Also, Iraqi helicopters are machine gunning Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq.

the beginning of the end

this should be interesting to say the least.

#1 Don

Source?

The Purim War!

May G-d bless our troops.

This is way OT but does anyone in this remarkably knowledgeable audience know the proper use of the honorific “Mister” as used in reference to certain officer grades in the US Navy? For example: the book/movie “Mr. Roberts” was about a naval officer. To what grades would the term Mister apply? Ensign through Lieutenant? Just curious…

previous reports stated that 15 iraqis had surrendered at Kuwait border. Reuters now says 17.

# 1 -

I think it's more like they're trying to do that, and are getting shot down by U.S. F-15s and F-16s out if Incerlik

4 ive seen that in several places. There are a number of reporters in the Kurdish zone, shouldnt be hard to confirm.

May G-d protect our troops.

#4 GW,
Here is where I saw it.

Two Iraqi helicopters fired machine guns and rockets into three Kurdish villages on the front line north of Kirkuk yesterday, in the first shots intended to kill in the coming war.

''There were two of them, one an attack helicopter and the other normally used for transport, attacking the villages where people herding cattle live," Mohammed Fateh, a local Kurdish military commander, said.

Kurdish officers believe that the Iraqi helicopter attack on the three impoverished and half-ruined villages of Bashtapa, Girdalanka and Sherawa in the hills south-east of Qush Tappa was a desperate effort by the Iraqi army to raise the morale of its men and prove that its firepower is still to be reckoned with.

Those brave Iraqi generals. Killing cattle herding villagers to boost the morale of their troops. Think we'll hear the "peace" freaks complaining?

I SAW #1 EARLIER VIA INSTAPUNDIT

What is exactly the reliability of the source ("By Robert Fox, Defence Correspondent and David Taylor, Evening Standard") ? No confirmation from other media (tv, radio) as yet, so.... ????????????
Anyway, if true, I'd like to say there ARE some of us cheese-eating-etc, etc... who understand the case for an intervention made by the USA. I really hope for a short war, a clean-cut allied victory, with the minimum casualties among both UK, US,... troops & iraki civilians. Anyone willing to die for Saddam should be granted his wish as quickly as possible, though. Bonne chance, bonne chasse, boys.

"Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, you are about to embark upon the Great Crusade. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Good luck. And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

#6

"Mister" also applies to warrant officers.

There is one special marine I am praying for (praying for ALL, but one in particular... extra extra hard) ...

We love you JB
Finally closer to coming home.

I decided to de-lurk -- first heard of LGF from Andrew Sullivan.

Slightly OT -- anybody been able to get onto DebkaFile (www.debka.com) today?

I wonder if they have been deliberately shut down in an attempt to plug leaks by the Israeli gov't.

#17

I was able to get on after about a dozen tries earlier this afternoon.

Times of London is reporting mass desertions all over Iraq. They claim this is based on official intel report theyve seen.
Claim 75% desertion rates among units in kurdistan, with some trying to surrender to Kurdish civilians. Lower rates (25%) for units closer to Bagdad. Also report a brother of Saddam has fled to Syria.

UK papers are notorious for passing on rumours, IIUC, and did so during the Afgan campaign. Interesting anyway.

The Times says the Kuwaitis were turning away Iraqi soldiers at the border this morning, on the premise that shooting has to begin before anyone can surrender. If they're accepting POWs now, you know something's up.

I hope they're treated well (let's face it - most Iraqis don't want to fight for Saddam any more than we would) - and that video of the mass surrenders is shown on TV all over the Arab world. It should give pause to anyone who thinks Saddam is the great Arab hero, who's going to turn back the cowardly Zionist Americans.

Patton's Speech on the Eve of War.

Patton surveyed the sea of brown with a grim look. "Be seated", he said.

"Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones.

Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight. When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American."

"You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared.

Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they ARE He Men. Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen."

"All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call "chicken shit drilling". That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don't give a fuck for a man who's not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn't be here. You are ready for what's to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you're not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sockful of shit!" The men roared in agreement. Patton's grim expression did not change. "There are four hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily", he roared into the microphone, "All because one man went to sleep on the job".

"But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did".

"An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking!"

The men slapped their legs and rolled in glee.

"We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world", Patton bellowed. "Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do".

The men clapped and howled delightedly."My men don't surrender", Patton continued, "I don't want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back. That's not just bull shit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!"

"All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling.

The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'."

Patton paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men. One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered,

"Fixing the wire, Sir". I asked, "Isn't that a little unhealthy right about now?" He answered, "Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed". I asked, "Don't those planes strafing the road bother you?" And he answered, "No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!"

"Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds. And you should have seen those trucks on the rode to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren't combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable."

"Don't forget," Patton barked, "you men don't know that I'm here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I'm not supposed to be commanding this Army. I'm not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Some day I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, 'Jesus Christ, it's the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton'."

"We want to get the hell over there", Patton continued, "The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit."

The men roared approval and cheered delightedly.

I see GW is already taken, so I'll use GaW instead.

#17 I managed to catch the Hebrew version earlier (debka.co.il), but that one seem down too now.

#6
Mister

This from my future bro-in-law who served in the navy..

"Mr. is used typically between "like" grades in Noncommissioned and commissioned officer ranks i.e. Lt to Lt, Cpt to Cpt, 2nd Class PO to 2nd Class PO... etc"

#8

Unlikely. Turkey is denying the use of Incirclik to either launch attacks or even to land and refuel. Right now they haven't even approved OVERFLIGHT through their air space.

Gen. Franks has advised them that if they put their troops into northern Iraq & there is conflict w/ the Kurds, Turkish troops might get shot by US forces. A fair warning, since they aren't supporting our efforts to make this quick and limit casualties by opening a northern front ....

Transterrestrial Musings (Rand Simberg) is saying the BBC announced the launching of B-52's from Fairford AFB in the UK. It's apparently a six hour flight to Iraq. Anybody else heard this or have a link?

The big dance has begun. The orchestra is playing "Goodnight Saddam".

I here MasterCard are coming out with a new TV commercial:

Price of an aircraft carrier ... $800,000,000
Price of an F-16 fighter ... $14,600,000
Price of a tomahawk missile ... $1,300,000
Seeing a US bombing the hell out of Sadam ... Priceless
Some things you can't buy with money. For everything else there's MasterCard.

Makes you're heart warm, doesn't It.

If [Link: www.debka.com...] doesn`t work, try [Link: www.debkafile.net....]

It might just be a traffic issue...

NBC reports that US aircraft are targeting Iraqi artillery positions along the Kuwaiti border. Looks like the air campaign is well underway, and extensive spec ops activities. Not clear when the ground campaign starts.

Well, the Iraqi army, which has been queuing patiently to surrender, is finally being accommodated:

Seventeen Iraqi soldiers have given themselves up to U.S.-led forces in northern Kuwait, U.S. military sources said Wednesday.

Not much story yet, but you can read it here.

#6, #14, #23: Use of Mister as an address is generally used for junior officers: warrants through Lieutenant. It is not used by petty officers in addressing other petty officers. It is most common for like ranks (ie, Lt to Lt) to address each other by name, and in one direction (down as in Lt to Lt(jg) for the senior to address the junior by name while the junior continues to address the senior by title. Seamen and below are typically addressed by last name (as stencilled on their dungarees,) except in more formal circumstances, like a graduation from a school. Petty officers tend to address each other by name or rating: my title above would be pronounced "eeee-dubya-wun" with the (SG) silent. Senior petty officers are "Chief," "Senior Chief," or "Master Chief" unless there is more than one present and the last name is appended to the title.

Your United Nations in action:

I heard Kofi Annan on the BBC a little while ago. He of course spoke about what a sad day this is, etc. etc. Then on to the plight of the suffering Iraqi people; he suggested that the "oil for food" program may be adjusted to account for the increased needs to be brought about by the war.

Still don't get it, do you, Kofi? We'll very soon be able to SCRAP the "oil for food" program entirely--along with the sanctions underlying it--and let the Iraqi people get on with their lives. Why are you not cheering this?

More from the beeb: their man in Jordan was just interviewing a very well-spoken Iraqi exile. Despite the BBC guy consistently trying to suggest the "right" answer--"how do you feel about the idea of bombs falling on your country?"--the Iraqi is holding firm; "this is a liberation we've been waiting for during these last 30 years. Yes, people will die, but they're being killed by this regime every day; and that will stop."

Slightly OT, and I'm sure we will have the answer in "hours, not days," but I'll pose it anyway: what, oh what, shall this operation be named?

Desert Storm II would be decidedly lame. Come to think of it, Operation Infinite Justice was a pretty weak too. Naming contest, anyone? I will begin with my nomination:

Operation Serious Consequences

Let's hear it, y'all ...

#13 Oh, and still OT: Puddlejumpin' Coastie petty officers find the Navy practice of addressing by rank (PO3: peee-ohhh-thureee) or rate (RM1: awrrr-emmm-wun) barbaric and favor rank/rate followed by last name if they don't know each other well enough to address each other by name alone.

And before anybody flames me for #35, I'm not only qualified subs, but a Cutterman too.

Mister - military usage.
Apparently varies according to branch of service. In my Army experience (enlisted) we only called Warrant Officers "Mister". Every other officer was to be addressed by their proper rank. As per officer to officer (Lt. to Lt.) ?????

Pliny pondered

Desert Storm II would be decidedly lame. Come to think of it, Operation Infinite Justice was a pretty weak too. Naming contest, anyone? I will begin with my nomination:

Operation Serious Consequences

Operation In our name

#34

what, oh what, shall this operation be named?

How about The War on Terror - Iraq campaign. Isn't that what this really is?

#39

Accurate, if not catchy

#38

I like ...

#26

How about Gustav Holst, "The Planets," first movement: Mars, bringer of war ?

I've been listening to it since Monday ...

Pliny nailed it.

Operation Serious Consequences

Oh, that is rich!

How about Operation Abd-ul-Mumit?

al-Mumit = Bringer of Death, one of the 99 names of Allah

Abd = Servant (of)

Or Operation Yomama So-Fatwah

It'll probably be called something like:
Operation Free Iraq
or
Operation Iraqi Freedom
or
Operation Disarm Iraq

But I'd prefer something like:

Operation #1441
or
Operation Scrap the UN
or
Operation France Next

Pliny: I think Bush should name it "Operation Commit Genocide Against the Iraqi People and Seize Their Oil Fields to Hand Over to my Zionist Paymasters". Just to completely freak out the loony left (& loony right!). "[sputter sputter] SEE?!! We TOLD you!!"

Short of that... I rather like the ironic humor of your suggestion, but my only objection is that it ties this too much to the UN inspections circus.

Operation Serious Consequences?

I love it!!!

In lieu of that, how about Operation Peace in Out Time?

Once the air tasking orders start getting carried out (about 5 or 6 pm EST) their will be new inspirations for the naming of this campaign.

I wish all the Best to US & UK Troops
MAY GOD BE BETWEEN THEM AND HARM

Pliny: I think Bush should name it "Operation Commit Genocide Against the Iraqi People and Seize Their Oil Fields to Hand Over to my Zionist Paymasters". Just to completely freak out the loony left (& loony right!). "[sputter sputter] SEE?!! We TOLD you!!"

OR - That's a classic!

#27 Mattan: You are living in the wrong decade:

Price of an aircraft carrier ... $4 Billion
Price of an F-16 fighter ... $31,000,000
Price of a tomahawk missile ... $1-1.4 Million
Seeing a US bombing the hell out of Sadam ... Priceless

Glad we have'em, glad that they don't.

Are you all just joking around.

I think they have already named it "Iraqi Freedom"

I do like "Serious Consquences"

How about Operation Warmongering Oil Whores To The Rescue!

I try to imagine what the idiot left will say when the WMD evidence is found, when the Iraqi's celebrate their freedom and when we DON'T take their oil. But I can't for the life of me. I figure they will just shut up and wait for the next opportunity to screach their hate of America and shout the same old tired slogans. Oh well. If they weren't so pathetic they would be amusing.

May God Protect Our Troops (all of the allies!)!

Operation "Holy Shit! What was that?!"

Only, of course, if we drop a MOAB.

Re Pliny's Naming contest for the Operation.

I suggested this in another thread :
[Link: www.littlegreenfootballs.com...]

My sugestions included:
Operation Swift Mercy
Operation Urgent Mercy

I like "France Next"

Perhaps THAT operation should be called "weasel Hunt"

The French Defence Plan is called:
"Sauve Qui Peut"

Congress is talking about a pay hike and extra benefits for our soldiers. Let’s give it to them.

Where will Congress get the extra cash?

1) No more funding of NEA. If the artists are any good they'll be able to make a buck in the free market.
2) Collect monetary fines from anti-war demonstrators who resort to vandalism and other criminal activities. Fines should start at $5,000 and up.
3) End all funding to Public radio and PBSTV. Their usefulness is over.
4) Higher taxes for those who vote Democrat. They don't mind higher taxes.
5) No federal funding to college departments that teach students that America is an oppressive country and needs to be taught a lesson.
6) A special tax on all tickets or sales of movies starring Susan Sarandon, S. Pen and their pals. They won't mind extra taxes. They’re Democrats.
7) Add a $50 surcharge (tax) for sales of tickets to Dixie Chicks.
8) $50,000 fine for burning the American flag. (OK, if not a fine, then call it a luxury tax.)
9) Increase tax for purchase of gas guzzlers. Sorry, SUV owners. Fair is fair.
10) 45% tariff on all French products!

God Bless our GI's!

I've been pushing "Serious Consequences" for three days now. I also like "Operation Four Day Weekend" and "Operation The Whacky Doctor Game."

#56

Ooh ooh, I like "Operation: The Whacky Doctor Game." It could be a testament to us Americans and our irredeemably frivolous, commercial, degenerate ways.

#6,15
Obviously it seems to depend on service. In the USAF, there were no warrant officers, but since there might be some from other branches around bases, we knew that they were to be addressed as Mr. x.

Otherwise, a senior officer might call a junior officer Mr. semi-formally.
NCO's were always sarge to almost everyone except "equals" or in formal situations. Also E-9 was always "chief". An E-9 could call just about anyone anything he wanted.

slightly OT

Back in 1985, while I was attending university, a friend of mine had me attend a meeting of Amnesty International with him. At the meeting we wrote "letters" to a couple of dictators to ask them to release some political prisoners which were being held in their prisons. The AI officials said that letter writing was a positive way to inform dictators that the world was "watching" them, and that sometimes letter campaigns actually produced results.

One of the dictators was Kim Il (senior) and the other was Saddam. Since then I have spent much time learning about him and his horrific regime and have waited, eagerly, for 18 years for his demise. It won't be much longer now.

z

Operation Deja Vu

On the naming contest--

Taking a page from Mark Steyn, how about:

Operation 'World's Longest Cock'

OK Pliny (mr I posted first so I got the best line lol) how about ?Operation North Korea

#59 ziphius; I signed some of those letters, too, back in my college and law school days, in the goofy belief that they would do some good. I think a good percentage of today's "peace" protesters still labor under that misapprehension. "If only Saddam would receive like two hundred more Urgent Action letters..."

Perhaps we can find a few names in Bush's speech -

Operation "An Oath I Will Keep"

Operation Sovereign Authority

Operation Shared Resolve

Operatioin Chosen Future

Operation Undeniable Realities

Operation Dying Regime

If none of these are acceptable, we could ask the nations Bush referred to when he said -

"These governments share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it."

Operation Drifting Along Toward Tragedy

I wish I could tell my old HS history/civics teacher that he's full o' shit right now.

Back in '81 I wanted to bomb Iran to punish them for the hostage fiasco. I thought that taking out their ports would be fun as soon as our people were out of their & escorted by f-14s. Even at 16 I knew the only thing these people will understand is an ass-kicking. He told me I was wrong. Joseph Powers you were full of shit!

God Bless Our Military People, those of Britain and Austalia and the innocent civilians in Iraq and elsewhere that are or will be involved in this war. Ah Sean#65, I do believe we are attacking Iraq, not Iran. I know there is only one letter difference between the two, but it was enough for a million and half people to be killed over in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).

#13 Oh, and still OT: Puddlejumpin' Coastie petty officers find the Navy practice of addressing by rank (PO3: peee-ohhh-thureee) or rate (RM1: awrrr-emmm-wun) barbaric and favor rank/rate followed by last name if they don't know each other well enough to address each other by name alone.

#35 (totally off, yet strangely on, topic)

As a former Coastguardsman, I feel I can say your analysis of USCG address is dead-on. For example, I'd refer to EM1 Nextcube as "Petty Officer Nextcube", EMC Nextcube as "Chief Nextcube", SN Nextcube as "Seaman Nextcube" (or just "Nextcube"), ENS Nextcube as "Mr. Nextcube" and ADM Nextcube as "Admiral". (As Richard Marcinko would say, "I was on a first-name basis with him - he called me Richard, and I called him Admiral.")

(And no, I never even made it close to being ADM Nextcube! :) )

I like operation names that offend Frawnce;

how about

Operation Veni, Vedi, Vici
(in remembrance of Caesar's famous words after crushing Gaul)

Operation Veto THIS!

Operation We Don't Need No Stinkin Resolution

or using the "Desert" form,

Desert Hammer

z

BTW our buddy Robert Fisk is put out that Baghdad is so calm. I have noticed a number of Fisk articles where he is bewildered when the Arabs don't act like he thinks they ought to. I think he really wishes he were Lawrence of Arabia. . . .

Operation "Whupass".

Operation "Step Aside Kofi"

Operation "Fallen Mustache"

Operation "Baathtime"

Operation "MOAB Test"

Operation "Draining the Quagmire"

Operation "Desert Endgame"

Operation "#9 Boot to the Ass"

Operation "Where's all your big talk now?"

Operation "Noam Chomsky is an asshole."

Operation "Ayatollah Precursor"

Re: #69

Actually, I think that was suprisingly tame, a few poisonous bites like "supposedly moral war" notwithstanding. Especially in comparison to his OBL fellatio...

Yehudit:

I just realized your post is #69! How enticing... ;-)

Okay, my last suggestion:

Operation oderint dum metuant.

Operation "Pimp-slap" seems more appropriate....especially as it addresses that double-dealin' ho', Chirac.

#69

Is it just me, or does Fisk look sorta like a younger Chomsky? First time I've seen his picture, iirc.

I win!!!