New post at Michael Yon : Online Magazine – Why We Write.
Michael tells about helicopters, the pilots and why he can’t publish his best photos of them.
As a former helicopter pilot, reading this article got the old juices flowing, almost wishing I could be back in it. Almost. However, I’m OK with my job of contributing to the technology that helps these great men and women win wars. That, in itself, is my satisfaction.
Thanks to K. J. Lopez in The Corner on National Review Online:
The sentencing Judge to Moussaoui:
“Mr. Moussaoui, when this proceeding is over, everyone else in this room will leave to see the sun … hear the birds … and they can associate with whomever they want,” she said.
Mugshot Mugshots.com
She went on: “You will spend the rest of your life in a supermax prison. It’s absolutely clear who won.”
And she said it was proper he will be kept away from outsiders, unable to speak publicly again.
“Mr. Moussaoui, you came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory,” she said, “but to paraphrase the poet T.S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper.”
At that point, Moussaoui tried again to interrupt her, but she raised her voice and spoke over him.
“You will never get a chance to speak again and that’s an appropriate ending.”
Brinkema sentenced Moussaoui to six life terms without the chance of parole.
She informed him of his right to appeal the sentence and said she would ask his court-appointed lawyers to file the required notice as a precaution before relieving them from the case. “I believe it would be an act of futility,” she said of an appeal, “but you do have a right.”
This post tracks back to Captain Ed’s sign-up page for the 101st Fighting Keyboardists. We tried signing in through the TypePad thingy, but after a dozen times of trying to log in, I gave up being told that my sign-in attempt failed over and over. I even got the password mailed to me and still no soap. Oh well.
At any rate, we would like to join the brigade when things settle down — it’s been very well received over the past few days, and Captain Ed must be overwhelmed. I understand since I had to give up trying to keep track of all the sites displaying our Never Forget Tribute graphic.
You can see the sign-up page at Captain’s Quarters.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) released information on their website regarding the recent video from terrorist Abu-Mus’ab al-Zarqawi and his mob. The CENTCOM article points out a number of key assumptions that can be made from this new video, including the desperation of the terrorists in their losing cause in Iraq.
Image: Abu-Mus’ab al-Zarqawi rants in terrorist propaganda video.
From CENTCOM:
On 25 April, The Global News Network posted a statement issued by The Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq [Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin fial-Iraq] announcing a new message from Abu-Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, leader of the Al-Qa’ida Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers (I.E. Iraq), and provided links to a 34-minute 4-second video statement titled, “This is a Declaration to the People.” In it, al-Zarqawi rages against the democratically-elected Iraqi government, encouraging Iraqis and foreign fighters to wage war within the country.
[read more from CENTCOM]
In view of this nonsense and the rantings the other day from Usama bin-Laden, my observation is that terrorists rant and lie in their political infomercials almost as much as Democrats!
First, read Sgt Hook’s No Tears in Heaven
The four Soldiers sat around an olive drab painted footlocker playing cards. Actually, the group was comprised of three Soldiers and one Marine, all wearing desert camouflage uniforms, their blouses removed exposing brown t-shirts, not because they were hot, rather it was just more comfortable to have them off.
[more]
Then watch this moving video he put together. Very well done and touching. Thank you Sgt. Hook.
Michael Yon has inaugurated a new feature on his weblog to enhance coverage of the War on Terror – FRONT LINE FORUM.
Greetings,
Today we open a new frontier. My site gets much traffic and exposure, making this an excellent venue for our people in harm’s way to tell their stories. Please click here http://flf.michaelyon-online.com/ for our first story from a soldier in Iraq. The story is well written and complete with photos.
If you know someone at war who would like to submit a story to FLF, many people are waiting to read it. Photographs are encouraged.
Please spread the word about the Frontline Forum–there are graphic links and related resources in the Press Room off the FLF main page.
Respectfully,
Michael Yon
(Clarification: Many people have assumed I am in Iraq. I am in Afghanistan. My first dispatch from Afghanistan will be published in about two days.)
Michael Yon
UPDATE: The first article in the new forum is a hit! A home run actually! Blogger TF Boggs submitted an excellent story about some Iraqi kids and families.
Critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom often allege that little or no progress has been made since the invasion. The Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld, has written an excellent article about our progress and addresses critics’ allegations.
From CENTCOM:
What We’ve Gained In Three Years In Iraq
By Donald H. Rumsfeld
Some have described the situation in Iraq as a tightening noose, noting that “time is not on our side” and that “morale is down.” Others have described a “very dangerous” turn of events and are “extremely concerned.”
Photo by Capt. Joe Vanty, 138th MPAD, US Army Reserve – Young children watch as U.S. Soldiers from Alaska’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team pass by.
Who are they that have expressed these concerns? In fact, these are the exact words of terrorists discussing Iraq — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his associates — who are describing their own situation and must be watching with fear the progress that Iraq has made over the past three years.
The terrorists seem to recognize that they are losing in Iraq. I believe that history will show that to be the case.
Fortunately, history is not made up of daily headlines, blogs on Web sites or the latest sensational attack. History is a bigger picture, and it takes some time and perspective to measure accurately.
Consider that in three years Iraq has gone from enduring a brutal dictatorship to electing a provisional government to ratifying a new constitution written by Iraqis to electing a permanent government last December. In each of these elections, the number of voters participating has increased significantly — from 8.5 million in the January 2005 election to nearly 12 million in the December election — in defiance of terrorists’ threats and attacks.