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)
Unit's Mission: Survive 4 Miles To Remember Fallen Comrade - Everything in the Army is supposed to have a task and a purpose, and this simple mission was no different. The task was to get 27 soldiers from Point A to Point B, from their neighborhood combat outpost to an Army base four miles away. The purpose was to attend a memorial service... (READ MORE)
Edging Away From Inner Circle, Pelosi Asserts Authority - In February, only a month after becoming speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi settled weeks of threats from Rep. John D. Dingell, her blustery Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, by putting in writing her assent to one of his big demands -- Pelosi's new Select Committee on Energy Independence... (READ MORE)
Tunneling Near Iranian Nuclear Site Stirs Worry - The sudden flurry of digging seen in recent satellite photos of a mountainside in central Iran might have passed for ordinary road tunneling. But the site is the back yard of Iran's most ambitious and controversial nuclear facility, leading U.S. officials and independent experts to reach another... (READ MORE)
Job Vacancies At DHS Said To Hurt U.S. Preparedness - The Bush administration has failed to fill roughly a quarter of the top leadership posts at the Department of Homeland Security, creating a "gaping hole" in the nation's preparedness for a terrorist attack or other threat, according to a congressional report to be released today. (READ MORE)
Ethnic Group in Pakistan Faces Attacks by Jihadists - An ethnic group that claims bloodlines from the armies of Alexander the Great says it is under attack from jihadi groups, which have turned this former princely state into a rear base for attacks into neighboring Afghanistan. (READ MORE)
Bomber Kills 100 in Shi'ite Town in Iraq - A suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives in the market of a Shi'ite farm town yesterday, killing more than 100 people and leveling nearby mud-brick buildings, police said. (READ MORE)
Bush Nominee Runs into Crossfire - Homosexual advocacy groups are objecting strongly to President Bush's nominee for surgeon general, but Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. also faces questions from conservative groups about his views on human cloning and embryonic-stem-cell research. (READ MORE)
Fewer Illegals Arrested at Border - The number of illegal aliens caught trying to cross the Mexican border into the United States is down 24 percent compared with the previous year, indicating that increased border security efforts are beginning to pay off, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). (READ MORE)
From the Front:
The Iceblog: Our Replacements Arrive “Today was a terrific day for us! The loadmaster of the Sleigh-130 came by with another delivery. It looks like the Minnesota National Guard has begun sending our replacements over! Hooray! It will still be a couple of weeks before my unit goes home. First we need to do what the US Army calls a ‘relief in place.’ This means that we’re going to take a couple of weeks to go through our missions together with the new unit, to teach them about the area they’re in and to show them some of the things we’ve learned over the past 18 months.” (READ MORE)
Jack Army: Letter to America, Part II “An Iraqi's letter to America, Part I is here, and continues here: ‘Let's get back to the U.S. Army. As I know according to my experience of working with them, and without exaggeration, they are kind people and no one knows better than I do. I've been working with them as an interpreter for three years and those guys really want to present the best they have in order to help people, make the country safe and create a united Iraq for its people. They have great patience and endurance and great effort of working day and night just to do something or to make sure it is done properly. They help the Iraqi Army and Police in all kinds of ways like training and getting them all the equipment and supplies they need just to make them do their jobs in order to protect the people from the bad guys.’” (READ MORE)
Matt Sanchez: THE "GOOD WAR" “The ‘forgotten war’ or the one that should have been remembered, Afghanistan is a place that looks suspiciously like Palm Springs despite the occasional IED and the lack of senior citizens. The craggy landscape is vast, mountainous and, from perspective of the aircraft, far beyond the view of my eyesight. This is the ‘good war’, the legal and justified war, but like the sibling to the prodigal son, the son who did everything right, Afghanistan is often neglected.” (READ MORE)
Michael J. Totten: Syria Invades Lebanon “A few days ago Lebanese daily newspaper Al Mustaqbal quietly reported a limited Syrian invasion of Lebanon. (Via Naharnet.) ‘Syrian troops on Thursday reportedly have penetrated three kilometers into Lebanese territories, taking up positions in the mountains near Yanta in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.’” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Kevin James: Its your credibility, stupid! “Members of the U.S. Senate seemed genuinely surprised that the American people so vehemently objected to the Senate Immigration Reform Bill. The reason was obvious - the Senate had no credibility whatsoever regarding the ‘enforcement’ or ‘security’ aspects of the bill.” (READ MORE)
Amanda Carpenter: Reid Renews Push for Withdrawal “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will renew his push to end the war in Iraq as his chamber begins work on the 2008 defense authorization bill Monday.” (READ MORE)
Paul Greenberg: The Unfairness Doctrine “Once upon a time in a faraway land known as the Fifties, political opinion on the television networks, all three of them, ran the gamut from left to center-left.” (READ MORE)
Burt Prelutsky: Where's John Wayne When You Really Need Him? “If he were alive today, John Wayne would have just celebrated his hundredth birthday. Actually, if he hadn’t made the worst movie of his career, ‘The Conqueror,’ he might well have made it to the century mark. In that movie, Wayne appeared as Genghis Khan, joining the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Paul Muni, Mickey Rooney, Louise Rainer, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Huston and Alec Guinness, on the list of movie greats who should have had second thoughts before agreeing to portray Asians.” (READ MORE)
Armstrong Williams: No Need to Assign Schools by Race “The Supreme Court got it right last week when they ruled against school districts assigning classes by race in Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington.” (READ MORE)
Suzanne Fields: The Culture, Stupid “Nothing galvanizes the public like the threat of terrorism. London escaped carnage for several reasons, beginning with the amateurish construction of the bombs, but the credit for averting tragedy goes first to an ambulance attendant who saw something suspicious and called police.” (READ MORE)
Kathryn Jean Lopez: We Mustn't be Afraid to Call The War a War “We in the West face a grave threat from militant Islam, and an even graver threat from our propensity to ignore or redefine Islamic fascism. This is especially true when we adopt politically correct terms to refer to our enemy.” (READ MORE)
Robert D. Novak: An Iraq "Scouting Trip" “National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley visited Capitol Hill just before Congress adjourned June 29 for the Fourth of July. Meetings with a half-dozen senior Republican senators were clearly intended to extinguish fires set by Sen. Richard Lugar's unexpected break from President Bush's Iraq policy. They failed.” (READ MORE)
Star Parker: The Democrats' own brand of racism “Watching the recent PBS-hosted Democratic presidential debate at Howard University, I was impressed with the uniformity of the messages communicated to the mostly black audience.” (READ MORE)
Harry R. Jackson, Jr.: Fear, Fairness, Freedom, and Fakery “One of the most disappointing aspects of the first few months of the Democratic Party’s majority in the legislative branch of the government is their unhealthy fear of the conservative movement.” (READ MORE)
Carol Platt Liebau: Taking out enemies at their word “In fact, we pay the Islamic world every courtesy except the one that really matters: Too often, we simply refuse to take its most threatening leaders seriously.” (READ MORE)
Matt Barber: Gays Don’t Want Marriage After All “Through the hyperbolic and repetitive use of such concocted expressions as ‘marriage equality’ and ‘gay rights,’ the left has dishonestly but effectively framed the debate over homosexual behaviors.” (READ MORE)
WSJ Review & Outlook: Republican Retreat “The last of the brigades President Bush ordered for his military surge in Iraq only arrived in the country last month, and they have been heavily engaged with al Qaeda in the Sunni triangle around Baghdad as part of the new military strategy. So it's especially distressing that Republican Senators should decide that this is the time to separate themselves from Mr. Bush on Iraq.” (READ MORE)
John Fund: Those Were the Days “There's no doubt who was the star at this year's Aspen Institute Ideas Festival. Bill Clinton strode onto the stage of a huge music tent Saturday and received a standing ovation from thousands of well-heeled, overwhelmingly liberal festival attendees. The Clinton magic clearly still works for many people. The question is whether it can rub off on the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, the mention of whose name elicited a much more muted response from the crowd.” (READ MORE)
WSJ: Obama's School Uniform “In March Barack Obama declared that his ‘main opponent in this race isn't other candidates -- it's cynicism.’ It's remarkable, though, how cynical his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination has already become. The conflict between appearance and reality was distilled to its essence in a speech delivered on Thursday before the National Education Association's annual convention.” (READ MORE) *REG REQ*
David B. Rivkin, Jr. and Lee A. Casey: The Gitmo Distraction “Reports suggest that President Bush's top advisers are again wrestling with whether to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There is no doubt that holding captured al Qaeda and Taliban fighters at that facility has become a significant diplomatic liability. But the potential foreign policy benefits of moving war on terror prisoners must be weighed against the very real strategic, tactical and legal costs that this decision would entail.” (READ MORE) *REG REQ*
Bill Roggio: Muqtada al Sadr back in Iran “Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Shia Mahdi Army and the Sadrist bloc in parliament, has left Iraq and is in Iran, military sources told Reuters. An anonymous U.S. military intelligence official and a military officer stationed in Iraq told The Fourth Rail the Reuter's report is accurate, but would not say when they believe Sadr left Iraq. Sadr's flight from Iraq and return to Iran comes as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an unusually strong statement calling for Sadr's Mahdi Army to disarm, and Iraqi security forces continue to battle his Mahdi Army in southern Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Jay Tea: Un-Conventional Warfare “Over at the Belmont Club, Wretchard has a fascinating examination on the atrocities being committed by Al Qaeda In Iraq. He even gives an account of one particularly heinous deed, as reported by Michael Yon, that he has his doubts about -- as do I, and I believe Yon as well -- but we all agree that it is certainly not beyond them should they choose to do it. (A fair use of "fake, but accurate," I'm tempted to say.)” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Cavemen “NYT, citing chatter among administration officials and senatorial wavering, predicts a Bush cave on Iraq withdrawal. Given NYT’s history of highly selective reporting and wishful thinking, it’s unclear how reality-based this report is. The political demise of Bush and his war policy have been prematurely predicted before.” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: Keith Ellison bonds with atheists over 9/11 “Reichstag fire” analogy “Via Captain Ed and Let Freedom Ring. He’s not saying it was an inside job, he’s merely saying that maybe the people responsible for it were scapegoated by a regime eager to arrogate Nazi powers to itself. So don’t go accusing him of any “nut-ball” talk, you hear?” (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Hillary to try surrender resolution again “Dogged by her party’s suicidal left, Hillary Clinton will try again to de-authorize the war. Think of it as a late-term abortion. Who reported this? The Times of India: ‘Senate Democrats have said they would introduce their own attempts to force Bush to accept troop withdrawal timelines…’” (READ MORE)
A Soldier's Mind: This Is For The Soldiers “Much thanks goes out to Sue for giving me a head’s up on this. As you all know, two of my passions on the blog are Military-related Health Issues and our Tunes For The Troops section. Since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan began, many television personalities have been very vocal about their support or non-support of our Troops. We rarely hear about the thoughts of musical performers… for the most part. Save for a few, they’ve kept pretty quiet about what they think. That changed in a very LOUD way this past week, when the rock band Drowning Pool, teamed up with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)…” (READ MORE)
Richard Landes: Critique from a Listener to the Lars Larson Show: Whose Side am I on? “I was recently on the Lars Larson Show, interviewed about the situation in Gaza. One of the readers had some criticisms which he sent me. Your comment — ‘in the full flush of U.S. world domination following World War II’ — strikes me as just the kind of trope one expects from this retrospective (PCP) historiography. Today, with the US accused of insufferable arrogance and imperialism by a loud chorus of ‘alter-mondialistes,’ that past gets rewritten to support the indictment. The US actually behaved with extraordinary generosity and respect for the law in the aftermath of WW II, encouraging the existence of independent institutions that rivaled it on the global scene (UN), offering a helping hand to the war-devastated French and the defeated Germans and Japanese alike. Although the US was by far the most powerful military force on the planet, it did not annex, or invade, or subordinate countries that any truly imperialist country would have.” (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: The Banality of Evil “There's a scene from the series Band of Brothers where the 101st Airborne stumbles on a concentration camp at the edge of whispering pine woods. The scene is especially effective because the audience never expects to find what it finds in a quiet forest. Michael Yon tells a story from a Baqubah, a town from which the al-Qaeda has recetnly been driven: ‘Speaking through an American interpreter, Lieutenant David Wallach who is a native Arabic speaker, the Iraqi official related how al Qaeda united these gangs who then became absorbed into “al Qaeda.” They recruited boys born during the years 1991, 92 and 93 who were each given weapons, including pistols, a bicycle and a phone (with phone cards paid) and a salary of $100 per month, all courtesy of al Qaeda. These boys were used for kidnapping, torturing and murdering people.’” (READ MORE)
Big Dog: Global Warming Gives Global Excuses “Al Gore and his band of Global Warming misfits staged a huge Live Earth concert this weekend to make everyone aware of the effects of Global Warming. These folks have just decided, without scientific tests or proof, that GW is absolutely true and anyone who does not believe is a denier (I guess that is like being a Nazi). These cretins have even found a way to ensure that evidence contrary to GW or events that would seem to be opposite of GW are not used against them. They simply blame whatever the event is on climate change.” (READ MORE)
Uncle Jimbo @ Blackfive: COIN- Replies from Mike Yon and Kiki Munshi “In my new role as internet idea matchmaker, I have brought together retired Foreign Service Officer Kiki Munshi and the best war correspondent anywhere on this planet Michael Yon. I introduced Ms. Munshi to Mr. Yon's current view from Baqubah contrasted with her incorrect description of it in this post. Ms. Munshi served in the area for 9 months ending this January when she resigned from the provincial reconstruction team, she has spent much of her time since explaining to anyone who will listen that ‘We are doomed Christopher Robin’ Lest anyone wonder about her motivations, she is obviously just an honest civil servant trying to help the administration and all of us win in Iraq. In her own words to Congress this February:” (READ MORE)
War Historian: Options in Iraq “ At History Unfolding, David Kaiser has an interesting take on the ‘should we stay or should we go’ dilemma with regard to Iraq. Although its point of departure is not yesterday’s NYT editorial, the editorial makes it particularly timely: ‘For about 13 years I've been a very active participant on an internet list called H-Diplo. A few days ago the list posted a long article by Sally Marks, a respected historian now retired from Rhode Island College, which argues, in effect, that we cannot withdraw from Iraq. The article can be read here. Here is my reply, which has not yet appeared on the list, but undoubtedly will tomorrow at the latest.’” (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Meanwhile, Back At The Quagmire “The quagmire of Kosovo's status continues at the United Nations, thanks to Russian refusals to consider the independence of the province. Eight years after UN intervention and administration, the Security Council warns of more violence in the area as the talks have stalled yet again on the final status of the breakaway territory: ‘A senior United States diplomat, speaking at a conference in Croatia over the weekend, cast doubt on a quick resolution of Kosovo’s future, suggesting that an agreement that would enable it to claim independence might not come until next year.’” (READ MORE)
Cool, Calm & Collected: I Love Kids. “Tonight I re-read all the cards and letters that were sent to me once everyone found out about Jim. I know that the adults usually have some advice, great words of wisdom, and encouragement... But look at these. How can they not make me cry?! This is from Jake, a little boy at church. It says: ‘To Mel, I'm really sorry that Jim died. But you will get to see him in Heaven. I've been thinking and praying about you.’” (READ MORE)
Walid Phares: A Hezbollah Coup Attempt This Summer? “This week, MEMRI issued a report entitled "Possible eruption of violent crisis in Lebanon after July 15." The report either cites or quotes previous reports published by Lebanese and Arab media, both pro and anti-Syro-Iranian. Following are my thoughts on the points raised: The Syro-Iranian plan to crush Lebanon is not new. It has been incrementally developing since the summer of 2005. The plan moved forward inch-by-inch — assassinations, intimidations, so-called dialogue, urban intifada in Beirut, intelligence activities, war with Israel, propaganda, fighting with Fatah al Islam, etc. — so that by early summer 2007, the gradual crush would be set to begin.” (READ MORE)
Neptunus Lex: Brief note to the perpetually self-absorbed “I know this is a hard concept for the baby boom generation to grok, because we’ve all of us been told how important we are, how special, and how authentically wonderful. But when your 23-year old son joins the Marines - the Marines, for God’s sake, America’s 911 force - in order to serve his country and ends up going to the battlefield where his country’s enemies are found?
It’s not about you, anymore. It’s not about your feelings, or where you got your master’s degree. It’s about him. The young man who stood up and said, ‘I’ll go. Choose me.’” (READ MORE)
The Captains Journal: Repeating the Success of Anbar “Hopes are high that the success of the Anbar Province can be repeated in Diyala and other provinces. ‘Sunni merchants watched warily from behind neat stacks of fruit and vegetables as Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno walked with a platoon of bodyguards through the Qatana bazaar here one recent afternoon. At last, one leathery-faced trader glanced furtively up and down the narrow, refuse-strewn street to check who might be listening, then broke the silence.’” (READ MORE)
McQ: The Road to a Larger War “In one of the most heartless, contemptible and short-sighted editorials written about any subject, a New York Times editorial yesterday, entitled ‘The Road Home’, called for an immediate pull out of all American troops in Iraq. Yes, agreed, I’m using harsh language in my description, but I think in this particular case, it is well warranted. Talking about how extracting American troops from Iraq should be the highest priority of Congress when it returns, the editorial follows with:” (READ MORE)
Right Truth: Iraqi government suggests arming citizens “Shiite and Sunni politicians are calling on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves. I'm a little confused about this article. I thought every adult male in Iraq had at least one weapon. I also thought that the coalition forces and Iraqi military and police, had routinely been taking weapons out of homes. So this call by both Shiite and Sunni politicians to arm the masses is strange. It sounds desperate at first, but after consideration it's the obvious answer. We in America believe in the rights of citizens to own and carry weapons, to protect ourselves. How much more important it seems that Iraqi citizens should protect themselves.” (READ MORE)
ROFASix: Hearing Zawahri “Ayman al-Zawahri's recent 95-min soliloquy on video undercut nicely any arguments we have made that maybe Iraq doesn't matter. The story ‘al-Qaida Video Reflects Group's Troubles’ explains that it also reflects philosophical divisions for the first time among terrorist groups who fight Americans in Iraq, but also that Zawahri argues that after defeating America in Iraq, progress toward the caliphate can begin in earnest. Zawahri's presentation was posted to terrorist websites worldwide. It is curious that after messages like this that the Bush Administration continues to send such confusing signals as to why we are still in Iraq.” (READ MORE)
Stop the ACLU: Muslim Denial Getting Worse “I mentioned on July 5 that new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has forbidden reference to Muslims in connection with the recent terror attacks in England and Scotland. It seems that the worse the Muslim attacks get, the more the Muslim involvement has to get covered up. The New York Times has also come to the party. It claims that the various Muslim attacks in Britian have brought ‘home to Britain fears of homegrown terrorist attacks among its disenfranchised South Asian population.’” (READ MORE)
Meryl Yourish: UN recognizes that it’s terrorism keeping the crossings closed “UNRWA is finally waking up to the terrorism that is the Palestinians. Not that they’re calling it terrorism, of course. But they’re finally starting to place the blame for the closure of Gaza where it belongs: On Hamas and its ilk. ‘Hamas’s failure to secure the passages into the Gaza Strip drew criticism from an unlikely source on Thursday, John Ging, who heads the United Nation’s Relief and Works Agency’s operations in the Strip. “It is very clear the responsibility lies with the Palestinians,” Ging told The Jerusalem Post by telephone from Gaza, on a day when Palestinians fired mortar shells at two of the three open passages into Gaza.’” (READ MORE)
Cassandra: The Media's Bright, Shining Lie "'...when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous. - Joseph Goebbels' When telling a really big lie, the important thing is to lie with gusto. Repetition matters too. When a falsehood is repeated over and over, familiarity alone begins to lend it substance and credibility. The novel, given sufficient time, becomes conventional wisdom. Most people don't have the time or energy to research every assertion they encounter. After all, 'everyone' is saying it, and so it must be true:" (READ MORE)
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