Michael Yon: News flash for Osama bin Laden

Here’s a news flash for Osama bin Laden, who earlier today released a call “ to guerrilla forces in Mesopotamia. ”
I have directly observed how more and more Iraqis have grown to hate al Qaeda as much as Americans do. Al Qaeda has lost all credibility there, both from a religious standpoint as well as strategically. Even Western media seems to be gradually awakening to the realization that al Qaeda press releases on the topic of Iraq are about as well-informed as the post-invasion rantings of Baghdad Bob.

Fred Just Needs $20k More For Iowa Ad

UPDATE: only $5k to go!!

UPDATE: only $12k to go!!

UPDATE: only $14k to go!!

UPDATE: only $16k to go!!

Pakistan implicates Baitullah Mehsud in Bhutto assassination

By Bill Roggio

December 28, 2007 3:54 PM
The Pakistani government has directly implicated the commander of newly created Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema claimed the government intercepted a phone conversation between none other than Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, and Maulvi Sahib, one of Mehsud's underlings.
The Telegraph has the transcript of the alleged recording. Baitullah congratulates Sahib, who explains the attack was carried out by three of their own operatives.

Baghdad calm one year after Saddam's death

The latest breakthrough is the revival of Baghdad’s most prominent computer arcade.
Prominent refugees have returned from exile.
Restaurant owner Hamid Ilsan took his celebrated al-Rabiyah restaurant to Damascus three years ago but is now putting the finishing touches to a re-launch back in Baghdad.
“You can feel it,” he said. “It’s better than it has been for a long time. There’s 12 checkpoints on this street and lots of traffic jams. Customers are piling up out front.”

Read the whole thing

It Ain't Gonna Happen -SP

It Ain't Gonna Happen
December 28, 2007: Al Qaeda and the Sunni Arab terrorist organizations are in very bad shape. The momentum, gained by the start of the surge offensive earlier this year, has continued, and now the senior leadership of al Qaeda is getting killed or captured faster than the terrorist organization can find and appoint replacements. This is reflected in the greatly reduced number of attacks. U.S. casualties for December are the lowest American forces have ever suffered since the 2003 invasion. Iraqi police and army losses are down as well, but not as much. Iraqi security forces are doing more of the fighting. But there's another fight brewing between the new anti-terrorist Sunni Arab militias the Americans have established. The Shia dominated government sees these guys as Saddam's henchmen and previously terrorists themselves. That's accurate in many cases, but by getting these thugs to switch sides, the death rate in Iraq has plummeted. In fact, al Qaeda has called on its remaining followers to concentrate on the Sunni Arabs now working for the government. However, the Shia Arabs know that, long term, the Sunni Arab minority expects to regain power. To counter that, some Shia Arab militias are again attacking Sunni civilians and gunmen. The government is reluctant to deal with this, but U.S. troops are not, and now there's a lot of American raids on Shia militias, including some being trained by Iranian agents.

It's going to take generations before the Kurds and Shia forget the atrocities inflicted on them by the Sunni Arabs. Don't expect a resolution on that score any time soon. It ain't gonna happen.

Meanwhile, up north, Turkish warplanes have flown hundreds of sorties against PKK targets on the Iraqi side of the bomber. Hundreds of Turkish troops have then crossed into Iraq to search the area where the bombs fell. The Turks are looking for PKK terrorists, dead or alive, as well as documents and other evidence of PKK activity. The U.S. and Iraq are asking the Turks to use restraint, and the end result appears to be letting the Turks do what they want, as long as their targets (PKK camps and villages that have tolerated the Kurdish separatists) are indeed PKK related. The Turks consider this operation long overdue, and since it's Winter, it probably won't go on for long.

Pelosi Promises - Hot Air

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been in that role for nearly a year now, as the Democrat Congress itself nears the end of its first full year since taking over from the Republicans. On election night 2006 Pelosi made a few promises to the country during her victory speech. Hot Air TV takes a look at those promises and whether the Speaker fulfilled them.

Report: Islamic State of Iraq defense minister captured

By Bill RoggioDecember 27, 2007 6:09 PM

Banner of the Islamic State of Iraq. Click to view.
The Iraqi Army claimed to have captured the minister of defense of the Islamic State of Iraq, al Qaeda’s political front organization. Ahmed Turki Abbas was captured after being wounded in a skirmish near Mahmudiyah and “claimed the rank of defense minister,” Qassim al Moussawi, Iraq's military spokesman told Reuters.

Marco Martinez

In the spring of 2003, the 1st Marine Division drove north toward Baghdad – the tip of the spear that would lead the American assault against Saddam Hussein’s elite Fedayeen and Republican Guard throughout central Iraq. It was no easy road. Then-Cpl. Martinez’s actions during the battle of Tarmiya dealt the regime’s forces a serious blow – so much so that he was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest decoration in the United States armed forces.
On April 12, 2003, Martinez, serving with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, responded to a call to reinforce a platoon that had been ambushed. Under fire, Martinez moved his team into supporting positions to assault the enemy force. He eliminated two hostile fighters on the initial attack after his squad leader was wounded by a grenade blast. Martinez took control and led the assault into the area where the ambush had originated. Martinez and his outnumbered men moved through and cleared a nearby building occupied by enemy fighters. As they entered another compound they took stronger small-arms fire from the hostile forces inside. Martinez and his men fought their way through the building and into a courtyard, where the Fedayeen continued to engage the Marines from a garden shed.
Martinez saw that the enemy left a rocket propelled grenade launcher and two rounds on the ground on their way to the bunker. As his team provided cover fire, Martinez ventured into the open and grabbed the RPG launcher and sprinted behind a palm tree. After enemy fire wounded a member of his team, Martinez fired an RPG, 15 yards from the shed. The hostile forces continued targeting Martinez – but his assault had allowed his men to safely evacuate the wounded Marine. While the rest of the team took care of the injured man, Martinez single-handedly attacked the bunker. Dodging bullets, he ran up to the shed and lobbed a grenade into the building, killing four enemy forces and ending the firefight.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England presented Martinez with the Navy Cross in May 2004. The first Hispanic-American to receive the Navy Cross since the Vietnam War, Martinez repeatedly credits the Marine Corps for turning his life around. Having been a member of a gang for several years as a teenager, Martinez became drawn to the Marines after an encounter with a recruiter as a high-school senior. Today, Martinez emphatically states that “All I ever am, or will become, I owe to my beloved Corps.”

John Adams

"Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so
sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it
predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be
likely to approve of any political institution which is founded
on it."
-- John Adams (Thoughts on Government, 1776)

Genesis 1:1-10

In the beginning You created the heavens and the earth. When the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, Your Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. And You said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Then You said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." So You made the expanse and separated the waters under the expanse from the waters above it, and it was so. Then You said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let dry ground appear"; and it was so. And You saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:1-10)

US military beefs up Pakistan force

By Bruce Loudon

US Special Forces are to increase their presence in Pakistan amid assessments that the country is to become the central battlefield for al-Qaida as it is driven from Iraq.
"Pakistan should be carefully watched because it could prove to be a significant flashpoint in the coming year," US think tank Strategic Forecasting said in an evaluation of al-Qaida's tactics as the Islamist group comes under mounting pressure in Iraq.
With the "rapid spread of Talibanisation" in Pakistan's insurgent northwest, the country would become "especially important if the trend in Iraq continues to go against the jihadis and they are driven from Iraq", the assessment said.

Another TB/homeland Security Debacle - Michele Malkin

Sweet

Product Features
1080/24P scanning with 2:3 pull-down recording
3 ClearVid CMOS sensor system; 4:2:2 color used by Sony Enhanced Image Processor
20x Carl Zeiss Vario-Zonnar T lens with extra-low dispersion glass; 1.5x digital extender
3.5-inch widescreen Clear Photo plus LCD display
Dual XLR audio inputs with variable control; supplied shotgun microphone
Technical Details
Lens: Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T zoom lens; 20x optical zoom
Focal length: 3.9 to 78 millimeters; f = 37.4 to 748 millimeters (16:9 mode); f = 45.7 to 914 millimeters (4:3 mode); F = 1.6 to 2.8, filter diameter: 62 millimeters
Built-in filter: 1/4 ND, 1/16 ND
Imaging system: 1/4-inch, 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor system
Picture elements: Approximately 1,037K pixels (effective), approximately 1,120K pixels (total)
White balance: Auto, one-push auto (2 positions), indoor (3200 K), outdoor (5800 K +15 steps, approximately 500K per step)
Manual shutter speed: 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/90, 1/100, 1/125, 1/180, 1/250, 1/350, 1/500, 1/725, 1/1000, 1/1500, 1/2000, 1/3000, 1/4000, 1/6000, 1/10000 seconds
Manual shutter speed (24p scan): 1/3, 1/6, 1/12, 1/24, 1/40, 1/48, 1/50, 1/60, 1/96, 1/100, 1/120, 1/144, 1/192, 1/200, 1/288, 1/400, 1/576, 1/1200, 1/2400, 1/4800, 1/10000 seconds
Exposure: Auto, manual (Type1/Type2)
Gain: 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 dB
Minimum illumination: 4 lx with F1.6 at 18 dB
Recording format: 1080/60i, 480/60i (NTSC)
Play out/Down-conversion format: 1080/60i, 480/60i (NTSC)
Tape speed (HDV/DV SP): Max. 18.812 mm/s with PHDVM-63DM cassette
Tape speed (DVCAM): Max. 28.218 mm/s with PHDVM-63DM cassette
Playback/Recording time (HDV/DV SP): Max. 63 min with PHDVM-63DM cassette
Playback/Recording time (DVCAM): Max. 41 min with PHDVM-63DM cassette
Fast forward/Rewind time: Approximately 1 min 45 sec with PHDVM-63DM cassette (at DC operation); Approximately 2 min 40 sec with PHDVM-63DM cassette (at battery operation)
Audio/Video output: A/V out jack, 10-pin connector; Composite video: 1 Vp-p, 75O unbalanced, sync negative; Y: 1 Vp-p, 75O unbalanced; C: 0.286 Vp-p (burst signal), 75O unbalanced; Audio: 461 mV input impedance more than 47 kO, output impedance less than 2.2 kO
Component video output: Component out jack; Y: 1 Vp-p (0.3 V, sync negative), 75O unbalanced; Pr/Pb (Cr/Cb): 700 mVp-p (75% color bar)
HDV/DV input/output: i.LINK interface (IEEE 1394, 4-pin connector S100)
XLR audio input: XLR 3-pin female x 2, 461 mV, -60 dBu: 3 kO, +4 dBu: 10 kO, power supply: approx. 48 V
Headphones: Stereo mini jack (3.5 mm diameter)
LANC: Stereo mini-mini jack (2.5 mm diameter)
USB: Mini-B connector
HDMI output: HDMI connector
LCD viewfinder: 0.44-inch type, approx. 252K dots, 16:9 aspect ratio
LCD monitor: 3.5-inch Clear Photo LCD plus; approximately 211K dots, hybrid type, 16:9 aspect ratio
Speaker: 16mm dia.
Weight: Approx. 3 lb 6 oz (1.5 kg) (camcorder only)
Supplied accessories: AC-L15 AC adaptor, power cord. NP-F570 infoLITHIUM rechargeable battery pack, A/V connecting cable, Component connecting video cable, USB cable, lens hood with lens cover, large eyecup, RMT-831 wireless Remote Commander, ECM-NV1 monaural electolet condenser microphone, Operating instructions(CD-ROM), Printed operating instructions

Ron Paul: Dr. No (R-Texas) By: John Stossel

U.S. congressional representative and Republican presidential contender Ron Paul has been called "Dr. No" because he repeatedly votes against legislation he believes gives government too much power. If it's not in the Constitution, he says, the federal government has no business doing it. He even votes against appropriations to his constituents.

A Thorn in Putin's Side Named Oleg Kozlovsky

Meet Russian opposition leader Oleg Kozlovsky, who has “effectively held the Kremlin’s feet to the fire of democracy.” So much so that he has been “terrorized and silenced,” writes Kim Zigfeld.

Flower Power for Ron Paul

By Texas on the Potomac

Who would have imagined that Ron Paul, whose message is bare-bones government and who hails from a very red state, would be playing so well on the true blue west coast? But campaign finance reports show that the Lake Jackson Republican congressman is scooping up piles of cash from California, as well as Washington state, in his 2008 presidential campaign.
The Lone Star State just barely edged out California as the top venue for Paul's campaign contributions through September, the latest financial disclosure reports available.
Californians shelled out $724,174 for Paul compared to $725,215 from Texas, according to an analysis by CQ MoneyLine. Washington state, where Paul contributors gave $172,266, ranked as the candidate's fourth-highest source of money, behind Florida, where he received $302,791.
Paul raised almost as much money, $62,376, in that bastion of liberalism, San Francisco, as he did back home in more conservative Houston, where he received $66,632. Paul also received $34,619 from contributors in Los Angeles and $22,491 from supporters in Seattle.
While much of Paul's less government platform may not be in sync with west coast liberalism, his anti-war message does resonate there. And some of his libertarian stands, such as his support for decriminalizing illegal drugs, is also a hit with some in those parts.
Texans, meanwhile, aren't completely ignoring their home state candidate. Paul's top city for fund-raising was Dallas where he collected $108,933, followed by Austin, where contributors gave him $100,632. Hometown friends in Lake Jackson gave him $23,750.

Mark Steyn On Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan had a mad recklessness about it which give today's events a horrible inevitability. As I always say when I'm asked about her, she was my next-door neighbor for a while - which affects a kind of intimacy, though in fact I knew her only for sidewalk pleasantries. She was beautiful and charming and sophisticated and smart and modern, and everything we in the west would like a Muslim leader to be - though in practice, as Pakistan's Prime Minister, she was just another grubby wardheeler from one of the world's most corrupt political classes.

Senior al Qaeda leader killed in November raid - Bill Roggio

Multinational Forces Iraq has confirmed it killed a senior al Qaeda in Iraq commander during a raid near Samarra on November 8. The remains of Abu Abdullah, also known as Muhammad Sulayman Shunaythir al Zuba’i, have been positively identified by Multinational Forces Iraq.

Hindus, Christians Clash Again in India

NEW DELHI (AP) - Hindu extremists attacked village churches and burned down the home of a prominent Christian politician Thursday, officials said.

Pakistan's Bhutto killed in attack

Oldest WWI Vet Dies at 109

TOLEDO, Ohio - J. Russell Coffey, the oldest known surviving U.S. veteran of World War I, has died. The retired teacher, one of only three U.S. veterans from the "war to end all wars," was 109.
Coffey died Thursday at the Briar Hill Health Campus in North Baltimore, where he had lived for the past four or five years, said Gaye Boggs, nursing director at the nursing home. No cause of death has been determined, she said Friday. His health began failing in October.
"We're sure going to miss him," Boggs said. "He was our most famous resident, that's for sure."
More than 4.7 million Americans joined the military from 1917-1918. Coffey never saw combat because he was still in basic training when the war ended.
The two remaining U.S. veterans are Frank Buckles, 106, of Charles Town, W.Va.; and Harry Richard Landis, 108, of Sun City Center, Fla., according to the Veterans Affairs Department. In addition, John Babcock, 107, of Spokane, Wash., served in the Canadian army and is the last known Canadian veteran of the war.
Interest in World War I survivors grew over the past year as their numbers dwindled. The last living links to the war, the U.S. veterans received honors and did a flurry of interviews. In May, Buckles was a grand marshal of the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., riding in the back of a car.
But Coffey once confided to his daughter, Betty Jo Larsen, that he wished people would remember his contributions rather than his old age. "He told me 'even a prune can get old,'" she said last spring. She died in September.
Coffey had enlisted in the Army while he was a student at Ohio State University in October 1918, a month before the Allied powers and Germany signed a cease-fire agreement. He was discharged a month after the war ended.
His two older brothers fought overseas, and he was disappointed at the time that the war ended before he shipped out. But he told The Associated Press in April 2007: "I think I was good to get out of it."
Born Sept. 1, 1898, Coffey played semipro baseball in Akron, earned a doctorate in education from New York University, taught in high school and college and raised a family.
He delivered newspapers as a youngster and would read the paper to immigrants, his daughter said. "That was the beginning of him being a teacher," she said.
Coffey returned to Ohio State University after he left the Army and received two degrees there.
He said he loved teaching. "I could see results," he said. "I could see improvement."
He taught junior high and high school in Phelps, Ky., and Findlay. He then taught physical education at Bowling Green State University from 1948 until 1969.
He had a remarkable memory and was independent, his daughter said. He drove his car until he was 104, and lived in his own home until a year later. He was a swimmer and credited healthy eating and exercise for his longevity.
His wife, Bernice, whom he married in 1921, died in 1993. Larsen was their only child.
Among the other World War I veterans who died this year were Emiliano Mercado del Toro, 115, who ranked as world's oldest person for the last weeks of his life, and Charlotte Winters, 109, the last known American female veteran of the war.

Todays Hero Justin Lewis Clough

The unconventional nature of the war in Iraq has demanded much from the Marine Corps NCOs on the ground. During his two tours in Iraq, Marine Corps Sgt. Justin L. Clough exhibited leadership on numerous occasions, in combat, communications, air support, and rescue missions. Clough served a Squad Leader with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and his squad undertook more than 100 combat patrols. In between missions, Clough trained his squad to enhance its communication skills with aircrews that provide support during combat operations. He also taught his team how to conduct evacuations for the wounded, and implemented cutting-edge infantry tactics. Clough’s dedication to training his men eventually helped save his life. Clough and his team repeatedly came under fire during direct and indirect attacks. They also had to constantly dodge improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Clough usually took the lead during assignments, constantly placing himself in the line of fire. On one occasion in Anbar province, an insurgent sniper wounded Clough. After quickly regaining consciousness, Clough’s first concern was to look out for the Marines next to him. Sgt. Nathaniel Clough, Justin’s twin brother, tended to his wounds.
Having been trained to deal with the situation at hand, Clough’s squad quickly and ably radioed in his injury, requested immediate assistance, and prepared an evacuation by air.
For his actions in combat, Sergeant Clough was honored with the USO (United Service Organizations) Marine of the Year award, as well as the Purple Heart. He has also been recommended for the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor. Clough’s service, which includes a tour of duty in Afghanistan, has been recognized by numerous institutions, including Stonington, CT, where the town celebrated “Justin Lewis Clough Day.” Clough threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game this past year.
Clough is quick to praise those around him – especially his brother, whom Clough credits with saving his life. Sgt. Nathaniel Clough later earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a Combat “V.”

2 Corinthians 9:10

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will
also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the
harvest of your righteousness.
-- 2 Corinthians 9:10

Alexander Hamilton

"The circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are
infinite, and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely
be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed. "
-- Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 23, 17 December 1787)

Pakistan Army Destroys al-Qaida Hideouts

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's army destroyed suspected al-Qaida hideouts in an airstrike near the Afghan border on Tuesday, killing 10 people, officials said

Castro Reportedly in 'Grave' Condition

Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Reginald Dean

Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Reginald Dean
During his deployment to Iraq, Senior Chief Dean was the senior enlisted medical advisor and combat corpsman attached to a multi-national security transition command. On April 12, 2005, Dean rushed to the scene of a suicide-bomb explosion near Fort Tal-Afar, which killed and wounded several Iraqi army soldiers and civilians. Dean set up a triage for 10 wounded, including a 4-year-old boy with head injuries. He provided care for the child, and prepared him for medical evacuation, most likely saving the boy’s life.While in Iraq, Dean was the primary provider of lifesaving emergency care to more than 45 wounded soldiers and civilians during six mass casualty situations. For his lifesaving actions, Dean was awarded the Bronze Star on June 1, 2006.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9

Sowing Generously Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.' 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 NIV

Meet the new F-35 Lightning II

America’s brand-new F-35 Lightning II is currently undergoing a series of tests over Fort Worth, Texas. The third flight on Wednesday tested the aircraft at 23,000 feet, the highest altitude the aircraft has ever been. And this week, Lockheed Martin’s chief test pilot Jon Beesley — the only man on the planet to have flown the F-35 — plans to take the jet even higher.

The Stability Dodge - Andrew C. McCarthy

When last we noted CBS News, it was trying to topple the Bush administration in the 2004 campaign, courtesy of Dan Rather’s ham-handed document fraud. If you want to indulge a fiction, you can attribute the consequent firings to corporate embarrassment over Rather’s arrant partisanship. I’m sticking with corporate outrage over the scheme’s inept execution, “progressive” causes — such as cashiering a Republican administration — being de rigueur among the dying paleo-media.

I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King Jr.

(Editor's Note: The following is the text of the speech delivered by Dr. King on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.)

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies ofPennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Spengler: If you so dumb, how come you ain't poor?

Iran, Venezuela agree to thwart ‘US domination’

Presidents Chavez, Ahmadinejad say ready to spend billions of dollars to finance projects in other countries to help thwart US domination. ‘We’ll underpin investments in countries whose governments are making efforts to liberate themselves from the (US) imperialist yoke,’ Venezuelan leader says

Marine Corps Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III

Marine Corps Sgt. Willie L. Copeland III
Sgt. Copeland and his team were part of a 15-vehicle convoy traveling through the Al Anbar Province in Iraq on April 7, 2004, when a group of about 50 insurgents ambushed them. As the enemy fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at the convoy, Copeland led five Marines through a deep, muddy canal toward the insurgents. Copeland directed his five-man team closer, and succeeded in killing 10 insurgents and pushing back many more. During the fight, his platoon commander was severely injured. Copeland responded by instructing the other Marines to remain in covered positions to avoid getting hit while he shielded the wounded officer and applied first aid. For his actions, Copeland received the Navy Cross on April 21, 2005. Marines Corps

Mark 2:14-17

As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the 'sinners' and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?' On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.' Mark 2:14-17 NIV

Iranian Qods Force Agents Detained in Irbil Raid - Bill Roggio

Thursday's raid on an Iranian liaison office and the subsequent arrest of five Iranians has provided further evidence of the Islamic Republic's interference in Iraqi affairs and involvement with the insurgency. Multinational Forces - Iraq has reported the Iranians are members of Qods Force. "The five detainees are connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – Qods Force (IRGC-QF), an organization known for providing funds, weapons, improvised explosive device technology and training to extremist groups attempting to destabilize the Government of Iraq and attack Coalition forces," noted the Multinational Forces - Iraq press release. The Iranian office Irbil was not a consulate or diplomatic mission, as earlier reported, but a liaison office.
Qods Force [or Jerusalem Force] is a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and is responsible for planning and conducting foreign operations, intelligence gathering and terrorist activities. The unit works extensively with Hezbollah. Qods Force regularly uses its diplomatic missions to provide cover for its operatives.

Taliban Recruits killed after crossing into Afghanistan

BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN — An Afghan insurgent leader operating from inside Pakistan sent 200 ill-equipped fighters, some wearing plastic bags as shoes, into Afghanistan where most were killed in a major battle last week, a top U.S. general said Saturday.

Military Is Expanding Its Intelligence Role in U.S.

Staff Sgt. F. Timothy Nein (top) & Sgt. Jason I. Mike

Kentucky Army National Guard’s Staff Sgt. F. Timothy Nein (top) and Sgt. Jason I. Mike
Staff Sgt. Nein and then-Spc. Mike were part of a routine convoy escort on March 20, 2005, when a group of more than 30 insurgents ambushed the convoy. Enemy fighters had taken up positions in irrigation ditches along the road and in an orchard nearby. Insurgents disabled the lead vehicle, bringing the convoy to a halt in the middle of the kill zone. As insurgents began streaming toward the stopped convoy, Nein and his team leader, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, (see Sept. 20 “Heroes” bulletin) jumped out of their vehicles and took cover near the enemy’s trench. Mike’s vehicle, which was toward the end of the convoy line, took up a position at the other end of the trench, trapping the enemy fighters. As Nein and Hester began clearing the trench of insurgents from one side, another wave of fighters attacked from the other side, wounding three of the four soldiers around Mike. Mike, a medic, moved the injured soldiers out of direct enemy fire, picked up two weapons, and began defending from the attacks on both sides. After Mike eliminated the threat, he began treating the wounded.Meanwhile, as soldiers provided cover fire, Nein and Hester moved through two trenches filled with enemy fighters. They cleared both trenches, killing 27 insurgents, wounding six, and capturing one. The group also recovered several items of significance, including a video camera that the insurgents were using to film the ambush and another video tape in the pocket of a dead enemy fighter that showed a beheading.For their actions, Nein and Mike received the Silver Star Medal in June 2005.

'When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.' John 15:26-27 NIV

The Berger Files - WSJ

The more we learn about Sandy Berger's brilliant career as a document thief, the clearer it becomes that there is plenty we still don't know and may never learn. On Tuesday, the House Government Reform Committee released its report on Mr. Berger's pilfering of classified documents from the National Archives.
The committee's 60-page report makes it clear that Mr. Berger knew exactly what he was doing and knew that what he was doing was wrong. According to interviews with National Archives staff, Mr. Berger repeatedly arranged to be left alone with highly classified documents by feigning the need to make personal phone calls, and he used those moments alone with the files to stuff them in his pockets and briefcase.

From Waziristan to Afghanistan, and Back - Roggio

Hugh Hewitt: Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East

Iraq Security and Coalition Forces conduct major offensive

Victor Davis Hanson: The Surge Gamble

Col. James H. Coffman Jr

Army Col. James H. Coffman Jr.
Col. Coffman was a senior advisor to Iraqi Special Police commandos on Nov. 14, 2004, when he joined a commando quick reaction force (QRF) that was sent to help a platoon under attack in a Mosul, Iraq, police station. The terrorists hit the QRF with heavy fire upon arrival, killing or seriously injuring all but one of the commando officers. Coffman rallied the remaining forces to continue the fight, and radioed for more help. When a round shattered his shooting hand and damaged his rifle, Coffman bandaged up his hand and continued fighting with rifles he collected from the casualties piling up around him. Coffman and his team defended the station for four hours before help arrived. Coffman led the relief forces to his position and continued to fight, refusing medical evacuation until the battle was over. Once the threat was eliminated, 25 terrorists were killed and dozens were injured. For his actions and leadership, Coffman received the Distinguished Service Cross on Aug. 24, 2005.

Kudlow: Investors Say: Give the Iraq Plan a Chance

Tsunami warning issued for Pacific coast of Hokkaido

Dispatches from Baghdad - a soldier's view on Iraq

There are also numerous signs of economic, health and communications development since the fall of Saddam. Just a few are listed below:
In 2005 alone, 98 percent of Iraqi children between 1-5 years old (3.62 million) were immunised against measles, mumps, and rubella. Also in 2005, 97 percent of Iraqi children under five (4.56 million) were immunised against polio.
The average monthly teacher’s salary has increased from a pre-war amount of $2 a month, to $100 a month in 2006.
Since the ousting of Saddam Hussein, an additional one million children have enrolled in primary school.
Since the war, some 268 newspapers, 54 television stations, and 114 radio stations have officially registered. No independent newspapers, commercial television stations, or radio stations existed under the restrictive regime of Saddam Hussein.
Hundreds of Civilian flight operations from Baghdad International Airport each week.
Four mobile phone operators have now reached 7.2 million subscribers. This represents a dynamic expansion of Iraqi civil liberties as mobile phone usage was forbidden under Saddam’s regime.
There is now a record number of marriages taking place.

'If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.' John 14:15-18 NIV

HOW IRAQIS SEE W'S NEW PLAN - Amir Taheri

January 12, 2007 -- 'A SIGH of relief!"
So one resident of Haifa Street, in the heart of Baghdad's badlands, reacted to the new plan to secure the Iraqi capital with the help of thousands of additional American troops.
"Maybe the Americans aren't running away after all," said the resident, a Sunni Arab, over the phone moments after President Bush unveiled his new plan. "The message seems to be that the United States will remain committed as long as Bush is in the White House."
Some 70 percent of Baghdad's violence is concentrated in five neighborhoods, where both Shiites and Sunnis have been the targets of rival death squads for months. Other Baghdadis say the population of those areas will greet the American troops with sweets and flowers.
The fear that the United States, bedeviled by internecine feuds, might cut and run has been at the root of the violence since Iraq's liberation in 2003.
Jihadists have fought not because they hope to win on the battlefield, but to strengthen the antiwar lobbies in the United States and Britain. Some in the new political elite have become fence sitters because they regard the United States as a fickle power that could suddenly change course. Others have created or expanded militias, in case the United States abandons Iraq before it can defend itself against internal foes and predatory neighbors.
The new Bush plan has raised Iraqi morale to levels not known for a year. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had been dropping hints he might resign because of sheer fatigue, now says he is committed to restoring Baghdad's sobriquet of Dar al-Salaam (The Abode of Peace) by clearing it of al Qaeda and Saddamite terrorists, militias and death squads.
"The plan that President Bush has announced is based on our plan," says Ali al-Dabbagh, al-Maliki's spokesman. "We presented it to him during the summit in Amman last month, and he promised to study it. The result is a joint Iraqi-American plan to defeat the terrorists."

The Appeasement Media - Hugh Hewitt

Reading through the conventional, warmed-over "wisdom" of the Beltway's media elite, the pack mentality shines through. They are, as a whole, fundamentally uninterested in whether President Bush's strategic understanding of the centrality of the battle for Iraq within the war with Islamic extremism is correct. Rather, they are intent on figuring out if the Democrats can muster enough votes to cut off funding for the war in a replay of the end of Vietnam. Thus they have converted the crucial debate of our time into a sequel about domestic politics. It is a template with which they are familiar and which their limited experience equips them to discuss. I am reminded of my question to Dennis Kucinich that stumped him: Was he aware of the Quds forces? It isn't just Congressman Kucinich who has failed to do minimal homework. It is also most of the media elite.
President Bush and the serious participants in this debate know that if the United States withdraws from Iraq, both al Qaeda and radical Shia elements will quickly dominate different regions of the country, and begin to clash not only among themselves, but with Saudi Arabia, Jordon, and, of course, Israel. The serious party also knows that retreat in Iraq means an even more emboldened Iran and an even more aggressive reach for nukes by Ahmadinejad.

Deficit Falls to Lowest Level in 4 Years - Dems Blame Bush For Not Doing Better!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal deficit has improved significantly in the first three months of the new budget year, helped by a continued surge in tax revenues.
In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Friday that the deficit from October through December totaled $80.4 billion, the smallest imbalance for the first three months of a budget year since The budget year ends Sept. 30.
Tax collections are running 8.2 percent higher than a year ago while government spending is up by just 0.7 percent from a year ago. Last year's spending totals were boosted by significant payments to help the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

How to Get Justice for Ahmadinejad

The situation in Iran seems to be rapidly spiraling out of control. On top of everything that's taken place there since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ascended to power in 2005, consider the following events from just the past month:
* Ahmadinejad hosted a conference dedicated to denying the Holocaust that attracted the likes of David Duke and Robert Faurisson but barred a prominent Israeli Arab scholar who dissented from their orthodoxy.
* The Tehran tyrant's top aide claimed that Hitler himself was Jewish and that his ambivalent feelings about his Judaism informed his "treatment" of the Jews (but there was no Holocaust, of course).
* Israeli military sources apparently leaked a plan to the Times of London that, if diplomacy fails, the IDF is prepared to drop tactical nuclear (bunker-busting) bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz and Bushehr.
* Ahmadinejad is planning a victory tour through the Latin American countries whose leaders, including the newly elected Hugo "Smell of Sulfur" Chavez, have "defied" the United States.
So what is to be done?

GOP hits Pelosi's 'hypocrisy' on wage bill

On Wednesday, the House voted to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.
The bill also extends for the first time the federal minimum wage to the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. However, it exempts American Samoa, another Pacific island territory that would become the only U.S. territory not subject to federal minimum-wage laws.
One of the biggest opponents of the federal minimum wage in Samoa is StarKist Tuna, which owns one of the two packing plants that together employ more than 5,000 Samoans, or nearly 75 percent of the island's work force. StarKist's parent company, Del Monte Corp., has headquarters in San Francisco, which is represented by Mrs. Pelosi.

Democrats fumble earmarks legislation

WASHINGTON - The Senate's new Democratic leaders, the fragility of their thin majority on display for the first time, were set back Thursday when nine Democrats joined with Republicans in support of stricter House-passed rules on lawmakers' pet projects
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was forced to delay a final vote on a measure he opposes after losing 51-46 a parliamentary attempt to kill it.
The measure, an amendment to an ethics and lobbying bill, would have adopted a wider definition of "earmarks," specific projects inserted in bills, to include Corps of Engineer water projects, Pentagon weapon systems and items from other federal entities.

Training, Teamwork Key to 45 Years of Navy SEALs

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- January marks the 45th anniversary of the inception of the Navy's SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Teams. From those early days of the SEALs, it has been the intense training and brother-like bond for their teammates that has forged the core of the Naval Special Warfare community.

Opposing View: Criticism Comforts Enemy - Andrew C. McCarthy & Clifford D. May

Opponents of President Bush's plan for salvaging the dire situation in Iraq have every right to speak out. And those in Congress who believe it pointless to do anything other than accept defeat have the power to cut off funds.
But the President of the United States has rights and powers as well. He is the commander in chief, and his war-fighting abilities cannot be micro-managed. The president's critics also should consider how their words sound to those dispatching suicide bombers, planting roadside bombs and looking forward to the day they can burn down the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on CNN and al-Jazeera.
Skepticism about the new approach is widespread — and not just among Democrats. There are those who fear Bush is not committing enough troops to get the job done. Others worry that the administration's actions won't match Bush's rhetoric. Some say the plan relies too much on Iraqi officials and forces that have proven unreliable.
There are two logical responses: Propose a better way forward, or candidly call for the United States to accept defeat — without trying to spin that as "redeployment" or some other transparent euphemism.
In the end, we don't think most Democrats will want to be in the position of saying they support the troops in Iraq even as they hold back the reinforcements needed to complete their mission.
After the swift toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, things got tougher. Some leading Democrats have tried to draw a distinction between the war in Iraq (a war they overwhelming favored at the start) and the wider war on terrorism. The distinction was never valid, and today it is less so than ever. Osama bin Laden himself regards Iraq as the central front in al-Qaeda's jihad.
There's no sugarcoating it: A defeat for the United States in Iraq would be a victory for our mortal enemies. It would lead to other defeats for U.S. forces on other battlefields. It would guarantee more terrorism and more dead American citizens.
So scrutinize and criticize, if you must. But then give us a plan to win. Our nation can accept nothing less.
Andrew C. McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor and director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Center for Law & Counterterrorism. Clifford D. May is president of the FDD

Hugh Hewitt: The Library Speech

The president needed to connect with many audiences last night, and he did.

The message for the enemy in Baghdad -- both Saddamist and Shia radical -- was that the United States will respond to their violence with lethal force, and will fully back the Iraqi Army in the pacification of Baghdad.

Iran had to have heard the distinct threat concerning the networks aiding the terrorists in Iraq. Good. That was long overdue.

Hundreds of Ramadi residents join Police

AR RAMADI — Gunshots echoed in the distance as hundreds of hopeful Iraqi police recruits waited in line to join the fight against the insurgents still present within the city of Ramadi.
After three days of screening, roughly 400 Iraqi citizens out of the more than 600 applicants got their wish to become Iraqi police officers. On Jan. 8, the police recruits were transported to Jordan for the beginning of a five-week training course.
One year ago a murderous intimidation campaign prevented local Iraqis from enlisting in Ramadi. Recruiting numbers for police were insignificant.
More than 1,000 enlisted in the police force last month. Over 800 are expected to enlist in Anbar Province this month.
“The local tribes stood up to the intimidation campaign and are taking back their city from the terrorists,” said the Coalition spokesman in Ramadi Marine Maj. Riccoh Player.

Petraeus: Mission Impossible?

Remember that name: Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, United States Army. Pronounced "Pe-TRAY-us." President Bush is promoting Petraeus to four stars and giving him command of our troops in Iraq. All of this despite certain distractions — like the giddiness of Congress or the silliness of the Iraq Study Group.
Notwithstanding the more insistent demands for precipitous withdrawals and pre-emptive capitulation, Petraeus wants more troops and fully intends to engage them in some tough battles over the next several years — for which there are good strategic reasons.

BOXER'S LOW BLOW

Gates wants to boost U.S. forces by 92,000

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday proposed adding 92,000 troops to the Army and Marine Corps, initiating the biggest increase in U.S. ground forces since the 1960s to shore up a military that top officers warn is on the verge of breaking from prolonged fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The permanent increase of 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 Marines would cost more than $10 billion annually and take five years to achieve, underscoring the Pentagon's conviction that today's war and anti-terrorism operations will endure for many years. "We call those 'long war' forces," a senior military official said.

Official: Somalia's warlords agree to give up guns

Retail sales rise in December at fastest rate in 5 months

WASHINGTON — Retail sales rose in December at the strongest pace in five months, indicating that the all-important holiday shopping season turned out better than original reports indicated.
The Commerce Department said to that retail sales increased 0.9 percent last month, the strongest showing since a 1.4 percent increase in July.

U.S. Emabssy Attacked In Athens

ATHENS, Greece— The U.S. Embassy in Athens came under fire early today from a rocket that exploded inside the modern glass-front building but caused no casualties in an attack police suspect was the work of Greek leftists.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathaniel R. Leoncio

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathaniel R. Leoncio
Petty Officer Leoncio was on patrol with a group of Marines in southern Ramadi, Iraq, searching for weapons and insurgent activity on Oct. 4, 2005. His convoy was hit by several improvised explosive devices, one of which disabled Leoncio’s vehicle, killing the driver and injuring three others, including Leoncio. After being pulled to safety, Leoncio told one of the Marines how to apply a tourniquet to his badly damaged right leg. Although he sustained a shattered femur and internal bleeding, Leoncio refused medical evacuation, staying to treat the wounded, including his badly injured platoon commander. After the Marines convinced Leoncio that there were no others that needed attention, he agreed to be evacuated. Due to the severity of his injuries, Leoncio’s right leg had to be amputated. For his actions, Leoncio was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device in April 2006. Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, 'Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .' He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' Mark 2:8-12 NIV

RUDY GIULIANI AND NEWT GINGRICH

The American mission in Iraq must succeed. Our goal--promoting a stable, accountable democracy in the heart of the Middle East--cannot be achieved by purely military means.
Iraqis need to establish a civil society. Without the support of mediating civic and social associations--the informal ties that bind us together--no government can long remain stable, and no cohesive nation can be maintained. To establish a civil society, Iraqis must rebuild their basic infrastructure. Iraqis must take control of their destiny by rebuilding houses, stores, schools, roads, highways, mosques and churches.

An Opening for the Democrats

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the architect of the Democratic victory in November's congressional elections, watched President Bush's Iraq speech Wednesday night like the coach of an opposing debate team: "Tired,'' he said. "Too wooden.'' "Doesn't fill the screen.''

Pentagon Abandons Active-Duty Time Limit

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq.
The day after President Bush announced his plan for a deeper U.S. military commitment in Iraq, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the change in reserve policy would have been made anyway because active-duty troops already were getting too little time between their combat tours

Stocks Rise As Oil, Jobless Claims Fall

On Patrol in Baghdad - Malkin & Bryan

Michelle and I are embedded with a unit in Baghdad that’s responsible for the “standing up” part of the US plan to get Iraq ready to become master of its own destiny. This unit trains Iraqi army and police, which are co-located on the base here, while it also sees to the security and humanitarian needs of the community surrounding the post. The US Army troops here have a complex and daunting mission that stretches and stresses them to the limit, but they are performing the mission with a gallantry and devotion that would make all Americans proud if you could see it for yourself. We hope to bring a flavor of it to Hot Air in the coming days so that you can see a small part of it for yourselves.
In our short time here we have talked with privates, NCOs and officers across a spectrum of duties and assignments on several bases performing a range of missions, and while that certainly doesn’t make us newly minted experts on the situation here it has given us a broader perspective on the war here and how it is truly progressing. Several themes have emerged that, while they may not represent the absolute story on given issues, certainly point to a general consensus on the status of the war among those who are here on the front lines fighting it. Our troops are motivated and dedicated like no other group of people I have ever seen. More than any politician, journalist or blogger, our troops understand the history and cultural forces swirling in Iraq that make it such an incredibly challenging environment. They are bringing that knowledge to the struggle every day, and while their efforts may not always result in perfect outcomes, no one should doubt their devotion to winning the war here in all of its dimensions.
Without hesitation, I can say that this fight is the most intricate and complicated mission our military has ever faced. Our troops are daily engaging in missions that their military training never prepared them for, but they are performing those missions with amazing thought and skill. When you add in the external forces at play, whether they’re stateside politics or the mix of enemies on Iraq’s doorsteps and operating on its streets, the mission in Iraq becomes a Gordian knot of military, political and humanitarian issues that overlap to the point that failure in any one will precipitate failure in all of them. So far, we’re failing in several but not to the point that the situation can’t be rescued. The failures are, in my opinion, almost entirely products of Washington politics and decision-making. Washington has yet to make the war in Iraq a truly national effort, and has not yet brought to bear the full range of American resources it will take to give us a chance of success here.
While we’ve been here we have also spoken with a range of local folks, from sheiks to slum dwellers, and gotten their views on America, the “new Iraq,” and the conduct and progress of the war and we will bring you those views in the coming days as well. We brought along our video camera, so we will have episodes of Vent produced on the streets of Baghdad.
We’re safe, we’re well and we’re going out on patrol again later this morning. We’ll meet local leaders and visit sites that have been in the news recently. And we’ll bring you whatever we find out. Michelle will have some photos from our first patrols posted at her blog later on.

Michelle Malkin In Iraq

Global Schizophrenia - Victor Davis Hanson

When it comes to intervening in international affairs, the United States is damned when it does and damned when it doesn't. Critics of U.S. policy are always quick to pounce - and in this age of globalization, they're only getting more impatient.
It's not just the global geopolitical map that has changed; people everywhere have, too. Globalization has enriched the planet beyond belief, leading to ever-increased demands of perfection. And thanks to 24/7 communications, we all instantaneously know when these expectations aren't met.
The world's public expects that frightening problems, whether an earthquake in Pakistan, an Indonesian tsunami or a war in Darfur, will be resolved as quickly as a cell phone can transmit a digital photograph or a computer can retrieve information from the Internet. And fingers are pointed at the U.S. when, inevitably, this doesn't happen.

Why Won't Dems Fight The War?

It's hard to get out of a deal with the devil. That's the congressional Democrats' dilemma, as they continue to treat the Iraq war as a speed bump on their pathway to the perks of restored power, rather than as a moral question to which voters loudly demanded a moral answer two months ago. Take Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware. "There's not much I can do about it," responded the Democratic "leader" on foreign policy, when asked on one of the Sunday venues for pompous pontificators how he would respond to any attempt by President Bush to escalate the war in Iraq (or "surge," if you prefer it in Orwellian newspeak). This is a man who sees a future president during his morning look in the mirror. Sadly, the glass reflects an empty suit who embodies the congressional Democrats' decision to reduce action on Iraq to a political calculus appropriate for the highway appropriations bill, rather than as a moral imperative to challenge a policy that has sent thousands of twenty-somethings to their deaths in the desert.

NOBLE EFFORT OUR ONLY ALTERNATIVE

Bill Roggio

President Bush articulated a comprehensive and intelligent strategy to turn the tide in Iraq. The new strategy deals with some major shortcomings in the Iraq theater over the past few years: lack of pressure on the Iraqi government to take charge of security and rein in Muqtada al-Sadr and the militias; restrictive rules of engagement; the absence of the Commander's Emergency Response Program program, which puts cash in the hands of combat commanders; the absence of a public campaign against Iran and Syria; lack of involvement of State, Commerce, and other important U.S. institutions at a provincial level. The new Iraq strategy provides solutions to these problems.
Questions still remain. Are 17,500 U.S. troops enough to secure Baghdad? Are we devoting too few forces to Anbar? Will the Iraqi government follow through on its pledge to deal with Sadr and the militias? Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has balked in the past, but his recent statements have been encouraging. Will Iran, which is rightfully a charter member of the Axis of Evil, be dealt with meaningfully? The strategy towards Iran and Syria appears to be largely defensive, although the public announcement of the deployment of carrier battle groups and Patriot missile batteries sends a strong message. Will the changes in the rules of engagement include ending the dangerous and demoralizing “catch and release” program, where arrested insurgents are freed and allowed to return to the streets, where they continue committing attacks due to an overly generous military justice system? Are State, Commerce, and other civilian agencies truly committed to success in Iraq? Their commitment to date has been paltry, and the U.S. military has shouldered the burden of reconstruction the country.

Startling and Clear: Bush Defies Critics

President Bush's address to the nation last night was not just a rejection of the political clamor at home for an early withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It was not simply a rebuff to those in his own party and in the Pentagon who believe that victory in Iraq is irretrievable from the mire in which the US finds itself. It was not merely an admission of mistakes in the execution of this calamitous war so far.
It was a clarion reaffirmation, even in the midst of unparalleled adversity, of the entire foreign policy strategy that drove the Bush administration in the weeks and months after September 11, 2001. It was a defiant and ringing rededication of a beleaguered president in the final two years of his term to the revolution in global affairs he unleashed five years ago.

Marine to Receive Medal of Honor

Cpl. Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah, Iraq, on April 14, 2004, when a nearby convoy returning to base was ambushed. Hearing gunfire, Dunham and his squad rushed over to help suppress the attack. He led a team a few blocks south of the immediate ambush site and ordered his squad to block seven vehicles attempting to leave. As they approached, an Iraqi insurgent jumped out of one of the vehicles and grabbed Dunham by the throat. As Dunham fought the enemy hand-to-hand, two Marines moved in to help. Dunham noticed that the enemy fighter had a grenade in his hand, and ordered his Marines to move back as he wrestled the insurgent to the ground. The enemy dropped the live grenade and without hesitating Dunham took off his Kevlar helmet, covered the grenade with it, and threw himself on top to smother the blast. Dunham’s actions saved the lives of the other two Marines. Dunham will be the second serviceman and first Marine in the Global War on Terror to receive the Medal of Honor.

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Mark 2:1-5 NIV

New Blood Test Promises Patients Early Warning Of Heart Failure

Researchers in the US have discovered that testing the blood of patients with stable coronary heart disease for high levels of the biomarker NT-proBNP is a reliable predictor of serious and fatal heart-related incidents, including heart failure and strokes.

Trade Deficit Falls by 1 Percent in Nov.!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in November as exports of commercial airplanes and other products hit an all-time high and the bill for foreign oil declined to the lowest level in 16 months.

Bush’s Benchmarks: Can the Iraqis Be Pushed to Act?

Pakistan Rejects U.N. Taliban Claim

Bill Ardolino: Putting out fires in Fallujah

Democrats plan votes on Iraq troop increase

Iraq Requires a Military Solution

Iraq requires a military solution.
That's not what the au fait class of jabbering media and pols says, as they repeat, reinforced by each other's dictums, that Iraq requires a political solution, whatever that means, but we don't find out because the analysis doesn't go much deeper than that. They just know that President George W. Bush's new plan for victory in Iraq must be a "political solution."

Don't Give Up On Iraq Yet - VP Iraq

During my recent visit to Washington I found a nation fatigued by news of a faraway battle that seemed to creep closer with each fallen soldier. I found an administration wearied by infighting among an Iraqi government that seems incapable of reaching simple agreements. The chaos and sectarian destruction plaguing my people are slowly becoming just statistics in passing headlines, as we become a nation whose people spend more time each day preparing for death than for life.

Somali official: Top al-Qaida suspect killed in U.S. airstrike

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The suspected al-Qaida militant who planned the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in east Africa was killed in an American airstrike in Somalia, an official said today.

Sgt. Jeremiah Workman

Marine Corps Sgt. Jeremiah Workman
Sgt. Workman and his squad were in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 23, 2004, when he was alerted that insurgents had pinned down Marines in a nearby building. Arriving at the building, Workman laid down a heavy stream of cover fire, allowing some of the Marines to escape. After making sure the extracted wounded Marines were in a safe location, Workman rallied his team and went back to help extricate those still trapped inside. He again provided cover fire as an attack team stormed the building to recover the remaining Marines. A grenade exploded in front of Workman, severely injuring him, yet he maintained his position. Despite being wounded, Workman gathered his team a third time for a final assault strike to retrieve any remaining troops and clear the building of insurgents. Insurgents started firing upon the group from the second floor, but Workman led his team through the ambush. Workman is credited with eliminating more than 20 enemy fighters during the battle. For his actions, Workman received the Navy Cross on May 12, 2006.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 NIV

ten tips to deal with Iraq - Amir Taheri

Jordanian police kill suspected activist

Roggio: Iraqi Army Goes On The Offensive

MCCAIN ON THE WAR: At Power Line.

U.S. targets al-Qaida suspects in Somalia

Oil prices sink below $55

U.S. targets al-Qaida suspects in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — One or more U.S. military gunships struck at least two sites in Somalia where Islamists were believed to be sheltering suspects in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. Embassies in East Africa and many people were killed, Somali officials and witnesses said today.

Army Spc. Anthony Tonasket

Army Spc. Anthony Tonasket
Spc. Tonasket was serving as a gunner on a routine combat patrol around Baghdad on March 7, 2006, when an improvised explosive device buried in the road exploded near his vehicle. The blast blew his safety glasses and earplugs off, and his individual body armor was flung open. His vehicle was significantly damaged. Despite being injured, Tonasket remained on guard, manned his weapon, and continued to scan his sector as his convoy traveled back to camp. By maintaining his composure under fire, Tonasket likely prevented his patrol from being attacked again. Tonasket was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal with a ‘V’ device for Valor.

Mark 1:40-45

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 'See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.' Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Mark 1:40-45 NIV

U.S. gunship strikes al-Qaida target in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia's interim president entered the restive capital for the first time since his election today as the U.S. military attacked suspected members of al-Qaida aligned with the former Islamic rulers who retreated from Mogadishu.

Negotiate with Iraqi insurgents? What could go wrong? - Malkin

Remember how the Iraq Survey Group report suggested we ought to strengthen Iraq's moderates and negotiate with the insurgency's national sponsors--Iran and Syria--to bring it under control? The ISG report just wasn't wrong enough for some "experts", who want to skip the middlemen and negotiate directly with the terrorists. Problem is, the terrorists don't want to negotiate, their demands are laughable, and they can't carry out their promises to disarm.

Storm approaching on the Hill - Michael Barone

Radical Islam: The Primer - Hugh Hewitt

The War Against Global Jihadism

President Bush has said that the war against global jihadism is more than a military conflict; it is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century. We are still in the early years of the struggle. The civilized world will either rise to the challenge and prevail against this latest form of barbarism, or grief and death will visit us and other innocents on a massive scale.
Given the stakes involved in this war and how little is known, even now, about what is at the core of this conflict, it is worth reviewing in some detail the nature of our enemy - including disaggregating who they are (Shia and Sunni extremists), what they believe and why they believe it, and the implications of that for America and the West.

A Heavier Iraq 'Footprint' - WSJ

DEM VOW ALREADY BROKEN: HOUSE SETS 4-DAY WORK WEEK

A Bitter Clash is Coming Over Iraq

Cynics surely found the words of good will exchanged by the new speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the new House minority leader, John Boehner, at the opening session of the new Congress to be hypocritical and insincere. The two leaders are grizzled veteran pols, after all, who have not been known to be on close, much less candid, terms with each other over the years. But I know them both, and I believe they were speaking genuinely from the heart.

Pelosi: Request for more war funds could be denied

Marine Corps Sgt. Jeremiah Workman

Marine Corps Sgt. Jeremiah Workman
Sgt. Workman and his squad were in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 23, 2004, when he was alerted that insurgents had pinned down Marines in a nearby building. Arriving at the building, Workman laid down a heavy stream of cover fire, allowing some of the Marines to escape. After making sure the extracted wounded Marines were in a safe location, Workman rallied his team and went back to help extricate those still trapped inside. He again provided cover fire as an attack team stormed the building to recover the remaining Marines. A grenade exploded in front of Workman, severely injuring him, yet he maintained his position. Despite being wounded, Workman gathered his team a third time for a final assault strike to retrieve any remaining troops and clear the building of insurgents. Insurgents started firing upon the group from the second floor, but Workman led his team through the ambush. Workman is credited with eliminating more than 20 enemy fighters during the battle. For his actions, Workman received the Navy Cross on May 12, 2006.

Joshua 4:24

The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.
Joshua 4:24

The Successes Not Reported - Flopping Aces

The Consequences of Failure in Iraq

The Perils of a Surge - George Will

On Patrol with Team Gator - Bill Ardolino

Last Wednesday I rode along on a mounted patrol with members of Bravo Company, Second Assault Amphibious Battalion, aka "Team Gator."

Jules Crittenden: Crossroads

We've arrived at a crossroads in history. The choices are simple. In a letter to President Bush Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate President Harry Reid said they want out of Iraq. It's over. The American people are sick of it. There is no reason and no will to keep fighting this. At the American Enterprise Institute the same day, senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman came out for a big, sustained surge of troops into Iraq. They made the case for fighting. Key word: "Winnable." They outlined the consequences of accepting defeat. Key word: "Catastrophic." We are sharply divided as a nation. There will be no governing by consensus. Only by hardnosed leadership. This week, we'll find out what it is going to be. Neither of our options is attractive. But that's war.

Founder of Major Terror Group Surrenders

January 7, 2007: As Algeria and the U.S. exchange information on Algerian Islamic terrorists, they find a common pattern. Many Algerian terrorists, who have "disappeared" from view in Algeria, are showing up in Iraq (where they are killed, captured or mentioned by prisoners), in a Western prison, or under surveillance by Western security agencies. Fewer Algerians are going ti Iraq, apparently after noting the high probability of getting killed or captured there. Algerian terrorists are trying to establish themselves in the West (Europe, Canada, Australia.) The GSPC members share information via the Internet on how to work the legal and social welfare systems of Western countries, in order to stay out of jail, and get the local governments to pay for living expenses. But known GSPC members are closely watched, and know they will be picked up if they are caught planning an terrorist operations. GSPC members are also active in Arab countries, but this is more dangerous. Especially in North Africa, counter-terror operations are very active, and effective. Morocco and Libya are particularly energetic in hunting, and catching, Islamic terrorists (who threaten the local governments). Meanwhile, the GSPC leadership insists that it will carry on the struggle to establish an Islamic state in North Africa, and, in a telling and pathetic gesture, publicly calls on Osama bin Laden for "instructions."

Capt. Johnathan E. Bennett

Air Force Capt. Johnathan E. Bennett
Capt. Bennett was deployed to Iraq in August 2005 to help train and support Iraqi soldiers. On Sept. 14, 2005, Bennett and his team were traveling on the main supply route from Baghdad when his convoy was ambushed. Bennett quickly directed his team to counter the enemy’s attack as he laid down suppressive fire. Because of his actions, there were no Coalition casualties. During his year-long tour, Bennett managed a 10-man training team and 220 Iraqi soldiers. For his leadership in developing and sustaining the Iraqi Security Forces, Bennett was awarded the Bronze Star on Sept. 14, 2006.

Democrats: Nuclear Iran unacceptable

House rules change clears way for tax increases

One of the first key procedural votes in the Democrat-controlled House last week established legislative rules that Republicans say will make it easier to raise taxes by a simple majority vote.

Mark 12:41-44

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on.' Mark 12:41-44 NIV