Military Historian Weighs In

Military historian General Barry McCaffrey (Ret.) presented the Donald J. Sutherland University Lecture in the Liberal Arts, "Iraq, Foreign Policy and the 2008 Elections," on April 22, 2008.

Sadr Sadder

Iraqi and US military ignore Muqtada al Sadr's threat to conduct a third uprising. US troops killed 15 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad yesterday and have killed 56 fighters since Sadr issued his threat last weekend. General Mohan al Freiji, the chief of the Basrah Operational Commander and leader of the security operation in the province, has issued warrants "for 81 people," The Associated Press reported.

Iraqi forces seized a cache containing more than (1000) mortar rounds of different calibers, explosive equipment, and improvised explosive devices.

Twenty-seven Mahdi Army fighters were killed during clashes in Sadr City and Baghdad on April 20. US troops killed five Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr City and another seven fighters in New Baghdad on April 21. US soldiers killed another fifteen Mahdi Army fighters inside Sadr City on April 22.

Sadrist politicians appear to be working to disband the Mahdi Army and conduct negotiations with the US to end the fighting.

The assassination of Riyad al Nouri, Sadr's brother-in-law and a senior aide in Najaf, continues to spark reports that his death was carried out from within the Sadrist movement. Nouri was pushing for the Sadrist movement to disband the Mahdi Army and US military officers believe he was killed because of his views.

تجاهل عراقية و [أوس] جيش [موقتدا] [أل] [سدر] تهديد أن يوصل ثورة ثالثة. [أوس] قتل قوّات 15 مهدي جيش مقاتل في بغداد بالأمس ويقتل 56 مقاتل بما أنّ [سدر] أصدر تهديده نهاية أسبوع متأخّر. جنرال [موهن] قد أصدر [أل] [فريجي], الرئيس من [بسره] قائد عمليّاتيّة وزعيمة من الأمن عملية في المحافظة, أميات "ل 81 الناس," الصحافة موحّدة يفاد.

على قبض قوّات [إيرقي] مخبأ يحتوي أكثر من (1000) مدفع هاون دورات من العيار مختلفة, تجهيز مادّة متفجّرة, و [إيمبروفيز] أدوات مادّة متفجّرة.

[تونت-سفن] مهدي جيش قتلت مقاتل كان أثناء صدامات في [سدر] مدينة وبغداد في أبريل - نيسان 20. [أوس] قتل قوّات خمسة مهدي جيش مقاتل في [سدر] مدينة وآخر سبعة مقاتل في بغداد جديد في أبريل - نيسان 21. [أوس] قتل جنديات آخر خمسة عشر مهدي جيش مقاتل في [سدر] مدينة في أبريل - نيسان 22.

[سدريست] يظهر سياسيات أن يكون عملت أن يحلّ مهدي جيش وأوصلت مفاوضة مع ال [أوس] أن ينهي ال يتنازع.

يستمرّ الإغتيال من [ريد] [أل] [نووري], [سدر] الصهر ومساعد كبريات في [نجف], أن ينشّط تقرير أنّ موته كان وفيت من ضمن [سدريست] حركة. دفع [نووري] كان ل [سدريست] حركة أن يحلّ مهدي جيش و [أوس] ضابطات عسكريّ يصدقون هو كان قتلت بسبب منظره.

Students Want Gaming

Students Want More Use of Gaming Technology in Schools
Results from annual survey reveal disconnect between students', adults' views on technology in schools
By News Report

Project Tomorrow's fifth annual Speak Up Survey -- which addresses the attitudes and opinions of K-12 students, teachers, parents and school administrators toward the use of technology in education -- reveals this year that online or electronic gaming is one of the technologies that students use most frequently, and that educational gaming is one of the emerging technologies that students would most like to see implemented in their schools. Yet, only one in 10 teachers has adopted gaming as an instructional tool.

Project Tomorrow collected the data through online surveys conducted last fall and verified the results through a series of focus groups and interviews with representative groups of students, educators and parents.

During the past four years of the survey, the technology that students most wanted to see in their classrooms was a personal laptop for each student. For the first time this year, laptops for students also topped the list of teachers' and school leaders' most desired technologies.

However, this year's survey also reports that gaming is now listed by students as a classroom must-have.

In fact, 64 percent of students in grades K-12 say they play online or electronic-based games regularly. On average across all grade levels, students are playing electronic games about eight to 10 hours a week. More than 50 percent of students in grades three through 12 would like to see more educational gaming in their schools -- yet only 19 percent of parents and 15 percent of administrators favor the idea.

"What was really interesting to see in this year's survey is how the pervasiveness of gaming has really taken a stronghold," said Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow's chief executive. "Students are really articulating their interest in gaming, as well as the many benefits educational gaming can provide, such as helping them to learn difficult math concepts. Even the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recognizes the huge potential for gaming technologies (in education)."

Just over half of the students surveyed (51 percent) said they're interested in educational gaming because games make it easier to understand difficult concepts. Fifty percent said gaming would make them more engaged in the subject, 46 percent said they would learn more about the subject, and 44 percent said it would be more interesting to use gaming when practicing math and science problems.

Yet, while more than 50 percent of teachers said they would be interested in learning more about integrating gaming technologies into their teaching and 46 percent would be interested in professional development on this topic, only 11 percent said they are currently incorporating some gaming into their instruction.

What's more, there seems to be a disconnect between what students want from their own education and what the adults in charge think is best.

According to the survey, students' frustration with school filters and firewalls has grown since 2003, with 45 percent of middle and high school students now saying that these tools designed to protect them inhibit their learning. And 40 percent of students in grades six through 12 cite their teacher as an obstacle to their use of technology in school.

As one high school student in a recent focus group told Project Tomorrow, his vision for the ultimate school is one where the teachers and the principal actively seek and regularly include the ideas of students in discussions and planning for all aspects of education -- not just technology.

"This is our future, after all," said the student. "Our ideas should count, too."

Cf. Converge

Clinton Takes PA, No Thanks to the Young

The lowest percentage of voting age blocs, 12% are voters 18-29 years old; the next lowest percentage, 19%, derives from 30-44 year olds; 37% of the 45-59 year old contingent votes; and, 32% of those 60+ years or older voted. Clinton was elected by older, female, working-class, and Catholic voters, all of whom have made up Clinton's base so far.

Daily Round-Up

US and Iraqi forces killed 27 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad and captured 40 in Nasariyah as Sadr threatens to withdraw the cease-fire. Coalition forces killed four al Qaeda operatives north of Baqubah and captured 22 suspects in northern Iraq.

Daily Round-Up Iraq & Afghanistan

Graphic source: Khaldoon Zubeir/Getty Images

Iraqi forces cleared out the Hayaniya neighborhood of Basra with little resistance on Saturday. By evening, with Coalition assistance, Basra calmed.

Iraqi soldiers took control of the last bastions of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr’s militia in Basra on Saturday, and Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad strongly endorsed the Iraqi government’s monthlong military operation against the fighters. An Afghan child was killed and two others injured during an insurgent rocket attack near an army base in eastern Kunar province. Afghan soldiers killed four Taliban in Kandahar after thwarting an ambush against their convoy in the Panjwai district.

أخذ جنديات [إيرقي] تحكّم من الحصن متأخّرة من الرجل دين [موكتدا] [أل-سدر] ميليشيا في البصرة في يوم السّبت, وإيران سفيرة إلى بغداد بقوّة ظهر ال [إيرقي] حكومة [مونثلونغ] عملية عسكريّة ضدّ المقاتلات. قتلت طفلة [أفغن] كان واثنان أخرى يجرح أثناء صاروخ متمرّد يهاجم قرب [أرمي بس] في شرفيّة [كونر] محافظة. قتل جنديات [أفغن] أربعة [تليبن] في [كندهر] بعد يثبت كم ضدّ قافلتهم في [بنجوي] من.

Daily Run-Down

Iraqi troops captured 35 "wanted men" during sweeps in Basrah. Iraqi troops have surrounded a Sadrist office in Basrah. Border troops prevented 164 German and Italian-made mines from being smuggled into the country from Iran. US troops captured a Special Groups cell leader in Baghdad's Rashid district. Coalition forces detained 12 al Qaeda operatives during raids near Samarra, Baghdad, and Mosul.

Sadr Bluster Fails

I am going to say the Iraqi move against Sadr was about time. Today, the Iraqi Army, with Coalition advice, moved into the Hayaniyah District in Basra. Although it is too early to tell, this may be the last major military move in Iraq. The way is not easy but the corner on military offensives has certainly been turned now.

Sadr Retreats, al-Maliki Advances

I am beginning to think the al-Maliki government is more than just bluster. The government has pursued Sadr and has been tenacious. No doubt Sadr will claim a victory regardless but it looks like he is losing his grip. His fighters are not following him, he is having the shots called from Iran, and he is on the defensive against the Iraqi government. All told, this is a dramatic turn around from the story just a year ago. Much has gone under the bridge in the meantime.

Brief Daily Summary

Bara bin Malek Front Commander killed in Pakistani shootout. He was a Taliban and behind the 2005 shootdown of a US Army Chinook. Coalition forces killed 9 Taliban in Ghazni. A Coalition UAV team killed 4 Mahdi in Basrah. Iraq's Sunnis have agreed to return to the Shiite-led government of al-Maliki.

AQ leader begs Sunni fighters who joined Americans to come back.

[برا] خانة مالك قائد أماميّة يقتل في [شووتووت] [بكيستني]. هو كان [أتليبن] وخلف ال 2005 [شووتدوون] من [أوس] جيش [شنووك]. إئتلاف قتل قوّات 9 [تليبن] في [غزني]. إئتلاف [أوف] قتل فريق 4 مهدي في [بسره]. العراق قد وافق [سونّيس] أن يرجع إلى ال [شييت-لد] حكومة ال [أل-مليكي]. [أق] يتسوّل زعيم [سونّي] مقاتلات الذي تلاقى [أمريكنس] أن يعاود.

Summary of AQ Degeneration: March - April 2008

Graphic source: The Long War Journal

US and Iraqi forces killed or captured 53 senior members of AQ in Iraq’s network over the past month. The 10 senior AQ leaders include 5 emirs, 3 cell leaders and 2 facilitators. 9 of 10 seniors have been captured, allowing interrogations.

The following data was compiled by the Long War Journal:

• Abd-al-Rahman Ibrahim Jasim Tha’ir: Al Qaeda in Iraq’s Military Emir in Mosul. He was responsible for the planning and execution of operations in the city. He was the former Military Emir of Bayji. Tha’ir was captured on March 2nd.

• Ahmad Husayn Ghanim ‘Ali: Al Qaeda in Iraq's Security Emir for East Mosul. [Captured]

• Abu Mansur: Al Qaeda’s Deputy Emir for Mosul who also served as a judge for al Qaeda’s sharia courts in the city. “His job was to try to cloak their corrupt ideology with religious sanction,” Bergner said. [Killed]

• Muhammad Fathi Hammad Husayn: An al Qaeda cell leader in Sharqat. [Captured]

Senior Al Qaeda in Iraq operatives killed or captured in Baghdad and the Center

• Mahmud ‘Abd-al-Hamid ‘Isa ‘Aaywi: Al Qaeda’s Military Emir for South Karkh. “His operations focused on trying to use car and truck bombs in East and West Rashid, Karrada and Mansour,” Bergner said. [Captured]

• Jasim Najm Khalaf Muhammad: A leader in al Qaeda’s network in Khark. Muhammad was attempting to rebuild al Qaeda’s network in the Baghdad Belts. [Captured]

• Ali Mustashar ‘Ali: An Al Qaeda in Iraq facilitator for car bombs in Baghdad. [Captured]

• Hamid ‘Awayd Muhammad: An Al Qaeda in Iraq facilitator for truck and car bombs in Baghdad. Muhammad was al Qaeda Emir for Anbar province prior to moving operations in Baghdad. [Captured]

• Tu’mah Khalaf Mutar Hassan: An al Qaeda cell leader in Samarra. [Captured]

• Muqdad Ibrahim ‘Abbas Husayn: The Military Emir for Jalam. Husayn coordinated operations with leaders in Tikrit, Samarra, and Mosul. He also facilitated meetings with al Qaeda’s leadership. [Captured]

All the News That's Fit to be Missed

This story is one of those choice matters of material and information that is shaped and framed in certain ways. Major news outlets are deceptively presenting events in Iraq. The story I'm thinking of is The New York Times' Michael Gordon who describes the desertion of an Iraqi company in Sadr City. The story is factually accurate and this is the main focus of the article. The soldier's action, although true, is a serious breach of military discipline. But is it the whole story?

Gordon notes how the Iraqi and U.S. military scrambled to replace the recalcitrant unit, and he mentions how other Iraqi units held, he states they “fought hard.” The import of these minor comments are lost in the bombast of his key point.

This episode was a blow to the American effort to push the Iraqis into the lead in the struggle to wrest control of parts of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army militia and what Americans and Iraqis say are Iranian-backed groups.

Although one company broke, the remainder of the Iraqi Army fought well. But Gordon fails to relate that the broken unit is less experienced and is likely a young brigade from the 11th Division. The 44th Brigade of the 11th Division, which is in Sadr City, went through what is called “Unit Set Fielding”--where a unit is formed and receives its equipment--in December of 2007. The 43rd Brigade went through the training in January of this year. The 11th Division was commissioned to form in November 2007.

Bill Roggio of the stellar Long War Journal points out that we can know which unit broke from the meticulous tracking from the Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle, updated monthly at The Long War Journal. If the Journal can do it, can't the prestigious and seemingly limitless resources of the Times do the same?

The big picture is lost to readers of the Times. What was unthinkable and impossible for Iraqi units to perform in 2006 - 2008, in just three weeks in 2008 when the Iraqi security forces took on the Mahdi Army in Basra, which sparked fighting in Baghdad, the Iraqi Army is 1/3 of the way into Sadr City.

The story of a major accomplishment by the burgeoning Iraqi security forces is missed by readers of the Times. The Times is not telling the truth.

Coalition in Basra

Graphic source: The Long War Journal

The Coalition continues to press insurgents in Basra.

Today's Bad News Summary for Insurgents

US troops killed 5 criminals in engagements last night through this afternoon. 2 criminals threw grenades and 2 more criminals engaged in small arms fire. The Abrams Tanks and Bradley Vehicles fired 25mm and 1 x 120mm HEAT round and killed all 4. At 3 a.m. an air weapons team reported 5 armed criminals with 2 PKCs (machineguns) and multiple AK-47s. Once split the team engaged and killed 2 criminals with a Hellfire. A team engaged a minivan identified in a mortar attack. The criminal was killed.

أوس] قتل قوّات 5 مجرم في إلتزامات ليلة متأخّرة من خلال هذا العصر. 2 رمى مجرم قنبلة يدويّة و2 كثير مجرم يشبك في صغيرة [أرمس] نار. [أبرمس] أطلق النار دباب و [بردلي] عربة [25مّ] و1[إكس][120مّ] حرارة مستديرة وقتل كلّ 4. في 3 صباحا [أير وبون] أفاد فريق 5 يسلّح مجرم مع 2 [بككس] ([مشنغنس]) ويتعدّد [أك-47س]. مرّة انقسمت الفريق يشبك وقتل 2 مجرم مع [هلّفير]. فريق شبك [مينيفن] يعيّن في مدفع هاون هجوم. قتلت المجرم كان.

Post-Saddam Perks

Iraqis are enjoying perks after Saddam's fall: satellite TVs, cell phones, and access to the Internet.

Summary of Daily Bad News for Insurgents

In a recent Pakistani poll Bin Laden's popularity fell off in just six months, to about 24%. British troops killed 7,000 Taliban in 2 years. The German army’s chief of staff seeks to increase its troops in Afghanistan. Magdi Allam, Egyptian journalist, converts to Christianity. US troops killed 6 criminals in Sadr City. Coalition killed 1 AQ operative and detained 14 suspects. Iraqi security arrested 29 insurgents in Baghdad.

فى احدث استطلاع للالباكستانيه بن لادن شعبية سقطت قبالة في ستة اشهر فقط ، الى حوالى 24 ٪. 7.000 جندى بريطانى قتل طالبان في 2 سنوات. الجيش الالماني غير قادر على رئيس الاركان ويسعى الى زيادة قواته في افغانستان. مجدي علام ، والصحافي المصري ، المتحولون الى المسيحيه. القوات الامريكية قتلت 6 من المجرمين في مدينة الصدر. التحالف قتل عبد القدير 1 المنطوق ، واعتقلت 14 شخصا من المشتبه بهم. الامن العراقية اعتقلت 29 من المتمردين فى بغداد.

Not L'Amour Any More

A popular Islamofascist web forum, the al-Qaeda Ekhlas website, has launched a section in Italian, previously the forum was entirely in Arabic. The new site seems to replace the blog of former imam of Carmagnola, Abdul Qadir Fadlallah Mamour and his wife, Barbara Farina. The blog was closed by Italian postal police in February, and it was the first al-Qaeda website in Italian. The Italian section is edited by Nahir al-Murtadin, which in Arabic means "killer of apostates." In February, the Italian postal police closed four pro-Islamic blogs which posted proclamations by al-Qaeda leaders in Italy and which were hosted by Splinder, an Italian web server. All of these blogs called on Muslims to wage "a holy war against the unbelieving Westerners". The most recent web site will be more difficult to close because it is hosted by web servers that are not located in Italy.

Bedtime for Bin Bonzo?

An Afghan policeman patrols in a village in Tarnak Wa Jaldak district in Zabul province April 11, 2008.

Graphic source: Reuters

Steve Coll, of Ghost Wars fame, writes an intriguing article today in the L.A. Times with a salient point. Bin Laden may be at his most vulnerable since 2001 since his popularity in Pakistan has dropped drastically. Since AQ has been more recently viewed as nihilistic killers, Pakistanis have had a significant change of heart. The turnaround seems to have been the murder of two-time former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December. He writes: in a poll, Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based nonprofit group, found that Bin Laden's popularity had fallen by half over just six months, to about 24%. The precipitous drop in popularity may be enough for some loyalists to turn turncoat and blow the whistle on Bin Laden. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Steve Coll is president of the New America Foundation and a staff writer at the New Yorker; his latest book is The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century. His previous book won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in 2005.

Terrorism Against the West Not a Problem?

England's Home Secretary Jacqui Smith stated:

We now face a threat level that is severe. It's not getting any less, it's actually growing. . . . We task the police and the security agencies with protecting us ... There are 22,000 individuals they are monitoring. There are 200 networks. There are 30 active plots,

she commented in an interview published in the News of the World.

Daily Bad News for Insurgents

The prolonged offensive is weakening the Sadr party and the Mahdi. Iraqi forces captured 14 criminals. 14 suspects were arrested, and a large number of roadside bombs, missiles, machine guns, and air defense guns were seized. The Iraqi army captured Abu Huzhayfa, leader of AQ in Abu al-Khasib, Basra province. A US helicopter crew killed one criminal in Jabella. Iraqi forces killed 15 insurgents; killed 11 insurgents near Baiji; Coalition forces captured 5 AQ operatives.

يضعف ال يمدّد هجوم [سدر] حزب مهدي. على قبض قوات عراقيّة 14 مجرمات. 14 أوقفت مشبوهات كان, و [ا لرج نومبر وف] حافة الطريق قنبلات, صواريخ, مدفع رشّاش, ودفاع جوّي مسدّس مدفع كان على قبض. على قبض الجيش عراقيّة أبو [هوزهفا], زعيمة ال [أق] في أبو [أل-كهسب], البصرة محافظة. [أوس] هليكوبتر قتل طاقم بحّارة واحدة مجرمة في [جبلّا]. قتل قوات عراقيّة 15 متمردات; قاربت يقتل 11 متمردات [بيجي]; إئتلاف على قبض قوات 5 [أق] عميلات.