U.S. Forces Fire Missiles at Mosque in Fallujah (washingtonpost.com)

The Rules Have Changed:

Today's news shows that the Rules of Engagement have loosened under USMC authority. Marines destroyed a mosque in Fallujah using missiles, after taking fire from inside of it. During the war, we were forbidden to strike at mosques for any cause--the 101st Airborne was required not to return fire when assailants hid inside the Shrine of Ali.

This strike still required approval at the regimental level. The Shrine of Ali is probably still off limits, as it's not just any mosque. The gloves haven't come off, in other words--but we may have slipped a pair of brass knuckles on underneath them.

Pulling out the stops

Pulling Out the Stops:

Well, al-Sadr proves to be braver than I expected. When he withdrew to Najaf, it looked to me like he was responding to the elders by going to negotiate. It appears, instead, he's decided to adopt Muhammed's own strategy, which is to come to conqueor.

He's reported to have taken control of the Shrine of Ali, as well as several government buildings. It's a bold play: US forces have in the past been forbidden from striking the Shrine, and probably will continue to be forbidden to do so to avoid inflaming Shi'a sentiment. It therefore makes an excellent headquarters. Furthermore, to the Shi'ite Moqtada al-Sadr's revolt must look rather like the end of the Hijira and the conquest of Mecca.

The big question is the Ramadi attacks. Fox is reporting that the forces are "thought to be" loyal to al-Sadr. That seems unlikely on its face. Ramadi is upriver from Fallujah, toward the Syrian border. It's in the Sunni Triangle and, when in 1999 Moqtada's father was killed by assassins, it's the place Saddam shipped captured dissidents to be held and questioned pending execution. Shi'ites loyal to the al-Sadr family are in short supply there.

That's something to watch, then--if the reports prove true, it's a big problem because it means either that (a) al-Sadr has succeeded in unifying, to some degree, Sunni and Shi'ite opposition to the Coalition, or (b) that the Sunni opposition is willing to allow his fighters to move freely in their region for some other cause. The first is unlikely, as al-Sadr hasn't proven popular even among most Shi'ites. The second, though, is not entirely unlikely. The most likely "other" cause is this: that Iran and Syria have come to agreement on the need to derail a free Iraq. They could be using their proxy forces, both Shi'ite and Sunni, to attack the Coalition in concert. These attacks "to the rear" have been expected, to relieve the insurgents trapped in Fallujah, but the scope of them is surprising.

If the reports prove false, the possibility of an overaching alliance of our enemies in Iraq lessens somewhat. Nevertheless, the scale of the uprising, and the surprise with which it was achieved, are worth noting. A serious response is needed, to crush the enemy forces in the field. More, however, we need to try to capture what leaders and documents we can, to see if this is indicative of a foreign alliance. If it's that, we've got some other work to do--either convincing Syria and Iran that their interests require them getting out of Iraq, or making them do so.

Samizdata.net

Chemterror:

Samizdata reports that a chemical warfare attack has been averted, in London.

Sadr II

Al-Sadr Update:

Things are looking bad for Moqtada al-Sadr. Yesterday it proved that al-Sadr had been told to stand down by the Shi'ite elders in Iraq, including Grand Ayatollah Sistani. He refused in public, but appears to have abandoned his stronghold and decamped to the holy city of Najaf. Najaf is the seat of the Shi'a elders, and al-Sadr has little support among Shi'ites there. One may reasonably hope that the elders of the faith will bring him to heel, especially if they believe the accusations in the warrant issued by the Iraqi judge that he murdered one of their number.

Try to ignore the sense of fear that seems to be permeating the news today. Drudge is showing two-day old photos on his frontpage as of this writing, which would lead you to believe that there has been a lasting insurgency, whereas it seems to have collapsed--as the Belmot Club predicted, I might add--in about 48 hours. The situation is remarkably better than it was twelve hours ago.

Meanwhile, I have to say that this story is particularly foolish: "Line between militias, civilians blurred in Iraq." There is no line between civilians and militias. A militiaman is precisely a civilian with a rifle. This is true in the United States as well as in Iraq, so there's no excuse for getting it wrong. The United States Code says plainly, "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard."

Tartan

Tartan Day:

Welcome to Tartan Day, 2004! The "tartan" is a kind of plaid, one that is symmetrical. It is most famously associated with the Scottish clans, thanks in large part to the British military, which adopted it as a regular uniform for the Scottish regiments. You can read a bit of the later history here. However, the wearing of woven plaids as mantles or cloaks dates at least the period when the Scot Gaels were still just Gaels on Eire isle. In the early period these mantles took the form of a square of cloth, called a "brat," which was worn thrown across the shoulders and secured with a brooch. The use of this kind of cloak seems to have migrated to what we now call Scotland during the kingdom of Dal Riada ("Riada's share"), and spread across Scotland sometime after Kenneth MacAlpin destroyed the last of the Pictish nobles in the 9th century, establishing Gaelic rule.

I mentioned the clans I belong to below, but what isn't as well known is that there are tartans which don't pertain to clans. Some of these are called "district" tartans, which can be worn by the natives of a place. The state of Georgia has one, in recognition of the importance of the Jacobites of the Clan McIntosh in defending the colony against the Spanish, particularly at the Battle of Bloody Marsh. There are also tartans called "corporate" tartans, which can be worn by any member of an organization. The United States Marine Corps has one, called the Leatherneck. There are also "universal" tartans, which can be worn by anyone, and "trade" tartans, which are--I gather--copyrighted designs of particular weavers.

Wearing the short, or "military," kilt is properly done according to uniform regulations. The great kilt, which in Gaelic is called the Breacan Feile, is not worn in a uniform way. It permits a great deal of artistry and individualism. You can find a guide to it at the Wild Highlander's site.

Celebrating the 1745 rising, Sir Walter Scott wrote this song, which was used in his novel Waverly to rouse the clans to battle:

There is mist on the mountain, and night on the vale,
But more dark is the sleep of the sons of the Gael.
A stranger commanded--it sunk on the land;
It has frozen each heart, and benumbed every hand!
The dirk and the target lie sordid with dust;
The bloodless claymore is but reddened with rust;
On the hill or the glen if a gun should appear,
It is only to war with the heath-cock or deer.

The deeds of our sires if our bards should rehearse,
Let a blush or a blow be the meed of their verse!
Be mute every string, and be hushed every tone,
That shall bid us remember the fame that is flown!

But the dark hours of night and of slumber are past;
The morn on our mountains is dawning at last;
Glenaladale's peaks are illumed with the rays,
And the streams of Glenfinnan leap bright in the blaze.

[The young and daring adventurer, Charles Edward, landed at Glenaladale, in Moidart, and displayed his standard in the valley of Glenfinnan, mustering around it the Mac-Donalds, the Camerons, and other less numerous clans, whom he had prevailed on to join him. There is a monument erected on the spot, with a Latin inscription by the late Dr. Gregory.]

O high-minded Moray!--the exiled--the dear!--
In the blush of the dawning the STANDARD uprear!
Wide, wide on the winds of the north let it fly,
Like the sun's latest flash when the tempest is nigh!

[The Marquis of Tullibardine's elder brother, who, long exiled, returned to Scotland with Charles Edward in 1745]

Ye sons of the strong, when that dawning shall break,
Need the harp of the aged remind you to wake?
That dawn never beamed on your forefathers' eye,
But it roused each high chieftain to vanquish or die.
O! sprung from the kings who in Islay kept state,
Proud chiefs of Clan Ranald, Glengarry, and Sleat!
Combine like three streams from one mountain of snow,
And resistless in union rush down on the foe!
True son of Sir Even, undaunted Lochiel,
Place thy targe on thy shoulder and burnish thy steel!

Rough Keppoch, give breath to thy bugle's bold swell,
Till far Coryarrick resound to the knell!
Stern son of Lord Kenneth, high chief of Kinntail,
Let the stag in thy standard bound wild in the gale!
May the race of Clan Gillean, the fearless and free,
Remember Glenlivat, Harlaw, and Dundee!

Let the clan of grey Fingon, whose offspring has given
Such heroes to earth, and such martyrs to heaven,
Unite with the race of renowned Rorri More,
To launch the long galley, and stretch to the oar.
How Mac-Shimei will joy when their chief shall display
The ewe-crested bonnet o'er tresses of grey!
How the race of wronged Alpine and murdered Glencoe
Shall shout for revenge when they pour on the foe!

Ye sons of brown Dermid, who slew the wild boar,
Resume the pure faith of the great Callum-More!
Mac-Neil of the Islands, and Moy of the Lake,
For honour, for freedom, for vengeance awake!

After the collapse of the Highland army at Culloden in 1746, the victorious Lowland Scots and their British allies banned the wearing of the kilt for a time. But it was resurrected in their service, when the Highlanders went forth wearing it to tame the world for them.

UPDATE: I see that most other bloggers participating in Tartan Day mention the Declaration of Arbroath. Grim's Hall mentions it from time to time, although as a living piece of the political arts rather than simple history. See here and here for two examples.

Op VR

Operation Valiant Resolve:

In addition to the fighting around Sadr City, Operation Valiant Resolve has begun in and around Fallujah. US Marines are taking mortar fire as they begin the evacuation of the city. Scroll down for some words on the situation for Spanish and Salvadoran troops, who are also engaged, although--unlike the American forces--not by choice.

The American engagements are necessary for the stability of the successor government, which takes power at the end of June. If al-Sadr is the murderer he's rumored to be, having him at the head of a private army on the outskirts of Baghdad is unhealthy. That there should be a militia in Sadr city is reasonable--it's a Shi'ite area in a heavily Sunni region of Iraq. As in the Edict of Nantes, the possession of arms guards them from similar oppression to that which they suffered during Saddam's regime. That a murderous gamesman should lead that militia, however, is intolerable.

Fallujah is an obvious weak point, and the actions of First Marine will be the key in handing over a stable province to the successor government. The Spanish troops, though, are a problem. As the Belmont Club correctly points out, the fact that everyone knows they are pulling out means that they are in danger of being routed. There is no alternative but to reinforce them with forces that are plainly not going to withdraw, and that means Iraqi forces.

Telegraph | News | 34 killed after Shia call to revolt

Al-Sadr Gets Scared:

Muqtader (also Moqtada) al-Sadr, always called a "firebrand" by whoever is writing about him, has inherited a lot of followers from his father's fame. He's a politician as much as a cleric--the fellow has worked every angle he's come across since the invasion began. There are also lingering rumors that the assassinations of a number of Shi'ite clerics in Iraq have been done at his orders, to solidify control of Iraq's Shia muslims under his voice.

Last week, the Coalition arrested one of his aides in connection to one of these killings, that of Abdul Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death inside the Tomb of Ali in Najaf. In response, al Sadr has called the Shia to revolt. Thirty-four are dead already.

My reading of this is that al Sadr is playing for his life. He's got a number of loyal followers, but a lot of other followers who are partisans of his father's, but who wouldn't approve of an assassination inside the Tomb of Ali. Al-Sadr can't afford to become associated with that in any sort of authoritative way. He needs the Coalition to release his man, and stand down from claims that might suggest al-Sadr was guilty by association. Not only might he lose a lot of his power base, but he might open himself up to revenge from the broader Shia community.

Al-Khoei isn't the only cleric al-Sadr is rumored to have had killed. At the time of the Najaf bombing over the summer, in which Baqir al-Hakim was killed, there were rumors that it was part of al-Sadr's attempt to take over. There were even rumors that the Coalition might arrest him.

Of course, there are rumors about everything in Iraq. Almost none of them prove to be true. There is a tipping point on these things, though, and al-Sadr knows it. This arrest is going to read like a confirmation in the minds of many Iraqis. Al-Sadr has to change the subject, and make the Coalition afraid to touch him or his people. His life depends on it, and he knows it. As a consequence, we see the risk of a real battle developing in this conflict between him and the Coalition. He'll pull out all the stops because, if he doesn't, this could be the endgame for him.

UPDATE: The morning proves that things are worse for al-Sadr than thought. An Iraqi judge has issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder of al-Khoei. Although the report says this was done months ago, it's only been made public today. Meanwhile, Ambassador Bremer, head of the CPA, has branded al-Sadr an "outlaw," and US gunships are over Sadr City. Enforcing that warrant will be one of the hardest pieces of postwar Iraq.

Mecenaries, Redux

Mercenaries II:

Those of you who slogged all the way through the comments on the "KOS" post, below, will have come across a polite exchange between myself and Mike M. Mike was writing to challenge the use of the term "mercenary" to describe the Blackwater men killed in Iraq. I explained why I thought the term might apply.

It turns out that the lads at Southern Appeal know something that I didn't know, which is that there's a legal definition of "mercenary" in the Geneva Conventions:

Article 47.-Mercenaries

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.

2. A mercenary is any person who:

(a) Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;

(b) Does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;

(c) Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;

(d) Is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;

(e) Is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and

(f) Has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

Under this definition, as SA's Owen explains, the men killed in Fallujah were not mercenaries. I gladly conceed the point. My use of the term wasn't formal--as I said, I didn't even know there was a legal definition. I've quite a few military and former-military friends who toss it around cheerfully at me. Some of these folks I've known since childhood, and others I've met since 9/11. I adopted the term in that spirit: as a kind of nickname, like "Grunts" or "Squids" or "Devil Dogs." It has the same kind of swagger to it. It won't surprise you to learn that someone whose first adult act was to join the Marines might find that appealing. Being ignorant of the legal issues, I had no reason to think there was anything wrong with it.

Nevertheless, Mike M. turns out to be perfectly correct. As Owen points out, KOS and others use the term "mercenary" as "a pejorative, one employed by those who would like to denigrate the dead." I certainly am not among that crowd, as I hope is clear from what I wrote below. Grim's Hall will abandon the term henceforth, and I apologize to any--as Mike--I've offended by accident.

Absinthe & Cookies (a little bit bitter, a little bit sweet): Tartan Day

Tartan Day:

Tuesday is Tartan Day! Absinthe and Cookies is holding a celebration. I'm a member of the Clan Donnachaidh, which is "Duncan" in the English. I'm also in Alex Cameron's clan, if any of you get out to the Stone Mountain, or Grandfather games--or pretty much any other games around the South. Fine fellow, Alex. His is always the best ceilidh--by which I mean, of course, the very worst one.

Belmont Club

The Belmont Club

As has been pointed out to me in several emails and in the comments, the Belmont Club has quite a bit of speculation about the USMC response to Fallujah. It's just speculation, but the map exercise is a good one for those of you interested in military science. I've also heard a bit about unit movements from a couple of you, but I'm not going to publish any of that for the obvious reasons.

Go get 'em, lads. Semper Fidelis.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Broken US troops face bigger enemy at home

The Peril of Anecdotes:

Today the Guardian, whose journalists are so antiwar that they wrote a book entitled The War We Could Not Stop, has a piece on American soldiers. It is called "Broken US troops face bigger enemy at home." They list several examples of "broken" soldiers, but only one by name [UPDATE: Three, not one. I missed the two names toward the end of the piece on the first read-through. -G].

The drain on combat-ready soldiers--and the costs of carrying those damaged by this war--are becoming logistical nightmares for military planners. The Pentagon has already been forced to extraordinary measures. Last year, it locked up the service contracts of National Guard members and army reservists, preventing them from leaving the military when their time is up.

[Jason] Gunn's commanders seem adamant on keeping him. On Wednesday, Ms Gunn was forwarded a statement from her son. "It is my wish to be redeployed with my unit to finish my tour of duty with my unit here in Iraq," the statement said. "I feel that I am able to complete my mission here as well as any other duties assigned to me while on current deployment." It also said he had discontinued his prescription. Ms Gunn is convinced the statement was coerced.

Everyone who's been in the military knows that it occasionally does some stupid things. Military bureaucracy is the source of endless jokes, and a few pieces of great literature, including Heller's Catch 22, which was one of my father's favorite books when it was new and he was an Army sergeant. It's entirely possible--indeed, it's very nearly certain--that some serious errors are taking place.

Still, as the Mudville Gazette reports, retention rates in our all-volunteer army are not a problem:

Army divisions that fought the past 12 months in Iraq have met virtually every re-enlistment goal, a sign that the all-volunteer force remains strong under the stress of frequent deployments and hazardous duty.

The Pentagon has been closely monitoring the re-up rate for five Army divisions that fought in Iraq for about a year. Some officials feared the time away from home and the gritty duty would prompt a large soldier exodus. After all, the war on terrorism is unchartered territory. The 30-year-old volunteer Army has never been this busy in combat.

But numbers compiled this week for the first half of fiscal 2004 show that those five combat units met, or nearly met, all retention targets for enlisted soldiers--the privates, corporals and sergeants who total 416,000 of the Army's 490,000 active force.

This is the problem with journalism-by-anecdote. The Guardian gives the impression of an army under such catastrophic stress that it will soon break. But the number of "broken" troops can't be very large if retention is this good. I object to the term anyway. A slave or a prisoner can be broken, but these are not that. Indeed, because they have suffered what they have suffered, this year far fewer slaves and prisoners exist in the world.

My sympathy goes out to anyone who is at the wrong end of a bureaucratic blunder. I've been there. For Ms. Gunn, I have a suggestion: if she feels that there is a serious problem, and especially if she really believes her son is being forced to write false letters, she'll do better to write her Senator than the Guardian. That's what they're for, and they get results.

Epitaph

Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries:

A poem, by Alfred Edward Housman:

THESE, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Follow'd their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandon'd, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.

Overdue

Overdue:

Demonstrating that I am not the technological genius I wish I were, I have only just today figured out the mysteries of trackback. It'll be available from here, going forward. Meanwhile, as a second overdue update, I've linked The Mudville Gazette separately from the MilBlogs shield. It's worth reading on its own.

Daily Kos || Comments || Corpses on the Cover

The Daily KOS:

Sometimes in a society, such as the society of bloggers, someone says something that deserves condemnation in the strongest terms. But sometimes, it is so awful that there really aren't terms that will do. Once the moral threshold has dropped far enough, to enter into the fray would be demeaning for everyone involved. On those occasions, nothing will do except to let the words stand for themselves.

Today, the Daily KOS wrote on the four American contractors killed in Fallujah. They include a former Navy SEAL and father of two, a veteran of the 82nd airborne, and a winner of the Bronze Star for Valor:

That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.

UPDATE: KOS has apparently deleted the original post, and even had the Google cache of it purged. He has replaced it with something that pretends to be an apology. The show of shame I will take for what it's worth. Having the grace to be ashamed raises him enough in my eyes that he will now get a response.

His apology takes this form: Of course, he didn't mean it when he said "screw them" and that he felt nothing. He was merely sad to see their deaths elevated in press coverage over the deaths of servicemen:

But the mercenary is a whole different deal. They willingly enter a war zone, and do so because of the paycheck. They're not there for humanitarian reasons (I doubt they'd donate half their paycheck to the Red Cross or whatever). They're there because the money is DAMN good. They answer to no one except their CEO. They are dangerous, hence international efforts (however fruitless they may be) to ban their use.

Readers of Grim's Hall know that I am a military contractor, which Kos calls "mercenaries." I volunteered this year for a deployment to Iraq and a six-month contract in Kabul, the latter of which may yet come through. Over at Del Simmons' Free Speech, I answered some of the questions KOS raises about the motives of "mercenaries":

All the identified are former members of the US military. So what are they doing in Iraq?

I can answer, as I volunteered for such a deployment earlier this year--although my employer preferred to keep me working at another GWOT project in the USA. I volunteered recently for a deployment to Kabul, about which I've not yet heard.

I would be surprised to learn that these men differed very much in motives. Like them, I joined the military--the USMC--right out of high school, largely for patriotic reasons, though also out of a youth's desire for adventure. My service ended in 1994. On 9/11, I abandoned the career I'd embarked upon and started looking for ways to return to service.

The military has strict caps on how many people it can have, though, at every grade. The USMC, being the smallest, has the least room--and the wave of volunteers that came with 9/11 meant that recruitment was, and remains, topped out. There was simply no room.

There are also age limits, and in the years since 9/11, I've run afoul of them. Even if room opened up now, I couldn't return because I'm too old.

But our service is still needed. I went looking for other ways to serve, since the military was closed to me. I found it in this so-called "mercenary service," which allows me to work hand in hand with the US military. I've worked on projects for every branch of the service, and most of the global commands.

Estimates on just how many contractors work in the GWOT run wild, and no one is really sure. It seems likely to be at least one contractor to every five servicemen, but it may be as high as one to one.

Many bring skills that they've gotten later in life, which broadens the range of talent and knowledge beyond what the military itself has to offer. Deployments are not always much less gentle than the military's own, although they are softened a bit by being purely volunteer--you can leave, if you really want to. Few do.

This is what US "mercenaries" are like. They exist at all because the Congress and DOD bureaucracy aren't realistic about the force levels needed, and cling to outmoded concepts like age limits. As with anything else in a free society, where there is a demand that isn't being met, a service appears to meet it. I would rather be in uniform; but since I cannot be, I'll do this instead.

In defense of my compatriots, I should say that all my colleagues I'm aware of do donate heavily to charity, not only in money but in blood. I mean this literally--I organize the tri-monthly visits to the Red Cross donation center around here, and speaking for myself, I can honestly say that, since 9/11, I've donated blood every time I've been permitted. One young lady in my group began taking iron pills last summer so that she could maintain the iron levels in her blood the Red Cross demands--a real trick for many young women. Her case illustrates another aspect of the service: Most people in these various defense contractor, "Private Military Company" firms are former military, but there are also many who aren't, people who admire the military but who aren't made to be soldiers. They still want to do their part, and they do. Some of them have skills that are rare in the military, too--I know a lot of Arabists like that, including quite a few non-US citizens who want to be a part of what America is doing, but whose nations aren't in the Coalition--Syrians, Egyptians, and Sudanese. They can't serve in their own nation's armies, but they can still help make a stand against terrorism. A lot of them have more at stake than KOS, coming from where they do.

Obviously I can't tell you just what I've done, but I can tell you that I feel it makes an impact. Do I get a better deal than the serviceman does? I'd trade places with him if I could. I'd rather have the honor his service gains him than any coin. A man leaves his fame behind him when he goes. What will my son be told about me by KOS and his like, if I die in Kabul or abroad? 'He was a mercenary. What did he care for the humanitarian reasons? He was just in it for the money.'

I'd do it for nothing, if I could keep my family afloat. I'll bet you every one of those lads they hanged from the bridges felt the same. Maybe there are some people out there for whom this war could be just about money, or all about oil, but I sure don't know any of them.

Absinthe & Cookies (a little bit bitter, a little bit sweet): The Mad Piper

The Mad Piper:

From Absinthe & Cookies is an astonishing story that I'm stunned I've never heard before:

Bill Millin, 81, found fame as the soldier who piped Lord Lovat's 1 Commando Brigade ashore during the landings at Sword Beach in Normandy on 6 June, 1944.... Mr Millin was labelled the "Mad Piper" by German troops who were captured defending the Normandy beaches. Lord Lovat told him to ignore army orders banning the playing of bagpipes in battle for fear that the pipers would be picked off by the enemy. Wearing his kilt, he marched up and down Sword Beach playing Highland Laddie as German bullets rained down around him.

I've seen almost all of The Longest Day, but only in snatches and bits. Apparently I managed to miss one of the best parts.

It reminds me that it's been almost a year ago that The Black Watch took Basra. Grim's Hall celebrated the use of the bagpipes at that time:

This battle also saw, for the first time in the war, the British army using its most feared and awesome weapon.

As he began to play, the sound of Scotland the Brave drifted across the bridge towards the city, competing with the clatter of rotor blades as four Cobra helicopters raced in to join the attack.

Hat tip: Blackfive.

Daniel

Daniel, USMC:

Friend and commenter Daniel, a former member of the USMC, has begun a new livejournal. I've linked to it under "other halls," below and right. He and I share a number of interests, so if you enjoy Grim's Hall, you will likely find his hall pleasant to visit. Welcome to the game.

Not all of his writings are on politics--some are on Asatru. Older readers of Grim's Hall may recall me going a round or two with the Raving Atheist over a religion called Forn Sidr. Asatru and Forn Sidr are, depending on who you ask, either the same religion or variants of the same tradition. The technical differences probably don't concern most people here--I am aware of having Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Pagan readers, as well as Asatruar (known simply as capital-H "Heathens"), plus some Atheists who are quite welcome in spite of my hostility to the concept. "Be nice to your neighbor, hell on his ideas," as per the rules post below. In any event, if you find yourself wondering what "Theodish" thought is, I'm sure Daniel will be only too happy to explain.