Fred In Houston

He's Back

Excaliber

The Excalibur 155mm Precision Guided Extended Range Artillery Projectile, also known as the M982 ER DPICM (Extended Range Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions) Projectile, is the Army's fire and forget, smart munition. It provides capability to attack all three key target sets, soft and armored vehicles, and reinforced bunkers, out to ranges exceeding current 155mm family of artillery munitions. Because of its accuracy and increased effectiveness, Excalibur reduces the logistical burden for deployed ground forces. It also provides lower collateral damage through its concentrated fragmentation pattern, increased precision and near-vertical descent.

The top target for al Qaeda in Iraq south of Baghdad was killed July 14 in Arab Jabour by precision-guided munitions, the Excalibur.

Shortly after 12 p.m., 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, received a call that Abu Jurah and 14 anti-Iraqi forces were meeting at a house in Arab Jabour.

Abu Jurah was an AQI cell leader and was responsible for improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne IED and indirect fire attacks on Coalition Forces in Arab Jabour.

At approximately 1:12 p.m., the house was positively identified allowing 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment to fire two Excalibur rounds destroying the meeting house.

An unmanned aerial vehicle observed persons leaving the house, loading injured individuals into a sedan and fleeing the scene.

An AH-64 Apache helicopter engaged the sedan destroying it.

Three people were observed running from the meeting house to a nearby house.

A U.S. Air Force F16 Fighting Falcon dropped two 500-pound GPS-guided bombs on the second house.

al Qaeda In Iraq Same As al Qaeda

President Bush’s Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend Made It Clear At A Press Conference Today That Al-Qaeda In Iraq Is Same Entity As Al-Qaeda In Pakistan.

It Doesn't End In Iraq

The Democrats kids are actively debating the surrender of the US in Iraq, but the enemy is plotting their next move. When will the kids learn. Real enemies must be defeated, not appeased. Thomas Sowell has a piece up at Townhall.com which explores the issue. It starts out ...

"And then what?" That is the question which should be asked of those who are demanding that we pull out of Iraq now.

If you seriously believe a pullout in Iraq is the answer, then you are compelled to answer that question. While you are at it, answer the question why is a pullout the answer? To what? hmmm, yeah that's the answer, but to what. No one knows.

Well I can tell you what is next, it will be the next front in the war with al Qaeda. That front is likely to be in the west, the U.S. or Europe most likely. Why do you think the terrorists, Iran and other al Qaeda allies are pouring resources, suicide bombers and everything they have into the conflict in Iraq? Think, think about that. Why are the terrorists doing that? Surly you don't believe they just want us to go away, news flash, we were away on Sept 11, 2001, weren't we?

The war does not end with Iraq, whether we pull out or not, it does not end there. And that is the question that all of the pullout now crowd must answer ... And then what?

Ubuntu Live!

July 22-24, 2007 Portland Oregon, the world's first Ubuntu Conference.

Carbon Neutral

Now leave my car alone.

What Do Iraqis Say

Note how the caption does not agree with the verbiage, for the people in the air ports who walk by without the time to listen to the whole story.

Incredible Shrinking Federal Debt

Yes, the federal deficit is shrinking. But the Democrat-led Congress, if it has its way, will bring it back with a vengeance by spending more than needed and by repealing Bush's tax cuts.

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Sun Near And Far

July 2007 ... When is the Sun most distant from Earth? It happened again just this past weekend. A common misconception is that the Sun is most distant during the winter, when it's the coldest. In truth, however, the seasonal temperatures are more greatly influenced by the number of daylight hours and how high the Sun rises. For example, during northern winter, the tilt of the Earth causes the Sun to be above the horizon for a shorter time and remain lower in the sky than in northern summer. The picture compares the relative size of the Sun during Earth's closest approach in January (northern winter) on the left, and in July (northern summer) on the right. The angular size of the Sun is noticeably smaller during July, when it is farther away. If the Earth's orbit was perfectly circular, the Sun would always appear to be the same size. These two solar images were taken from Spain during 2006, but the same effect can be seen in any year from any Earth-bound location.