Theodore's World

This book is about ….Front-line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After the death of a friend in Iraq, Burden started his own blog, Blackfive.net, in mid-2003 to support the troops fighting the War on Terror and tell their stories. Blackfive.net quickly became one of the most visited and linked blogs and has won consecutive “Best Military Blog” honors in the Weblog Awards. Now, Matt Burden has collected some of the most riveting and insightful work by other bloggers in THE BLOG OF WAR.
Military bloggers offer the public unfettered access to the War on Terror. The public does not have to wait weeks or months to hear what’s happened, nor settle for the government’s approved messages. In the past, there were only three sources from which the public could learn about a war: Combat correspondents, who sometimes wrote in the midst of action but just as often did not; government reports, which were often a mix of truth, propaganda and even disinformation; and soldiers who gave their own accounts of what they witnessed in letters to friends and family, accounts sometimes censored by the military, and always written and received well after the fighting had subsided.
THE BLOG OF WAR is a remarkable account of men and women as they actually experience the trials and tribulations of war on the battlefield, where our soldiers must daily test their humanity against harrowing episodes of the horror and fear. Readers are certain to have a better understanding and a greater respect for those who risk their lives for their country in these most turbulent times.

Wild Thing’s comment……
As you all know, this blog I have is mainly to support our troops, to thank them and to thank our Veterans. I wanted it to feel comfortable like a place to put your feet up and rant and cheer the news and events. To share of your experiences and know this blog belongs to each of you that served. A little home online to gather and not have to put a tie on. haha And always with a Welcome Home sign over the door.
So when I started to blog and saw the many blogs of our troops today and our Veterans it really meant a lot to me.
To be able to go to their blogs and read first hand how they are doing. To be able to thank them as close to in person as possible. And what an honor as well to be able to go to our Veterans blogs and read their take on things, to thank them for their service to our country and welcome them home.
There is something in a persons soul that smiles when you can say, thank you for my freedom, thank you for all you have done. It truly is a debt that I can never repay.
You can order this book at Amazon and it will be one to give as Christmas gifts also. To keep forever as one very special book.

* Argghhh!
* Blackfive
* Blue Star Chronicles

230 Taliban, four ISAF soldiers killed in Kandahar operation
Pajhwok Report
KANDAHAR CITY, September 3 (Pajhwok Afghan News): As many as 230 Taliban fighters have been killed in two days of fierce fighting in Panjwayee and Zherai districts of the southern Kandahar province, a source told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday.
The fighters were killed in the operation launched by the NATO and Afghan forces in the two districts, which have been scene to attacks on Afghan and foreign forces over the past few months.
The source, which did not want to be named, said the operation was still going on to eliminate or flush out the miscreants from those areas.
Meanwhile, a military statement release from Kandahar airfield said four ISAF soldiers and more than 200 Taliban fighters had been killed since the beginning of the Operation Medusa early Saturday morning.
This figure was obtained after reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayee and Zherai districts as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby, said the statement.
Four ISAF soldiers also killed during todays operations and seven others were wounded. More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by the police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the districts, said the statement.
Also written about here………….
CNN

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan and NATO forces killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in a major operation in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.
Four soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed and seven others were wounded in the fighting in Kandahar province, a statement from the alliance said.
“Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation Medusa began early Saturday morning. This figure was arrived at by reviewing information from ISAF surveillance and reconnaissance assets operating in Panjwayi and Zhari districts as well as information reported by various Afghan officials and citizens living nearby,” it said.
More than 80 suspected Taliban fighters were captured by Afghan police and a further 180 insurgents were seen fleeing the district, the statement said.
NATO said there were no reports of civilian casualties, despite the heavy weight of fire being used.
An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Gen. Zahir Azimi, said earlier in the day that a number of civilians were killed.
A NATO spokesman, Maj. Scott Lundy, said NATO and Afghan troops had gained ground during Operation Medusa and had disrupted the militants’ command and control so their fighters were moving in a confused way.
On Saturday, a reconnaissance plane supporting the offensive crashed, killing all 14 British military personnel on board. NATO said the plane was not brought down by hostile fire.

U.S. Marines Cpl. Justin Craighead and Col. Oliver (Ollie) Grant, stepson and father, are currently serving in Iraq. (U.S. Army photo)
DOD
By Tom Clarkson – Gulf Region Division – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
GULF REGION, Iraq, Sept. 1, 2006 — “When Debra — the love of my life – and I met, she didn’t know Semper Fi from apple pie,” jokes the brawny bear of a Marine colonel, “and now both her husband and son are ‘jarheads’ and to top it off, we’re now both here in Iraq!”
The big and burly officer, Oliver (Ollie) Grant, is the quintessential Marine – he looks one firmly in the eye and barks with authority. He brooks no nonsense with those who equivocate, waffle or make excuses. And, he is unabashedly outspoken in his utter disregard for what he considers to be “all too often time wasting political correctness in lieu of common Marine sense.”
At first blush, his more demure, lean, stepson Cpl. Justin Craighead may seem almost callow by comparison. Nothing could be further from the truth as this young man is a resolute, focused and mature Marine.
The senior is soon to wrap up seven months as the deputy director and chief of staff of the project and contracting office logistics operation. He is an integral part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division/Project and Contracting Office tasked with the immense chore of Iraq reconstruction.
Though a Reservist, he has been on almost continuous active duty since 1998. In addition to this tour in Iraq, he also served in Operations Iraq Freedom I and II. Presently – along with retired Marine Col. Jack Holly, one of the foremost military logistical experts in the world – he is part of a 14 military member team.
This group – in typical Marine manner lovingly called the “Log Dogs” – directs hundreds of civilians and local nationals throughout Iraq with all aspects of logistics afforded to the various Iraqi ministries in order that the country may, increasingly, take charge of its own fate.
The younger, soon to be completing four years in-service, is a platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 7th Marines. Nearing his 10th month, this is his third tour in-country as well and has been a mainstay of the battalion throughout this period.
The future for both is somewhat undecided. Grant anticipates hanging up his well-worn fatigue uniform in retirement within the year. Craighead a certified paramedic – is considering possible pursuit of a career in law enforcement or fire fighting.
Of his father figure, mentor and military senior, Craighead said, “From the outset I realized – figuratively and literally – I had big boots to fill in following ‘My Colonel’s’ lead. But he has always counseled me to be my own man, guidance for which I am deeply appreciative.”

Ahmadinejad in his private office
Military option against Iran open: US ….Ambassador Bolton
The United States has warned Iran that military option “is not off the table” as it mulls a multi-pronged strategy to prevent Tehran from going nuclear.

“I think any president charged with responsibility for protecting the American people is not going to take the military option off the table when you confront a threat as grave as an Iran armed with nuclear weapons,” US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said.

“… He’s (Bush) made it plain for some time that our preferred way of dealing with this problem is through peaceful and diplomatic means, and that’s what we’ve been doing for the past several years,” he said.

Noting that discussing the strategy in public would not be productive, Bolton said, “The Iranians have made it clear they have no intention of suspending their uranium-enrichment activity.”

“I think moving for sanctions in the Security Council, considering other economic steps, ramping up the Proliferation Security Initiative, are all things we should and will be doing.”

The top American envoy at the UN also reminded Russia and China that they had promised to go the sanctions route when passing the UN Security Council resolution this June.

“It’s not at all clear that Russia or China would actually veto a resolution in the Security Council. They may not support it, but if they acquiesce in it by abstaining, that still leaves open the possibility that the council could act,” Bolton said on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ programme.

“The possibility of sanctions in the council has always been one part of the effort,” he said adding, “Lots of countries can impose sanctions on Iran without action by the Security Council – the European Union, Japan, others.”

Wild Thing’s comment……
Hoorah for Bolton! Now wait for the inevitable outrage from Iran, the Russians, the EU and the Democrats.

Let’s all remember him this way…..his story.
When Glenn Ford died Thursday morning at the age of 90, major media recalled his long Hollywood career, recalling the 106 films in which he appeared, his many marriages and romances. Wrote the Associated Press, “He was a star to the end of his career.”
Glenn Ford was far more than that, yet none of the obituaries bothered to mention his extraordinary patriotism or his distinguished military career. Ford rose to the rank of Captain in the United States Navy after years of dedicated service that began with World War II and continued through the Vietnam War.
He was undoubtedly a star, one of Hollywood’s enduring major stars, but as his biography on a Web site devoted to his long life states, his accomplishments were even larger than life off-screen. As his son Peter once told NewsMax.com, Ford was “one of those Ronald Reagan, true-blue American types.”
At the beginning of World War II Glenn served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. In 1942 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine he helped build safe houses in occupied France for those hiding from the Nazis and was among the first Americans to enter the infamous Dachau concentration camp at war’s end. He went on to serve in the Navy and at war’s end he was commissioned a Commander in the Naval Reserves.

In the Second World War Ford served with the Marines, and was seconded to the French Resistance. He rarely spoke of his military service; and it was only 30 years later, when he was presented with a Liberator’s Award by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, that it emerged he had been responsible for an act of extraordinary courage and compassion.
Immediately after Germany’s surrender, Ford had discovered that, while attention was focused on Dachau, some 15,000 intended victims were still alive, but barely, at the nearby camp of Fernwald, outside Munich. Defying orders that rations should not be diverted to displaced persons, Ford persuaded supply-sergeants to turn a blind eye while he loaded his truck with food and medical supplies for the starving survivors. It was a lifeline he kept going for seven weeks. He was credited with single-handedly saving the lives of between 5,000 and 6,000 of the abandoned inmates, and women in the camp named new-born sons after him.

Committed to service in the armed forces, Ford also served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the Third Marine Amphibious Force in 1966-1968. He once went on a jungle mission with a Special Forces Team during the Vietnam War. Ford was the only actor to have served with both the Green Berets and the French Foreign Legion and his military record is well recognized in both the United States and France as a highly decorated veteran.
Among his numerous medals and commendations are the Medal of Honor presented by the Veterans of Foreign Wars; the Medaille de la France Libre for the liberation of France; two commendation medals from the U.S. Navy; and the Vietnamese Legion of Merit. He received the rank of Captain with the U.S. Naval Reserves in 1968; retiring in 1977.
Ford bravely served his country in two wars (not on the sidelines, but in the front lines) facing enemy fire on many occasions and never expecting to be treated like a Hollywood star but as a fellow fighting man. He was indeed a hero both on and off the screen.
That’s the way Glenn Ford would want to be remembered.

Wild Thing’s comment….
I was fortunate to work with Glenn Ford on a film called Berrgarman Thief (1979). He was wonderful and we spoke of our country, our military and how he felt about those serving. I only had a small part in the film and he treated me with respect and kindness. I love it when I get a chance to thank one of our Veterans in person for his service to our country.

* Blue Star Chronicles

There is a movie, a mini-series running on ABC on September 10th and 11th, called The Path to 9/11.
I want to share this with you from Rush Limbaugh’s show.
Rush………………
Bill Clinton Personally Attempts to Get ABC’s Path to 9/11 Mini-Series Recut
September 1, 2006
The Path to 9/11 essentially chronicles everything we know that happened in the nineties that prevented the capture of Osama bin Laden.
It indicts the Clinton administration, Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger.
It is just devastating to the Clinton administration. It talks about how we had chances to capture bin Laden in specific detail, which I will get to in just a moment.
That’s not the point. I mentioned to you yesterday or the day before, the days are running together, that a friend of mine did this. His first name is Cyrus, and Cyrus has got some other film credits.
He took it to Washington in the middle of last week and screened it for people and it caused nearly bloody uproar where they showed it.
Richard Ben-Veniste went up in Cyrus’s face and told him it was disgusting. This film was disgusting.
It caused all kinds of havoc and that led to the creation of efforts to try to get this program banned, put pressure on ABC to get it canceled and not run and so forth.
It also had a lot of people in the room that loved it. There were many people, Michael Barone saw it, a lot of people were in the screening there and loved it.
Here is what is happening today. Bill Clinton himself is going to call Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, and demand or ask that this mini-series, The Path to 9/11, be reedited and recut so as not to depict Bill Clinton and his administration as they are currently portrayed in this mini-series.
Bill Clinton himself is going to call Bob Iger — and this is not breaking news; I got the e-mail on this last night, and there have been some local hosts out in California who have been talking about this, but there is a huge movement afoot from inside the Clinton administration to put pressure on ABC to get this thing recut, reedited, if not more.
Very powerful players obviously, much higher than just Richard Ben-Veniste and so forth.
You know, folks, the whole 9/11 Commission, if you go back and look at these things that we know now, the Clinton administration’s ability to camouflage history, to rewrite it, is just amazing.
Look at who they got on the 9/11 Commission. They got Jamie Gorelick, who authored the wall, and this mini-series explains the wall and gives illustrations of fact of how it hurt our ability to capture Osama bin Laden.
I’ll get to that in just a second. They had had Gorelick on there; they had Ben-Veniste (who was a partisan hack lawyer from the Watergate days), and Tim Roemer, who is a Democrat from Indiana, and that was to ensure that the Clinton administration was protected, and so that the top structural explanation for intelligence failure was white-washed.
(snip)
I don’t understand why the Bush administration, the Department of Justice, gave Burglar the sweetheart deal of the century, then suppressed all the evidence involved in his action. Like I asked at the time, can you imagine if Condoleezza Rice had pled guilty to a misdemeanor mishandling of classified information, the media sitting silent about it?
HERE is the complete transcript of Rush on this topic.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
I am sooooo sick of the Clinton’s. We had enough of both of them during their regime and they just never stop! All the “gates” so many of them I lost count. Travel gate, yep and bimbo gate and Vince Foster killed, and on and on and on. If they recut this film that is not user friendly for Bill Clinton it will be yet another time they get favored to hide their many crimes and actions against this country. This really ticks me off!

HERE is a really cool Harley Davidson ad.
They also have a salute to Veterans at their website. I love Harley Davidson for that especially.
AP) MILWAUKEE — Harley-Davidson is fattening up its hogs.

The iconic motorcycle maker said Friday it will begin making three-wheeled motorcycles, also known as trikes, in partnership with Lehman Trikes U.S.A.
Spearfish, S.D.-based Lehman already converts motorcycles made by Harley and other manufacturers into trikes, but the new line will be branded as Harley-Davidson and sold by its dealers.
Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. did not release further details about the new bikes or when they would be released. Spokesman Bob Klein said he expected the trikes would be priced similarly to other brands on the market.
The company has made three-wheelers before, such as for police and commercial use, but this venture with Lehman will be different, Klein said. Harley is recognizing that more and more riders are interested in riding trikes, which have the look and feel of two-wheeled motorcycles but with a little more stability.
He said that while at the popular Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota last month he saw people of all ages and backgrounds riding trikes. “We’ve observed that trikes are becoming a popular phenomenon and we think that they’ll appeal to a variety of customers,” Klein said.
Harley rider Paul Woelbing said the move to trikes is smart because it’ll expand the brand’s appeal to aging riders. The average biker’s age has jumped to 40.2 years old in 2003 from 28.5 in 1985, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation said.
Having Harley-branded trikes won’t change the brand’s image, often seen as the quintessential macho ride, said the 50-year-old from Elm Grove, Wis. If anything, it means more people can become — or continue to be — Harley owners, he said. “One thing about Harley is it’s a big umbrella for people who own motorcycles. The Harley owner is getting older and I think people are addressing these issues,” he said.
Lehman Trikes U.S.A. is a subsidiary of Lehman Trikes Inc. of Canada. The company has made trikes for more than 20 years.
Shares of Harley-Davidson rose 63 cents to close at $59.14 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange

Suspects sought in attack on soldier

A uniformed National Guardsman was beaten up by a group of strangers Tuesday morning as he walked to a convenience store in Parkland, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department reported Wednesday.
No arrests have been made in the attack and Pierce County sheriff’s deputies were seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects.
The soldier was walking on 138th Street South between A Street South and Pacific Avenue about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday when an SUV pulled up beside him, deputies reported.
The driver asked the soldier if he was in the military and if he’d seen any action. The driver got out of the vehicle, pulled out a gun and shouted insults at the soldier, deputies reported.
Four others got out of the SUV, knocked the soldier to the ground and punched and kicked him. The five suspects then got back into the black SUV and fled.
The soldier’s injuries were not immediately known.
The driver of the SUV was described as a white man, 25 to 30 years old and 5 feet 10 with a heavy build. He had short, blond hair and wore a black T-shirt and jeans. The passengers were young men. Some wore red baseball hats and red sweatshirts, deputies reported.
Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests and charges filed in the assault. Callers remain anonymous.

UPDATE:
Investigators suspect the man was attacked because of his uniform.
“The indication is it’s because he was a soldier,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. “There are some specific questions (the attackers asked) that were military related and what his involvement in the war was.”

Wild Thing’s comment……
Let’s note this, it was not even just one person that did this vile attack, it was a group. They came in a pack because they are cowards. A total of 5 of them, the driver and 4 others. People that do this kind of thing deserve the worst kind of punishment. Our military, our Veterans, our troops today do not deserve to be treated this way….EVER!
It makes me sick and angry at the same time. I hope they find out who the 5 cowards were and treat them the same way they treated this soldier and that is just for starters.
This Soldier can thank the DNC, Democrats in General, George Soros and his billions of “I hate America” dollars spent, and last of all, Liberal Propaganda supporting Terrorism and Terrorist Groups with their “America is at Fault!” “I hate Bush” “I hate the Military” chants, articles, and movies put out by the evil Left-Wing.

Jack, (Conservative Insurgent) thank you for the link and also I agree with you, it reminds me a lot of during the Nam war when things like this went on.

Menorah News
Israeli video journalist Itai Anghel went into Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon with the Nahal Brigade and shot 25 minutes of riveting house-to-house combat footage with a night vision lens.
You will also hear them tell how the Hezbollah fighters wore Israeli uniforms.

Thank you Tincan Sailor for the link to this.

Happy 2 Year Blogiversary Linda! Thank you for being my blog Mom.
Three cheers for Something….and Half of Something!!