Apr
03
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Thursday, 03 April 2008 |
Via Hotair Headlines the NEFA foundation has released the transcript of Zawahiri's Q&A with the Muslim community .
I have only made my way through the first 18 pages, but if this transcript is accurate--it is obvious that Al Qaida, as a political entity, is having problems with the base.
In a previous life, I managed a lot of political campaigns, and a communcation like this is addressed to the base to bring them back into the fold.
The key concern of the base: why is al Qaida killing more Muslims than crusaders? Is it true that al Qaida is cooperating with Iran? Why do you bash Hamas?
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Apr
02
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Wednesday, 02 April 2008 |
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Take look to the right...
That is where we are in the chase to
beat the anti-war movie 'Redacted' in six weeks. We started out
last week at around 9%.
We are 32% 35% of the way to beating 'Home
of the Brave'.
And today I saw that Phil Donahue has
produced a documentary--the documentary version of 'Home of the Brave.'
'Home of the Brave' being the threatrical
version of the documentary 'Ground Truth'.
Are you noticing a pattern here?
A pattern that says a Soldier or Marine is only worth filming after
their deployment.
The director of 'Ground Truth' had this
to say about her movie:
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Mar
31
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 31 March 2008 |
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(In January 2007, Sen. Barack Obama proposed removing all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008)
Last US Troops Leave Iraq
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Mar
29
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Saturday, 29 March 2008 |
The recent uptick of rocket attacks is a reminder...it takes a long time to extinguish an insurgency.
Colonel G.I. Wilson, who appears in my documentaries, had this to say about his greatest fear--that we think we have won, before the job is done.
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Mar
26
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Wednesday, 26 March 2008 |
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March 26th 2007, OP Omar, Iraq-- At about 11:00 am I was standing in a fighting tower recording video and talking to the paratroopers manning their post, when one uttered a memorable line:
"Hopefully they'll grow some balls and just bound on us and try to overrun us," the paratrooper said, "but they don't want to die that quickly."
I moved on to the rest of the towers, finishing up at the one manned by Specialist Jason Stegall.
Two hours later a Suicide truck bomb rumbled toward Stegall.
To remember that day, and ensure the story of Blackfoot Company is told, I am slashing the price of the Danger Close DVD.
Today (Extended dure to popular demand!) only the 'Danger Close' single disc will sell for $10.
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Mar
24
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 24 March 2008 |
When I was in the Marines we wore shiny, black leather combat boots and pressed and starched our cammies with razor sharp creases--what a stupid waste.
By going to brown suede leather boots and un-starched cammies, the American service member has gained an extra 15 to 20 minutes every day while in garrison and picked up a major morale boost. No one likes to shine their boots.
The past years have seen an explosion in military innovation, knowledge, experience and, in a few cases, the discarding of the bureacratic ways that had built up the 25 years since Vietnam.
And it has been the little innovations that have had major impact--rail systems on rifles, ACOG and EO Tech sights, grips, wider use of Nomex and ballistic glasses.
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Mar
21
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 21 March 2008 |
This post by Glenn reminds me how far
TV and video technology have come since I got into the business.
The advance in technology has allowed
me to make documentaries about Iraq that would have been impossible
15 years ago.
In the late 80's VHS finally beat Beta,
but the revenge of Beta is that it became the broadcast industry standard
for more than a decade. VHS being a consumer product, Beta being
used by professionals to make commercials and television news.
In television news I have seen a long
line of formats.
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