#Iraqi Air Force

[usafphantom2]

This Iraqi Mirage F.1EQ-5 made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after being hit by an AIM-7E Sparrow fired by an Iranian Tomcat.

@Destroye83 via X

[historyofguns]

The article "Thanksgiving with the Troops" by Richard Johnson, published in The Armory Life, explores the significance of Thanksgiving for American troops serving abroad. Thanksgiving, an important American cultural event, is a time for family and gratitude but takes on added significance for military personnel away from home, requiring them to celebrate under challenging circumstances. Historically, even during wartime, efforts have been made to recreate Thanksgiving traditions for soldiers as a morale booster. These efforts include everything from special meals flown to remote locations to religious services held using improvised altars like jeep hoods. The article provides a tribute to the service and sacrifice of military members who spend Thanksgiving deployed, illustrating their celebration of the holiday through a series of historical photographs spanning conflicts from World War II to the Gulf War. The piece underscores the gratitude owed to these service members and their contribution to American freedoms, acknowledging both past and present military personnel.

[indynerdgirl]

On October 7, 2001, the President announced that the United States had begun military action in Afghanistan, launching Operation Enduring Freedom. Now, 22 years later, we are asking for the public's input in the design of a Memorial on our National Mall honoring those who have served and continue to serve in this multigenerational war. Help design history and give your input today.

[totallyhussein-blog]

By confronting the shadows of the past, AMAR builds for the future

For Iraqis around the world, the month of August brings back painful memories of 2014 when the Islamic State invaded and occupied large parts of the country’s territory. The month of August is also significant because it marks the anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide.

When news broke of the Yazidi’s fleeing up Mount Sinjar, the international community sprang into action. The US Air Force and the Royal Air Force worked in cooperation with the Iraqi Government, to first drop aid supplies onto the mountain and then opened up a humanitarian corridor so that people could escape back down.

The world heard how female Yazidi’s were being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery, and men were being indiscriminately murdered by the international terrorist organization known as Daesh. Young boys were also routinely separated from their families and forced to undergo terrorist training in a brutal system known as 'Cubs of the Caliphate'.

Among the first voices to declare the actions of Islamic State a 'Genocide' was the UK’s Baroness Emma Nicholson, who for over 30 years has led the AMAR International Charitable Foundation. AMAR’s work started in Iraq, to support the Marsh Arabs who had been forcibly displaced by then President Saddam Hussain.

As the scale of the genocide by ISIS became apparent, Baroness Nicholson and the AMAR Foundation sprang into action, by first providing material support to those displaced. Looking to the future, AMAR then launched Escaping Darkness in 2015. They recognized that victims of genocide needed assistance in escaping the darkness of Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nearly a decade after ISIS launched their campaign to eradicate Iraq’s Yazidi community, the AMAR Foundation have provided mental health assistance to over 50.000 members of this ancient community. As part of their wider approach to trauma recovery, AMAR have also been working with hundreds of young Yazidi’s; teaching them to play traditional musical instruments and documenting traditional Yazidi songs.

For the Iraqi community in Britain, these efforts by the AMAR Foundation in Iraq, follow on from a long tradition where music has played a therapeutic role in treating the hidden wounds of war. During the 1990’s, the Iraqi community in Manchester would often hold concerts, where people of all ethnicities and religions would gather to hear the sounds of the Oud.

Numbering at around 20.000 Iraqi’s, the city of Manchester is home to many people who have survived war, persecution, torture and political repression. The actions of ISIS against the Yazidi community spurred Manchester residents to donate to charities like AMAR and even take a more active role by hosting events at the University of Manchester and participating on the city’s annual fun-runs.

[dangerousthingobservation]

An F-14 Tomcat flies through the sky during a combat mission August 14 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lee O. Tucker

[probablyasocialecologist]

More than half of Iran’s weapons were destroyed by U.S. aircraft and missiles before they ever reached Israel. In fact, by commanding a multinational air defense operation and scrambling American fighter jets, this was a U.S. military triumph.   The extent of the U.S. military operation is unbeknownst to the American public, but the Pentagon coordinated a multination, regionwide defense extending from northern Iraq to the southern Persian Gulf on Saturday. During the operation, the U.S., U.K., France, and Jordan all shot down the majority of Iranian drones and missiles. In fact, where U.S. aircraft originated from has not been officially announced, an omission that has been repeated by the mainstream media. Additionally, the role of Saudi Arabia is unclear, both as a base for the United States and in terms of any actions by the Saudi military.

[...]

Israel’s statement that it shot down the majority of Iranian “cruise missiles” is probably an exaggeration. According to U.S. military sources and preliminary reporting, U.S. and allied aircraft shot down the majority of drones and cruise missiles. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the Royal Air Force Typhoons intercepted “a number” of Iranian weapons over Iraqi and Syrian airspace. The Jordanian government has also hinted that its aircraft downed some Iranian weapons. “We will intercept every drone or missile that violates Jordan’s airspace to avert any danger. Anything posing a threat to Jordan and the security of Jordanians, we will confront it with all our capabilities and resources,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said during an interview on the Al-Mamlaka news channel. French fighters also shot down some drones and possibly cruise missiles.

[milfstalin]

A leader of a major faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has warned that if Israel begins a war that involves the energy sector, the world will lose 12 million barrels per day, “and this is what we will make sure of.”

Abu Ali al-Askari, the head of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades Security Bureau, stated: “This is what we will be taking care of, but only God knows what our brethren in Yemen will do in Bab al-Mandab and our brethren in Iran will do in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Israeli leaders have threatened to launch a massive attack against Iran, including against nuclear power and oil infrastructure.

Askari warned further that the resistance’s response “will not be limited to Israel, but will extend to Washington’s bases and interests in Iraq and the region.”

[...]

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital oil transit chokepoint situated between Iran and Oman. Oil tankers carry approximately 17 million barrels of oil each day through the Strait, or 20 percent of the world's total consumption.

Some analysts believe that oil prices, currently around $80 per barrel, could reach more than $300 per barrel in the case of a full blockade of the Gulf of Hormuz.

[...]

Al-Askari's statement also comes after right-wing Israeli Channel 14 aired a segment on Tuesday featuring Ayatollah al-Sistani's image on a list of potential assassination targets.

The image appeared alongside other regional figures, including Yemeni leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem, Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar, Iranian Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

[...]

11 Oct 2024

[athena5898]

(RNN)

🔻 October 2024 was the deadliest month for the zionist entity since October 2023, reaffirming its name, "Glorious October":

89 "israelis" (including 64 soldiers and security) were killed in a series of operations, starting the month with the heroic "Tel Aviv" operation from the heroes of Al-Khalil (https://t.me/PalestineResist/60179), Iran's True Promise 2 (https://t.me/PalestineResist/60222), extending to the Iraqi drone operation (https://t.me/PalestineResist/60764) in the Golan, dear Yemen's ballistic missiles and drones, the heroes of the Lebanese air force bombing the "Binyamina" base (https://t.me/PalestineResist/62530) and Netanyahu's home (https://t.me/PalestineResist/63566), all the way to repeated ambushes and sniping operations in Jabalia amidst a suffocating siege.

By mortars, drones, anti-tank missiles, rockets, bullets, and knives the resistance refuses to yield or falter.

By the enemy's admission, 56 soldiers have been killed (37 in Lebanon and 19 in Gaza). 11 were killed in a series of resistance operations in Yaffa, Bir Al-Sabi' (https://t.me/PalestineResist/61065?single), Khdeira (https://t.me/PalestineResist/61645), and others, the last of which being the heroic run-over operation (https://t.me/PalestineResist/65102) in "Tel Aviv." 13 settlers were killed due to rocket barrages from Lebanon, and 6 soldiers were killed due to drone strikes, including 4 at the "Binyamina" base, and two in the Golan.

Glorious October brought new life to the unity of the fields, affirming that attempts to separate the fronts will only bring them closer.

Glory to the victorious resistance.

[askarsjustsoswedish]

GENERATION KILL - MILITARY TERMINOLOGY AND SLANG USED IN THE MINISERIES (Part 2, N-Z)

N.J.P. (Non-Judicial Punishment):  next to a court martial, the most severe form of punishment to which a Marine can be subjected.  It usually involves a loss of rank and pay grade.

Navy Hospitalman, Doc Bryan:  the medic, though medics in the Marine Corps are technically part of the Navy’s hospital corps and are never referred to as “medics” but as Corpsmen.

Negligent Discharge:  accidental firing of a weapon;  aka N.D.

Nine-lines:  a procedure for directing air strikes on ground targets.

No salute zone:  forward areas where officers are not to be acknowledged with salutes, in order to conceal rank from potential enemy observers.

O Dark Hundred:  until darkness falls.  Note: “O dark 30” typically means half an hour before dawn, or any ridiculously early hour of the morning.

Oakley sunglasses:  surfer sunglasses worn by just about all Marines in Iraq.  Iraqis believe Oakleys give Marines X-ray powers to see through women’s clothing and are a constant source of tension.

One M.E.F. (First Marine Expeditionary Force):  the overall Marine invasion force in the Middle East, which comprises the First Division (ground troops) under command of Gen. Mattis, the Air Wing and a logistics battalion.  The entire One M.E.F. is under the command of General James Conway.

Oscar Mike:  “On the Move” from the phonetic alphabet.

Overwatch:  a position that offers protective fire for a given area.

“Paint me”:  to paint something is to shine one’s gunsight laser designator on a target in preparation for shooting it.

PAS-13 Thermal:  a night vision device, about the size of an old video camera, that can see heat signatures.  Note:  A single device is usually referred to in the plural, e.g. ,“Pass me the thermals” refers to one device.

Pec-fours, Pec-thirteens:  night and infrared vision scopes.

POG (Person Other than Grunt):  a pejorative term for anyone who is in the rear echelon and therefore not in a recon or infantry unit.  This is one of the most insulting terms in the Marine Corps, almost the equivalent of the “N” word.  Note:  POG is pronounced with a long “o.”

Police:  to clean up or correct, as in “Police your tent,” or clean it up.  (1-16)

Psy-Ops:   Psychological-Operations units, which in Iraq relied on leaflets, radio and loudspeaker broadcasts to encourage enemy forces to surrender.

Pyro and Smoke protocol:  codes involving use of smoke grenades and flares.

R.C.T. (Regimental Combat Team):  a super-regiment of about 7,000 Marines; the First Division consisted of three RCTs – RCT 1, RCT 5 and RCT 7 – plus First Recon, which operated on its own.

R.C.T. One (Regimental Combat Team One):  a motorized, armored infantry regiment of about 7,000 Marines.

R.O.E. (The Rules of Engagement):  the all important, ever-changing and always ambiguous rules governing when a Marine may fire his weapon.

R.T.O. (Radio Transceiver Operator):  radioman, the most important guy on the team and usually the calmest and smartest next to the team leader.  (1-23)

Rack:  nautical for sleeping area.

Ranger Graves:  sleeping holes dug by marines to protect from shrapnel and gunshots.

Raptor:  radio call-sign for First Recon’s Charlie company.

Recon Mission:  a reconnaissance mission performed specifically by Recon Marines who are the Marine Corps special forces; there are only a few hundred Recon Marines in the entire Corps.

Red-Con One:  a loaded weapon with a round in its chamber, but with the safety on.

Revetment:  crude fortifications made from earth or concrete or sandbags.

Ripped Fuel:  brand name of a popular over-the-counter stimulant, banned by the military but widely used.

RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade):   anti-tank rocket first developed by the Germans as the “panzerfaust,” then adopted by Soviets and as common to Iraqi forces and insurgents as Skittles candies are to Marines.  Not very accurate, but devastating when fired in mass by five- or ten-man RPG teams.  RPGs were famously used to bring down U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters in Somalia.

S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure):  S.O.P. is sometimes informally used as a synonym for common sense.

Saffwon Hill:  a low hill on the Iraq side of the border with Kuwait, believed to be the locale of a dug-in Iraqi division.

Sapi plates:  12-inch square ceramic plates worn in front and back of one’s flak vest, rated to stop the enemy’s preferred 7.62 round.

Schwack:  to kill; origin believed to be a popular video game.

Screwby:  either “That sucks,” or “That’s really cool,” from Cpl. Stafford’s personal hip-hop lexicon.

Senior NCOs:  anyone from staff-sergeant to Sergeant Major.  Corporals and Sergeants are also NCOs, but they are never referred to junior NCOs, simply as NCOs.  (1-18)

Sergeant Major:  the highest possible rank a non-commissioned officer can earn in the Marine Corps; invariably a ball-buster who speaks in a semi-illiterate southern sounding accent no matter where he is from.  This battalion has just one Sergeant Major.

Shamal:  hellacious wind and dust storms endemic to Iraq.

Sit-Rep:  situation report:; often used as a more confusing way to say “situation.”

Skittles:  chewy fruit-flavored children’s candy, which is a dietary staple in U.S. military.

Slackman:  team machine gunner, armed with a SAW.

Snatch:  a specific Marine term for abducting an enemy combatant in order to gather intelligence.

Soft Cover:  same as a boonie cap.  Note:  the word “hat” does not exist in the Marine Corps; anything you place on your head is a cover.

Sparrow:  a small reaction force held in reserve while another unit attacks; an “eagle” is a large reaction force.

Spread load his excitement:  to calm down;  from the tradition of foot patrols spreading a heavy load equally among all troops.

T-55:  Soviet-era tank ubiquitous in Iraq; older and much less feared than the newer, but less-common T-72 Soviet tanks also in Iraq.

TAD-two, TAD-three:  Tactical Air Direct radio bands for communicating directly with pilots in attack aircraft.

Task Force Tarawa:  a four thousand-strong Marine unit outside of the First Division Command Structure.  This American unit was initially put under the command of the British at Basra, then moved north to Nasariyah.

Team Leader:  the sergeant in command of each combat team.  Fick’s platoon is divided into three teams, but spread across four Humvees (not counting Fick’s command vehicle, the fifth Humvee).  Since Fick’s platoon is a special forces unit trained in coastal raids, they have no experience with Humvees.  Technically each team has a specialty, with team one being the dive (or SCUBA) team, team two being the boat team and team three the para-jump team.  But here, ironically, they are all in a desert.

The Three:  the battalion’s intelligence unit.

T-rats:  T-rations; pre-manufactured military food heated and served in mess halls of forward units.

Triple-A:  Anti-Aircraft Artillery; towed or self-propelled guns designed to shoot down aircraft but often used by Iraqis against American forces on the ground.

Two o’clock:  direction of enemy forces.  Orientation of the lead vehicle puts 12 o’clock at the center of the hood and six o’clock at the rear.

Two-Oh-Three:  an M-203 grenade launcher, which is a single shot self-propelled weapon mounted beneath the barrel of a standard Marine rifle.  The M-203 fires the same 40mm round as the M-19.

Unfucking:  a verb peculiar to the Marine Corps meaning to get out of a fucked-up situation.

U-two:  a reference to venerable U2 spy planes.

Victors:  vehicles.  The military uses the phonetic alphabet as a shorthand code:  the phonetic alphabet replaces letters with words, i.e., Alpha, Bravo Charlie, Delta, Echo.  These phonetic word for each letter of the alphabet can be used to replace any word starting with the corresponding letter.  Hence, vehicle becomes “victor,” terrorist becomes “tango” and white trash becomes “whiskey tango,” as in, “He grew up in a whiskey tango trailer park in the Ozarks.”

Whiskey Tango:  white trash, from the phonetic alphabet version.

Zil truck:  Russian-made truck popular in Iraq.

[dostoyevsky-official]

Why Syria Matters to the Kremlin

Syria is important to Moscow because intervening there in 2015 allowed Putin to reverse the narrative of Russian decline that had taken hold since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia would no longer be what then-President Barack Obama dismissed as a declining “regional power”—it was to be a decisive great-power patron of the Assad regime, and as such, it would rewrite the playbook of outside intervention in the Middle East. American-led interventions, such as the invasion of Iraq and the NATO campaign in Libya, shattered states and bred chaos. Russia would have the opposite effect, preserving Syrian sovereignty and regional order. To understand Russia’s military position in Syria, consider that when Moscow first intervened there, in September 2015, it did so with a surprisingly light footprint and a long-term plan to modernize and strengthen the Syrian military. Moscow deployed just 2,500 to 4,500 personnel to Syria at any given time, focusing on air power, air defenses, and special forces, while relying on Iran and its proxies to supply ground forces. Ultimately, the Kremlin sought to build the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) into a professional fighting force capable of independently securing Assad’s rule, and so it poured resources into modernizing the SAA’s command structures, improving battlefield coordination, and equipping units with advanced Russian weaponry. [...] The collapse of regime defenses revealed that Russia’s long-term strategy to professionalize Assad’s military had failed. These setbacks will not drive Russia out of Syria, however. The Kremlin has too much at stake. It has already leveraged its Syrian intervention to rebuild its Middle Eastern influence, positioning itself as an essential mediator among Iran, Turkey, the Gulf states, the United States, and Israel. Moscow has also secured lucrative economic contracts for the reconstruction of Syria. Given the stakes, Moscow will be compelled to adapt rather than withdraw. It will likely seek to strengthen military cooperation with Iran, including by finding a role for Iraqi militias and recruits in Syria. As consuming as the war in Ukraine has been for Russia, the Kremlin does not see it as superseding its Middle East ambitions. That’s because Syria is not just a military outpost. It is a cornerstone of Russia’s claim to great-power status, a theater where it can demonstrate its diplomatic reach and its counternarrative to Western interventionism. This explains why Russia continues to invest in Syria even as it fights a costly war in Ukraine. Moscow may adjust its tactics, but abandoning Syria would mean surrendering something far more precious than territory: Russia’s hard-won position as an indispensable power broker in the Middle East.

3 December 2024

[usafphantom2]

Iraqi pilots receive Xian H-6D bombers at the Xian factory airport

@Destroye1983 via X

[planesawesome]

In 1990, the US Navy fighter squadrons VF-32 and VF-24 deployed aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) to support Operation Desert Shield and Operation The USS John F. Kennedy departed for deployment on August 15, 1990, and entered the Red Sea in September 1990. She became the flagship of the Commander, Red Sea Battle Force. On January 17, 1991, Carrier Air Wing 3 began the first strike operations against Iraqi forces.

[flee-from-fresno]

The thing that gets me about Bushnell's self-immolation is that he's an airman. He was a member of the Air Force. Historically, the group that is the most emotionally distant from the wars they partake in, and even he was unable to stomach the scale of death in Palestine.

In my personal experience with vets from the Iraq War, you can physically see the results of US conditioning against the perceived enemy in the average soldier. I've had vets from the Army and Navy call Iraqis "sand ni**ers" to my face. But a lot of the ex Air Force I've talked to didn't have that kind of vitriol because they didn't need that level of indoctrination.

There's a post going around right now, dramatizing a defence contractor getting done with their 9-5 of drone striking and getting to go home that night to their wife and kids after a full day of murder, and that's the Air Force experience too. If you have a combat role, you sit in a 30 million dollar chair, press a button and people die. You don't need to make the soldier hate the target, you make them see the target as a statistic, a number.

I know there's been an increase in IOF suicides since last October, which is to be expected when you realize you're an active participant in genocide, but when an active duty airman goes as far as to self-immolate in protest, it either needs to be the death-knell for the US military's support of Israel in Gaza or the death-knell for those politicians that continue to green light that support

[girlactionfigure]

🟦 CEASEFIRE DREAMS, IRANIAN LIES - Real time from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( VIDEO - IDF targeted airstrike in Beirut this morning. )

✡️Erev Shabbat - Parshat (Torah portion) Vayeira - Genesis 18:1 - G‑d reveals Himself to Abraham three days after the first Jew’s circumcision at age ninety-nine; but Abraham rushes off to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in the desert heat. One of the three—who are angels disguised as men—announces that, in exactly one year, the barren Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs.

▪️SPORTS AND JEW HUNTING.. in football / soccer, the Israeli national team held France to a 0:0 game.  In the stands battles from Arabs who attacked Israeli supporters, who came prepared to defend themselves.

🔸CEASEFIRE DREAMS.. Draft agreement: the US and France will arm the Lebanese army, which will destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani river and prevent attacks on Israel, with direct American intervention in monitoring the Hezbollah organization so that they do not rearm, France and Great Britain have agreed to participate in maintaining the ceasefire.  The IDF will withdraw after 60 days.  

.. Ynet says minister Dermer met with Trump, who ‘hopes the deal will be closed before he takes office’. 

.. Commentary: The possibility of the Lebanese army restraining Hezbollah while Iran is army and backing them is a pipe dream, one that will only end up with another war.

.. Note: So far Hezbollah has not even been involved in the negotiations.  Making this ‘the appearance of negotiations’.

.. A senior member of Hezbollah, "The Israeli condition that will allow the occupier to operate militarily inside Lebanon is unacceptable.”

.. Lebanese Al Akhbar news: The American outline for the ceasefire agreement is an attempt at blackmail - either Lebanon will accept it or the war will escalate.  They also report that Israel is demanding international guarantees for the dismantling of all of Hezbollah's military infrastructure above and below the ground, as well as the deployment of the Lebanese army, "reinforced" with UNIFIL forces at all border crossings and airports and the sea.

🔹SYRIA - Eastern Syria: yesterday morning, 3 more trucks crossed from Iraq to Syria accompanied by the forces of the Iraqi Al Hashd Al Sha'abi (Shia militia) organization.

💩IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S LIE OF THE DAY - "We have never sought to possess nuclear weapons, and we will not do so based on the Iranian leader's fatwa on this matter."  (( Said with a straight face while enriching a TON of uranium to weapons grade. ))

💩TURKISH DEF. MIN SAYS - "We do not rule out the outbreak of a third world war and we are making the necessary preparations."

♦️LEBANON - day by day IDF ground forces are working through and combing the areas, capturing war equipment, destroying underground bases and caches, capturing and destroying rocket launchers. Heavy airstrikes on Nabatea, Hezbollah buildings.  The Air Force attacked more than 120 terrorist targets throughout Lebanon.

.. “But why are there still so many rocket launches?”  Because Hezbollah, with Iran funding and support, has been receiving and burying launchers for 20 years.  There is a LOT to work through.

⭕Hezbollah summarizes the previous day with 32 terror launches  against Israel, 20 of them against civilian towns and cities.  (( How many US, French, EU or UN statements have you heard against those 20 launches at civilian towns that Hezbollah clearly states they did (war crime)?  How many evac notices (zero)?  As Israeli children are directly targeted, how many human rights organizations, women’s and children’s organizations, have you heard speak out about targeting Jewish children?  …Exactly. ))

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Do you have any poetry recommendations? The poem poll made me realize that I like. ONLY know Iraqi poets. Like the only non-Iraqi poet I can name off the top of my head is Robert Frost

i'm literally hooked on poetry. even on days where i can't sit down to read a book, i try to consume at least one poem a day bc it keeps me sane. it actually does. i recommend signing up to one poem a day newsletters--those have been a game changer for me. as for recommendations, my favorite poems change every week, but current faves (whose authors i regularly go back to/are a good starting point) would be:

elegy for my sadness - chen chen (Who invented the word / “ennui”? A sad Frenchman? / A centipede? They should’ve never / been born. They should’ve seen me / in Paris, a sad teenage / exchange student. I was so sad / & so teenaged, one day my host sister / gripped my hand hard & even harder / said, SOIS HEUREUX. / BE HAPPY. & miraculously, / I wasn’t sad anymore. / All I felt was the desire to slap my host sister. / See, I was angry in Paris, which is clearly / not allowed. One can be sad in Paris (I was) / & one can be in love in Paris (I was not), / but angry? Angry in Paris?")

a pity, we were such a good invention - yehuda amichal ( "A pity / We were such a good / And loving invention / An aeroplane made from a man and wife / Wings and everything / We hovered a little above the earth")

like a small cafe, that's love - mahmoud darwish ("I say to myself at last / Perhaps she who I was waiting for / was waiting for me, or was waiting for some other man / or was waiting for us, and did not find him/me.")

bible study - tony hoagland ("Who knows, this might be the last good night of summer / My broken nose is forming an idea of what’s for supper / Hard to believe that death is just around the corner / What kind of idiot would think he even had a destiny?")

mother and child - louise gluck ("Why do I suffer? Why am I ignorant? / Cells in a great darkness. Some machine made us; / it is your turn to address it, to go back asking / what am I for? What am I for?")

america, america - saadi youssef ("We are not hostages, America, / and your soldiers are not God's soldiers... / We are the poor ones, ours is the earth of the drowned gods, / the gods of bulls, / the gods of fires, / the gods of sorrows that intertwine clay and blood in a song... / We are the poor, ours is the god of the poor, / who emerges out of farmers' ribs, / hungry / and bright, / and raises heads up high...")

the duino elegies (seventh elegy respectively) - rainer maria rilke ("Not only the devotion of these unfolded forces, / not only the paths, not only the evening fields, / not only, after a late storm, the breathing freshness, / not only approaching sleep and a premonition, evenings... / also the nights! Also the high summer nights / also the stars, the stars of this Earth! / O to be dead at last and know them eternally, / all the stars: for how, how, how to forget them!")

the endlessness - ada limon ("How was i supposed to feel then? About moving in the world? How could I touch anything or anyone without the weight of all of time shifting through us?")

psalm - adonis ("Open my memory and study my face beneath its words, learn my alphabet. When you see foam weaving my flesh and stone flowing in my blood, you will see me. I am closed like a tree trunk, present and ungraspable like air. Thus I cannot surrender to you.")

the war works hard - dunya mikhail ("The war continues working, / day and night. / It inspires tyrants / to deliver long speeches / awards medals to generals / and themes to poets / it contributes/ to the industry / of artificial limbs / provides food for flies / adds pages to the history books / achieves equality / between killer and killed / teaches lovers to write letters / accustoms young women to waiting / fills the newspapers / with articles and pictures / builds new houses / for the orphans / invigorates the coffin makers / gives grave diggers / a pat on the back / and paints a smile on the leader's face.")

[captain-price-unofficially]

Bf-110s of the Iraqi Air Force, crewed and maintained by Luftwaffe personnel.