Iran Restricting Airspace Over A Word

Iran is pitching a hissy-fit over the commonly used commercial air term, 'Arabian Gulf,' threatening to ban airlines that fail to call the shared waterway the 'Persian Gulf.'

'"The airlines of the southern Persian Gulf countries flying to Iran are warned to use the term Persian Gulf on their electronic display boards," Road and Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani said in comments in the daily Iran newspaper. "Otherwise they will be banned from Iranian airspace for a month the first time and upon repetition their aircraft will be grounded in Iran and flight permits to Iran will be revoked," he added. .... Iran says it is the Persian Gulf, the Arab states say it is Arab. Foreign language descriptions can offend either party if they use one name or the other, or sometimes if they avoid an adjective altogether.'

Iran has long been touchy about transit through the Gulf, especially at the Strait of Hormuz, where they have occasionally harassed both military and commercial shipping. And of course, there are multiple stories of Iran 'extending' its claims to airspace. This latest dust-up became public after Iran expelled a Greek steward working on a Kish Air flight (Iran also claims he threatened unruly passengers protesting the use of 'Arabian Gulf' on the in-flight monitors). It's possible this tantrum is part of Iran's response to the recent decision by the Obama Administration to beef-up missile defense throughout the Gulf. The most recent deployments were of Aegis cruisers to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. These are in addition to the Patriot missile batteries installed under President Bush.

Sacrifice and Service

Some things need no comment.
(CNN):

'Where were you on the night of July 15? You may not even remember, but for me it was an extraordinary evening, an evening of unimaginable triumph and unbearable tragedy. But I would not actually know everything that happened until the night was long over. A couple of weeks before July 15, a friend who works with injured troops emailed me to say it was time for Andrew's going away party. Andrew Kinard is a young Marine I first met a few years ago at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington where he was recovering from a devastating IED attack in Iraq. He had stepped on the roadside bomb and lost his entire body below the hips. The party being arranged was Andrew's farewell to D.C. Andrew is off to the rigors of Harvard Law School. He's says he's itching to get into a courtroom. You need to remember the name Andrew Kinard. Many of his friends believe Andrew is such an amazing man that he will become president of the United States. If I had to bet, I'd say it could happen. ... In the very hours we were celebrating Andrew in Washington, tragedy was unfolding in Texas. Lt. Col. Raymond Rivas, a 53-year old civil affairs officer who had dedicated his career to rebuilding war torn countries, was found dead in his car in the parking lot of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Texas. Colleagues of Ray's said prescription pills and notes he wrote to his family and wife, Colleen, were found. A military source told me all indications are Ray took his own life. ... A close associate tells me that at first, despite being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury in Iraq, some doctors thought Ray might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They didn't realize he had all the symptoms of traumatic brain injury. He had trouble talking, reasoning and remembering. ... But by all accounts from his friends, Ray had become seriously debilitated by the injuries to his brain. A private email shown to CNN revealed that Ray had been diagnosed with rapidly emerging Alzheimer's disease. The cumulative impact of all those bomb blasts were destroying his brain. Colleagues say Ray knew he might have to move to an assisted living facility. A colleague told me Ray was tired and in pain on the night of July 15. He was found in his car in the parking lot at the army hospital where he had spent so long trying to get better. But Ray will be remembered for all he did for others. Even with all his suffering, he wanted to make sure other injured troops were helped. In April he and his wife Colleen went to Capitol Hill to testify with other wounded warriors about their needs. Sitting on that panel with Ray was Andrew Kinard.'

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is always fraught with emotion for me. I come from long lines of service members, men and women, on both sides of my family. Both my parents served (my father for a career in the US Navy and my mother for a short stint in the US Air Force) as did I and my sister (Air Force and Army (NG, Reserves and Active) respectively). On 9/11, friends of mine helped take down the plane in Pennsylvania, family acquaintances were in the Pentagon, and a close friend was working in the north tower in NY. Since then, over 500 service members that I've worked with, served with or been friends with have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Memorial Day is a true holy day (the origin of our word holiday) for me, and my husband and daughter faithfully attend services each year with me. I hope that this year, it is a holy day for you as well. Freedom is not free.

Brothers at War

The upcoming documentary, Brothers at War, looks like it will be a powerful and intimate look at the effect of service within a family. The film was made, directed and produced by a brother of two men serving in Iraq. Because this is a low-budget, under-the-radar documentary, you may need to petition to have it shown in your area. The official movie site has a form to promote showings.

editorial: http://www.military.com/entertainment/brothers-at-war/
movie site: http://www.brothersatwarmovie.com/#/Home

He never told us THAT

Apparently Senate Dems were caught a little off-guard by the fact that drawn-down doesn't mean a total exit from Iraq. They seem a little surprised by the President's plan to leave up to 50,000 troops there after 2010. It seems that being caught off-guard is making the rounds. Gov. Jindal was surprised by the Vice President's repetition of claims by the Center for American Progress that Louisiana is losing more than 400 jobs per day. That claim was certainly news to the Governor, and the state and national labor boards which report that Louisiana was one of the few states to gain jobs in the last quarter - oops.

Refusing blame and taking credit

The Iraqi provincial elections were peacefully conducted, under relatively free and fair conditions. They absolutely have a long way to go, but they've come a long way to a democratic state in a very short period (just look how long it took the U.S. to have free and open elections), and President Bush deserves at least the credit for envisioning this. President Obama, however, seems to be the one in the limelight, and feels free to lecture the Iraqis after having repeatedly said we have failed in Iraq.

Mr Obama urged the newly elected councils to "get seated, select new governors, and begin work on behalf of the Iraqi people who elected them".

On a different note, the promise of the Obama campaign to retire Hillary Clinton's debt has gone unfulfilled. The new Secretary of State still has a nearly $6M debt to vendors. It's a little awkward for a Sec. State to explain and enforce US policy overseas when she can't pay up. I hope this is one campaign promise that the President does keep. He certainly owes her that much.

Maybe They'll Have to Apologize .... to Bush

The New York Times has posted an article with the title, Early Voting in Iraq is Mostly Smooth. The usual problems with a young state exist, but an actual democratic election seems to be underway. Any bets on when they'll post an apology for their coverage of the prior administration?