A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Liberals Relent on Iraq War Funding “Liberal opposition to a $124 billion war spending bill broke last night, when leaders of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus pledged to Democratic leaders that they will not block the measure, which sets timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.” (READ MORE)
Senate Panel Approves Subpoenas for 3 Top Bush Aides “Escalating a potential legal showdown with President Bush, a Senate committee yesterday approved three subpoenas to top administration officials, including White House adviser Karl Rove, demanding sworn testimony about what they knew of plans to fire eight U.S. attorneys.” (READ MORE)
GAO Faults U.S. Military Over Munitions in Iraq “The U.S. military's faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq left thousands and possibly millions of tons of conventional munitions unsecured or in the hands of insurgent groups after the 2003 invasion -- allowing widespread looting of weapons and explosives used to make roadside bombs that...” (READ MORE)
In a Changing China, News Show Thrives With Timeworn Ways “XIALU, China -- Wei Yi, a Beijing-based reporter for China Central Television's main news program, stood with his microphone in front of a little stone monument at the entrance to Xialu village. Against a backdrop of orange trees, he told millions of Chinese viewers how a government initiative had...” (READ MORE)
D.C. voting rights bid stalls in House “House Republicans derailed efforts yesterday to give the District congressional representation when they injected the city's gun ban into the debate and turned an expected vote into a tumult.” (READ MORE)
Immigration bill moves to tighter enforcement “The chief House proponents of a path to citizenship for illegal aliens yesterday also embraced stricter enforcement, arguing they need to move that direction if they hope to pass a bill this year.” (READ MORE)
GOP claims House victories in parliamentary power plays “House Republicans are wielding the power of parliamentary procedure to score floor victories unlikely for a minority party.” (READ MORE)
Chlorine cache found in Iraq “U.S. troops sweeping Baghdad have found containers of nitric acid and chlorine, raising concerns that insurgents are expanding their use of chemicals in the war for power in Iraq, military officials said yesterday.” (READ MORE)
Lure of U.S. unravels Mexican family ties “As the immigration boom enters its third decade, many Mexicans have committed themselves to one side of the border or the other, weakening family ties -- often forever.” (READ MORE)
From the Front:
Michael Yon: RUBS “The great difficulty in filing stories from Iraq is leading me to experiment. We are into the fifth year of the war Iraq, yet no comprehensive system exists to help media communicate to people at home. Raw information only trickles back from Iraq because the flow is strangled. That we are into the fifth year of war here, yet there is no filing center on even the larger bases is telling. Telling, perhaps, that information flow to America has never been a priority, or perhaps the priority has been to squelch it. The system of elaborate excuses is the only part of it all that is well-refined.” (READ MORE)
Badger 6: So What Happens When It's Finished? “Although anything can happen, we should have crested the hill here, and while it is important to stay focused on today's mission, the process of retrograde movement will take a great deal of work and soon we will have to begin working those issues. But what about me? What will I do afterwards?” (READ MORE)
Outside the Wire: You Call This A Civil War? “In Iraq, working my way through the machine. As Yon, Ardolino, Roggio, Malkin et.al. will tell you, getting to embed can be a part of the adventure. All you can do is embrace it. To pass the various hours(days) of down time, I have been reading Julius Ceasar's commentaries on the Roman Civil War.” (READ MORE)
Broken Masterpieces: Duke in Iraq - 3/22/07 “I just recently watched the movie 300. I do not recommend it because of its gore and demonstration of the sexual perversion of the King of Persia, Xerxes, but it was a great story of honor, bravery, integrity and self-sacrifice. There are other movies that have similar character values highlighted and are widely popular e.g., The Patriot, Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, Gladiator, Braveheart and The Passion to name just a few. What these movies all have in common is men fighting wars against tyranny with the main character demonstrating the previously mentioned highly regarded character traits.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Jules Crittenden: Good News Bad News “If you’re looking for some good news, we’re throwing sacks of it off the back of the truck. Come get some: Near the top of anyone’s list has to be al-Qaeda’s woes in two primary areas of operation. Iraq and Pakistan, where AQ is doing our work for us, losing hearts and minds faster than we are winning them. It’s always great news when your enemies begin fighting among themselves.” (READ MORE)
Linda Chavez: Palestinian handouts “One year ago, the United States and the European Union decided to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority after Palestinians elected Hamas, a U.S. and E.U.-designated terrorist organization, to lead their government. Now, it turns out, Western sources, including the U.S. government, have actually put more money into the West Bank and Gaza since Hamas took over than in previous years.” (READ MORE)
Patrick J. Buchanan: Rogue Congress “If the Senate and House judiciary committees issue subpoenas for Karl Rove and other White House aides to testify to their roles in the firing of the eight U.S. attorneys, President Bush should defy the subpoenas.” (READ MORE)
Oliver North: Tied in Knots “Back in Washington, congressional leaders and their lackeys in the Fourth Estate are salivating over the prospect of subpoenas flying to compel presidential aides to testify before committees on Capitol Hill about the Bush administration's decision to fire eight federal attorneys.” (READ MORE)
David Limbaugh: Who's Politicizing Justice? “One reason I have been urging Republicans to man their battle stations against Democrats is that Democrats are in perpetual, full-blown war mode against Republicans.” (READ MORE)
Jonah Goldberg: Turning up the Heat on Gore “As fate would have it, the same week Al Gore was testifying before Congress, I was doing a little testifying myself. Admittedly, there were a tad fewer paparazzi in the Madison, Wis., classroom where I was giving a talk on global warming (sponsored by Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow, or CFACT).” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: How George Bush can get his approval rating back to 50 percent “Isn't it too late for George Bush to turn things around? Not at all if he's willing to change his tactics and start taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. So, what does he need to do?” (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: I can't imagine why the President wouldn't want Karl Rove to testify “Democrats are calling for Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and other administration officials to answer questions under oath, and perhaps more importantly under Klieg lights, before a congressional committee. Why, if there is nothing to hide and there was no wrongdoing, would the President not want Rove and others to testify?” (READ MORE)
John Boehner: Democrats' Iraq plan is Irresponsible on National Security and Spending “Back in February on NBC's ‘Meet the Press,’ I warned that Democrats' non-binding resolution was merely a first step towards mandating failure in Iraq. Now they're taking the next step. It's been called the ‘slow-bleed’ strategy - an attempt to micromanage the war and choke off resources for American troops in harm's way.” (READ MORE)
Michael Fumento: John Edwards vs. Babies and Moms “John Edwards, being neither a woman nor a racial minority, isn't doing especially well in his campaign to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the U.S. presidency. But if he were half as successful in campaigning for America's top job as he was as a trial lawyer, he might be sworn in tomorrow.” (READ MORE)
Debra J. Saunders: Deliberately Clueless on Intelligence “Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson wants to impeach President Bush. In arguing that point, he asked Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday, ‘Have you seen the National Intelligence Estimate that was provided in October of 2002, in which the intelligence agency under the State Department said that Iraq was not building up a nuclear capability, that this whole story about the aluminum tubes (reportedly sought by Saddam Hussein in Niger) was completely off base?’” (READ MORE)
Washington Post Editorial: Retreat and Butter “As it is, House Democrats are pressing a bill that has the endorsement of MoveOn.org but excludes the judgment of the U.S. commanders who would have to execute the retreat the bill mandates. It would heap money on unneedy dairy farmers while provoking a constitutional fight with the White House that could block the funding to equip troops in the field. Democrats who want to force a withdrawal should vote against war appropriations. They should not seek to use pork to buy a majority for an unconditional retreat that the majority does not support.” (READ MORE)
WSJ Opinion Journal: D.C. Con “If you've visited the District of Columbia, you may have seen the license plates declaring ‘taxation without representation.’ This isn't a gripe about taxes, which they love in D.C. It's a complaint about the District's lack of seats in Congress. The rest of the country might have more sympathy if D.C.'s politicians were seeking representation according to the U.S. Constitution.” (READ MORE)
Peggy Noonan: A Cure for Political Depression “I will never forget the stunning Oct. 7, 1962, Time magazine cover that showed Franklin D. Roosevelt weeping, a shining tear snaking its way down his pale and sunken cheek as he surveyed the destruction wrought by the New Frontier--tax cuts, a Republican running Treasury. What an indictment of the Democratic Party; what a dirge for the New Deal. Oh wait, that didn't happen.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: The Waziristan Ceasefire “The fighting between Uzbeks and Taliban in the tribal agency of South Waziristan has been halted after four days of fighting and over 135 reported deaths, including 100 Uzbeks and 25 Taliban fighters. The fighting ended after senior Taliban commanders from Afghanistan and Pakistan, backed by the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur (JUI-F) political party, conducted a jirga, or tribal meeting.” (READ MORE)
The Daily Standard: Daily Iraq Report for March 22, 2007 “The violence in Baghdad remains low as further evidence emerges that Sadr's Mahdi Army is breaking apart. The most high profile incident in Baghdad occurred after a Katyusha rocket slammed into a building next to the one where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was speaking. There were no casualties.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Iran seizes 15 British sailors in Iraqi waters “Doin’ what Iran does best: taking hostages. The media I’ve looked at all have the same details thus far: 15 sailors in two inflatable boats from the HMS Cornwall were inspecting merchant ships when they were surrounded by Iranian ships and detained — at gunpoint.” (READ MORE)
Victory Caucus: Appeal for Courage Surpasses Appeal for Redress “Do calls for retreat back home harm the troops here in Iraq? Of course they do. The enemy, particularly Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), see these calls as proof their strategy is working and increase their attacks. Iraqis who would otherwise help us hear these calls and choose to stay in the background, fearing that they will be targets if we withdraw prematurely. And yes, we believe it affects our morale. The perception of a lack of support for our mission by members of our own government has created a sense of frustration for many soldiers.” (READ MORE)
Baron Bodissey: Wanted: Counterjihad Volunteers in Kansas City “Most of our readers are aware of Rep. John Conyers’ efforts to pass a congressional resolution against the desecration of the Koran. One of the highest priorities of Muslim interest groups in the United States is to get this legislation and similar initiatives passed. They are following multiple strategies on these issues, lobbying for legislation that bans airport profiling, agitating for rules protecting Islamic practices in the schools, and pushing for non-legislative regulations in addition to laws and resolutions.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Bring back Hastert “Nancy Pelosi lost control of the House last week when she got in a catfight with Maxine Waters behind closed doors in the Democratic caucus over the Iraq war. Pelosi and the rest of her Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Leadership team are trying to starve the troops out of Iraq in a move that certainly brings smiles to our enemy.” (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: The Triumph of Hate Over Principle “It appears that a last minute plea by Speaker Pelosi to the Out of Iraq Caucus, made up of the most deranged of the deranged left, has carried the day – clearing the way for a war funding bill that will do for al-Qaeda what they could never do for themselves in a million years; get American combat forces out of Iraq:” (READ MORE)
Amanda B. Carpenter: Bill Said 'It's Not Fair' to Criticize Hillary on Iraq War Vote “Former President Bill Clinton said “it’s not fair” his wife Hillary is being so harshly criticized by the left for her 2002 vote to authorize the President to use force in Iraq. And, he seemed pretty irritated that a young man from Illinois is getting more attention than Hillary from the anti-war crowd.” (READ MORE)
Neptunus Lex: Grasping the nettle “Having successfully disaffected the polis from the mission of their citizen soldiers by sharing the work of beating the ‘Another Grim Milestone’ tocsin with a national media wedded to ledes that bleed, and having ridden that disaffection into majority status in the national legislature, the new sheriffs in town wonder - apart from raking through the muck of decisions past for further incremental partisan gain- what is to be done? About, you know: The War. Because this whole ‘governing responsibly’ thing? Harder than it looked.” (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: (Video) Coalition forces mobbed in Sadr City “...which is what happens when you set up a medical clinic in such a location. As part of my own preparation for deployment, I've re-qualified on the various weapons I'll have at my side, but also completed Combat Lifesaver training - something our enemy has little use for:” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin: Six, seven, eight strikes, you're out “When I was writing Invasion five years ago, I interviewed immigration officials who joked that the rule for border-crossing prosecutions in southern California and Arizona was ‘thirteen strikes and you're out.’ So this new story from the Associated Press headlined ‘Border crossings rarely prosecuted’ in Texas is no surprise. Same old, same old:” (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee: The Silencer “This is U.S. Army General Vincent K. Brooks. He might look familiar as the man once known as the ‘the face of the U.S. military’ for his role as spokesman for U.S. Central Command during the beginning of the Iraq War, He was the former chief PAO (Public Affairs Officer) of the US Army. He is currently the deputy commanding general - support for Multinational Division-Baghdad. Vincent Brooks is also the general that has just threatened to kick Michael Yon out of Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed: WaPo Slams Democrats For Devotion To Pork Over National Security “On the eve of a critical House vote on supplemental funding for the Iraq war, the Washington Post scolds the Democrats who attached billions in pork spending to bribe its members to vote for a withdrawal timetable. The editors take apart the legislation, stating that its sponsors care more for a handful of peanut farmers than for the 24 million Iraqis who depend on the US for their security:” (READ MORE)
Dafydd: Imagine... “Imagine there are no Republicans, It's easy if you try...This is quite remarkable: The Washington Post, normally a pretty good newspaper, published a front-page article about the Democratic House and Senate caucuses wrangling with their wayward members. They tussled over how to enact legislation that would begin to force an American surrender in Iraq within the next few months -- by hanging that legislation like an albatross around the neck of the president's emergency supplemental war-funding bill.” (READ MORE)
Dadmanly: Gaseous Religion “Jan Lopatka of Reuters reported on comments by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, in which he equated the ‘religion’ of Global Warming alarmism with the ideology of communism. Somehow I don’t see these comments getting wider airplay in American mainstream media (MSM), not with all the gushing over the Prophet Gore (or the Goracle, ala the wags at National Review).” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: The Musharraf Era “Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is being challenged on several fronts, from an insurgency in Wazirstan to legal challenges within his own government, according to Ahmed Rashid of the Washington Post. His departure from office may come sooner rather than later.” (READ MORE)
Patterico: Ed Whelan on the U.S. Attorney Firings and the Politicization of DoJ “Ed Whelan has been doing excellent work on the issue of the U.S. Attorney firings, and a couple of his posts are worth extensive quotation. First, we have some useful input on the story I mentioned yesterday about the alleged political interference in the tobacco case. Ed reprints an e-mail from a DoJ official who worked on the case, and adds his emphasis with italics:” (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.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Liberals Relent on Iraq War Funding “Liberal opposition to a $124 billion war spending bill broke last night, when leaders of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus pledged to Democratic leaders that they will not block the measure, which sets timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.” (READ MORE)
Senate Panel Approves Subpoenas for 3 Top Bush Aides “Escalating a potential legal showdown with President Bush, a Senate committee yesterday approved three subpoenas to top administration officials, including White House adviser Karl Rove, demanding sworn testimony about what they knew of plans to fire eight U.S. attorneys.” (READ MORE)
GAO Faults U.S. Military Over Munitions in Iraq “The U.S. military's faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq left thousands and possibly millions of tons of conventional munitions unsecured or in the hands of insurgent groups after the 2003 invasion -- allowing widespread looting of weapons and explosives used to make roadside bombs that...” (READ MORE)
In a Changing China, News Show Thrives With Timeworn Ways “XIALU, China -- Wei Yi, a Beijing-based reporter for China Central Television's main news program, stood with his microphone in front of a little stone monument at the entrance to Xialu village. Against a backdrop of orange trees, he told millions of Chinese viewers how a government initiative had...” (READ MORE)
D.C. voting rights bid stalls in House “House Republicans derailed efforts yesterday to give the District congressional representation when they injected the city's gun ban into the debate and turned an expected vote into a tumult.” (READ MORE)
Immigration bill moves to tighter enforcement “The chief House proponents of a path to citizenship for illegal aliens yesterday also embraced stricter enforcement, arguing they need to move that direction if they hope to pass a bill this year.” (READ MORE)
GOP claims House victories in parliamentary power plays “House Republicans are wielding the power of parliamentary procedure to score floor victories unlikely for a minority party.” (READ MORE)
Chlorine cache found in Iraq “U.S. troops sweeping Baghdad have found containers of nitric acid and chlorine, raising concerns that insurgents are expanding their use of chemicals in the war for power in Iraq, military officials said yesterday.” (READ MORE)
Lure of U.S. unravels Mexican family ties “As the immigration boom enters its third decade, many Mexicans have committed themselves to one side of the border or the other, weakening family ties -- often forever.” (READ MORE)
From the Front:
Michael Yon: RUBS “The great difficulty in filing stories from Iraq is leading me to experiment. We are into the fifth year of the war Iraq, yet no comprehensive system exists to help media communicate to people at home. Raw information only trickles back from Iraq because the flow is strangled. That we are into the fifth year of war here, yet there is no filing center on even the larger bases is telling. Telling, perhaps, that information flow to America has never been a priority, or perhaps the priority has been to squelch it. The system of elaborate excuses is the only part of it all that is well-refined.” (READ MORE)
Badger 6: So What Happens When It's Finished? “Although anything can happen, we should have crested the hill here, and while it is important to stay focused on today's mission, the process of retrograde movement will take a great deal of work and soon we will have to begin working those issues. But what about me? What will I do afterwards?” (READ MORE)
Outside the Wire: You Call This A Civil War? “In Iraq, working my way through the machine. As Yon, Ardolino, Roggio, Malkin et.al. will tell you, getting to embed can be a part of the adventure. All you can do is embrace it. To pass the various hours(days) of down time, I have been reading Julius Ceasar's commentaries on the Roman Civil War.” (READ MORE)
Broken Masterpieces: Duke in Iraq - 3/22/07 “I just recently watched the movie 300. I do not recommend it because of its gore and demonstration of the sexual perversion of the King of Persia, Xerxes, but it was a great story of honor, bravery, integrity and self-sacrifice. There are other movies that have similar character values highlighted and are widely popular e.g., The Patriot, Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, Gladiator, Braveheart and The Passion to name just a few. What these movies all have in common is men fighting wars against tyranny with the main character demonstrating the previously mentioned highly regarded character traits.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Jules Crittenden: Good News Bad News “If you’re looking for some good news, we’re throwing sacks of it off the back of the truck. Come get some: Near the top of anyone’s list has to be al-Qaeda’s woes in two primary areas of operation. Iraq and Pakistan, where AQ is doing our work for us, losing hearts and minds faster than we are winning them. It’s always great news when your enemies begin fighting among themselves.” (READ MORE)
Linda Chavez: Palestinian handouts “One year ago, the United States and the European Union decided to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority after Palestinians elected Hamas, a U.S. and E.U.-designated terrorist organization, to lead their government. Now, it turns out, Western sources, including the U.S. government, have actually put more money into the West Bank and Gaza since Hamas took over than in previous years.” (READ MORE)
Patrick J. Buchanan: Rogue Congress “If the Senate and House judiciary committees issue subpoenas for Karl Rove and other White House aides to testify to their roles in the firing of the eight U.S. attorneys, President Bush should defy the subpoenas.” (READ MORE)
Oliver North: Tied in Knots “Back in Washington, congressional leaders and their lackeys in the Fourth Estate are salivating over the prospect of subpoenas flying to compel presidential aides to testify before committees on Capitol Hill about the Bush administration's decision to fire eight federal attorneys.” (READ MORE)
David Limbaugh: Who's Politicizing Justice? “One reason I have been urging Republicans to man their battle stations against Democrats is that Democrats are in perpetual, full-blown war mode against Republicans.” (READ MORE)
Jonah Goldberg: Turning up the Heat on Gore “As fate would have it, the same week Al Gore was testifying before Congress, I was doing a little testifying myself. Admittedly, there were a tad fewer paparazzi in the Madison, Wis., classroom where I was giving a talk on global warming (sponsored by Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow, or CFACT).” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: How George Bush can get his approval rating back to 50 percent “Isn't it too late for George Bush to turn things around? Not at all if he's willing to change his tactics and start taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. So, what does he need to do?” (READ MORE)
Lorie Byrd: I can't imagine why the President wouldn't want Karl Rove to testify “Democrats are calling for Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and other administration officials to answer questions under oath, and perhaps more importantly under Klieg lights, before a congressional committee. Why, if there is nothing to hide and there was no wrongdoing, would the President not want Rove and others to testify?” (READ MORE)
John Boehner: Democrats' Iraq plan is Irresponsible on National Security and Spending “Back in February on NBC's ‘Meet the Press,’ I warned that Democrats' non-binding resolution was merely a first step towards mandating failure in Iraq. Now they're taking the next step. It's been called the ‘slow-bleed’ strategy - an attempt to micromanage the war and choke off resources for American troops in harm's way.” (READ MORE)
Michael Fumento: John Edwards vs. Babies and Moms “John Edwards, being neither a woman nor a racial minority, isn't doing especially well in his campaign to become the Democratic Party's candidate for the U.S. presidency. But if he were half as successful in campaigning for America's top job as he was as a trial lawyer, he might be sworn in tomorrow.” (READ MORE)
Debra J. Saunders: Deliberately Clueless on Intelligence “Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson wants to impeach President Bush. In arguing that point, he asked Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday, ‘Have you seen the National Intelligence Estimate that was provided in October of 2002, in which the intelligence agency under the State Department said that Iraq was not building up a nuclear capability, that this whole story about the aluminum tubes (reportedly sought by Saddam Hussein in Niger) was completely off base?’” (READ MORE)
Washington Post Editorial: Retreat and Butter “As it is, House Democrats are pressing a bill that has the endorsement of MoveOn.org but excludes the judgment of the U.S. commanders who would have to execute the retreat the bill mandates. It would heap money on unneedy dairy farmers while provoking a constitutional fight with the White House that could block the funding to equip troops in the field. Democrats who want to force a withdrawal should vote against war appropriations. They should not seek to use pork to buy a majority for an unconditional retreat that the majority does not support.” (READ MORE)
WSJ Opinion Journal: D.C. Con “If you've visited the District of Columbia, you may have seen the license plates declaring ‘taxation without representation.’ This isn't a gripe about taxes, which they love in D.C. It's a complaint about the District's lack of seats in Congress. The rest of the country might have more sympathy if D.C.'s politicians were seeking representation according to the U.S. Constitution.” (READ MORE)
Peggy Noonan: A Cure for Political Depression “I will never forget the stunning Oct. 7, 1962, Time magazine cover that showed Franklin D. Roosevelt weeping, a shining tear snaking its way down his pale and sunken cheek as he surveyed the destruction wrought by the New Frontier--tax cuts, a Republican running Treasury. What an indictment of the Democratic Party; what a dirge for the New Deal. Oh wait, that didn't happen.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: The Waziristan Ceasefire “The fighting between Uzbeks and Taliban in the tribal agency of South Waziristan has been halted after four days of fighting and over 135 reported deaths, including 100 Uzbeks and 25 Taliban fighters. The fighting ended after senior Taliban commanders from Afghanistan and Pakistan, backed by the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur (JUI-F) political party, conducted a jirga, or tribal meeting.” (READ MORE)
The Daily Standard: Daily Iraq Report for March 22, 2007 “The violence in Baghdad remains low as further evidence emerges that Sadr's Mahdi Army is breaking apart. The most high profile incident in Baghdad occurred after a Katyusha rocket slammed into a building next to the one where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was speaking. There were no casualties.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Iran seizes 15 British sailors in Iraqi waters “Doin’ what Iran does best: taking hostages. The media I’ve looked at all have the same details thus far: 15 sailors in two inflatable boats from the HMS Cornwall were inspecting merchant ships when they were surrounded by Iranian ships and detained — at gunpoint.” (READ MORE)
Victory Caucus: Appeal for Courage Surpasses Appeal for Redress “Do calls for retreat back home harm the troops here in Iraq? Of course they do. The enemy, particularly Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), see these calls as proof their strategy is working and increase their attacks. Iraqis who would otherwise help us hear these calls and choose to stay in the background, fearing that they will be targets if we withdraw prematurely. And yes, we believe it affects our morale. The perception of a lack of support for our mission by members of our own government has created a sense of frustration for many soldiers.” (READ MORE)
Baron Bodissey: Wanted: Counterjihad Volunteers in Kansas City “Most of our readers are aware of Rep. John Conyers’ efforts to pass a congressional resolution against the desecration of the Koran. One of the highest priorities of Muslim interest groups in the United States is to get this legislation and similar initiatives passed. They are following multiple strategies on these issues, lobbying for legislation that bans airport profiling, agitating for rules protecting Islamic practices in the schools, and pushing for non-legislative regulations in addition to laws and resolutions.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Bring back Hastert “Nancy Pelosi lost control of the House last week when she got in a catfight with Maxine Waters behind closed doors in the Democratic caucus over the Iraq war. Pelosi and the rest of her Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Leadership team are trying to starve the troops out of Iraq in a move that certainly brings smiles to our enemy.” (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: The Triumph of Hate Over Principle “It appears that a last minute plea by Speaker Pelosi to the Out of Iraq Caucus, made up of the most deranged of the deranged left, has carried the day – clearing the way for a war funding bill that will do for al-Qaeda what they could never do for themselves in a million years; get American combat forces out of Iraq:” (READ MORE)
Amanda B. Carpenter: Bill Said 'It's Not Fair' to Criticize Hillary on Iraq War Vote “Former President Bill Clinton said “it’s not fair” his wife Hillary is being so harshly criticized by the left for her 2002 vote to authorize the President to use force in Iraq. And, he seemed pretty irritated that a young man from Illinois is getting more attention than Hillary from the anti-war crowd.” (READ MORE)
Neptunus Lex: Grasping the nettle “Having successfully disaffected the polis from the mission of their citizen soldiers by sharing the work of beating the ‘Another Grim Milestone’ tocsin with a national media wedded to ledes that bleed, and having ridden that disaffection into majority status in the national legislature, the new sheriffs in town wonder - apart from raking through the muck of decisions past for further incremental partisan gain- what is to be done? About, you know: The War. Because this whole ‘governing responsibly’ thing? Harder than it looked.” (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: (Video) Coalition forces mobbed in Sadr City “...which is what happens when you set up a medical clinic in such a location. As part of my own preparation for deployment, I've re-qualified on the various weapons I'll have at my side, but also completed Combat Lifesaver training - something our enemy has little use for:” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin: Six, seven, eight strikes, you're out “When I was writing Invasion five years ago, I interviewed immigration officials who joked that the rule for border-crossing prosecutions in southern California and Arizona was ‘thirteen strikes and you're out.’ So this new story from the Associated Press headlined ‘Border crossings rarely prosecuted’ in Texas is no surprise. Same old, same old:” (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee: The Silencer “This is U.S. Army General Vincent K. Brooks. He might look familiar as the man once known as the ‘the face of the U.S. military’ for his role as spokesman for U.S. Central Command during the beginning of the Iraq War, He was the former chief PAO (Public Affairs Officer) of the US Army. He is currently the deputy commanding general - support for Multinational Division-Baghdad. Vincent Brooks is also the general that has just threatened to kick Michael Yon out of Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed: WaPo Slams Democrats For Devotion To Pork Over National Security “On the eve of a critical House vote on supplemental funding for the Iraq war, the Washington Post scolds the Democrats who attached billions in pork spending to bribe its members to vote for a withdrawal timetable. The editors take apart the legislation, stating that its sponsors care more for a handful of peanut farmers than for the 24 million Iraqis who depend on the US for their security:” (READ MORE)
Dafydd: Imagine... “Imagine there are no Republicans, It's easy if you try...This is quite remarkable: The Washington Post, normally a pretty good newspaper, published a front-page article about the Democratic House and Senate caucuses wrangling with their wayward members. They tussled over how to enact legislation that would begin to force an American surrender in Iraq within the next few months -- by hanging that legislation like an albatross around the neck of the president's emergency supplemental war-funding bill.” (READ MORE)
Dadmanly: Gaseous Religion “Jan Lopatka of Reuters reported on comments by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, in which he equated the ‘religion’ of Global Warming alarmism with the ideology of communism. Somehow I don’t see these comments getting wider airplay in American mainstream media (MSM), not with all the gushing over the Prophet Gore (or the Goracle, ala the wags at National Review).” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: The Musharraf Era “Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is being challenged on several fronts, from an insurgency in Wazirstan to legal challenges within his own government, according to Ahmed Rashid of the Washington Post. His departure from office may come sooner rather than later.” (READ MORE)
Patterico: Ed Whelan on the U.S. Attorney Firings and the Politicization of DoJ “Ed Whelan has been doing excellent work on the issue of the U.S. Attorney firings, and a couple of his posts are worth extensive quotation. First, we have some useful input on the story I mentioned yesterday about the alleged political interference in the tobacco case. Ed reprints an e-mail from a DoJ official who worked on the case, and adds his emphasis with italics:” (READ MORE)
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