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)
Guilt by Contact - You know something's fishy when Senator Chris Dodd is casting himself as the champion of a Republican-run Securities and Exchange Commission. The Senate Banking Committee Chairman wrote to the Bush Administration last week warning it not to take a position different from its own SEC in the Stoneridge dispute. That's the looming Supreme Court case which will test whether bystanders can be sued for secondary liability in securities class actions. (READ MORE)
The Name of God - Wouldn't Allah be better? That is what a Dutch Bishop recently wondered aloud when he suggested that people of all faiths should call God by his Islamic designation. "Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah?" Bishop Tiny Muskens told a Dutch ... (READ MORE)
Bush Compares Iraq to Vietnam - President Bush defended his ongoing military commitment in Iraq by linking the conflict there to the Vietnam War, arguing Wednesday that withdrawing U.S. troops would lead to widespread death and suffering as it did in Southeast Asia three decades ago. (READ MORE)
Romney Struggles to Define Abortion Stance - Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said this week that as president he would allow individual states to keep abortion legal, two weeks after telling a national television audience that he supports a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure nationwide. (READ MORE)
Russia Challenges West With Nomination to IMF - Russia said Wednesday that it has nominated a former Czech prime minister to head the International Monetary Fund, challenging the European Union's traditional prerogative to fill the post. (READ MORE)
Bangladesh Sets Curfew To Curb Student Protests - The military-backed government imposed an indefinite curfew in six major cities Wednesday, clearing the streets and temporarily shutting down cellphones in a bid to quell three days of unrest by students demanding an end to emergency rule. (READ MORE)
Amnesty International Endorses Abortion - A leading British bishop has resigned his membership in Amnesty International and an Australian Jesuit college said it will no longer work with the leading human rights group after the organization last week officially endorsed a new policy supporting a woman's right to an abortion in certain cases. (READ MORE)
Bush Sees Surge Working - President Bush yesterday warned lawmakers not to try to "pull the rug" out from under the U.S. military in Iraq just as troops are making progress against insurgents. (READ MORE)
Pakistan Chief Vows to Drop Military Role - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will honor a pledge to step down as army chief shortly after presidential elections this fall, despite widespread skepticism from opposition leaders, a senior Pakistani official said yesterday. (READ MORE)
Bush Hit Over Jobs for Illegal Workers - If President Bush is serious about getting tough on U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens, he can start with his own administration, which employs thousands of unauthorized workers, says the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee. (READ MORE)
From the Front:
Badger 6: New Glass - Road trip from Camp Ramadi to Camp Falluja. Again. But this trip is different. Down Michigan, through Ar Ramadi, through Habbinyah, and through Al Falluja - in HUMVEES. Pathfinder 6 and I are escorting journalist Bill Schaefer to the Camp to meet with Team Badger Soldiers so he can give you his version of their story. Out the South gate we turn left and head for the bridge that will take us into Ar Ramadi. Past the glass factory on our left that had only recently been cleared of snipers when we arrived last October, it now has people moving about it trying to get in back into operation. (READ MORE)
Omar: They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity - This was said about the Palestinians, I believe, though it seems to apply just as well to our political class but with a difference. There are some opportunities our leaders never seem to miss: the ones that make things worse. In the last few weeks, the major political parties in Iraq have kept taking turns at damaging the political process and ultimately their own government. First, the ministers of both the Accord Front and Allawi’s bloc withdrew from the cabinet almost simultaneously, just as the unjustified summer recess was starting. (READ MORE)
Eighty Deuce on the Loose in Iraq: Half way there... - Alright well as of a couple days ago, based on a 15 month deployment, we are now officially 1/2 way done. There is still the chance that our deployment could be shorter than 15 months, but if it does last that long, we are in the 2nd half. It's crazy to think that had this been like any other deployment that this unit has gone on since September 11th, then we would be finishing up or long done with the deployment. But instead, we reach a mark that is significant, yet painful at the same time. It has been a LONG time already and we must do the same thing again. (READ MORE)
Those Wacky Iraqis: Carrying the Load - My support counterpart was transferred to a FOB in Iraq. His replacement is months out so I get the whole enchilada for a while. Oh well, done it before. It just means less sleep and more decisions to be made. The CO is going on R&R in a few days and the S-3 is leaving for good as he is done and headed home. It is going to be a very, very busy time for me the next couple of weeks. until the CO gets back. I am actually so busy that I was able to duck a mission to Iraq and send some one else. It ain't chicken talking, it is just reality. (READ MORE)
W. Thomas Smith Jr.: RE: Military Lessons For War Correspondents - Steve Schippert writes: “Let's face it, it's far easier to write coherent sentences than it is to kill someone while they are trying to kill you first.” This I disagree with, and therein lies one of the problems in modern journalism: Everybody thinks they are writers. Everybody thinks it's somehow easy to be a journalist. Everybody thinks they can — or should — be a journalist. And because of the Internet, almost anybody today can be at some level ... though often lacking the necessary skills because they have not come up through the proper ranks learning the craft, the finer points, style, standards, ethics, etc. (READ MORE)
LTC Richard Phillips: Just Another Day at the FOB - Sometimes I wonder why I am so happy here. But when I think about it, most Soldiers I work with here are happy. The media seems to highlight the disenchanted, unhappy Soldiers but in my experience they are in the minority. For me, sometimes I feel guilty for being happy here, for enjoying life on (and off) the FOB. I know this deployment is harder on my family than it is on me. I’ve got free food, free laundry, free movies, free gym membership and free time. (READ MORE)
Michael J. Totten: The Worst since 9/11 - Hundreds of Iraqi Yezidis, members of an ancient religious sect heavily influenced by Persian Zoroastrianism, were murdered last week in the most deadly terrorist attack in the world since September 11, 2001. Fuel tankers packed with explosives were ignited in a refugee camp near the town of Kahtaniya, just outside the Kurdish autonomous region. Officials say the death toll has surpassed 500. The American military says this is the handiwork of al Qaeda. They’re probably right: this has their fingerprints all over it. (READ MORE)
Joe Talley: Conducting the surge, one raid at a time - Forward Operating Base Loyalty, Baghdad, Iraq: Blacksheep's 1st platoon, led by 1st Lt. Alex Kerr from Murrysville, PA, begins to prepare for a mission to be conducted in a few hours. Around midnight, the platoon leader briefs the platoon on the specifics of tonight's raid -- they will raid a target house in their sector and hope to catch one of the battalion's HVIs or "high-value individuals." This target is a Mahdi Army leader responsible for attacks against 2/17 Field Artillery's own soldiers. The target heads a cell that also includes his brother and father. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Matt Towery: Vick Will Never Play Football Again - It's been a hoot reading and listening to pundits and armchair legal analysts speculate on the fate awaiting Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on charges of illegal dogfighting. (READ MORE)
Debra J. Saunders: No Fad Left Behind - "Many Americans do not believe that the success of our students or of our schools can be measured by one test administered on one day, and I agree with them. This is not fair," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., told the National Press Club last month. (READ MORE)
William Rusher: Is America ready to be a superpower? - In one sense, of course, there is no doubt about it: America is a superpower. In relative terms, the only superpower in the world. Our armed forces dominate the globe. And, in purely economic terms, our power is equally overwhelming. (READ MORE)
Donald Lambro: The 'Hillary hostility' factor - Democrats face a potentially disastrous conundrum in the 2008 presidential nominating race: Sen. Hillary Clinton, the front-runner, is the most disliked candidate among her party's contenders. (READ MORE)
George Will: Waiting for September in Iraq - Petraeus' report will be received in the context of his minimalist definition of the U.S. mission: "Buying time for Iraqis to reconcile." (READ MORE)
Cal Thomas: Losing is winning - George Orwell, call your office. You can add to your list of opposites ("war is peace," "ignorance is strength" and "freedom is slavery") a new one. It is the emerging plan of congressional Democrats, joined by at least one Democratic presidential candidate: "losing is winning." (READ MORE)
Cliff May: Fighting for Hearts, Minds and Souls - The first concept to grasp is that the global conflict now underway involves both a clash of arms and a clash of ideas. To succeed in this war will require effective combat on both fronts. (READ MORE)
William F. Buckley: Jobs, trade, and the Democrats - Did you know -- better, would you have guessed? -- that the top income-tax rate in India, which is the home of breast-fed socialism, is a mere 30 percent? (READ MORE)
Janice Shaw Crouse: Why Aren’t Women Running for Office? - The long march of women seeking election to Congress seems to be waning; instead of pressing onward toward the House, many are establishing their own businesses, often launched from home. (READ MORE)
Ann Coulter: 1 Down, 11,999,999 to Go - Liberals know they're losing the demographic war. Christians have lots of children and adopt lots of children; liberals abort children and encourage the gay lifestyle in anyone with a flair for color. (READ MORE)
Jon Sanders: Goldilocks and the Three Dems - John Edwards, fresh from admitting he didn't know Cuba's healthcare system was government-run, was featured in an Aug. 19 interview by Liz Halloran in U.S. News & World Report. Among other questions, Halloran asked Edwards if his campaign had moved from an emotional appeal to a "more cerebral, issues-oriented approach." (READ MORE)
John McCaslin: Eye of the Storm - Given the recent high-profile execution-style gang murders of three college students in Newark, with one of the suspects being an illegal immigrant twice arrested in the United States on felony charges of raping a young girl and weapons violations, there's no better time for immigration-reform-minded presidential candidates to go on the offensive. (READ MORE)
David Strom: Politics and the Precariousness of Reality - It was just over two weeks ago that Minnesota experienced what many politicians here declared was one of the greatest tragedies the State had ever seen - the collapse of the I-35W bridge in the heart of Minneapolis. (READ MORE)
Michael Philips: Signs and Wonders - In the southern Israeli desert of Negev lies a community called Al-Sayyid. Inhabited by approximately 3,500 Bedouin, an Arab nomadic tribe that settled the area about 200 years ago, the village may seem rather humdrum at first glance. That is, until you see the villagers interacting--by making signs with their hands. (READ MORE)
Daniel Henninger: We Have Met the Enemy, Again - Even in these times, an August dimmed with miners trapped in Utah and China, Mexico's hurricane and the final body pulled from below the Minnesota bridge, the story of two New York firemen dying in a dead building was just too much. Since September 11, when so many died across the street from the Deutsche Bank building in lower Manhattan, a great deal of effort has been made to ensure that no more people die in the U.S. from anything remotely connected to that day. (READ MORE)
WSJ Review & Outlook: Shell Game - Just about everyone claims the U.S. must urgently become "energy independent," yet at the same time just about every policy that may actually serve that goal is met with environmentalist opposition. That contradiction has impeded the Bush Administration's attempts to increase domestic energy production. And even the modest progress so far may be blocked because litigation is driving the conflict out of politics and into the courts. (READ MORE)
Wolf Pangloss: Seek Truth and Report It - Ace tears into the increasingly desperate Big Media: “No one — no one — ever got into the media to report on local car collisions or new and exciting federal farm subsidies.What they got into the media to do was to tell people how and what to think, and its that prerogative of the Intellectual Aristocracy, and not the unglamorous business of information collection, collation, and dissemination, that they’re crying about losing.” Ace was griping about an editorial in the LA Times. But he’s talking about a well known journalistic “type,” the idealistic journalist who wants to “make a difference,” break “the next Watergate,” to “speak truth to power,” and “stick it to the man.” And judging by the evidence in every paper, the wire services and papers are chock full of such bozos. (READ MORE)
The Shield of Achilles: The "Happy Jewels" in Iran - There is a ludicrous article titled "Israel's Problem in Tehran" that hit the front page of Digg yesterday. The author is Jonathan Cook, a British "journalist" living in the Middle East who is a frequent Muslim apologist and regularly writes hit pieces on Israel (more on that below). From the article in question here: “Iran is the new Nazi Germany and its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is the new Hitler. Or so Israeli officials have been declaring for months…” (READ MORE)
Allahpundit: (Video) America broke the law first, says Arellano - Well, no, refusing to enforce the law isn’t quite the same as breaking it, but her basic point is true. If you don’t take your own policies seriously, don’t be surprised when illegals — and their governments — don’t either. I’m glad she’s talking, though. For all the anger at her, let’s please appreciate what a jewel of a spokesman she is for our own side. (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Advance to Rear - Having lost militarily, the Democrats fall back to more familiar ground. Political failure: “Democratic leaders in Congress had planned to use August recess to raise the heat on Republicans to break with President Bush on the Iraq war. Instead, Democrats have been forced to recalibrate their own message in the face of recent positive signs on the security front, increasingly focusing their criticisms on what those military gains have not achieved: reconciliation among Iraq’s diverse political factions.” Better to stick with what you know. And good luck with that. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Clinton lied, people died - Michael Isikoff, the reporter who broke the Monica Lewinsky story only to have his editors at Newsweek spike the story, has caught Bill Clinton in another lie: He never authorized the killing of Osama bin Laden. Citing a recent CIA inspector general report, Isikoff and Mark Hosenball reported: (READ MORE)
Cassy Fiano: Obama nails another one - Barack Obama just gave us another gem on foreign policy and what he thinks of our military! From Yahoo! News: "Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday the recent increase in American troops in Iraq may well have helped tamp down violence, but he insisted there is no military solution to the country's problems and U.S. forces should be redeployed soon." Hasn't he learned over the past two weeks to just keep his damn mouth shut on foreign policy? I mean, good Lord. Yes, Obama, we already know you think our military can't win in Iraq. (READ MORE)
Paul: The Recent History of Democrats on Iraq - The Washington Post is catching up to a story we've been telling on Wizbang for weeks. That the surge is working and the Democrats need a new load of B.S. message on Iraq. The WaPo inadvertently nails it; even if they don't explain it. The Democrats have already admitted that good news in Iraq is bad news for Democrats. So now they have to change the message and whine about the supposed lack of political progress. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Did Clinton Lie About Targeting Bin Laden? - It appears that Bill Clinton may have exaggerated his record when it came to strategizing against Osama bin Laden. Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball take a look at the Inspector General's report of the pre-9/11 intelligence failures at the CIA and find an interesting nugget. Despite Clinton's angry assertion to Chris Wallace in last year's controversial Fox interview, he never gave the CIA an assassination order regarding bin Laden (h/t: CQ reader Mark): (READ MORE)
The Belmont Club: A dinner conversation - I tried, half-seriously and without much success, to convince a mathematician I was seated next to at a dinner-lecture last night to attempt a book on the "mathematics of predestination". The conversation inevitably wandered to the subject of free will, and I remarked that whether it existed or not, all human beings were faced with at least the simulation of choice. If we can do nothing else in life, we can bet. There is, for example, Pascal's Wager. (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: What To Do With Michael Vick - Wow, how a few months change things. When evidence of illegal dog fighting first turned up at the farm owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Mike Vick he told us all, including the league and his team owner, that it was family and friends, not him involved. Now, in a few short days, Mr. Vick will show up in court to plead guilty to federal charges related to the venture known as "Bad Newz Kennelz". There is no shortage of opinions of what should happen to Vick, from "slap his wrists and let him go" to "electrocute him, and then beat him while he's on the ground." (READ MORE)
Dadmanly: Twists and Turns - Political pundits argue over left or right bias in mainstream media (MSM) outlets, tongue in cheek or otherwise, mostly for effect. Fact is, many of us appreciate the fact that one MSM outlet can be counted on for insider CIA leaks, another for unauthorized but very organizationally sponsored State Department disclosures, others for hardball gossip, campaign dirt, and so on. We really don’t mind knowing in advance that the Editorial Board of the NY Times, for example, will find a way to totally confound the facts of their own news reporting, or that outlets like The Nation or The New Republic will be susceptible to distorted, agenda-driven, (or fabulist) war diarists. It’s helpful to know what side everybody’s on. (READ MORE)
Fjordman: How the West Lost the Cold War - The girlfriend of a politician from the Sweden Democrats, a small party critical of mass immigration, was recently attacked at her home outside Stockholm. The young woman was found bound with duct tape in the apartment block where she lives with Martin Kinnunen, chairman of the youth wing of the SD. Three men had forced their way into the couple’s apartment and held the 19-year-old at knife point. Kinnunen tells of several threats and anonymous phone calls to the family. He blames the media for systematically portraying the SD as monsters and thus for legitimizing aggression against them, and claims that the Swedish democracy is a sham. (READ MORE)
McQ: Adjusting the Democratic message on Iraq - As I'm sure you're aware, there's a little message editing going on right now among Democrats in the wake of favorable reports out of Iraq concerning the effect of the Surge. No one should be surprised by this. It is as natural among politicians as sunrise for the rest of us. No politician wants to be caught on the wrong side of an issue. That said, some merely have to slightly shift their position while others like Harry "the war is lost" Reid have an almost impossible task. (READ MORE)
DRJ: What are 16 and 178? - It’s more than 194. According to Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, 16 Iraqis have been caught crossing illegally at the Southwestern US border since January 1, 2007, and 178 more have sought asylum: ““The number of Iraqis seeking asylum as they enter the United States over the nation’s Southwest border has nearly tripled this year compared with last, and the year isn’t even over, said Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, a member of the president’s Cabinet who oversees the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies.” (READ MORE)
Duane Patterson: The Thee Senate Stooges Rebut The Presdent's Iraq Speech Wednesday - Ever since the first of the year, Democrats, particularly the ones in the United States Senate, have been all over the map in their comments about the war in Iraq. Comments have ranged from 'we need more troops' to 'we need to withdraw immediately', from 'the surge is not working' to 'General Petraeus is a disappointment', even said at a time when the surge had not even been fully implemented. (READ MORE)
Kim Priestap: Finally, We are Seeing Some States Crackdown on Illegal Immigration - First in New Jersey, Attorney General Anne Milgram has issued a directive that orders police to ask suspects of violent crimes their immigration status and to report suspected illegal immigrants to the Feds: “The requirements, which go into effect immediately, apply to suspects arrested for specific indictable offenses and for driving while intoxicated, Milgram said. If the suspect is unable to prove he or she is legally in the United States, the police officer is required to notify Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, she said. The policy also specifies that prosecutors and courts be notified.” (READ MORE)
Dan Riehl: Terrorists, Murderers And NJ Senator Lautenberg: Perfect Together - New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg (D) may be carrying serious baggage in his bid for re-election given his documented positions and a recorded vote just two weeks after the arrest of several suspected terrorists. Add to that current NJ-generated national headlines calling even more attention to the need for better co-operation between local and federal law enforcement when it comes to illegal immigration and preventing potential acts of terrorism and murder and the mix could prove to be a disaster for the Senator's pending campaign. (READ MORE)
Cassandra: Feminine Fantasies, Revisited - During our absence we were suprised (surprised, too, even) to see the decidedly masculine Grim blogging about Romance novels and feminine fantasies: Grim went on to a discussion of whether Romance novels are, or are not, a realm in which women may indulge their sexual fantasies free of the oppressive influence of The Patriarchy. That is, however, a question in which the Princess is relatively uninterested, mostly because she doesn't read romance novels (note: clarification added). (READ MORE)
The Torch: Martin misleading on Afghan healthcare and the Canadian mission - I read an op-ed by Member of Parliament Dr. Keith Martin yesterday, and shook my head. He seems to have a basic grip on his facts, but no context for them whatsoever: Look, I have no desire to be treated at Mir Weis, and I have no doubt that it is as scary a medical destination as Dr. Martin asserts. But to extrapolate from that one hospital's condition that Canada is "neglecting" health care is unfair in at least two different ways: it ignores significant progress made, and it ignores the fact that Canada is working within an alliance of nations all contributing to the rebuilding of Afghanistan in various ways. (READ MORE)
TigerHawk: Strategy and its enemy - By now you all know that an internal investigation at the CIA has decided that the Agency under George Tenet, the Director of Central Intelligence during the rise and full expression of al Qaeda, failed to develop and execute a strategy for dealing with Islamist terrorism. Stratfor attributes this failing more to the institution than to any individual, and fingers, in particular, the CIA's fetish for process: “The most important criticism, of course, is the lack of a CIA strategy for combating terrorism. Over the years, the CIA had become driven by process. Obviously process is an important aid in achieving goals -- but in some organizations, and it would appear in the CIA, process stops being a tool and becomes an end in itself.” (READ MORE)
Right Truth: Geraldo Rivera, new spokesman for criminal illegal aliens - Today Geraldo took the leader of Mothers Against Illegal Aliens on Fox on Your World With Neil Cavuto. Geraldo also took on Tom Tancredo on Hannity and Colmes. I guess he is Fox's token 'balanced' commenter who is FOR criminal illegal aliens inside the United States. It appears that Geraldo Rivera's support of criminal illegal aliens is nothing new. Last year he was advocating for Elvira Arellano who took refuge in a Chicago church and was deported this week to Mexico. Geraldo said: "Isn't it impossible almost, not to be sympathetic to this mom and her son?" (READ MORE)
Haystack: The Fight For Iraq Is Lost - In one of President Bush's positively BEST foreign policy speeches since the September 11 attacks brought us to this hell we find ourselves in now, we were reminded via clear, detailed, and somber analogy, of the gravity of our situation in the war against Radical Islam. He provided a wealth of historical reference, gave specific meaning and context to our current situation against the backdrop of past wars America has engaged (and ultimately triumphed), and established clear parallels between what "could have been" in yesteryear, and what "might become" should we choose poorly from our list of options today. The problem, however, is that nobody is listening anymore. (READ MORE)
Flopping Aces: MSM Twists President's Message Once Again - I was driving in my car earlier today listening to Sirius radio and Larry Elder when at the 4 o'clock hour (PST) ABC News came on with their hourly update. They led it with the host saying things like "Bush dodged going to Vietnam but today he compared Iraq to that war" and I had to smile. This is our "unbiased" MSM. So I went online when I got home to see if I could find a copy of their updates but found nothing. But I did find this post by Ace at Ace of Spades HQ: “The newsroom is a sacred, magical place where unhinged partisanship never intrudes into actual reportage.” (READ MORE)
Chickenhawk Express: Dems Grasping for New Talking Points on Iraq - You just gotta stand with your mouth open whenever you read anything about the Democrats and Iraq. NOW that things are looking better and the word is getting out that the surge is working, the Dems are frantic - they've gotta come up with some new talking points. The old "failure" and "Bush's fault" just aren't cutting it anymore. According to the Washington Post Rahm Emanuel can't find anyone with weak knees regarding Iraq. (READ MORE)
Blonde Sagacity: Free Speech...Unless You Don't Agree - Geez, this kind of crap from the left is so common I don't know why we even notice it any more. If you don't like what someone has to say, SHOUT THEM DOWN, SILENCE THEM!!! By all means don't try to carry on an intelligent debate. You should never do your own research or write your own book to refute an argument with which you disagree. Even if you state a fact that nobody disputes, if it is an uncomfortable fact for someone you will be shouted down and pilloried for stating it. (READ MORE)
Dafydd: Unprecedented Assault on Executive Privilege Underway - In an astonishing power-grab that has received little notice and virtually no condemnation from constitutionalists, the United States Congress is attempting to seize information from the Bush White House that no Congress has ever before demanded from any president... and a number of Republican congressmen are eagerly joining the wild hunt. The demands are truly breathtaking: (READ MORE)
Army Girl: Islamophobia; Part I - I was fired up this morning. I wrote a scathing blog about Islamophobes. I desperately want to post it. I've been seething with frustration and borderline rage, more and more lately, when I read such ignorance spewing about on the internet, and from our Americans who can't hide behind ignorance, poverty and the lack of an education. I can understand, but not relate to how impoverished people in third world countries fall victim to extremism and brain washing. I do not expect it from engaged and spoiled Americans. And yet, they continue. (READ MORE)
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Russian military machine, back in business from Right Truth
Thunder Run Web Recon from Operation: Altair
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