A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
This is the Weekend Edition of the Web Reconnaissance it is updated periodically throughout the weekend as time and family permits.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Rice Deputy Quits After Query Over Escort Service - Randall L. Tobias, the deputy secretary of state responsible for U.S. foreign aid, abruptly resigned yesterday after he was asked about an upscale escort service allegedly involved in prostitution, U.S. government sources said. (READ MORE)
U.S., Japan Reiterate Warning to N. Korea - CAMP DAVID, April 27 -- President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threatened North Korea on Friday with the possibility of new sanctions unless Pyongyang abides by its promise to shut down its nuclear program, while Bush invited senior lawmakers to the White House next week to discuss... (READ MORE)
CIA Held Al-Qaeda Suspect Secretly - An Iraqi man accused of being a key aide to Osama bin Laden and a top leader of al-Qaeda was arrested late last year on his way to Iraq and handed over to the CIA, the Pentagon announced yesterday, in what became the first secret overseas detention since President Bush acknowledged the existence of... (READ MORE)
Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response - The first Democratic presidential debate did little to change the shape of the 2008 race, but it provided a post-debate flash point Friday between the campaigns of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over the issue of fighting terrorism. (READ MORE)
Bush invites Hill leaders to war talks - President Bush yesterday invited congressional leaders to the White House to discuss redrafting a new war-spending bill next week, and warned Democrats he is willing to wield his veto power repeatedly to block troop-withdrawal deadlines for Iraq. (READ MORE)
Saudis foil plot to attack kingdom - Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that an anti-terrorism sweep netted 172 Islamic extremists and had stopped plans to mount air attacks on the kingdom's oil refineries, break militants out of jail and send suicide attackers to kill government officials. (READ MORE)
Courts swamped by flood of cases in alien crackdown – Illegal alien-related felony cases are swamping federal courts along the southwest border, forcing judges to handle hundreds more cases than their peers elsewhere. (READ MORE)
From the Front:
The Online Chaplin: No Souls Lost “This morning I was talking to one of the soldiers from the TOC. I asked him, ‘Was it a good night?’ He responded, ‘What do you mean?’ I quickly added, ‘Did anyone die in the AO (area of operation)?’ ‘Did I have a good day?’, used to mean other things: no conflict with co-workers, no conflict with spouse, and just a general well-being about things. You know a kind of ‘Don’t worry, be happy,’ day. Nothing stressed you out. It was calm - a good day. Not any more the stakes are higher.” (READ MORE)
IraqPundit: "The present government is not competent." “USA Today reported this week from Baghdad that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in ever deeper political trouble. "A broad range of prominent Iraqi lawmakers say they have lost confidence in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to reconcile the country's warring factions," the paper reported. Al Maliki's ineffectiveness has been a major problem for some time. In order to maintain himself in office, for example, he long provided cover to Moktada Al Sadr's thugs, because Al Sadr's parliamentarians were an essential part of the Shiite coalition keeping Al Maliki in office.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Tom Borelli: Just Say No to Barney Frank’s Say on Pay “Reflecting the hostile anti-business sentiment of the Democratic majority in Congress, the U.S House of Representatives recently passed the ‘The Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act’ on April 20.” (READ MORE)
Diana West: The 'limited' war for 'hearts and minds' “Someday, when the war in Iraq has become a historical episode, we will tally up the lessons learned -- if, that is, we ever learn any. Here are two worth mastering because failing to do so probably means we will no longer exist.” (READ MORE)
Robert D. Novak: McCain's complaint “Sen. John McCain, who was the darling of the political press corps during the 2000 election cycle, complains to friends that he is getting much rougher treatment from the news media than his competitors for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.” (READ MORE)
Lawrence Kudlow: Al-Qaida Is the Problem in Iraq “According to the top American commander in Iraq, al-Qaida's No. 1 priority is defeating the United States in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Naomi Schaeffer Riley: Who Would Jesus Pick? “Rudy Giuliani didn't score many points with social conservatives last week when he issued this impassioned endorsement of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a federal ban on ‘partial-birth’ abortion: ‘I agree with it.’ He certainly didn't win over Richard Land, who has said he would never vote for Mr. Giuliani. When people ask the Southern Baptist Convention's representative in Washington why the former New York mayor's promise to appoint strict constructionist judges if he's elected president isn't enough, Mr. Land replies: ‘If he'll lie to two wives, what makes you think he wouldn't lie to you?’” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Al Qaeda-Cowed Nation Indicts U.S. Soldiers “It was only a matter of time. Charges of homicide and ‘crimes against the international community’ from a Spanish court against LTC deCamp, Maj. Philip Wolford and Sgt. Shawn Gibson in the death of Jose Cuoso in the Hotel Palestine in Baghdad, April 8, 2003. This is absurd, and shows a gross disregard for the facts. Unfriendly investigations by Reuters, Reporters Sans Frontieres and the Committee to Protect Journalists, in addition to the U.S. military’s own investigation, failed to turn up evidence of murder.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio: Taliban/al Qaeda camp targeted in North Waziristan “An unidentified explosion in the border village of Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan killed three Pakistanis and wounded four on Friday morning. While the incident seems relatively small on the scale of events in the region, the location of the strike and those involved makes the case more than interesting. The explosion certainly took place at a Taliban or al Qaida camp. Pakistani authorities claim the explosion was cause by a 'work accident' - an explosion of a terrorist bomb factory, while locals claim either a missile strike from Afghanistan or an air strike firing upwards of 5 missiles struck a home and two nearby religious schools, which were empty at the time. The explosion (or explosions) occurred at around 3:30 am local time.” (READ MORE)
Greyhawk: Appeal for More Hype “Chap asks, ‘Funnily enough I don't see anything about information war in the good LTCOL's article. Where's the IW/PA/PSYOPS love?’ Heh. I suspect that like me, Chap sees it between every line of the subsequent coverage. But perhaps I'm simply transferring my own suspicions...” (READ MORE)
A Soldier's Mind: “I’m Still Willing To Die For That Inch…” “Has anyone ever wondered about the personal strength and dedication it takes to be a soldier, fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan? Has anyone ever wondered where our troops have the intestinal fortitude to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds, against the terrorists in those countries? Has anyone ever wondered how our troops manage to continue to ‘soldier on’ when all they hear in the media is about how they should give up the fight and come home?” (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Tenet A Little Foggy On The Details “I haven't had the chance to read the book by former CIA chief George Tenet, which Harper Collins will release next week, but it has generated its share of controversy. His top-level insider's account of the pre- and post-9/11 efforts against terrorism have current Bush administration officials unhappy -- and in at least two cases, pointing out deficient fact-checking. Tenet misidentifies a key figure in an argument he makes about how back-channel analyses started, and then neglects to mention his own analysis:” (READ MORE)
Dadmanly: Second Thoughts and Generalship “Call it all some considerations of the second draft of history, all relating to how we have conducted our military efforts in Iraq, how we’ve adapted, and where we stand now. The mainstream media (MSM) delight in stories like this. They move from darling to darling, from one convenient message to another, and find ways to highlight and stress those particular threads of military commentary and opinion that supports their own biases, or the partisan aims of those they seek to assist.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: London bombings? What London bombings? “The U.S. military announced on Friday that it captured Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi (aka, Abu Abdallah). He is the mastermind behind the 7/7/2005 bombings in London. But you would not know it by reading the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Associated Press.” (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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