Verse of the day

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...


Philippians 2:5-6, New International Version

Apple To Double Production of IPhone & IPod Touch

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple Inc. updated its iPhone and iPod Touch lineup Tuesday, doubling the memory and setting a new premium price for its high-end models.
The latest iPhone features 16 gigabytes of memory and retails for $499. The previously released 8 GB version of the hybrid cell phone, multimedia player and wireless Internet device costs $399.
The new iPod Touch comes with 32 GB of memory and retails for $499.

Mass Grave Discovered Near Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AP) - About 50 dead bodies were discovered Tuesday in a mass grave northwest of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.
U.S.-backed Sunni tribesmen found the grave while patrolling the village of Jazeerah, 15 miles west of Samarra near Lake Tharthar, said Col. Mazin Younis Hussein, commander of the Samarra support force, a group of local men working with U.S. forces.

Iranian Landmines in Afghanistan

Afghan troops raided the house of a Taliban commander near the Iranian border, and seized over a hundred land mines. These appeared to have been manufactured in Iran. When the Afghans complained to Iran, they were told that Iran is not supplying the Taliban with weapons. That may be true, especially if you consider that the Iranian government is run by a group of senior clerics, who don't always agree with each other. The Iranian government is split into several factions, and each has a different agenda. The more radical factions can legally get landmines, and other weapons, from Iranian factories, and then do whatever they want with them. The more radical factions have gone as far as supplying Sunni Arab radicals in Iraq and Afghanistan with weapons, because the Iranians are so eager to kill U.S. troops. But these weapons are being given to groups that also kill Shia Moslems. Iran is mostly Shia, and is considered the protector of Shia Moslems everywhere. The Iranian government uses this as part of its defense in denying supplying the weapons to the Taliban (who killed thousands of Afghan Shia during the 1990s) and al Qaeda (which considers the Shia to be heretics.)

Michael Yon Has A New Post

The Men of Valor series derives from my second trip with the British Army in southern Iraq in 2007. The situation in the south has changed. Overall, the Iraq situation continues to improve, but there remain pockets of sharp fighting. I would tend to expect increased U.S. casualties during February and March. Al Qaeda, in particular, is increasingly being targeted in certain areas, including Mosul

Hero: Juan Ayala

A secure Iraq requires competent local police and national army. In Iraq, U.S. commanders have helped achieve stability in former hotbeds of violence by building up Iraqi Security Forces, thanks to the creative efforts of soldiers and Marines, such as Marine Corps Col. Juan Ayala.
During his third tour in Iraq, from January 2006 to January 2007, Col. Ayala served as the Senior Advisor to the 1st Iraqi Army Division, based at Camp Habbaniyah. Numerous challenges faced Ayala and his 29-man team, as they operated daily in tandem with the Iraqis. The Division lacked soldiers, trained officers and equipment. The surrounding terrain proved hostile as well. In early 2006, Anbar province remained volatile, and the Iraqi Army often found itself engaged in battles with civilians allied with insurgents.
Over time, under Ayala’s guidance, the Iraqis increased their areas of responsibility and gained credibility among the population. Specifically, Col. Ayala revamped the staff functions of the Division, drawing up missions that fit its skill set. He collaborated with local imams and sheiks to obtain approval for operations. As a result of the built-up trust, the flow of actionable intelligence to the Division increased, as did the number of formerly hostile Sunnis to the Division’s ranks. So many ended up joining the Iraqi forces that they eventually gained a title: the “sons of Al Anbar.”
Ayala helped plan and execute 52 direct action patrols in the area, which yielded 25 captured insurgents. Ayala’s input resulted in the creation of a 24-hour joint Iraqi/Advisor Combat Operations Center, which helped obtain situational awareness on the ground. Other positive developments under Ayala’s tenure included equipment improvements and the purging of hundreds of bogus soldiers from the Division’s ranks. Under Ayala, the implementation of a Unit Tracking Program (UTP) was influential in maintaining accountability among the Iraqi soldiers in the Division.
Ayala often went on patrols, serving as a vehicle and convoy commander. He was hit twice by IEDs, but kept going out on missions to assess the Division’s ability in the field. He led 17 teams and 225 advisors at different levels of command, to improve the capabilities of the Division. Today, two of the Division’s Brigades, the 3rd and the 4th, function without coalition assistance.
For his efforts in building up the 1st Iraqi Army Division, Col. Ayala earned the Legion of Merit with Combat Distinguishing Device.