A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
General Says Army Will Need To Grow “Warning that the active-duty Army ‘will break’ under the strain of today's war-zone rotations, the nation's top Army general yesterday called for expanding the force by 7,000 or more soldiers a year and lifting Pentagon restrictions on involuntary call-ups of Army National Guard and Army Reserve...” (READ MORE)
Democratic Sen. Johnson in Stable Condition After Brain Surgery “Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) was in stable condition yesterday after emergency brain surgery, prompting optimism among family and friends and at least temporarily stanching speculation that the Democrats' narrow control of the next Senate might be in jeopardy.” (READ MORE)
Pelosi Looks to Boost Oversight of Intelligence and Ethics “House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi announced yesterday that she will create a new panel within the Appropriations Committee to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies and a House task force to examine establishing an outside ethics panel.” (READ MORE)
Israeli High Court Backs Military On Its Policy of 'Targeted Killings' “JERUSALEM, Dec. 14 -- Israel's high court upheld Thursday the military's right to assassinate members of groups the state defines as terrorist organizations, but cautioned that such operations should always be weighed first against the potential harm to civilian bystanders and the human rights of...” (READ MORE)
Johnson 'critical' after surgery “Sen. Tim Johnson remained in critical condition last night from surgery to relieve bleeding inside his brain and untangle a malformation of arteries, although doctors and aides said his recovery from the major surgery was going on ‘without complication.’” (READ MORE)
Israel lets Haniyeh cross, but not the $35 million “Israel yesterday held up Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh for eight hours at the border to the Gaza Strip until he relinquished $35 million in cash he was carrying after a two-week trip to Iran and other Muslim countries.” (READ MORE)
News From the Front:
Rill Roggio writes Battling the Insurgency in Fallujah “The Fallujah security situation; a nighttime raid with Charlie Company 1/24. As the the Iraqi Army, Fallujah Police and U.S. military work to secure Fallujah, the war in the shadows continues. Insurgents rarely fight in the open. Their tactics consist of intimidation, drive by shootings, roadside bombs, indirect mortar fire and the increasingly dangerous sniper attacks. The units currently here in Fallujah have yet to encounter a coordinated attack where the enemy maintained contact.” (READ MORE)
Omar of Iraq the Model writes Looking at the ISG report... “The ISG report was released more than a week ago but I didn't want to write immediately about it. The strange thing is that although the report is highly publicized and the recommendations touch on many critical topics few of ordinary Iraqis here seem interested in discussing it and the interest can be seen almost only among politicians.” (READ MORE)
Francis Marion writes My Job “As a soldier it is my job to hunt down and kill or capture known Islamic terrorists. I know that these terrorists do not represent the majority of Muslims. I see them every day and when I talk with them they almost all just want to live and raise their families in peace.” (READ MORE)
Celestial Junk writes Canadian Newsmaker of the Year “Congratulations to the Canadian Newsmaker of the year; fitting ... timely ... and well deserved! Every day for the past year, Canadian soldiers have been on the front lines of Afghanistan, bearing the brunt of Canada's waron terror, with courage and anonymity, no less. Right now, dozens of allied countries have troops operating in the former Taliban stronghold, but in 2006, none did more heavy lifting - or endured heavier losses - than Canada...” (READ MORE)
The Online Chaplin writes Advent "Someday …we are going home. We will leave Iraq and we will resume our roles in life. Someday…we will begin the process of acclimation to the life that used to be our primary reality. Someday…we will see our spouses, our children, our friends and our family and we will know this season is over. Someday…we will get off the plane and land once again on American soil and from that point forward stand tall as part of the proud fraternity called veterans. Someday…we will wake up in our own beds and be confident no one will try to kill us. Someday…the most difficult thing on the agenda will be class schedules, what to cook for supper, office politics and relationships. Someday…But, one things is for sure today is not someday. We are stuck somewhere between someday and almost there." (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Charles Krauthammer at The Washington Post writes In Baker's Blunder, A Chance For Bush “As a result of the Iraq Study Group, President Bush has been given one last chance to alter course on Iraq. This did not, however, come about the way James Baker intended. It came about because the long-anticipated report turned out to be, as is widely agreed, a farce.” (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd writing at Townhall.com writes Eason Jordan's portrayal of Iraq “Editor & Publisher magazine reported this week that former CNN news division chief Eason Jordan is set to launch IraqSloggers, a one-stop spot for news from Iraq on the Web.” (READ MORE)
Oliver North writing at Townhall.com writes Winning the war: Part III “’We're here to win.’ That's how a U.S. Marine corporal put it when I asked him what he was doing in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Greg Koukl writing at Townhall.com writes The Intolerance of Tolerance “Probably no concept has more currency in our politically-correct culture than the notion of tolerance. Unfortunately, one of America's noblest virtues has been so distorted it's become a vice.” (READ MORE)
Ross Mackenzie writing at Townhall.com writes SITREP on Iraq: The gnarly circumstance --and the road out “So, in military lingo, a ‘situation report’ (SITREP): Regarding Iraq, the past months have brought these developments…” (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico writes New Course For Education? “A report was released yesterday called "Tough Choices or Tough Times" that calls for a bottom up restructuring of the American education system. One of the authors offered this very on target quote: ‘The United States has one of the highest costs of education but produces mediocre results,’” (READ MORE)
Kobayashi Maru writes Kofi's Legacy “If the MSM were fair and balanced in criticizing corruption, malign motives and ineffectiveness, it would be giving the same kind of "get 'im!" saturation coverage to Kofi Annan as it has to George Bush. Instead, this OpinionJournal piece is a lonely voice indeed in its clear-eyed assessment of the Annan legacy of moral vacuousness:” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit writes Video: Behar wonders if Tim Johnson’s stroke was “man-made”; Update: DU shuts conspiracy threads “She’s got a hot lead on a prime suspect, too. Watch Hasselbeck. This is pretty much what it’s like spending a night out with friends in New York when you’re conservative.” (READ MORE)
Dean Barnett writing at Hugh Hewitt writes Wanted - An American Churchill “It’s been over a week now since the Iraq Study Group released its consensus findings. It is an indication of how much faster things move today than in the past that has taken the Baker Commission a mere eight days to find history’s ashbin. It took Marxism a century to reap a similar destiny.” (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House writes THE REFUGEE PROBLEM IN IRAQ: BAD TO WORSE “I can’t tell you the number of slings and arrows that have been flung my way for advocating dialogue with Syria and Iran in the context of a regional conference on Iraq. When I give the reason for my advocacy – a burgeoning refugee problem that threatens to overwhelm those two Iraqi neighbors which might make them more amendable to helping us stem the violence – I have been pilloried as a tool of the enemy or worse, a closet lefty.” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden writes Cruel Mockery “... of Mohammed Dawood, aka David Hicks, by the alcohol-swilling, Christmas-celebrating infidel Tim Blair. Locked up in Guantanamo, the Australian Taliban is too psychologically fragile to handle a Christmas phone call from his parents, and can't even have a beer to relax. Not like he could if he was out. Because the frothy urine of Shaitan is haram!” (READ MORE)
Texas Rainmaker writes Yes, I’m Questioning Your Patriotism “Better believe it. This isn’t about calling you out for opposing the President or disagreeing on policy matters. This is about you meeting, covorting, strategizing and coddling the enemies of the United States. That’s unpatriotic at best and traitorous at worst.” (READ MORE)
McQ of QandO writes Democrats inept. Already? “Wow, that was fast. Some are already deeming the Democratic Congress a failure before it ever has met: ‘It's a bad start, and the risk is that the Democrats are going to throw away their big chance. This week has brought comedy to their efforts, as the new Democrat head of a congressional committee on intelligence proved unable to tell Sunni from Shia...’” (READ MORE)
Dan Riehl writes America At Risk “Democrat Senator John Kerry is in Cairo, Egypt calling for America to enter into dialog with Syria and Iran regarding the Middle East. Make no mistake, those are determined enemies and only a fool would think that dialog is going to change their clearly stated goals - to dominate the Middle East and weaken America at every turn.” (READ MORE)
Cassandra writes Free Will vs. The Nanny State “No man is an island, entire of itself -- John Donne ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ ‘I am my brother's keeper.’ These ideas are as old as time. They represent something we intuitively know and yet seek to avoid in our everyday lives: the recognition that every word, each step we take, every decision we make has consequences; and furthermore that those consequences inevitably affect not just our selves, but the lives of other people.” (READ MORE)
John Hinderaker of Power Line Blog writes Mr. President, If I May Be So Bold... “Most of our readers know the story of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg. Ordered to hold Little Round Top at all costs, Chamberlain's 20th Maine fended off one attack after another. Finally, Chamberlain's men were nearly out of ammunition and it was clear they would not be able to withstand another assault. Prudence counseled retreat, but Chamberlain's orders forbade it. The Maine regiment could neither fall back nor stay where it was, so Chamberlain took the only course open to him: he told his men to fix bayonets and prepare to charge.” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed writes How Not To Establish Media Credibility “The first rule of Media Club is don't make things up. The second rule of Media Club is that if you break the first rule, don't create such a fantastic hoax that its collapse enrages an entire nation. The third rule of Media Club is that if you break the first two rules of Media Club ... start your own Internet news service.” (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU has The New Leader At The UN “As Kofi Annan bashes America in his farewell speeches, who is replacing him? His name is Ban Ki Moon, he is from South Korea and I know absolutely nothing about him. It shouldn’t be too difficult to be a better leader than corrupt Kofi, and I’m not gonna put a lot of hope in salvaging the useless and corrupt appeasing U.N. However, there seems to be a few signs that Ban Ki Moon could be a ray of light for the failing organization.” (READ MORE)
Have an interesting post or know of a "must read?" Then send a trackback here and let us all know about it. Or you can send me an email with a link to the post and I'll update the Recon.
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