The Sons of Iraq and Other Random Oddities

The Sons of Iraq: This is the newest name for the Sahwa movement, who are the Sunnis in Iraq who have risen up to protect their neighborhoods and struggle for political power in post-invasion society. Teflon Don of Acute Politics notoriety has an excellent piece on the Long War Journal discussing their effectiveness at counter-insurgency. Rolling Stone has another take on them in Baghdad (thanks Iraqi Bloggers Central) portraying them as a racketeering goon squad. Toy Soldier offers up his first hand account of their poor handling of weapons, while Fuzzilicious Thinking talks with a soldier who has a more optimistic outlook. I've heard a lot of stories about these guys. I can only imagine the frustration of soldiers having to play diplomat, judge, politician, and enforcer out in these tribal areas, and I have found their stories the most interesting concerning this new technique in Iraq that began in Anbar province. All I can do is analyze the effect of this type of warfare, and this article may offer some insight on the troubled Diyala province entitled "Iraqi Ghost Town comes back to life":

In a corner of his barber shop Ahmed trims the moustache of a customer covered in a white cloth, as nearby broken window panes stand proof of a battered city in the dark of the night. "Thanks to the young men who are guarding the streets, I am no longer afraid to keep my shop open late into the night."

Small victories are important in some ways.

Random De-Motivators: A couple things that don't make me happy are the American economy getting its ass whooped by the Euro and Fox News (except for Red Eye):



I have nothing bad to say about Alex P. Keaton, but there has to be something more important to a national news network. I'm no snob, but man, this is torturous.

The Life I Should've Lived: There's pictures of some gutter punks, in what looks like Portland, from Social Daily News (thanks Moonbattery) .


Sure these poorly-fed, possibly-diseased, yet very attractive young ladies may not be appetizing to some. But looking around at my current lifestyle, I'm certainly not above it. At least there would be an element of freedom to it, and I find the homeless/grunge look common amongst Northwestern gals very seductive for some reason. Maybe I've just been in the Navy too long.