A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Bush delays Iraq plans until 2007 “The White House said yesterday that President Bush will not lay out his plan to chart a new course in Iraq until early next year, as new polls showed Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the nation's ability to win the nearly four-year war.” (READ MORE)
Watchdog asked to probe pacts of U.N. office “A U.N. office charged with promoting accountability has for years been steering millions of dollars in contributions from the Italian government toward projects that enrich Italian nationals but offer little of real value...” (READ MORE)
Muslim pilgrims urged to complain “American Muslims making a religious pilgrimage to Mecca are being encouraged to file civil rights complaints if they feel discriminated against by airlines.” (READ MORE)
Americans Say U.S. Is Losing War “Most Americans think the United States is losing the war in Iraq and support a bipartisan commission's key proposals to change course, according to a poll released yesterday. But the Iraq Study Group's report has become a political orphan in Washington with little backing from either party.” (READ MORE)
Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops “The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.” (READ MORE)
Figures in Poison Probe Are Old Friends “MOSCOW, Dec. 12 -- At a closed hospital run by the Federal Medical-Biological Agency, two Russian men, friends since they were 12-year-olds, lie removed from the world and at the center of an international poisoning drama.” (READ MORE)
Iraqi Army Plans for Wider Role in Security of Baghdad “A plan presented to the United States calls for Iraqi troops to assume the primary responsibility for security in Baghdad early next year.” (READ MORE)
Saudis Say They Might Back Sunnis if U.S. Leaves Iraq “Saudi Arabia’s warning reflects fears among America’s Sunni Arab allies about Iran’s rising influence in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
News From the Front:
The Online Chaplin writes Lost Voice “We all lose our voice from time to time. Soon, thousands of soldiers will return to the United States with a serious case of laryngitis. I for one am going to leave the memories of this place behind. I am guessing I will follow in the tradition of my grandfather. When I am old, I will tell a few family members so they can understand the costs paid by so many. Until then, if it will leave me alone I want to leave it alone.” (READ MORE)
Michael Fumento writes Navy narration of circumstances surrounding the death of SEAL Mike Monsoor “On 29 September, Monsoor was part of a sniper overwatch security position in eastern Ramadi, Iraq with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers. They were providing overwatch security while joint and combined forces were conducting missions in the area.” (READ MORE)
GWOTdotUS writes Death in the sand: M1A2 Abrams MBT “We all have those friends who are bigger than most, those friends that you can count on when a bully is picking on you, a friend whose always got your back. I’m talking the kind of pal that, as you are walking down the street, a large shadow encompasses you, and when you look up, you nearly shit your pants when you notice the sheer enormity of him. Well, this is that friend for me. Meet the King of battle, the United States Army’s premiere Main Battle Tank.” (READ MORE)
Jack Army writes One Day... “Conversation this morning with an officer on my team: ‘One day, Sar'nt.’ ‘Uh, ok, sir, one day all mankind will unite in peace and harmony?’” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Jules Crittenden writes Casualties of War “This is tragic and horrible. An AP cameraman executed by insurgents in Iraq while doing his job. Aswan Ahmed Lutfallah, father of two small children, died because he was doing something the insurgents didn't want him to do.” (READ MORE)
Paul Greenberg writing at Townhall.com writes The Baker-Hamilton Report--of 1943 “Imagine the progress Franklin D. Roosevelt might have made as commander-in-chief of American forces during the Second World War if only he could have had the benefit of advice from James Baker, Lee Hamilton and the other members of the Iraq Study Group.” (READ MORE)
Kathleen Parker writing at Townhall.com writes The wolf who cried racist “In multi-culti America, there's no worse offense than being a ‘racist,’ and no word has suffered more abuse.” (READ MORE)
Tony Blankley writing at Townhall.com writes The lonely president “For rarely has a president stood more alone at a moment of high crisis than does our president now as he makes his crucial policy decisions on the Iraq War.” (READ MORE)
Austin Bay writing at Townhall.com writes The Book List: Adding depth to the headlines “Foreign policy, national security, military history and technology-related books published in 2006 jam this year's Christmas book column. Each volume uniquely addresses current issues and events.” (READ MORE)
David Limbaugh writing at Townhall.com writes The naive idealism of the ISG "realists" “Upon further study, what strikes me most about the Iraq Study Group report (ISGR) is its profound naivete.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit writes Video: U.S. troops on Kerry, the media, and Iraq “Sean Hannity met them last week when he was in Mosul. Sounds like Waffles’s comment still grates, which might explain in part why Teddy is already inching away.” (READ MORE)
Dean Barnett writing at Hugh Hewitt writes FAQ - The Shiites and the Sunnis “1) Who are the Sunnis and the Shiites? They are the two main sects of Islam. And generally speaking, they’re not crazy about each other.” (READ MORE)
Kim Priestap writing at Wizbang writes Iran says Israel's Days are Numbered “Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Israel, like the former Soviet Union, will soon disappear. ‘TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday told delegates at an international conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days were numbered.’” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed writes Saudis: Don't Leave Iraq “The Saudis have warned the United States against pulling out of Iraq, telling American officials that a retreat would set off a bloodbath. In fact, the Saudis feel so strongly about it that they told the US that an American withdrawal would prompt them to fund a sectarian arms race to protect the Sunni minority:” (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee writes Neck Deep “In a column published last night, Eric Boehlert does an excellent job of showing why David Brock's Media Matters should be regarded as the alimentary canal of punditry; on one end it's good at regurgitation, and on the other, the finalized product is consistently something better flushed.” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin writes After the raids: The whining begins “A natural response from open-borders zealots who've been giving the finger to immigration law for years. Right on cue, labor groups are demanding a moratorium on deportations and open-borders Catholic leaders are protesting. In Denver, 9News reports on the negotiations between the Swift & Company's Greeley, Colorado and the feds to make sure that embarrassment was kept to a minimum. How nice:” (READ MORE)
Guest writer Jimmy J writing at ShrinkWrapped writes Thoughts About Tribalism and Change “In 1965 I was the Officer-in-Charge of a Navy All-Weather Fighter detachment assigned to the Air Force at Tan Son Nhut in Vietnam. At the time the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, (MACV) was commanded by General William Westmoreland. The General held a command briefing once a week when various units briefed him on their missions and how things were going. The Seventh Fleet Liaison Officer, a Navy Commander, thought that having a Navy unit doing interceptor missions for the Air Force was a real feather in the Navy's cap and he wanted me to brief the General. I agreed and traveled from Tan Son Nhut to MACV Headquarters in downtown Saigon for that purpose.” (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU has CAIR Encourages Muslims To Sue Airlines “Despite the fact that it was suspicious behavior, not racial profiling, that lead US Airways to ground the six Imams; and despite the growing terror ties of the Imams and CAIR, the race card is being held tight by the lawyers at CAIR. Muslims are being encouraged to file civil rights complaints if they feel they are being discriminated against. One Muslim speaks out, claiming they are ‘stoking the flames of victimization.’” (READ MORE)
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