This sounds familiar

For my birthday, my GF got me a book reprinting the New York Time from April 14, 1971.

I get a kick out of reading those old new stories, flipping through the classifieds, and looking at old Gimbel's ads.

This story struck me as oddly familiar, however:

South Vietnam's Police Force Gaining in Size and Status as U. S. Increases Aid

Saigon, South Vietnam, April 13 -- The South Vietnamese national police force is quickly expanding in size and influence here, largely because of increased American financial support and an organizational change that moved the police command to the highest levels of the Government.

The South Vietnamese police have long been rated as one of the weakest forces in the pacification program. Corruption among the police is considered to be widespread, and morale, because of low wages, is not good.

An independent report submitted to President Nixon last year cited South Vietnamese police ineffectiveness as a threat to the long-range stability of the Saigon Government.

United States officials continually stress that the national police must play a vital role in the program designed to track down and kill or capture Vietcong political officials. As the Americans leave, the American officials say, more and more of the security programs will fall to the police and they are are being equipped with highly advanced technical devices with which they will attempt to track down Vietcong agents.

Increase in Funds

American funds funneled into the national police through the military-civilian advisory agency known as CORDS have been increase this year by more than 25 per cent -- from $20.9 -million in 1970 to $27.3-million.

...

Among the less-controversial programs of the national police is the identification once, introduced late in 1968 with American help. All South Vietnamese who reach the age of 15 are required to carry plastic identification cards, which are consider by American advisers to be part of the "most fool-proof classification system yet developed."

According to one high-ranking public safety adviser, more than 18,000 South Vietnamese are employed in the computerized classification program which is based on Federal Bureau of Investigation techniques.

The South Vietnamese police also carefully control the movement of people and resources throughout the country. Hundreds of police check points are set up on the main arteries of the countryside and on city streets.

The checkpoints, some of which are permanent, while other are mobile, annoy most Vietnamese. But as one public safety adviser said, "We are well aware that the Vietnamese dislike being checked so much, but we are still fighting a war here."

The major problem for the national police, aside from public criticism and enemy activities, is corruption.

The policeman's basic monthly salary is not enough to allow him to live without working at another job or taking bribes. A policeman without a family earned the equivalent of $12 a month in real buying power; a policeman with a family of four earns $18.

The portion of the article I excised for space focused on the grow in the police force and its role beyond urban areas

Obviously Iraq is not Vietnam. The situations in both places are much more complicated than that. But there are fascinating parallels between policy challenges the Johnson/Nixon and Bush administrations faced in both places.

Bush Appoints War Czar

In the newly created position, Lute would serve as an assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser, and would also maintain his military status and rank as a three-star general.

The White House has avoided the term "war czar" to describe the position. Bush called Lute the "full-time manager" for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

...

The White House has sought a war coordinator to eliminate conflicts among the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies. Lute will seek to cut through bureaucracy and deliver fast responses when requests come in from U.S. military commanders and ambassadors.

...more

It's great that the administration though about this. If only the founding fathers had thought to enshrine such a position in the Constitution -- someone with the authority to execute a military operation, manage the federal beuracracy, and who would ultimately be accountable for it and accountable to the American people.

Perhaps some sort of Commander-in-Chief...

A Great New Apple Product

This is a great sketch that actually builds over its 4:16 length. Some of the jokes may be predictable but it's worth watching to the end.

This clip is apparently from MadTV

Court Martial at Fort Lewis

Court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada



The charges:

Missing a June troop movement to Iraq; maximum sentence two years in prison

Conduct unbecoming an officer; two counts, each carrying a maximum penalty of one year in prison.

• One count results from statements Watada made at a June 7 Tacoma press conference, when he said, in part, the war was a "horrible breach of American law," and that his participation in the "wholesale slaughter and mistreatment of Iraqis" would make him a party to war crimes.

• The other count results from an Aug. 12 speech Watada gave at Seattle convention of Veterans for Peace, when he said, in part, "We must show open-minded solders a choice, and we must give them the courage to act. ... I tell this to you because you must know that to stop this war, for the soldiers to stop fighting it, they must have the unconditional support of the people. ... Never again will we allow those who threaten our way of life to reign free — be they terrorists or elected officials."

This interesting story has been unfolding in the Northwest over the past several months.

Lt. Watada refused deployment to Iraq because he is conviced the war is illegal. And he has spoken out against it.

Previous articles I read cited Watada personal history of deeply considering his beliefs. And once he belives in something he stand up for it.

Now, throwing in a voluntary committment to military service makes the issue more complex. Part of the question becomes doyou obey an order that you truely believe to be illegal and immoral? That will be a major part of his defence, I'm sure.

Some anti-Watada protestors have called him a coward for refusing the Iraq deployment. That accusation is misplaced, though.

Watada volunteered for service in Afghanistan - a place just as dangerous. He was perfectly willing to go there instead of Iraq. It wasn't a question of avoiding combat - he simply did not want to take part in what he saw as an illegal conflict.

Secondly, Watada is going through his Court Martial. He didn't try to hide. The military didn't have to hunt him down and capture him. He is standing up for his beliefs when he easily could have fled.

Civil disobediance isn't about breaking the law and not being punished. It's about breaking the law (because someone feels it's the right thing to do) and accepting the consequences

Watada may be many things. But a coward isn't one of them.

I'm not sure what the ultimate outcome of the Court Martial will be. I'm not even sure what I think it should be. But it will be a fascinating story over the coming months.

A Nice Use of PowerPoint

This is presentation put together by an Army Captain in Iraq. He was recently killed in action.

This presentation (here in PDF format) gives his strategy for winning the war. And maybe it's not such a bad idea.

Here's the story.

Captain Travis Patriquin points out the fundamental flaws of US policy in the country, and offers a solution.

Among the most glaring US flaws -- a serious lack of facial hair.

Army fight donkeys in Iraq. No, not Democrats -- Actual donkeys

Arms-bearing donkeys intercepted

Iraqi security forces intercepted six donkeys carrying 53 anti-tank mines and an anti-tank rocket near the Iranian border in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The action took place in eastern Diyala province about 3 miles from the border, where the Iraqi forces had been patrolling, the U.S. military said.

Two men in the area ran away before they could be captured, and the donkeys were later let go after a coalition forces explosive experts team safety detonated the weapons.

So the Iraqui Security Forces, to whom we hope to entrust the security of Iraq if the US pulls out, can't catch donkey handlers.

So coalition forces released the donkeys after detonating the explosives. Either those were mild expolosives or pretty tough donkeys.

Pro-War Interpretation: We are clearly winning the war in Iraq. We've reduced them to fighting with donkeys.

Anti-War Intrepretation: It's time for a new approach. We're losing Americans lives everyday to people who are fighting us with donkeys.