Go USC!

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Soldiers with the 92nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Group, 3rd Infantry Division pose in their new college football jerseys. More than 40 jerseys were donated by Division 1-A schools to the Captain Scott Corwin Memorial Fund, which uses all donations to benefit Soldiers of the 92nd Eng. Pic: SGT Andrew Miller

SPC Joe Villines, Des Moines, Iowa native, currently in Mosul conducts a preventative maintenance check on a humvee engine. (Actually, he is in a "staredown" with the engine that has been giving him a difficult time.)

P.S. Just don't let the Air Force guys put MOGAS in it!!!

MAJ James Street, Des Moines, Iowa native, currently in Mosul (missing the snow storm back home) with a group of Iraqi children in front of a new buidling. Pic: Unknown - folks, please send me your name and not just your unit! And what is that unknown "new" bldg? McDonalds?

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Ross Casey, 2nd from left, helps students move a box of school supplies into a school in Kharma. Casey is with the 6th Civil Affairs Group. Pic: Lance Cpl. Matthew Hutchison, U.S. Marine Corps

Hey You!

PFC Brock Schild shovels hay during a search for weapons caches in Shumait Village. Schild is with 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky. Pic: Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force

Memorial Service at FOB Courage, Iraq, for PFC Christopher Alcozer, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment and MSG Anthony Yost, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd SFG (A) ODA 381. Both were killed in action during operations in Mosul. Pic: SPC Timothy J. Tamburello

Soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, C Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, control the crowd of Iraqi civilians eager to receive medical aid at Al Hadba Girls School, Mosul. Pic: SGT L. Campbell

A Soldier from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Brigade Support Medical Company, hands an Iraqi citizen dental hygiene products during a medical screening in Mosul. Pic: SGT L. Campbell

U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. Paul J. Roarke examines a stockpile of 37mm anti-aircraft artillery mortars tucked into the side of a ridgeline at Al Asad Air Base. Roarke, the ordnance chief with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2, stumbled upon the weapons cache while walking around the base. Pic: Capt. Howard G. Mariott, U.S. Marine Corps

U.S. Army Soldiers fire their weapons at a firing range near Hechel. The Soldiers are from the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky. Pic: Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force.

PFC Bryan Posson applies topical medication to an Iraqi army soldier's heel prior to a joint foot patrol in Heche. Posson is a medic for the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell, Ky. Pic: Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force

Taji Checkpoint

Iraqi army soldiers move Hesco baskets into position in an effort to bolster fortifications around the perimeter of a checkpoint in Taji. Pic: Charles W. Gill

Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey traveled to Iraq to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his Soldiers. Here he talks with a group of officers from Task Force Baghdad during breakfast at the Rock of the Marne Sports Oasis Nov. 24. Harvey discussed the progress the Army is making in Iraq and told the officers "...thank you for what you do and have a happy Thanksgiving." Pic: SGT Andrew Miller

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq -- Gen. George Casey, commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, chats with Sgt. Terral Lassiter, Headquarters and Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion, during the evening Thanksgiving meal at the Rock of the Marne Sports Oasis Dining Facility. Casey, the Army’s top general in Iraq, joined the Soldiers in Baghdad as they feasted on turkey, ham, prime rib and all the trimmings. Pic: Andrew Miller

Gen. George Casey, commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq, talks with Task Force Baghdad Soldiers during the evening Thanksgiving meal at the Rock of the Marne Sports Oasis Dining Facility. Casey, the Army’s top general in Iraq, joined the Soldiers in Baghdad as they feasted on turkey, ham, prime rib and all the trimmings. Pic: Andrew Miller

Italian Government Present New Cultural Center

Troops from Italy participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom literally made their mark on the southeastern city of Nasiriyah.The capital of the governate of Dhi Qar, Nasiriyah has long been famous for its museum which collects Abbasid, Assyrian, Babylonian and Sumerian artifacts. Now the city, which lies alongside the Euphrates River, has a new landmark. General Pietro Costantino, commanding officer of the Italian Task Force in Iraq, laid down the first stone of a cultural center that the Italian government has presented to the region's citizens.

French Navy Takes Over TF 150

Task Force 150 is under the direction of the Combined Maritime Forces Component Commander (CFMCC). It operates in support of the OEF in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, and is responsible for Maritime Security Operations (MSO), such as Counter the illegal movements of terrorists, weaponry and supporting materials in International waters; and Prevent International terrorist organizations from executing terrorist attacks against key maritime interests in the region.
SOURCE: Cdr. Bruno Kral,Conseiller Marine Detachment, Francais USCENTCOM

CPT Ronald Leach, center, U.S. Army, examines a local child with the help of SGT Georgina Kirkland, left, during a community health outreach program services mission conducted in Al Qudria. Soldiers of the 550th Area Support Medical Company and the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team are bringing medical treatment to residents of Al Qudria. Pic: Charles W. Gill

The tide is turning our way

MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The tide is turning our way.

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(MONTE CARLO, MONACO, November 22, 2005) -- Congressman John Murtha and his fellow Democrats are demanding we pull our forces out of Iraq before the job of getting Iraqis ready to defend themselves is done. They argue the U.S. mission in the Middle East has failed and is turning the region against us. They have it exactly backwards. Despite a long, hard year, we have much to be thankful for in the Middle East and if we stay the course now, we will be out soon.

Millions of Iraqis, for example, have showed their defiance of the insurgents by risking their lives to vote for pro-democracy leaders and by approving their new democratic constitution, by a margin of 78% to 21%. On December 15, millions more will bravely show up at the polls to vote for a constitutional government despite the jihadists doing
everything within their power to stop the elections from occurring.

What's more, the sheer evil of the insurgency is motivating tens of thousands of Iraqi men to sign up to serve in their country's military and police forces and to train with -- rather than against -- U.S., NATO, Jordanian and other coalition forces. Why? They desperately want to defend their families, friends, neighbors and villages from the
jihadists and give their children hope for a better life.

Indeed, when it comes to recruiting for the Iraqi military, U.S. Colonel Peter Mansoor, former commander of the First Brigade of the First Armored Division in Iraq from 2003 to 2005 notes, "We don't have to convince Iraqis to show up...they show up in droves."

Consider, too, what has just happened in Jordan. I have been in the Middle East since November 7th and have had the opportunity to express my condolences to a number of Jordanians -- including the former Prime Minister and a leading evangelical pastor from Amman -- over the worst terror attacks in their country's history. What has struck me from is how differently they and their countrymen are reacting to the recent
Al-Qaeda-sponsored bombings compared to, say, the Spanish.

Jordanians are angry -- furious, to be more precise -- and they should be. But the primary target of their ire is not their own government or ours. They aren't trying to overthrow their King or drive all U.S. forces, advisors and contractors out of the Hashemine Kingdom. Instead, they are furious at the Al-Qaeda leadership for targeting innocent Arab Muslims, and a new public opinion poll shows how sharply sentiment has
turned against the radical Islamic jihadists.

"Almost two thirds of Jordanians have changed their views of al Qaeda for the worse following suicide bombings against Amman hotels that killed more than 50 people last week," finds a poll just published by Reuters. "The poll of 1,014 people published by independent Al Ghad newspaper also said 87.1 percent of respondents considered al Qaeda a
'terrorist organisation' and that 86.4 percent said the group's attacks did not represent Islam. The poll by survey firm Ipsos did not provide a comparative figure, but in the past surveys had showed that al Qaeda enjoyed high approval ratings in Jordan....Asked if last week's attacks had changed their view of al Qaeda, 64 percent of respondents said it
had changed for the worse while 2.1 percent said it had changed for the better. 31.9 percent said they had not changed their views."

Even the family of terrorist leader Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, who live in Jordan where al-Zarqawi himself was born and raised, denounced him and his barbaric activities in no uncertain terms. "A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear," said a statement by 57 members of al-Zarqawi's family, including his brother and cousin. "We sever links
with him until doomsday."

This is an extraordinarily important development, and speaks to a larger trend throughout the Muslim world. As Al-Qaeda and its allies kill, maim and wound innocent Arab Muslims and Christians in Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey and elsewhere, the jihadists are losing the battle for public opinion in the region and mobilizing moderate populations and moderate Islamic regimes to side more clearly with the U.S. and to fight radical Islam with even more vigor. Indeed, Zarqawi felt so much pressure from the Jordanian people that he finally felt compelled to issue a statement insisting that he wasn't trying to target Muslims.

In Lebanon, the Syrian-directed assassination of the country's former moderate Prime Minister Rafik Hariri triggered a massive Lebanese backlash against Syria's terror regime, forcing Damascus to withdraw its forces amidst international condemnation, even from the French. Yesterday, Lebanon celebrated its first Independence Day in more than
three decades without foreign troops on its soil.

The War on Radical Islam in the Middle East has not been easy, and it is not yet done. We have suffered real casualties and American families who have lost loved ones are suffering real grief this holiday season. But we have much to be thankful for.

Why then are Congressman Murtha and his colleagues so eager to give up and call our mission a failure when the tide is finally turning our way?

SPC Jonathan Terrian guards three Iraqi men while their vehicle is searched by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint on Route Cherry. Terrain is attached to the 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Ky. Pic: Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force

U.S. Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 2 Timothy Callahan explains to a visiting group of U.S. congressmen how Marines protect themselves from improvised explosive devices in Fallujah. Callahan is the company commander of 8th Engineer Support Battalion, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. Pic: Lance Cpl. Brian A. Jaques, U.S. Marine Corps.

U.S. and Iraqi officials pose for pictures after the official transfer of authority of Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit from U.S. forces to the Iraqi government. Once one of Saddam Hussein's palaces, the compound will house Iraq's Ministry of Finance. Pic: SSG Alfred Johnson.

Iraqi sheiks stand and U.S. Army Soldiers salute as the Iraqi flag is raised and the Iraqi national anthem is played at the key exchange and flag-raising ceremony at Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit. The base, once a palace belonging to Saddam Hussein, will house Iraq's Ministry of Finance. Pic: SPC Danielle Howard,

The Deputy Governor of the Salah ad Din province raises the Iraqi flag at the former Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit signifying the formal transfer of authority from U.S. forces to the Iraqi government. The base, once a palace belonging to Saddam Hussein, will house Iraq's Ministry of Finance. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Alfred Johnson, U.S. Army. Pic: SSG ALFRED JOHNSON

Legacy Media Bias - Proof

Anatomy of a Photograph - An analysis of a single seemingly innocuous photograph, and the pervasive media bias it reveals.

A recent anti-war protest in San Francisco was not the only report done about the event. A few other outlets ran their own coverage. But the one photo from the rally that was seen by the most people was this:

By chance, I took a photo of the same girl just a few moments later. Looks practically identical, doesn't it?

But you might notice that my picture is lower resolution. That's because it's a zoomed-in portion of a much larger photograph. I cropped off the other parts of the picture to get a close-up of the girl.

But what would happen if I hadn't cropped off so much? Let's take a step backward and reveal what the San Francisco Chronicle didn't want you the "average moron" to see.

Here's the same photo without as much cropping, revealing more of the context. You can see that the girl's protest contingent also sported Palestinian flags and obscene placards.

Now let's take another step back.

Here's my full original photo, uncropped. Now we can see that the teenage girl is just one of several teenagers, all wearing terrorist-style bandannas covering their faces.

But, as you'll notice, the bandannas are all printed with the same design. Was this a grassroots protest statement the teenagers had come up with all by themselves?

To find out, let's take a look at another photo in the series, taken at the same time:

Oops -- it looks like they're actually being stage-managed by an adult, who is giving them directions and guiding them toward the front of the march. But who is she?

It turns out that the woman giving directions belongs to one of the Communist groups organizing the rally -- if her t-shirt is to be believed, since it depicts the flag of Communist Vietnam, which has been frequently displayed by such groups at protest rallies in the U.S. for decades.


The San Francisco Chronicle featured the original photograph on its front page in order to convey a positive message about the rally -- perhaps that even politically aware teenagers were inspired to show up and rally for peace, sporting the message, "People of Color say 'No to War!'" And that served the Chronicle's agenda.

But this simple analysis reveals the very subtle but insidious type of bias that occurs in the media all the time. The Chronicle did not print an inaccuracy, nor did it doctor a photograph to misrepresent the facts. Instead, the Chronicle committed the sin of omission: it told you the truth, but it didn't tell you the whole truth.

Because the whole truth -- that the girl was part of a group of naive teenagers recruited by Communist activists to wear terrorist-style bandannas and carry Palestinian flags and obscene placards -- is disturbing, and doesn't conform to the narrative that the Chronicle is trying to promote. By presenting the photo out of context, and only showing the one image that suits its purpose, the Chronicle is intentionally manipulating the reader's impression of the rally, and the rally's intent.

Such tactics -- in the no-man's-land between ethical and unethical -- are commonplace in the media, and have been for decades. It is only now, with the advent of citizen journalism, that we can at last begin to see the whole story and realize that YOU - the public has been manipulated like this all along.

SPC Felipe Rodriguez, 1-9 FA, medic, takes a Baghdad resident's vital signs at a Baghdad school during a MEDCAP operation. Pic: SPC Ben Brody

SPC Evan Perkins, 1-9 FA, medic, takes a Baghdad resident's vital signs at a Baghdad school during a MEDCAP operation. Pic: SPC Ben Brody

Local residents await medical treatment Baghdad school during a MEDCAP operation conducted by 1-9 FA Pic: SPC Ben Brody

CPT Scott Baumgartner, 1-9 FA, physician's assistant, examines a Baghdad resident's injured leg during a MEDCAP operation. Pic: SPC Ben Brody

SGT Jhonatan Enciso demonstrates proper hand placement on an AK-47 assault rifle for an Iraqi soldier during training at Forward Operations Base McHenry. Enciso is with 327th Mortars Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. Pic: Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway, U.S. Air Force

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, carries a can of paint to cover grafitti in Horjaeb. The Soldiers partnered with American troops to paint over grafitti. Pic: SPC Dan Balda

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, gives a young boy a soccer ball in Horjaeb. The Soldiers partnered with American troops to paint over grafitti and hand out goodies.

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, paints over grafitti in Horjaeb. The Soldiers partnered with American troops to paint over grafitti and hand out goodies. Pic: SPC Dan Balda

Polish army Lt. Col. Janusz Ogrodnik, left, observes as Iraqi army Maj. Majed Fezak Cuky, right, chief of staff of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, performs a security check in Sara Badi. The Polish Division Military Transition Team is assessing the 3rd Brigade to certify that it can conduct proper military operations. Pic: Senior Airman Patrick J. Dixon, U.S. Air Force

U.S. Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment search a hut for hidden weapons in Saqlawiyah. The 2nd Marine Division conducts counterinsurgency operations to facilitate the creation of a secure environment that enables Iraqi self-reliance and self-governance. Pic: Cpl. Robert R. Attebury, U.S. Marine Corps

HUSAYBAH, Iraq - A Marine military policeman with his working dog named "Rocky" watch over the streets of Karabilah while the Marines of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines clear houses during Operation Steel Curtain. The intent of Operation Steel Curtain is to restore Iraqi sovereign control along the Iraq-Syria border and destroy the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating throughout the Al Qa�im region. The towns of Husaybah and Karabilah were cleared earlier in the operation which began Nov. 5. and permanent Iraqi-U.S. presence has been established. Pic: Cpl. Neill A. Sevelius
 

KARABILAH, Iraq - Iraqi Army soldier relaxes after locating a weapons cache in a school that had been occupied by insurgent forces. The Al-Marwah Elementary for Girls established in 1999 and Fath Al-Futuh High School established in 1989 has been closed since the insurgent forces occupied the city. The intent of Operation Steel Curtain is to restore Iraqi sovereign control along the Iraq-Syria border and destroy the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating throughout the Al Qa�im region. The towns of Husaybah and Karabilah were cleared earlier in the operation and permanent Iraqi-U.S. presence has been established. Pic: Staff Sgt Jason D. Becksted
 

Marines from Lima Co., 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, catch a nap in the hours before joining more than 2,000 fellow Marines and 1,000 Iraqi Army Soldiers for Operation Steel Curtain in Husayba.
 

Marines from Lima Co., 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, provide security while members of their platoon search and clear a building during Operation Steel Curtain in Husayba

 

Marines from Lima Co., 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, prepare to search and clear a house in the Iraq-Syria border town of Husayba.
 

Lance Cpl. Kyle Stewart, a rifleman with Lima Co., 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, provides security from a rooftop in Husayba.