A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Iraq urges coalition not to panic, run “Coalition troops must stay in Iraq and not give way to defeatism or panic in the face of hostile public opinion, Iraq's deputy prime minister said after meeting British leaders yesterday.” (READ MORE)
Steele shrugs off foe's attacks “Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele said yesterday that Democratic attacks on his U.S. Senate candidacy have not hurt him but have sparked interest in his status as a black Republican.” (READ MORE)
Skilling gets 24 years in accounting scandal “Former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling, the most vilified figure from the financial scandal of the decade, was sentenced yesterday to 24 years and four months in the harshest sentence yet...” (READ MORE)
US Says It Must Succeed, Sets 18-month Limit for Iraqi Army “The US ambassador to Iraq has said his country "must succeed" while the the American military commander said Iraqi armed forces should be ready to take over security responsibility in 18 months.” (READ MORE)
AP Photographer Kidnapped in Gaza Strip “Palestinian gunmen kidnapped an Associated Press photographer in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, grabbing him as he walked out of his apartment and whisking him away in their vehicle, a witness said.” (READ MORE)
Cuba Ponders How To Fix Socialist Economy “Cuba has begun debating how to correct rampant theft and inefficiency in state-run services, from pouring beer to shining shoes, that could signal a step toward economic reform under acting President Raul Castro.” (READ MORE)
News From the Front:
Army translator Missing in Baghdad “A U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday there had been no word on the fate of a U.S. Army solider reported missing in Baghdad, as troops continued door-to-door searches in the central Karradah district.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio writes NATO Talks with the Taliban? “AKI reports of talks and a NATO withdrawal from a district, but this isn't policy yet. With Pakistan's surrender of North Waziristan to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and the pending negotiations in Bajaur agency, the security situation in eastern Afghanistan has been a major concern for NATO forces that have recently assumed command of the region. Attacks in the Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan's North Waziristan have increased threefold since the waziristan Accord was signed in early September.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Victor Davis Hanson writes The Wonders of Hindsight “Most of the blame game being played over the Iraqi occupation — and always with the wisdom of hindsight — is now irrelevant. Should more or fewer soldiers be in Iraq? That’s basically settled: There will be no sizable increases in our troop presence, but gradual downsizing, as more provinces must come under Iraqi control and we seek to avert Iraqi perpetual dependence. Debating how many soldiers should have been deployed in the three-week war of 2003 and its aftermath is about as helpful in the present as fighting over culpability for the surprise at the Bulge.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit writes Video: Hunter asks Blitzer, “Does CNN want America to win this thing?” “Hunter asked Rumsfeld on Friday to disembed CNN’s reporters as punishment for airing pointless jihadi snuff. Blitzer had him on today to talk things over. A meeting of the minds was not in the cards.” (READ MORE)
Dean Barnett writing at Hugh Hewitt writes On That Michael J. Fox Ad “There’s a new Michael J. Fox ad on stem cell research that supports Claire McCaskill’s campaign. Click over and watch it. It will take you only 30 seconds, and I promise I’ll still be here when you get back. By way of response, let me first say that I think almost any kind of ad in support of a political campaign is fair game. If a candidate goes too far, the public will punish him or her. So while I find the Michael J. Fox ad crass, tasteless, exploitative and absurd, I fully support Claire McCaskill’s right to shoot herself in the foot.” (READ MORE)
Jay Tea writes Holding Out For A Zero “The administration of the first President Bush was a rather odd duck. He ran in 1980 as the moderate alternative to Ronald Reagan, and promptly got his head handed to him by the Gipper -- who promptly helped him put it back on his shoulders and made him his Vice President. After eight years, he ran again for the Oval Office, this time trying to sell it as a third Reagan term. It wasn't a very convincing argument, but the Democrats basically conceded the election by nominating Michael Dukakis, and Bush essentially won by default.” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed writes The Niqab Dismissal “A Michigan judge threw out a lawsuit brought by a Muslim woman because she refused to show her face while testifying. Paul Paruk may have started another round of legal battles over the niqab, which only exposes the eyes, by ruling that witnesses must show their faces in court in order to allow a determination of their veracity:” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin writes Support American Snipers “As you can tell from my O'Reilly appearance tonight, I am not in a good mood. I am not in the mood to hear about how CNN is justified in broadcasting ‘great footage’ of American soldiers getting picked off by Iraqi snipers because it's ‘great footage.’ I am not in the mood to hear about how dealing with terrorists and serving as terrorist public relations officers is the only way for the American media to get "access" to the region and to awaken the American public to the horrors of war.” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins writes Everything You Need To Know About Michael J. Fox's Campaign Ads “A lot of people have been talking about the Michael J. Fox. To tell you the truth, it's really a pitiful ad all the way around. To begin with, what Ann Coulter said about people like the Jersey Girls, Cindy Sheehan, and Max Cleland in her book Godless is every bit applicable to Michael J. Fox: ‘...(T)he Democrats hit on an ingenious strategy: They would choose only messengers whom we're not allowed to reply to. That's why Democratic spokesmen these days are sobbing, hysterical women. You can't respond to them because that would be questioning the authenticity of their suffering.’” (READ MORE)
MaryAnn of Soldiers' Angels Germany writes The Reason “…For the guys I saw at the hospital yesterday who put it all on the line for us. For the American Soldier.” (READ MORE)
Master Gunner of Tanker Brothers writes The Hardest Post I've Ever Had to Write. “This is, without a doubt, the most difficult thing I have had to write, in terms of this Blog. I'm not going to mince words with you: TankerBrothers is about to go away. Make no mistake, it has nothing to do with not wanting to Blog anymore: on the contrary, this has been a labor of love for me. I started this blog with one goal, and only one goal: to let the American Public know what was REALLY going on in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Cassandra writes NY TimesWatch!: Can The Unitary Editor Admit Fault? “Sacre bleu! We are reliably informed by the Party in Opposition that humility - the ability to admit fault and learn from one's mistakes - is the mark of a great leader. We are therefore greatly encouraged to note that the Times' ombudsman, Bryan Calame, has (in a moment of earth shattering significance) admitted the Times was wrong to publish details of the SWIFT terrorist tracking program. Such an event must surely cause the earth to shift on its axis:” (READ MORE)
John Noonan of OPFOR writes To Stand or Fall in Baghdad “We talk frequently about the media battlespace here at OPFOR, and how important it is to use the press to our advantage. With the noose is tightening around milbloggers and embedded journalists existing at .0001% of their Operation Iraqi Freedom strength, the importance of a new media strategy has become abundantly clear. Otherwise we'll continue to be subjected to stories like this one, from the New York Times.” (READ MORE)
Yoni the Blogger writes Poll: One-Third of PA Arabs Blame U.S. for Problems “(IsraelNN.com) One-third of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza blame United States foreign policy for the political problems in the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to a new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion.” (READ MORE)
Mike Pechar of The Jawa Report writes Bali Bombers Freed “How can there be an effective campaign against terrorism when there are virtually no meaningful consequences for the perpetrators? This report really frosts my cookies. From The Courier-Mail: ‘Two Islamic militants jailed for the Bali bombings that killed 202 people were freed today and nine others had their sentences reduced to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month, officials said.’” (READ MORE)
Wretchard of The Belmont Club writes From Kabul to Paris “Michael Scheuer formerly of the CIA, who together with John O'Neil (his counterpart at the FBI and deceased at the WTC attack) was one of the pioneers at tracking the al-Qaeda in the 1990s writes in the Jamestown Foundation about how the resistance to the Karzai government is growing in Afghanistan. In an article at the Jamestown Foundation on Oct 17, Scheuer said: ‘From all observables, the Taliban insurgency is spreading from its deeply rooted base in southern and southeastern Afghanistan to provinces in the west and east.’” (READ MORE)
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