Web Reconnaissance for 02/01/2008

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

*Ed Note: Its official...my brain is gone. I just spent all morning putting 02/01/2008 on everything I've done only to have to go back and correct it all. Since correcting it now will screw up return links I'm not going to edit the title of the post for today, and I'll come up with a seperate title for tomorrow the real 02/01/2008! *Sheesh!*

In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Obama: Decriminalize Pot - Last fall during a nationally televised presidential debate, Sen. Barack Obama hesitantly raised his hand and joined with most of his Democratic rivals to declare that he opposed decriminalizing marijuana. But, a 2004 video shows Mr. Obama telling Illinois college students that he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use or possession. (READ MORE)

Trains, Bloggers Are Threats in US Drill - It's the government's idea of a really bad day: Washington's Metro trains shut down. Seaport computers in New York go dark. Bloggers reveal locations of railcars with hazardous materials. Airport control towers are disrupted in Philadelphia and Chicago. Overseas, a mysterious liquid is found on London's subway. And that's just for starters. (READ MORE)

McCain Savors Momentum - Sen. John McCain has been racking up the cash along with his primary wins, and yesterday added the endorsement of his chief rival for moderate Republican votes, even as conservative Republicans worried that he will tear their party apart. (READ MORE)

Hillary Plans 21-State Chat; Edwards Quits - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is going national, with plans to talk to voters in 21 states at once on the eve of Super Tuesday and by urging Democrats to recognize the results from this week's Florida vote to help the party in the general election. (READ MORE)

Fed Cuts Rates by Half a Point - The Federal Reserve yesterday slashed interest rates by another half percentage point after a report showed nearly every sector of the economy faltered and brought growth to a standstill at the end of last year. (READ MORE)

'Change'- Hungry Voters Shun 'Outsiders'- Voters have been telling pollsters that they want "change" in this election, but two consummate Washington insiders — Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain — are the presidential front-runners of the moment. (READ MORE)

Mukasey Still Mum on Waterboarding - Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey yesterday refused to describe "waterboarding" as torture, instead telling a Senate committee the practice is illegal under U.S. law, but leaving open the possibility the interrogation technique could legally be used in the future. (READ MORE)

McCain's Apostasies - John McCain's hard-fought victory over Mitt Romney in Florida on Tuesday, combined with Rudy Giuliani's exit, has made the Arizona Senator the clear favorite. Now that the nomination is within Mr. McCain's grasp, he can close out Mr. Romney and help his prospects in November by showing he intends to repair the breach with all parts of the GOP coalition. (READ MORE)

Nascar Bernanke - Now we know what happens when Wall Street and the political class criticize Ben Bernanke for being "behind the curve." He gets in his race car and accelerates right through the curve. With yesterday's 50 basis point interest rate cut, following last week's 75 point emergency reduction, we are certainly off to the monetary races. (READ MORE)

'Waterboarding' Mukasey - If Senate Democrats thought Attorney General Michael Mukasey was someone they could push around to score political points, yesterday they discovered their error. The new AG stood his ground on the legal war on terror, despite five hours of grandstanding over an interrogation technique that the CIA doesn't even practice anymore. (READ MORE)

Showdown Nears on Stimulus Bill - With bipartisan support, the Senate Finance Committee yesterday approved a $157 billion economic stimulus plan that rivals the measure fashioned by President Bush and House leaders, setting up a Senate showdown today that could determine who will receive rebates from the federal government and how... (READ MORE)

McCain vs. Romney on Iraq - The Iraq war again emerged as a flash point between Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in a debate Wednesday, after McCain accused Romney of supporting timetables for withdrawing U.S. troops from the battlefield. (READ MORE)

U.S. Commanders in Iraq Favor Pause in Troop Cuts - Senior U.S. military commanders here say they want to freeze troop reductions starting this summer for at least a month, making it more likely that the next administration will inherit as many troops in Iraq as there were before President Bush announced a "surge" of forces a year... (READ MORE)



From the Front:
Michael J. Totten: Libya's Son - Iraqi Police Colonel Jubair Rashid Naief claims Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam (whose name means Sword of Islam) is sponsoring a terrorist group in Northern Iraq called the Seifaddin Regiment. This group is allegedly responsible for recent attacks in Mosul that killed and wounded hundreds. The U.S. military so far has no comment on the accusation one way or another. I’ve never heard of this group and am not even convinced it exists. But U.S. military officials believe 19 percent of foreign terrorists in Iraq come from Libya. Robert H. Reid wrote in an Associated Press article that Seif al-Islam “seems an unlikely figure as a sponsor of terrorism. Touted as a reformer, the younger Gadhafi has been reaching out to the West to soften Libya’s image and return it to the international mainstream.” (READ MORE)

Northern Disclosure: Canadian Cartoons - Bad Voo Doo has been rolling hard and working a lot. Of course we are not working anymore than some of the others its just that everyone has been working. The Enemy has been picking up there work load too so as you can imagine that keeps everyone busy. All is well and the boys of Bad Voo Doo are enjoying the time flying, the webmaster had to remind me to write. I thought I had just written and JP was " that was a week ago, Sergeant" so here I am getting you all caught back up. Ranada the Nor Cal Warrior won the Deadlift competition and Oso the Mexican Bear AKA Aldama and his wife welcomed a new member of the family in this week as well. (READ MORE)

Army of Dude: The Courageous Courier - I must admit, I've become a little obsessed over the issue of the presently shitty G.I. Bill and the efforts of two Senators that aim to give it an overhaul fitting to the service our military has performed the past seven years. I wrote about the topic yesterday for Vet Voice before I chanced upon another piece. With a hat-tip to Blackfive, who linked to the Army Times. The money quote: “The Bush administration has remained wary of the bill, because of its $5.4 billion cost and concerns that significant improvements in veterans’ education benefits might encourage people to get out of the military to go to college, which in turn could hurt military readiness.” (READ MORE)

Desert Dude: 30 January - Well, my dreams of being a rock star are dead—we broke a couple guitar strings and one of the guitar pedals got fried from our jacked up electrical system here on the FOB…there is no way to get any of the new stuff in the area, it will take too long to get it thru the mail and the other guys have to start mailing their stuff home soon…so, there will be no concert thing…oh well, it was fun while it lasted …everything else is same ol stuff around here… (READ MORE)

IraqPundit: Depends on the Meaning of Timetable - John McCain and Mitt Romney reportedly clashed over Iraq at the debates Wednesday. While Romney accused McCain of dirty tricks and misrepresenting his position on an Iraq timetable, I couldn't help but remember Bill Clinton's rhetoric. WaPo quoted them this way: "Romney insisted that he has 'never, ever' backed a timetable for withdrawal, prompting McCain to shoot back, 'Of course he supported a timetable.' Romney called McCain's attacks 'reprehensible' and said they amounted to 'an attempt to do the Washington-style old politics'." (READ MORE)

Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: Negative Enemy Contact, Continue Mission - Ripped out on the Rip-Its and Wild Tigers and Boom-Booms of energy crack in a can flavored power citrus and arctic thunder pouring through the veins of a pseudo sugar sumo junkie completely and utterly and udderly and thoroughly and Thoreauly and indisputably and disputably and definitely and defiantly ESSENTIAL because chocolate pudding and peanut butter cracker peddling can only sustain a platoon leader high on brash and potential and circumstance and the new so long... (READ MORE)

Lt Nixon: Central Bank of Iraq is Up in Smoke - With the drop in violence in Baghdad, a lot of folks, both Iraqis and Americans, are starting to wonder when the hell the economy is going to pick up in Iraq. With oil, land for agriculture, and a large skilled labor pool, you'd think the place would sell itself. Idle hands are the devil's play thing, and unless Iraqis start getting employed with legit gigs, young males are going to continue gravitating towards Uncle Sadr to earn a quick buck. This whole central bank of Iraq catching on fire thing sure ain't helping matters. (READ MORE)

Yellowhammering Afghanistan: People through a Humvee window - The Afghan people captivate me even more than the mountains and terrain here. I'm naturally drawn to children because in their eyes I see the future of this nation. Women in burqas fascinate me with the combination of the mystery of not knowing what they look like but also with what I imagine is the pain of the oppression they must still feel in this society. Afghan men, too, draw my gaze. Some are stoic and their faces show the harshness of life in this country in recent decades. Others are bright with assurance they are making a better way for themselves. The thing is, you see all types. (READ MORE)

Michael Yon: Men of Valor: Part VII of VIII - On the morning of 28 September 2007, the moon was still large as it descended to the horizon. 4 Rifles folded camp and by the time the sun was up, they were ready. At 0800 an “op order” was issued. The G-2 (intelligence) officer named Andy said that the COB (Basra Airport) had been hit with 2 IDF (mortars or rockets) the night before. There was increasing activity around 4 Rifles, and the F-18s had detected hotspots, which might be bombs planted for us. 4 Rifles launched a “trigger op” later that night, a simple operation designed to interdict smugglers. The vast area is so heavily mined that going just a few feet off the road can be fatal. Much of the smuggling is apparently happening on the nearby Shat al Arab River, the seizure of which had been one of Saddam’s prime excuses for launching one of the largest and longest-running conventional wars in a century. (READ MORE)



On the Web:
Karl Rove: The New Rules of Politics - In the aftermath of the Florida primary, some new rules for winning the nomination have emerged and some old rules have been ratified. As we head toward the 23 contests next Tuesday, it's worth considering a few of them. The new rules include: - The big bounce is gone. (READ MORE)

Michael Zeldin: Hillary's Smear Campaign - Beginning with the South Carolina debate, and continuing as an applause line in many stump speeches thereafter, Hillary Clinton has accused Barack Obama of representing an inner-city slum lord while practicing law in Chicago. Of all people, Sen. Clinton should know better. During the Whitewater investigation, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr investigated the legal work performed by Mrs. Clinton, then a partner in the Rose law firm, on behalf of Jim McDougal and his bank, Madison Guaranty. Mr. Starr believed that Mrs. Clinton helped orchestrate the fraudulent land deal known as Castle Grande. (READ MORE)

Shika Dalmia: Saying No to CoerciveCare - On Monday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "universal" health-care plan was shot down by a committee in the state's Senate, 7-1. The most vociferous opponents were not fiscal conservatives, but labor unions that launched a last-minute revolt against its most crucial feature: an individual mandate that would have forced everyone to buy coverage. This defeat has national political implications. (READ MORE)

Daniel Henninger: What McCain's Got - In a time of Republican confusion, Sen. John McCain, reviled as an unreliable maverick, has won three GOP primaries. Florida showed why he's winning. In the age of modern media, it is possible for anyone with access to Google to learn almost everything there is to know about a presidential campaign -- polls, strategies, stump speeches, background papers, bottomless punditry. What more does one need to know? If the day comes that campaigns are run only with Web videos, that is indeed all you'll need to know. (READ MORE)

Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats Want to Lose... But Republicans Don't Want To Win - Just a few months ago, the 2008 presidential contest seemed predetermined. The New York lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton were far ahead in their respective party polls. And in the one-on-one match-up, Sen. Clinton was all but declared the foreordained winner a year in advance. But not now. After Barack Obama's unexpected surge in Iowa, Bill and Hillary Clinton resorted to chewing him up through their trademark politics of personal destruction. Thanks to Clinton Inc., we now hear almost daily that Obama is inspirational but inexperienced, that he had admitted to drug use, that his middle name is Hussein, that he really was not against the Iraq war, that he consorts with Chicago slumlords, that he spins fairy tales, and that he likes Ronald Reagan. (READ MORE)

Steve Chapman: Bush's Catalogue of Failure - Listening to presidents reporting on the State of the Union, you would conclude that they came from Lake Wobegon, since every one of them, by his account, is well above average. Just once, I'd like to hear one say what would be true of many: "Because of my mistakes, the state of the union has gotten worse." But none ever does. Even the worst presidents prefer to focus on their successes and ignore their failures. The striking thing about President Bush's final State of the Union address is that even the successes he claims are largely fictional. Judged by his own criteria, the speech was a catalogue of failure in almost every realm. (READ MORE)

Joel Mowbray: Yet Another Troubling Terror Trial - Given that hard evidence is often scarce in trials of unsuccessful terrorists, federal prosecutors in Miami no doubt felt fortunate to be trying defendants who participated in a ceremony pledging allegiance to al Qaeda—which was captured on video. The defendants took surveillance photos of government buildings. The leader of the cell admitted requesting from an apparent terrorist financier boots, uniforms, vehicles, machine guns and $50,000. Just in case the reason for the request was unclear, Narseal Batiste stated—on tape—that it was for creating an “Islamic army” to wage a “full ground war” and commit an attack that would be “as good or greater than 9/11,” such as blowing up the Sears Tower. (READ MORE)

Matt Towery: The Unmaking of the American Presidency - Last Tuesday night's results from Florida in both the Democratic and Republican Party presidential primaries were what I expected, and then some. Since well back into 2007, this column has been predicting that Florida would decide both the Democratic and GOP nominations. I believe it did, and in the process has blown apart the political world we have known for decades. First, John McCain. He's the ultimate "outsider" within his own Republican Party. Neo-cons, establishment GOP bluebloods and just about every too-cool-for-school Republican faction have long held him in contempt. (READ MORE)

William Rusher: The Reagan 'Myth'- It's slowly dawning on the liberals that it's not going to be enough to ignore Ronald Reagan. Like it or not, they're going to have to take him on, head-first, and try to convince the American people, or at least the historians of his era, that he was a fundamentally bad guy. I don't envy them the job. Reagan was an immensely popular president. Not long after his retirement I told him, in a private conversation, that I thought his historical popularity would follow the trajectory of most of his predecessors' -- declining somewhat at first, then rising again till he assumed at last his proper place in the presidential pantheon. (READ MORE)

Donald Lambro: Downturn? Yes. Recession? No - WASHINGTON -- With all the economic gloom and doom we're hearing on the nightly news, it should be noted that not everyone believes we are heading into a recession. We've been hearing the mantra of recession over and over again for sometime now. It was a drumbeat throughout 2007 from people who had their own political agenda. But barring the expectantly low fourth-quarter gross-domestic-product (GDP) numbers due out this week, for the most part the economy's fundamentals performed quite well -- turning in a nearly 5 percent economic growth rate in the third quarter. (READ MORE)

Andrea Shea King: Does Romney Have the Starch? - I watched tonight's GOP Debate on CNN, and I'm more convinced now of two things: 1) John McCain is not deserving of our vote nor is he qualified to lead this country. 2) Mitt Romney is a gentleman who is going to have to get his hair mussed and well creased cuffs dirty if he's going to take on and beat the "war hero" senator. Does Romney have it in him? Can he roll up his sleeves, get sweaty and nasty and wrestle in the political mud with someone who's been there for 20+ years, feeding from the federal trough? (READ MORE)

A Soldier's Mind: Two Fort Lewis Soldiers Receive Silver Stars - We don’t often hear about the things that our Soldiers encounter, in their daily fight against evil in Iraq and Afghanistan. We don’t often hear about their bravery and their disregard for their personal safety to ensure that their fellow Soldiers are safe. So, each time that I hear about the courage and bravery of our Troops, I remember once again, about the selflessness, courage, bravery and sacrifice that these men and women make on a daily basis. They don’t do this for accolades, but instead because they believe in their mission and want to ensure that the Soldier standing beside them comes home. Once again, we’re reminded of the fact that these men and women are the best examples of the type of people our country produces. (READ MORE)

The Anchoress: Post FL: The Nation Needs a Time-Out - UPDATED - What is it about Florida? Every time the people in Florida vote, the whole nation seems to lose its mind. Hillary’s largely illusory Florida victory has Chris Matthews near tears, probably because he fears grovelling to President Hillary (who will make him pay for his past heresy) so that’s a little understandable, but there is a lot of hot-headed angst going on out there. My email is full of fulminating folks on the right who are either furious about McCain or disgusted with Rush or the Romney crew. Or they’re mad at Giuliani (hint - he’s out of the race, dudes, lay it down) for his ill-advised strategy. Some folks are still crying about Fred Thompson and there is huffing and puffing about “the split of the GOP.” (READ MORE)

The Barnyard: I Have Made A Decision - Based on McCain's smarmy. snide and unbased attacks on Mitt Romney and blatant lies and flip flops, I will sit out the presidential election if he is our GOP nominee. I will vote the down ticket for the GOP and McCain will do terrible damage to that as well even if it is Hillary. They are no different and he would roll over in compromise to the libs when they send him legislation. I cannot trust the man, Mr. Integrity, yeah right, he is a lying donkey ass kisser. The GOP has a major fight on it's hands this year and John McCamnesty, Mr Flip Flop is not the man to save the House That Reagan Built. Donald can call me and others like me deranged all he wants to but that only makes my position stronger. (READ MORE)

Baldilocks: While the Electorate's Attention Is Diverted - While some members of the US Senate are busy running for president and other members are picking sides between them, still others are working behind the scenes for the watchword of the day: change. That change, if successful, will most certainly be dramatic. The question remains, however, is whether the prospective change is good, desirable, or whether it is even constitutional. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Senate Finance Committee chair, is heading a investigation into the finances of six Christian ministries. (READ MORE)

The Belmont Club: Walk the line - Here are a two stories touching on the Afghan/Pakistani theater of operations. The Asia Times says that the US has built a base right on the Afghan-Pakistan border for the purposes of raiding into Pakistan, with or without Islamabad's approval. The article goes on to say that al-Qaeda has repeatedly attacked to forestall establishment of the installation but to no avail. Now al-Qaeda's leadership is at risk and must apparently withdraw further into Pakistan. The Asia Times article darkly hints that al-Qaeda will redouble its efforts to inflame Pakistan and attack NATO supply lines in order to compensate for its loss of sanctuaries in the tribal areas. (READ MORE)

Big Dog: Were Huckabee and Paul in the Debate? - This is from the CNN website: "Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, winner of the Iowa caucuses, hoped to position himself well among evangelicals and other conservatives to turn around several consecutive losses since Iowa. Long-shot candidate Ron Paul, a representative from Texas, also participated in the debate." CNN Is it fair to say that Ron Paul, of Mike Huckabee for that matter, actually participated in the debate? Almost all of the questions were directed to Romney and McCain while Huckabee and Paul sat on the sidelines waiting to be asked a question or invited to respond to a McCain or Romney answer. (READ MORE)

Dafydd: McCain's Greatest Asset - I'm going to pick up on a comment that frequent commenter MTF made to a previous post here at Big Lizards; he ended by saying this, which is quite perceptive: "If McCain can convince conservatives that he will nominate judges like Roberts and Alito and press to make the Bush tax deal permanent, then those windy promises, in combination with his strong and very real support of the war effort against al Qaeda will be very tough for anyone to best." Let's amplify that: McCain will be tough for anyone to best even in the general election. (READ MORE)

Deebow @ Blackfive: Is there a way not to get pissed off about this? - OK, I am going to guess that is a rhetorical question...(h/t MM) “Members of the Berkeley City Council showed their opposition to a Marine Corps recruiting office in Downtown Berkeley last night.” Thankfully, Move America Forward is spreading the word on this atrocity. Many thanks to them for their continued efforts to counter these oxygen thieves who are stealing the air of someone who could use it to be more productive. Here is what my plan of action would be... (READ MORE)

The Captain's Journal: Taliban Continue Fronts in Pakistan and Afghanistan - In U.S. Intelligence Failures: Dual Taliban Campaigns, we provided the analysis showing that there has been a split in the Taliban organization with Baitullah Mehsud (or By’atullah Mahsoud) the leader of the Pakistan wing and Mullah Mohammed Omar the leader of the Afghanistan wing. Taliban insurgency is planned for Afghanistan, and an insurrection is planned for Pakistan. This analysis, proven correct, was directly contrary to the analysis given by Army Major General David Rodriguez who claimed that the front in Pakistan would prevent the Taliban from conducting a “spring offensive” in Afghanistan in 2008. But Mullah Mohammed Omar has recently said through a spokesman that the Taliban doesn’t align themselves with the fight in Pakistan. Their’s is an Afghani struggle. (READ MORE)

Blue Crab Boulevard: Irreconcilable Differences - The Wall Street Journal reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger's California "Universal Health Care" initiative has died. They are not grieving over the corpse. “So much for that. The California legislature is probably the most liberal this side of Vermont, and even Democrats refused to become shock troops for this latest liberal experiment. Mr. Schwarzenegger and Democrats in the State Assembly did agree on a compromise plan in December. But on Monday, only a single member of the Senate Health Committee voted to report the bill to the full chamber — and thus it joined a graveyard full of state ‘universal’ health-care failures.” (READ MORE)

Pam Meister: Say What? Military Near Top of the ‘Prestigious’ Career Heap - Hey, Gomer: “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” A recent Harris Interactive survey indicates a handful of careers are considered very prestigious by American adults. Over 50 percent of those surveyed believed scientists, teachers, doctors and military officers had “very great prestige.” (Firemen topped the list with 61 percent.) At the bottom of the list of prestigious careers were real estate brokers (5 percent), bankers (10 percent), and actors (9 percent). Journalists are also not far from the bottom of the scrap heap, with less than 20 percent surveyed according them prestige. (READ MORE)

Ed Morrissey: Will Hillary's Wal-Mart Experience Trip Her Up? - Of all the arguments against Hillary Clinton's nomination, her tenure on the board of Wal-Mart may be the most ironically damaging. Democrats survive on the money that labor unions generate, and they have a passionate hatred for the nation's largest retailer, which has successfully kept unions from organizing their workers. John Edwards and Barack Obama have repeatedly demonized Wal-Mart, even though most analysts agree that its low prices and job opportunities represent a net benefit to lower-income communities. Hillary has attempted to parry criticism of her Wal-Mart connection by claiming that she did what she could to press for positive change while on the board. ABC News has reviewed hours of stockholder meeting videotapes and finds no evidence that she ever pushed Wal-Mart to be more union friendly: (READ MORE)

Confederate Yankee: It's Your Fault That You Hate Us - Via Ace and a sarcastic review by Kevin D. Williamson on NRO's Media Blog, comes an article by Poynter Institute Senior Scholar Roy Peter Clark, entitled The Public Bias against the Press. And yes, he's quite sincere. He begins: “The public bias against the press is a more serious problem for American democracy that the bias (real or perceived) of the press itself.” This is a fascinating claim. Clark argues that a healthy degree of skepticism in the American public for (real or perceived) media bias is greater than the actual damage caused by biases held by journalists and promulgated in their reporting. (READ MORE)

Andrew Cochran: Did a Federal Court Leave Terrorism Victims Out in the Cold? - On December 28, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling in the David Boim case, a $156 million judgment against the Holy Land Foundation and other U.S.-based Muslim charities. The case arose out of the murder of David Boim, a seventeen-year-old American citizen who was killed in a Hamas terrorist attack in the West Bank. David's parents had sued the attackers and a number of U.S.-based Muslim charities, including HLF, alleging in part that the charities directly or indirectly raised and laundered money for Hamas and otherwise helped finance Hamas’ terrorist activities. The 7th Circuit opinion reversed the trial court's ruling for the plaintiffs and remanded the case, indicating that the plaintiffs must establish more of a causal link between the defendants' funding and fund-raising activities and the terrorist act. (READ MORE)

Gribbit's Word: A Story of Union Ignorance - I was walking down my street the other day and was for some reason paying attention to the surface of the roadway. I noticed all the places where the utility companies had cut into the road to make their repairs. I also noticed markings on the road’s surface in spray paint marking out where the gas, sewer, and water lines crossed the road. This all brought back a memory for me that is about 11 years old. I’ve made no secret of the fact that organized labor is a problem in my opinion. I say this as a former local President of a prominent manufacturing union in the United States. I’ve seen the lack of action of the international body when their action needed and their pushing of candidates who ultimately dropped out of Presidential races and Congressional races after they took the union’s PAC money. I’ve read the literature promoting political candidates and political positions which work in conflict with the retention of jobs. (READ MORE)

Jihad Watch: Pakistani jihad leader: "We want to eradicate Britain and America...We pray that Allah will enable us to destroy the White House, New York, and London" - Maybe he thinks he and his fellow jihadists will destroy us from within. In any case, note the strong Islamic content of his appeal -- while the learned Western analysts continue to dismiss this, the most prominent feature of what he is saying, as mere window dressing that manifests a deep misunderstanding of the religion. "Pakistani Taliban Emir By'atullah Mahsoud: We Will Destroy America and Britain, But Won't Use Nuclear Bombs," from MEMRI (thanks to Mackie): (READ MORE)

Jules Crittenden: Arrest Him! - After impeaching him! Now! Brattleboro’s Bush warrant irks wingnuts. Any of you guys know anything about this? AP: "BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - A petition by 435 earnest Vermonters calling for the arrest of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney has triggered counter charges from citizens elsewhere that the petitioners are 'wackjobs' and 'nuts.'" (READ MORE)

Allahpundit: (Video) McCain righteously demolished by … Joe Scarborough? - What’s most impressive is how long, yet still incomplete, the list of grievances is and how effortlessly he calls it up from memory. A testament, surely, to how deeply McCain’s betrayals have seeped into the conservative consciousness. VDH is doing his best to rehabilitate Maverick for the sake of the war, but he’d be better off waiting until we’ve reconciled ourselves to our fate before trying this. At this stage he’s probably alienating more readers than he’s converting. (READ MORE)

Bill Roggio: The Mosul Offensive - Just over one year after the surge officially began Coalition and Iraqi forces continue to pursue al Qaeda in Iraq. After al Qaeda has been driven from its havens in Baghdad and the surrounding belts regions, and most recently in Diyala, the city of Mosul has emerged as the latest battleground. Al Qaeda is still is able to operate in Mosul, and maintains its only established supply line to Syria in the Mosul region, according to a December 2007 assessment of the terror group's capabilities by Multinational Forces Iraq. "In ... Mosul and the rest of Ninewa province we still have a very tough fight to go," said Major General Mark Hertling, the commander of Multinational Division North said in a press briefing on Jan. 22, just one day prior to a major attack in the city. (READ MORE)

Amy Proctor: Al-Qaeda Car Bombs Decrease Dramatically in Iraq - In Iraq, al-Qaeda's signature tactic, the car bomb, has all but been abandoned by al-Qaeda with the U.S. military saying this downward trend is a sign that al-Qaeda is on the defensive. The decline looks like this: Car bombings in Iraq: January 2008: 3 December 2007: 12 January 2007: 80+ Car bombings have been replaced by suicide bombers, whose attacks are slightly up, but there’s a reason for that. According to U.S. Navy Admiral Greg Smith: "We think that because of our operations, al-Qaeda has moved into a much more defensive position, and they're clearly having to physically move. That's making their ability to conduct more lethal larger-scale bombings more difficult." (READ MORE)

Mountain Runner: What's wrong with our public diplomacy? Is it an issue of capacity or dysfunction? - Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s suggestion last week to recreate the United States Information Agency really stirred things up. Setting the tone was Sharon Weinberger of Danger Room with a post that didn't hide her disdain for the idea. Following her lead was Mike Nizza of the New York Times blog The Lede with a post that closed with "[d]efenders of Mr. Rumsfeld’s proposal have yet to emerge in the blogosphere." Then there was William Arkin’s post on WaPo lamenting that "Pentagon feels it is its responsibility to fill in a vacuum" of the war of ideas but doing so in ways that are "hopelessly confused." But, as Arkin pleads it, it is not the job of the military to "wage the nation’s information wars." True, but who else will do it, Mr. Arkin? (READ MORE)

Cinnamon Stillwell: Western Feminists Feeling the Sting of Criticism? - Like many others on the right, I have been a consistent critic of the Western feminist movement's veritable silence on the oppression of women in Muslim culture. Putting multiculturalism and leftist political preoccupations such as being anti-American and anti-Israel ahead of women's (and, indeed, human) rights, the movement is out to lunch on the great feminist calling of our time. In a recent SFGate column on the rise of so-called honor killings in the West, I elaborated on the subject: (READ MORE)

ThreatsWatch: How to Attack a National Identity - One of America’s core interests in Iraq is “An Iraq that is peaceful, united, stable, democratic, and secure.” Essential to the achievement of American goals in Iraq is the maintenance of an Iraqi national identity that includes both the Sunni and Shi’a communities. This goal is in direct opposition to the goals of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which seeks an Sunni Islamic Caliphate that rules Iraq and beyond. That goal requires the destruction of the Iraqi nationalist identity and its replacement with a (Sunni) Islamic identity. This analysis will explore some of the rationale behind AQI’s strategy and tactics. We will take the goal of AQI, that of an Islamic Caliphate to replace states in the Middle East and therefore the creation of an Islamic identity, as a given. (READ MORE)

Cassandra: Berkeley: Marines "Unwelcome, Uninvited Intruders" - The half vast editorial staff are delighted to announce that Day 2 of Berkeley, California's increasingly popular Swarming of the Moonbats (a fresh and funky local tourist attraction based on Pamplona, Spain's Running of the Bulls) is in full swing! Scores of brave moonbats are expected to hit the streets in noisy solidarity, determined to protect gullible American youth from the lying lies of The BusHitler and Dick Cheney's oil-grubbing capitalist cronies! (READ MORE)

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