Michael Yon's post makes me proud to be an American again and I agree with Antimedia and Michelle Malkin that if there is an award for War Bloggers, Michael Yon should win it--hands down, for his Gates of Fire post, no more discussion, let him begin his acceptance speech now.

This post took me three days to read, simply because I'm not used to reading anything at length online, but I stuck with it and my goodness was it worth it!

The story of the Deuce Four combat unit and the casualties and victories they took in the course of anti-terrorist operations is riveting, compelling, utterly terrible, and totally human.

I was outraged by what he tells us about the terrorist douche they captured, who had wounded two US soldiers:

The terrorist turned out to be one Khalid Jasim Nohe, who had first been captured by US forces (2-8 FA) on 21 December, the same day a large bomb exploded in the dining facility on this base and killed 22 people.

That December day, Khalid Jasim Nohe and two compatriots tried to evade US soldiers from 2-8 FA, but the soldiers managed to stop the fleeing car. Then one of the suspects tried to wrestle a weapon from a soldier before all three were detained. They were armed with a sniper rifle, an AK, pistols, a silencer, explosives and other weapons, and had in their possession photographs of US bases, including a map of this base.

That was in December.

About two weeks ago, word came that Nohe's case had been dismissed by a judge on 7 August. The Coalition was livid. According to American officers, solid cases are continually dismissed without apparent cause. Whatever the reason, the result was that less than two weeks after his release from Abu Ghraib, Nohe was back in Mosul shooting at American soldiers.

I can't imagine the restraint it must take not to unholster your side arm and shoot these pricks while they lie cuffed on their stomachs. It would almost seem better to err on the side of caution and remove a likely terrorist than take the risk that some jackass judge is going to have a moment of weak logic and let them go back into the thick of it all.

And then you get to this section, which is is stark contrast to the hatred that our media in this country tell us is meeting our soldiers on every street corner in Iraq:

Iraqi Army and Police commanders were in a fury that LTC Kurilla had been shot. Some blamed his men, while others blamed the terrorists, although blame alone could not compete with disbelief. Kurilla had gone on missions every single day for almost a year. Talking with people downtown. Interfacing with shop owners. Conferencing with doctors. Drinking tea with Iraqi citizens in their homes. Meeting proud mothers with new babies. It's important to interact and take the pulse of a city in a war where there is no "behind the lines," no safe areas. It's even dangerous on the bases here.

In order for leaders of Kurilla's rank to know the pulse of the Iraqi people, they must make direct contact. There's a risk in that. But its men like Kurilla who can make this work. Even and especially in places like Mosul, where it takes a special penchant for fighting. A passion for the cause of freedom. A true and abiding understanding of both its value and its costs. An unwavering conviction that, in the end, we will win.

And Yon offers a final lesson:

Iraqi Army and Police officers see many Americans as too soft, especially when it comes to dealing with terrorists. The Iraqis who seethe over the shooting of Kurilla know that the cunning fury of Jihadists is congenite. Three months of air-conditioned reflection will not transform terrorists into citizens...there was much discussion about the "ethics" of war, and contention about why we afford top-notch medical treatment to terrorists. The treatment terrorists get here is better and more expensive than what many Americans or Europeans can get.

"That's the difference between the terrorists and us," Chaplain Wilson kept saying. "Don't you understand? That's the difference."

Michael Yon is an outstanding telescope but these soldiers are the blazing stars that make the instrument useful.