Friday Fly-By
An abbreviated version..one story deserving of a read and one timeless piece of music by two giants in the recording industry.
Tomorrow could not be soon enough to see every one of our troops return to American soil and removed from harms way. Nothing would make me happier than to not see another family grieve the loss of their loved one at the hands of a terrorist.
But, when the DOD presents a press release such as this, it only serves as a grim reminder why we must see not only the war in Iraq through to its conclusion but be willing to take on terrorist organizations wherever they exist:
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2008 – Use silenced guns to kill coalition forces at Iraqi security checkpoints, smuggle weapons in gradual shipments to reduce the risk of detection, and poison Iraq’s water supply with nitric acid to spread disease and death.
Such tactics were fleshed out in a terrorist letter intended for Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the foreign-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. But the document never reached Masri. Instead, coalition forces lifted it from the body of a terrorist they killed last month during an operation 30 miles northwest of Baghdad.
The slain terrorist and author of the 11-page missive was Abu Safyan, from Diyala, Iraq, according to military officials who made available all but two pages deemed “not releasable” on the Multinational Force Iraq Web site.
Providing a glimpse into the proposed inner workings of al-Qaida in Iraq, the author discusses the need to split jihadists into three groups: snipers, assassination experts and martyrs. Each well-trained group should have an emir, or unit commander, at the lead. Through a series of coordinated surprise attacks, groups should work in unison to “bring down the city or the area,” he wrote.
In addition to outlining extremist combat methods, Safyan advocated waging economic and psychological warfare, and his roadmap for success hinged on “continuous conflict” between Iraq’s Shiite government, Sunni members of “Awakening Movements” and Kurdish nationalists.
The balance of the read is short and included in the press release is a chart showing Al-Qaeda leaders recently captured or killed by coalition forces.
So, the ultimate question looms. If we pull out tomorrow, or next week or a year from now with the job incomplete and leave Iraq in the hands of this faceless enemy, will we not be returning at a later date to begin again the same fight?
I wish we had the answer to that question, but I do hope that whichever Presidential candidate occupies the Oval Office come January 2009, they explore all avenues carefully and not make any rash decisions.
HT:Blackfive
Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash. Each in their own right a musical superstar. Together though, they are dynamite.
I hope you enjoy as they perform Blue Yodel No. 9.
~J~ Says:
April 20th, 2008 at 8:05 amVisit ~J~
Having taken trumpet lessons for a short time I can appreciate the technique Louis Armstrong used in his trumpet playing.
He kept his horn straight and never puffed out his cheeks as some do. You will notice the “teardrop” on his top lip. That’s from blowing the horn. What a great player he was and he seemed to have such a wonderful personality.
Sue Says:
April 20th, 2008 at 3:51 pmVisit Sue
Our daughter played trumpet for over twelve years and he remains her idol in the field.
I found it a rarity to see Armstrong and Cash perform together. That has to be a piece of music history as the people I have mentioned it to did not know either that they ever were on the same stage together.