? What do you consider ‘must-have’ equipment?”

Excerpted from reader emails

Bob Owens is establishing a reputation for exposing shoddy journalism, especially when sensational news stories about the war in Iraq turn out to have been based on questionable (and sometimes imaginary) sources.  Tonight, Mr. Owens has The New Republic in his headlights. No telling where this will lead, but experience has taught me that a magazine that violates the public’s trust (or taste) can be held accountable.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers. (Videotape to follow.)

A big “Thank you” to all the readers who voted for this site in the 2007 Weblog Award for Best Military Blog. Winning the award is especially gratifying this year, and even more so considering the fine company. Blackfive is hard to touch, and the posts from Alex Horton at Army of Dude include firsthand combat narratives from, of all places, Baqubah. Folks who seriously pay attention to this war know that Baqubah is more than just another strange name on the map.

The Mark II 1Ds is for professionals only, and no, it does not have a built-in flash. It’s like a hand-held Hubble Space Telescope. It actually requires the shooter to be part scientist, part engineer—not to mention an artist—and then it begins taunting the person crazy enough to buy it. Irrespective of cost, the Mark II is the best camera I’ve owned.

November 16, 2007

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;

Will L. Thompson, “Softly and Tenderly”

Happy Thanksgiving from Iraq!

I had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with General Petraeus. Very interesting series of helicopter flights to several bases. Bottom line is that progress is clear and real, but there are tough days ahead and al Qaeda, for instance, is far from dead. The mood is of cautious optimism, with a concern that some of the very positive media lately might set expectations too high. (That’s right: many military leaders are concerned that the media lately might be too positive.)