Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda (w/personal photos)

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Thursday January 22, 2009 · 11:52 PM PST

2009/01/22 · 23:52

I posted some photos from Iraq yesterday and explained why in the piece here. Below, is the second set I wanted to post. These six photos were all taken during Operation Anaconda in March 2002, from the high ground overlooking Afghanistan’s Shah-e-Kot Valley. It’s been nearly seven years since it happened, so if you’re not immediately familiar with the battle, this is the one where Navy SEAL Neil Roberts fell out of the helicopter, and where seven other Americans were also killed in action. It was the first major ground engagement involving conventional forces after 9/11.

Brandon Friedman

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Wednesday January 21, 2009 · 10:05 PM PST

2009/01/21 · 22:05

I recently discovered that Picasa has a photoshopping capability. I’m sure I should’ve known this a long time ago, but whatever. Anyway, I’ve been messing around with it to touch up some of the photos I took in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, this provides a great excuse to tell unsolicited war stories.

Brandon Friedman

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Wednesday January 14, 2009 · 12:27 AM PST

2009/01/14 · 00:27

I’m not a psychologist, but this is really fascinating if you put it all together: It appears that distraught conservative pundits and bloggers are actually in the midst of collectively retreating into the world of fantasy as a psychological defense mechanism. Let’s take a look at three recent exhibits that illustrate what I’m talking about.

Brandon Friedman

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Friday January 09, 2009 · 12:12 PM PST

2009/01/09 · 12:12

On Wednesday, Illinois Republican Congressman Mark Kirk spoke at a rally in Washington:

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) all also strongly backed the Jewish state's actions at the hourlong rally.

"To misquote Shakespeare, something is rotten in Gaza and now it's time to take out the trash," Kirk said.

No mention of diplomacy or of the brutality and human suffering on both sides. Just "taking out the trash."

Brandon Friedman

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Sunday January 04, 2009 · 12:24 AM PST

2009/01/04 · 00:24

Erick Erickson, the editor of RedState, has just given us fodder to use for the rest of the year. In an attempt at being politically savvy--and by telling himself that what they do is somehow akin to being a "soldier" in a "war"--Erickson has decided that conservatives need to field-organize like progressives. And what better way to motivate the "troops" for activism than by inventing your own unit crest which, of course, replicates those worn by actual combatants in real wars?

Brandon Friedman

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Tuesday December 23, 2008 · 8:53 PM PST

2008/12/23 · 20:53

Mohamed began working for me as an interpreter in Baghdad in April 2003, shortly after the fall of the city. He had been educated as a civil engineer, but with no civil government left in place after the invasion, he decided to work for the Americans.

Mohamed takes a break not far from the Syrian border, 2003

Brandon Friedman

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Sunday December 07, 2008 · 8:58 PM PST

2008/12/07 · 20:58

What a slap in the face to the gay community:

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon plans to recruit more foreigners in a fresh effort to make up for chronic shortages of doctors, nurses and linguists available for wartime duty.

The Defense Department already draws from aliens living in the United States on green cards and seeking permanent residency. But under a trial program, it will now look to also recruit from pools of foreigners who've been living in the states on student and work visas, with refugee or political asylum status and other temporary visas.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to recruit certain legal residents whose critical medical and language skills are "vital to the national interest," officials said, using for the first time a law passed three years ago.

Gates' action enables the services to start a one-year pilot program to find up to 1,000 foreigners who have lived in the states legally for at least two years.

Brandon Friedman

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Thursday December 04, 2008 · 5:22 PM PST

2008/12/04 · 17:22

A lot of good people who are just trying to make an honest living work for KBR. So my intent is not to vilify them. However, there seems to be consistent problem with America’s premier defense contractor. And the only way to correct the problem is to first shine a light on it. That’s the purpose of this piece. --BF

Brandon Friedman

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Sunday November 30, 2008 · 2:43 AM PST

2008/11/30 · 02:43

Matthew Alexander, the military officer and interrogator responsible for obtaining the information that led to the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2006, has just published in the Washington Post a scathing indictment of U.S. torture policies. It’s part of the publicity campaign for his new book on the same topic--a book that was originally held up from publication by the Pentagon--called How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq.

When the guy who got Zarqawi calls U.S. interrogations in Iraq "un-American," it’s a big deal.

Brandon Friedman

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Thursday November 13, 2008 · 12:09 AM PST

2008/11/13 · 00:09

For the past week, people have been coming to me asking if I had any data on the 2008 military vote. The questions were typical: Did the myth of overwhelming military support for Republicans bear out? Did Obama change that? Just who, exactly, do military communities support? And to what extent?

Unfortunately, I hadn’t really come up with much until today. But now, using general election data provided by the New York Times, I was able to determine that the military communities most affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan shifted significantly toward Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in 2008 when compared to the numbers from 2004.

Brandon Friedman

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Friday November 07, 2008 · 12:05 AM PST

2008/11/07 · 00:05

Well that didn’t take long. Polls across America had been closed for less than 24 hours and Army Career Counselors were already exploiting Barack Obama’s victory in an effort to recruit former soldiers back into units. This email was forwarded to me by an Iraq veteran and former Army captain who received it on Wednesday:

Brandon Friedman

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Wednesday October 08, 2008 · 10:45 AM PDT

2008/10/08 · 10:45

As you may have seen, Kagro X has posted our just-released VoteVets TV ads on the front page today. With that, I’d like to take the time here to offer some more background on this morning’s launch.

We’re launching three new ads today, all in important swing states. And one of those ads--airing in North Carolina--is one you’ll probably recognize.

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Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda (w/personal photos)

Iraq: Ruins and Rubble (w/personal photos)

Distraught Conservatives Retreating into Realm of Fantasy

Mark Kirk (R-IL) on "Taking Out the Trash" in Gaza

Introducing the RedState Army Strike Force

Word on the Street in Baghdad

Military Asks Foreigners to Fill Vital Roles Instead of Gays

"Dogs...Carried Off Human Remains": KBR's Vision and Values

Interrogator who Located Zarqawi Rips U.S. Torture Policy

Election Data: Military Communities Shift Democratic in 2008

Army Recruiting Email: Obama will "Get Us Out of Iraq"

Bombs Away: VoteVets Goes on the Offensive