June 22, 2007

Web Reconnaissance for 06/22/2007

A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.


In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
CIA to Air Decades of Its Dirty Laundry - The CIA will declassify hundreds of pages of long-secret records detailing some of the intelligence agency's worst illegal abuses -- the so-called "family jewels" documenting a quarter-century of overseas assassination attempts, domestic spying, kidnapping and infiltration of leftist groups... (READ MORE)

Senators Deride Justice Reassignments - Democratic senators responded caustically yesterday to reports that a former head of the Justice Department's civil rights division pushed aside three minority women on his staff to "make room for some good Americans," as the lawmakers implored his successor to remove all political taint... (READ MORE)

Troops Pushing South Through Insurgent Area - PATROL BASE MURRAY, Iraq, June 21 -- More than 1,200 American soldiers are pushing south along the Tigris River through a Sunni insurgent haven known as Arab Jubour, a formidable operation that is part of an overall U.S. strategy to take control of the terrain encircling the capital. (READ MORE)

Right Seeks Next Wave of Leaders - Conservatives are looking to revitalize their movement by trying to heal divisions in their coalition and finding younger leaders as the 2008 elections approach. (READ MORE)

Talk Radio 'Dominated' by Right -A report from a liberal think tank yesterday criticized the "right-wing domination of talk radio," saying the current landscape does not serve all Americans. (READ MORE)

Abbas Invited to Egypt Summit - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a regional summit next week, a strong show of support for the embattled Palestinian leader by a leading moderate Arab government in the region. (READ MORE)

N. Korea Delays U.N. Inspectors - North Korea yesterday put on hold a planned visit to Pyongyang by U.N. nuclear inspectors just hours after top U.S. negotiator Christopher R. Hill touched down in Pyongyang. (READ MORE)

Liberals Adopt Name for 'Progress' - Don't call them liberals. They prefer the term "progressive" and think their brand of politics is where the country is headed. (READ MORE)


From the Front:
Michael Yon: Arrowhead Ripper: Surrender or Die “Our guys are winning. Al Qaeda is about to be strangled and pummeled to death in this town, but the local Iraqi leadership is severely wanting. This was most obviously noted in one area in particular, where there were some slight indicators of a possible humanitarian need. ‘Crisis’ certainly is not the correct word, but there are displaced persons numbering at least in the hundreds. LTC Fred Johnson actually took me out there. (The access even to “bad” news is amazing with this Brigade.)” (READ MORE)

Half a World Away: Almost Home “Well, we are back on friendly soil finally. We hit Fort McCoy, Wisconsin on Tuesday and are all well on our way to getting demobilized and out of here. The folks here are great, and it is wonderful to be back in the US of A. They are planning a little party for us when we get back, you can read about it at Omaha.com or LJS.com. More to come later when I have some more free time, internet and email access is very hard to come by and we've had some long days checking the boxes trying to get out of here.” (READ MORE)

Matt Sanchez: Iraqi Police Training In Fallujah By Matt Sanchez “Sometime after 0200 Operation Alljah began in a middle-class neighborhood in northern Fallujah. The Marines of the 2nd Battalion 6th Marines occupied a police precinct and began a swarm or strategic blocking off of the streets, in order to control access both in and out of the neighborhood. That morning, by the time I arrived with the 5/10, an artillery unit crossed-trained for civil affairs, the 2/6 were firmly ensconced in the east side of the concrete precinct.” (READ MORE)

Northern Disclosure: Here we go Again “I must say that this flight over the pond was the best one that I have been on ever. I am not sure what caused it to be so enjoyable but I was able to sleep the majority of the trip when in the past I was wide awake the entire 23 hours and felt miserable when I got here. I was well rested and somewhat undisturbed by the fact that we landed in the middle of the night and went straight into training till the next night. The weather is as expected +100 F when the sun is down and over 120 when it’s up.” (READ MORE)


On the Web:
Bill Roggio: Operation Phantom Thunder: The Battle of Iraq “Operation Phantom Thunder, the name of the overarching operation to secure the Baghdad Belts, is now in its fifth day. As noted yesterday, Phantom Thunder is a corps-level operation, with multiple U.S. and Iraqi divisions engaged on multiple fronts. Iraqi Security Forces and Multinational Forces Iraq are engaged in intense fights in four main theaters:” (READ MORE)

Kimberly A. Strassel: Pork Project “It was about a week ago that House Democrats ran up the white flag on earmarks and begrudgingly agreed to live by their campaign pledges to make pork requests public. It was also about a week ago that Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a sweeping new state transparency law, which will give his taxpayers detailed information about every state expenditure, grant and contract. Mark the difference.” (READ MORE)

Peggy Noonan: What's Not to Like “Hillary Clinton doesn't have to prove she's a man. She has to prove she's a woman. She doesn't have to prove to people that she's tough enough or aggressive enough to be commander in chief. She doesn't have to show she could and would wage a war. She has to prove she has normal human warmth, a normal amount of give, of good nature, that she is not, at bottom, grimly combative and rather dark.” (READ MORE)

Brendan Miniter: Vietnam's 'Dark Years' “In March, Le Quoc Quan returned to his native Vietnam after finishing a fellowship at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. He was promptly arrested and charged with planning to overthrow the government. The charges make sense in the communist country: His fellowship focused on how to peacefully spread democracy. Under pressure from the U.S. he was released on Saturday.” (READ MORE)

Dorothy Rabinowitz: A Tale of Two Prosecutors “This week the Duke-Nifong drama oozed to its finale, with a payout to the victims, a confidentiality agreement, the usual salutes to the healing process, and plans on the part of the principals to begin putting the case behind them. Missing from these declamations was the core reality that had brought this day to pass. No one expected participants in this peace-and-resolution ceremony to find a moment to recall the rightful fury and amazement this case engendered across the nation and outside of it--but such a moment would not have been out of place.” (READ MORE)

Lorie Byrd: Vice President Steele? “Even though the 2008 presidential campaign is in full swing, I have not heard a lot of talk about who the most likely vice presidential candidates will be. So far that talk has been largely limited to discussion of the second (and third) tier presidential hopefuls who have been getting exposure through the debates. I expect my favorite though, Michael Steele, will be getting plenty of VP buzz as the election nears.” (READ MORE)

John Hawkins: Eight Reasons Why GOP Senators Should Vote Against The Amnesty Bill “This bill is incredibly unpopular with the general public. In poll after poll, you'll find that the American people are strongly opposed to this bill. Rassmussen shows the public opposing it 50% to 23%. Survey USA says the public is against it 46% to 36%.” (READ MORE)

Jon Sanders: That Wacky Fourteen Percent “Americans' confidence in Congress is at a historic low point, according to results of a Gallup poll released Thursday. Only 14 percent of Americans surveyed said they had a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in Congress.” (READ MORE)

Paul Greenberg: Man of the Century “Kurt Waldheim is dead. It says so in the New York Times, and doubtless in all the other official records-from his death certificate to his extensive resume. His papers were always in order, his career well documented: law degree, University of Vienna; a string of diplomatic posts culminating in his appointment as Austria's foreign minister; secretary-general of the United Nations; president of Austria.” (READ MORE)

Rebecca Hagelin: Education Policy: Lesson Learned? “Who should be in charge of your child’s education -- you or some strangers in Washington, D.C.? It’s a question worth pondering as Congress prepares to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind law.” (READ MORE)

Oliver North: Allied Angst (Last in a Series) “There was a time when American military leaders worried about whether wobbly allies would rally to us when it came time to stand up to the Soviets. Now it's our allies who worry about us.” (READ MORE)

David Limbaugh: The Left's Stranglehold on the Donkey “If -- and this is a big ‘if’ -- Republicans eventually get their house in order on immigration and other major issues, they might be able to capitalize on the extreme left's stranglehold on the Democratic Party.” (READ MORE)

Charles Krauthammer: Hamas in Gaza: Trouble All Around “Gaza is now run not by a conventional political party, but by a movement that is revolutionary, Islamist and terrorist.” (READ MORE)

Jonah Goldberg: A Candidate for No Place “We get the word ‘Utopia’ from Thomas More. Today we mostly use the word ‘utopian’ to describe people who think impossible things, like the Pentagon could hold a bake sale to fund itself or that Communism could work if only someone would give it a fair shot.” (READ MORE)

Linda Chavez: Arnold, Speak English, Please “Like most politicians, Schwarzenegger is quick to embrace English as the national language and hint that Hispanics aren't learning it fast enough, but he is also eager to habla Espanol when election-time rolls around.” (READ MORE)

Patrick J. Buchanan: The Martyr of Mosul “On April 1 -- Palm Sunday -- after bullets were fired into the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, Iraq, during mass, the pastor, Father Ragheed Ganni, a Chaldean Catholic, e-mailed friends at the Asia Times:” (READ MORE)

Fred Thompson: A Federalist Approach to Malpractice Abuse “Out-of-control medical malpractice lawsuits have been a problem in many parts of the country for a long time.” (READ MORE)

Cliff May: Where We Fight “America is at war with al-Qaeda - on that surely we can agree - and we know that al-Qaeda has bases in Pakistan. In fact, it is probable that Osama bin Laden resides at one of those bases. But we can’t fight al-Qaeda in Pakistan because Pakistan is an ally, and America does not violate the territorial integrity of its allies.” (READ MORE)

Victor Davis Hanson: More Middle East Madness “For years, Palestinian Authority-sanctioned gangs shot and tortured dissidents, glorified suicide bombing against Israel and in general thwarted any hopes of various ‘peace processes.’” (READ MORE)

La Shawn Barber: Airwave Envy II “Liberals are such crybabies. (By the grace of God, I’m no longer a liberal. No more tears!) They’re still whining about the domination of conservative talk radio. The Center for American Progress and Free Press, liberal “think” tanks, put out a joint 40-page report titled, Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio (PDF). They outline the “problem” and propose solutions that wouldn’t surprise even the most politically apathetic American.” (READ MORE)

Jim Addison: Roll Call exposes politicians on fake letters “The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call caught legislators trying to pass off stacks of empty boxes as the "million letters" they supposedly received on behalf of the McCain-Kennedy Immigration bill. Ron Brynaert of Raw Story reports: ‘At a pro-immigration rally Thursday, a group of politicians including Sens. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) addressed reporters while picturesquely standing in front of an impressive tower of boxes they said contained letters from a million supporters of comprehensive immigration reform,’ Emily Heil reports for Roll Call's 'Heard on the Hill.'” (READ MORE)

Paul: Lee Ward... Meet Google “A few posts ago I blogged the story of a liberal group who was outraged at the ‘dominance’ of conservatives on talk radio. They proposed using government policy to change this dominance by (among other things) fining stations that did not have enough liberals or had too many conservatives. At the time I tried to explain to any liberal reading what this meant... ‘In other words, Censorship. - Contrary to what the "progressives" claim, private citizens smashing Dixie Chicks CDs is not censorship. Having the government regulate political speech is.’” (READ MORE)

Allahpundit: (Audio) Hillary, Boxer hatch nefarious plot … right in front of James Inhofe? “Anyone else find this a tad too bad to be true? No doubt Madam President would love to have Rush et al. muzzled in time for her inauguration; that’s what lackeys like John Podesta are for. But tipping her hand with Inhofe standing right there? It’d be like Bill talking about Monica within earshot of Newt Gingrich circa early 1998.” (READ MORE)

Bryan Preston: (Video) Winning Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan “We don’t hear or see much about Afghanistan in the media. The series ‘Winning Hearts and Minds’ aims to change that, by following the lives and work of a group of US Army civil affairs soldiers as they help the locals rebuild, or in many cases build, Afghanistan.” (READ MORE)

Augean Stables: Stick two Fingers in Your Eyes: Richard A. Norton’s Recipe for Dealing with Hamas “Among the plethora of bad advice coming out of the ‘talking heads,’ I can’t resist fisking the piece by Richard Augustus Norton in the Boston Globe. First it’s my home newspaper; second, Norton’s at my university; and third, he is one of the prominent figures in pushing the notion of ‘civil society’ that I criticize in my essay on the topic. Martin Kramer dedicates some pages to him in his Ivory Towers on Sand as one of the many examples of misplaced (but self-assured) confidence in the imminent flowering of democracy in the Arab world (67-69).” (READ MORE)

The Belmont Club: Westhawk on Iraqi Strategy “Westhawk tries to understand the new US strategy in Iraq from its effects. ‘Over the past several months it has become clear that the U.S. has become much more interested in a 'bottom up' political and military strategy in Iraq. ... The good news is that the Americans have finally found a technique that allows them to find and get at the al Qaeda cells in Iraq. The bad news is that the Shi’ite and Kurdish majority in Iraq, more than 80% of the population, doesn’t like what the Americans are now doing.’” (READ MORE)

Flopping Aces: Did Saddam's WMD Go To Syria? Part IV “Saddam’s ‘Special Weapons’ went by air to Syria, Belarus, and possibly Russia and Libya as well. They went by ground to Syria, and they went by sea to points unreported. The plan was called ‘Sarindar’ (“Emergency Exit”), and wasn’t much different in general strategic terms from the American flight from Saigon, South Vietnam. Just as US embassy officials shredded and burned documents in Saigon, and again in Tehran, Kabul, and a dozen other fallen nations, the Russians and others did what they could to move, hide, and/or destroy their sensitive documents, equipment that they’d provided to Saddam’s Regime, and allegedly his WMD and WMD equipment as well. ‘By air, by land, and by sea’ That is the claim made by Gen. Sada, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Shaw, and Gen. Ibrahim, Ariel Sharon, Israeli intelligence, and many more.” (READ MORE)

Big Dog: Diplomat Pelosi Still Does Not Get It “When Nancy Pelosi went to Syria she probably violated the Logan Act by interfering in negotiations with another country. Diplomatic negotiations are part of the Executive Branch function and not that of the Legislative. In addition to playing Diplomat, a message she gave to Syria from Israel was not conveyed properly and left Israel denying what Pelosi said.” (READ MORE)

Major Z: It is my second anniversary. “--Of the first day that I died. It's weird to say that, but I died two years ago. Now, don't go and get all religeous and evangelical, I died, as in the muscle in my chest that pumps blood where MOST other people have "hearts" stopped pumping--clinical death.” (READ MORE)

Dymphna: Everyone Knows Real Socialism Just Hasn’t Been Tried Yet… “Okay, let’s have another round of “you-can’t-make this-stuff-up”: ‘Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the government may take control of more private farms and food plants to increase production of beef and milk amid shortages. Chavez asked government and military officials to help expose milk and beef companies that refuse to sell at regulated prices, and said the government will expropriate them, in comments broadcast by state-run Venezolana de Television.” (READ MORE)

Baron Bodissey: The Counterjihad Calendar Project “Back in March I posted an announcement about an organization called Stop the Islamization of Europe. SIOE is a joint effort put together by SIAD (Stop Islamiseringen Af Danmark) and Akte-Islam, a prominent counterjihad group in Germany. SIOE is organizing a demonstration at the EU Parliament in Brussels on September 11th, 2007, to protest the ongoing Islamization of Europe. Since the launching of SIOE in March the plans for the demonstration have proceeded apace.” (READ MORE)

Amy Proctor: Netanyhu Spanks Carter Over "Criminal"Comment “Bottom Line Up Front: Former President Jimmy Carter sides with terrorist group Hamas, recklessly bashing U.S. policy on foreign soil again while Benjamin Netanyahu put him in his place. The United States backs Fatah rather than the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, and Jimmy Carter responded calling it ‘criminal’. Hunky former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, interviewed here on CNN’s Wolf Blizter’s The Situation Room, spanked Carter calling his comments ‘bizarre’ and asks if Carter is up to date on his current events.” (READ MORE)

Michelle Malkin: Are there any grown-ups left in Seattle? “As a former resident of the Emerald City, this doesn’t surprise me: ‘A protest of military recruiting in Seattle Public Schools has shut down tonight’s School Board meeting. Acting President Darlene Flynn recessed the meeting before she could even take roll because about 30 students marched into the meeting room chanting.’” (READ MORE)

Daniel Jackson: Syrian bull roaring on the Golan Heights “Since the Golan Heights is back on the front burner, panorama of the Bashan area of the Golan gives some the ability to see what is at stake. This image was taken near the town of Yonatan from the site of an abandoned Syrian redoubt atop a hill next to the historical site of Gamla. We are looking East towards the Syrian border with Har Peres to the left of center. To the right is the ventilating pipe to one of the bunkers. The Golan is now home to over 30,000 people. Reservoirs, orchards, and vineyards have been planted during the last 30 years. The the new town of Katsrin is home to some 13,000, most of whom are Russian immigrants from the 1990s. Katsrin is now the regional center with a college, museum, galleries, a winery cooperative, a new brewery.” (READ MORE)

Pros and Cons: The Taliban in Pakistan behaves like the FMLN in El Salvador or the FARC in Colombia, and other GWOT news – UPDATE “Whacking Al Qaeda, in Pakistan, in Iraq, in New York City, is always a good thing. Bill Roggio has excellent details here. But the recruitment of Germans, Americans, Britons and Canadians referenced in the post is, naturally, creepy. The Orwellian refusal of the Pakistani government to confront them reminds me of El Salvador’s initally hapless reaction to the FMLN or Colombia’s atitude of half-measures against its worst insurgents prior to the election of Alvaro Uribe. For more on Colombia, I recommend looking to Poliblogger. (In related news, Daniel, fifth election’s the charm, Ortega el Presidente of Nicaragua, is looking for bling in all the wrong places, again.)” (READ MORE)

McQ: Third party politics “With the president’s approval ratings in the tank and with Congress holding at an all time low (14%) third party talk is perking up. Yesterday the focus was on a possible Michael Bloomberg run. Today, the Naderites are cheering because Ralph is thinking about it again: ‘You know the two parties are still converging — they don’t even debate the military budget anymore,’ Nader said in a 30-minute interview. ‘I really think there needs to be more competition from outside the two parties.’” (READ MORE)

RedState: Carl Levin Goes Lincoln “Watching the antics of the Democrat majority, especially that in the Senate, trying to have the Iraq issue both ways is turning out to be quite amusing. While some of my colleagues believe that the Iraq War, if still going on in 2008, will result in Republicans being punished at the polls I think the issue is immensely more complicated and the Democrats are struggling to find a way to make the issue a winner just as much as many Republicans are trying to keep it from being a loser. Support for and opposition to the war is very soft.” (READ MORE)

Reformed Chicks Blabbing: Fred Thompson on the President “You've probably seen the articles about the candidates distancing themselves from Bush since he is so unpopular right now with not only the public but the base as well. I think that Thompson handles this situation in the right way in his interview with the Times of London. He focuses on the future and what he will do and refuses to dwell on the mistakes of the president:” (READ MORE)

Right Truth: Elections matter and here's why. “We're all talking about the 2008 Presidential elections, who we like, who we don't. I'm challenging everyone to investigate the candidates. Find out where they stand on illegal aliens, the war in Iraq, the war against Islamic jihadists, national security agencies, taxes, health care, foreign policy, Israel, and all the items that will shape the future of Americans. Investigate and vote the the person that best represents your desires for this country. Here's one reason why our leaders matter:” (READ MORE)

ShrinkWrapped: Still Waiting For the Other Shoe(s) to Drop “Amid all of the turmoil and tumultuous events of the last few years, what continues to be most amazing is what hasn't happened. Following 9/11 almost all of us expected more terrorist attacks in America. While there have been incidents, they have been minor or have been discovered and stopped before they could come to fruition. Al Qaeda and its affiliates have conducted terrible attacks elsewhere, but none in America.” (READ MORE)

Ron Winter: Hispanic Leaders Pander, Lie; Create Path to Chaos, Squalor “A video making the rounds on the Internet, titled Aztlan, shows immigration demonstrators in the United States, carrying a sea of Mexican flags and rallying for the 'rights' of illegal immigrants. Aside from the hypocrisy of breaking United States immigration laws and then claiming to have 'rights,' what is truly astounding is the sound track. The narrative includes segments of speeches given by Hispanic government leaders in California, and Hispanic college professors in California and Texas. Their message is twofold:” (READ MORE)

Ft. Hard Knox: Why Liberals Blame Bush “It is the constant mantra of the left–blame Bush, blame Bush, blame Bush. Have you ever wondered why they blame so much? There is research to help you understand. First, let’s look at some examples of “blame Bush” language starting with Rep. Nancy Pelosi commenting on Bush’s veto of stem cell research: ‘Once again, the President has ignored the will of the American people, of leading medical researchers, and of a bipartisan majority of the Congress. His cruel veto says ‘no’ to the hopes of million of families across America.’ Or Senator Edward Kennedy commenting: ‘President Bush is as stubborn and wrong about stem cell research as he is about Iraq.’” (READ MORE)

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