Garner - Washington Times : This Great Economy

A Grim Milestone Ignored

Ten thousand reported attacks by Islamic terrorists and militants since 9/11

The establishment media is seemingly obsessed with “grim milestones” in the War on Terror, as the Associated Press reminds us this past weekend. But in the next week those same establishment media outlets will probably stand mute when yet another “grim milestone” is reached – the 10,000th attack by Islamic terrorists and militants since 9/11, which is responsible for approximately 60,000 dead and 90,000 injured.

The chronicler of this bloody tally is Glen Reinsford, editor of TheReligionofPeace.com, who began compiling and updating daily a detailed list of reported incidents of violence and terrorism around the world targeting non-Muslims and Muslims alike. Because of space limitations he only posts the past two months worth of attacks on his websites main page, though he has archived all of the incidents from past years (2001-2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). He also maintains a banner graphic with the updated number of attacks, which people can post on their own websites.

When asked what prompted him to begin such a labor-intensive undertaking, Reinsford identifies the tepid response to Islamic terrorism by otherwise outspoken Muslim groups, with one organization particularly in mind:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations.

After 9/11, I kept an eye on them and was quite disgusted by their lack of moral perspective. They complain about issues that affect Muslims which are quite trivial, on average, compared to what is happening in the name of their religion. They do occasionally denounce terror in a general, somewhat ambiguous, sense but there is an obvious lack of passion. Their real interest is themselves.

... Meanwhile, the deadly toll continues to roll unnoticed by the establishment media. But Glen Reinsford is still there continuing his grim task keeping us all aware of how pervasive and unrelenting the problem of Islamic terrorism really is.

Air Cavalry Crews See Higher-Tech Attacks, Weapons from Iran

BAGHDAD — Air cavalry helicopter pilots have had to change their tactics to adapt to newer and higher-tech surface-to-air missile systems that officials believe are coming in from Iran, a senior official in Iraq said Friday.

Crews from 1st Air Cavalry Brigade out of Camp Taji have flown support for operations in and around Baghdad for more than a year. Since their arrival, there has been an increase in the sophistication of attacks and types of weapons, Army Col. Daniel J. Shanahan said in a conference call with military analysts.

“In the last several months, we have had an increased threat from systems that we had not seen in the first part of the year,” Shanahan said. Some of them originated in “places like Iran,” he said, causing considerable change in tactics, techniques and procedures.

“It’s a real concern, and it’s something that we’re dealing with,” he said. “Right now we’ve got the best systems in the world, and we’ve got technology behind us.”

Shanahan said additional sensors and diffusers, which decrease an aircraft’s infrared signature, have been added, and crews’ flying tactics have changed.

Shanahan’s crews have logged 80,000 hours of flight time in the past 13 months, he said. The helicopters spend about 10 hours in the air for every one on the ground, Shanahan estimated. But even though the enemy’s weapons systems are more advanced than before, overall attacks on aircraft are down in the area, he said.

Crews are fired upon about 200 times monthly, he said. Attacks are from weapons types ranging from small arms to rockets known in military parlance as “man-portable air-defense systems,” or MANPADs, which are shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that typically use infrared guidance.

MANPADs make up only about 5 percent of the attacks, “but if you ask the pilots, they would say that MANPADS is the biggest threat,” Shanahan said.

It takes about 3,000 troops to fly, fuel, arm and maintain the H-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters operating around the clock at the base. The aircraft are used for attack reconnaissance, air assault, air transport and medical evacuation missions.

In addition, crews partner with Iraqi Air Force units for training and some missions. The Iraqi

Air Force has progressed sufficiently that it routinely provides reconnaissance missions, patrolling pipelines, power lines and other infrastructure. It also provides in-country transportation for Iraqi government officials.

Iraqi Air Force pilots fly three types of helicopters: Mi-17s and Bell JetRangers in training programs and UH-1 Hueys mounted with defensive systems, which are workhorses for reconnaissance and transport, Shanahan said. This frees his crews from these types of missions and is a critical step toward the Iraqi government assuming its own security mission, he said.