Man of the year, General David Petraeus

Our main stream media doesn't get it, but the British press certainly does.

From The Bashman over at Pat Dollard - It Took A Brit Paper To Name Petraeus Man Of The Year

Iraq, Al Qaeda, and the long war

Al Qaeda in Iraq has consolidated somewhat in Diyala Province in northern Iraq. They've lost a lot of ground in 2007, but have somewhat gained a foothold in Diyala Province. Bill Roggio at The Long War Journal has the details - Al Qaeda establishes "a haven in Diyala". Don't forget to check the maps he provides as it helps in understanding. The first map is a great graphic presentation of where Al Qaeda was at the beginning of the year and where they are now.

• With al Qaeda in Iraq's bases of operations dismantled in the central Baghdad regions, Diyala province has emerged as the primary battleground between Iraqi and Coalition forces and the terror group.

According to Bill's report, the attack on Al Qaeda in Diyala will be mostly carried out by the Awakenings and the Concerned Local Citizen groups.

Pat Dollard reports that the upcoming assault on Al Qaeda in the north will start in two weeks. Massive New Offensive Planned Against Al Qaeda

• “In 2008, joint U.S.-Iraqi forces would stage large-scale operation to crack down on al-Qaeda organization in Diala river basin, Mosul and along the area the network was operating,” Admiral Gregory Smith, the U.S. army communications officer, said in a press conference held in Baghdad.

After that, go back over to Bill Roggio at the Long War Journal and get a summary of this years progess in the long war with The State of Jihad: 2007

Bill's reports are very detailed, so I won't even attempt to summarize that last one. You'll need to read it.

Got a spare 17 minutes?

For those of you who haven't looked over the candidates yet.

Meet Fred:

NightTwister is right

Another great read from Michael Yon's website is A Thank You Letter.

• I have been under fire, looked insurgents in the eye, and seen corruption up close. I have also seen people emerge from oppression and live with hope for the first time in years. I have seen children reach up and grasp the hands of American soldiers just because they trust them.

Good Pakistan comment thread

Black Five has a well worth reading comment thread going on the Pakistan situation.

Pakistan

I haven't been able to sort out the situation there yet. I've been reading a lot of opinions, but there are so many variables at this time I don't see a clear cut picture of what the appropriate actions the U.S. should take.

I am stuck with one thought though. If the Democrats hadn't dismantled our military so much, we could be following Al Qaeda as the flee Iraq and return to Afghanistan. Damn, it sucks to be so short handed militarily.

Another new piece to the puzzle reported by Pat Dollard - Teenie Vs Al Qaeda And Musharraf? Bhutto’s 19 Year Old Son To Step In As Successor

Apparently, Bhutto named her 19 year old son as her successor in the Pakistan People's Party, but he will not be running for Prime Minister.

The next surge in Iraq

The surge in troop levels that Petraeus asked for and received in order to bring security and stability in Iraq will be winding down over the next 6 months or so. In case you were thinking that, at that point, we are just going to sit back and see what the Iraqi's do, you would be mistaken. In January the next surge starts. This one is diplomatic. From David Ignatius at The Daily Star - Petraeus' plans for 2008, Iraq's transition year.

• General David Petraeus has an enviable problem as he ponders his next report to Congress about the US mission in Iraq. His military surge has been so successful in reducing violence that some officials - at the Pentagon and the State Department, not to mention the Democratic Congress - are wondering whether Petraeus can accelerate his timetable for withdrawal of US troops.

Michael Yon's message to Osama bin Laden

Not sure Osama has Yon bookmarked, or if he gets internet access in the cave or not, but just in case he does, Michael Yon has a message for him. News flash for Osama bin Laden

Friday humor

Bear Alert

The Colorado State Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen, and golfers to take extra precautions and be on the alert for bears while in the Bend, Crescent, and LaPine area.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the bears unexpectedly.

They also advise you to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch for signs of bear activity.

People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings.

Black bear droppings are smaller and contain berries and possibly squirrel fur.

Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

Fred's ad airs!

He made his goal and the ad now runs. Here's the add:

An appeal for Fred

As you know, I’m a Fredhead and I believe it’s very important to get him elected. For a while there I figured that it would be a matter of getting someone to run against Clinton who could easily take her down. Now, it looks like she’s imploding so who knows who it’s going to be. That’s still good though, as Fred is laying out policies that will make him the clear choice for most of America. He has legitimate, sound, and well thought out plans on fixing Social Security, the tax system, immigration, and rebuilding our military. At the same time, he plans on bringing down the size of government, not growing it bigger as the Democrats are promising to do. He looks good in the general election to me. For more on Fred’s positions spend a little time at his website:

And check out his new TV ad while you're there.

At this point, Fred is currently bussing around Iowa trying to get his message out for the Iowa Caucus coming up on January 3rd. He’ll be hitting as many towns per day as he can for the next 8 days. This is where I’m asking for a little help for him. We need Fred to get the nomination. If you feel as I do that he’s the guy to put up on the Republican side, whether you’re a Republican or not, give him a donation if you can. We’re running another “Fred day”. Even if you can only give $25, that’s still going to help. Fred has that new ad we need to get on the airwaves.

Thanks, and now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

What they don't want you to realize

Barak Obama and his ilk are constantly saying that we are less safe now then we were before invading Iraq. That's been a common theme for the anti-war crowd for the last couple of years. According to them, Bush's "arrogant" policy has created more terrorists than if we had stayed out.

I present to you that they are dead wrong. So, disregard the fact that Saddam Huessin, over decades, was systematically killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's. Beyond that, lets just look at whether going to war in Iraq has created more terrorists or not. To do this, we need to go back to December 2003 and review this article from the New York Times. Some of you will remember it, but in case you don't (and don't want to go read the whole thing), it's when we found out that Muammar el-Qaddafi had agreed to give up his WMD program.

• Libya's actions came after nine months of secret diplomacy, beginning with an overture from Colonel Qaddafi to London and Washington just as the invasion of Iraq was beginning.

He offered up quite a bit of clarification of the WMD's, too:

• In two trips to Libya, including one earlier this month, American and British intelligence and weapons experts were given a tour of the country's arsenal, reportedly including mustard gas, a World War I-vintage chemical weapon, and materials for making nerve gas and missiles, the latter from North Korea.

Moving to midsummer 2006 and The Sunni's in Anbar Province, Iraq got fed up with Al Qaeda and started fighting against them and negotiating with Coalition for support. Many Awakenings have followed and the movement has spread to most of Iraq. Al Qaeda is presently doggedly trying to hold onto parts of Diyala Province, and some of them attempted to "set up shop" in Northern Iraq. Those are the areas now where Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition troops are performing clear and hold operations. Al Qaeda is making one last stand before being forced to give up Iraq. Some AQI are already showing up in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The exodus begins.

That been going on for the last 18 months or so, now today we have it reported that Al Qaeda is moving on to a softer target, mainly, the UN. From The Bashman over at Pat Dollard is Al Qaeda Now Sets U.N. As Special Target.

• “Al-Qaeda certainly regards the United Nations as inimical to its own interests,” said Richard Barrett, head of a U.N. team that monitors the effectiveness of U.N. sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. “The more the United States and other countries protect themselves, the more the battle goes to the softest target, and the U.N. is always going to be a softer target.”

To some of us, this is the predicted outcome if America stands strong in the face of terrorism. We outlasted Al Qaeda by keeping our military in the game, not cutting and running home and the leader of a major terrorist state got the message early on, and closed up shop.

New Computer

So, my Christmas morning starts off with me discovering that my PC died. No lights, no nothing. I got out the laptop so I could check news since I don't subscribe to newspapers anymore. Naturally, most of the morning the thing needed to install all the updates released over the last year or so...

I figured it was no big deal. Probably time to get something newer anyway. I wasn't looking forward to blogging off the laptop, but it would work.

Over Christmas dinner at my folks, I mentioned it and Dad responded that he had a fairly new "white box" just sitting there. A short discussion about whether he needed it for anything, and then it was in the truck. I've spent most of the afternoon configuring it, but all in all it's pretty much up and running at this point.

Now that was truly a special Christmas gift. Start the day dead in the water, and end it with a pretty decent computer upgrade. Ya gotta love that!

Merry Christmas!

I'm not all that original, so I'll just post this classic video called (I believe) Rockin' Christmas lights of Doom. And hope you all have a Merry Christmas. H/T to The Bashman over at Pat Dollard.

Another Christmas must see video

Right Hand Girl has her Christmas video up over at Pat Dollard. Video: Right Hand Girl’s “Christmas”

It's a must see that you'll all enjoy.

Watch this, it'll just take a minute

Quick read that's pretty cool

I keep forgetting to look for the warm fuzzy stuff since I know some of you like that.

So, here's one from Blackfive over at Blackfive - Saying Thanks

Update to the earlier Iraq update

IraqPundit has Obvious Enough for You? that takes apart a report from the Washington Post. Link via The Thunder Run.

• WaPo offers a classic example of clueless reporting. Sudarsan Raghavan traveled to Najaf to interview Iraqi Shiites unhappy with the top religious leaders, and he missed what the people were telling him.

J. Peter Pham over at The Tank has Friends Indeed.

• In a Wall Street Journal op-ed today, the American Enterprise Institute's Frederick Kagan asks what is probably the most important question regarding Middle East policy: "Will the United States remain committed to supporting its friends and opposing its enemies in the Muslim world?"

Not really Iraq related but Greyhawk over at The Mudville Gazette has a repost up from 2003 called The Grinch II that you need to read.

More Christmas humor

From The Thunder Run - When Lawyers Write Christmas Stories

• ‘Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period preceding the annual Northern Europe winter solstice celebration, and throughout our habitat, kinetic activity was not in evidence among the possessors of this potential energy, including that species of Mus musculs. Podiatrical outer protective covering was precisely suspended from the forward edge of the phloem and xylem combusting chamber, pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an imminent visitation from an eccentric philanthropist among whose folkloric appellations is the honorific title of St. Nicholas or Father Christmas or Kris Kringle.

Uh, yeah, you're gonna need to go read the whole thing...

Jingle Bombs

I just got back from the early Christmas shopping and started poking around for news when I ran across one ya gotta see. The Bashman over at Pat Dollard located a 5 minute video of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in holiday mode. Video: Achmed The Dead Terrorist: “Jingle Bombs”

Iraq update December 21, 2997

Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal has a post up covering the latest "Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq" quarterly report which was publicly released on December 18, 2007. It's a typical meat and potato's report like Bill normally does. Mostly meat with a dab of potato's. If you have the time, check it out - Iraqi Security Forces continue to surge.

• The rapid growth of the Iraqi Security Forces continues as the Army looks to expand to 16 divisions. Of the 175 Army battalions, 98 are listed as in the lead for combat operations.

According to the report, 9 of 18 provinces are turned over to Iraqi control. At last count I thought it was 8 so I missed reporting one. All other provinces, according to the report, are due to be turned over in 2008. That's the first time I've heard that part. That's a huge deal, at least to my mind.

I've got the day off so I need to head and do some early Christmas shopping, so I'll poke around the milblogs later and see if there's more interesting Iraq news to pass along.

Too bad the debate is over

Man made global warming support is based on a consensus of 52 scientists. Spree and HCdL over at Wake up America are reporting on a U.S. Senate report just released that has 8 times as many that are disputing that it's man made. Since the MSM is going to find it hard to act like this report didn't come out and will have to report on it, this will most likely cause a reshaping of the scientific discussions. 400 Scientists Dispute Man Made Global Warming Claims

• Is this a politically correct way of thinking? No. It's a realistic way of thinking. Political correctness is an indoctrination into thinking like a group of people want you to think, rather than using your own rational mind to come to a conclusion based upon fact rather than feeling.

I wonder if the Academy awards and Nobel people are feeling a little ripped off. After all, they were told the debate is over. Apparently, the debate my just be getting started.

Person of the Year

Time magazine rolled out their person of the year issue again. Once again, this year, they missed it completely. Vladimir Putin is their choice. Even using their bizarre criteria, he isn't the right choice. I personally agree with several websites that have General David Petraeus. Of course, in choosing him, Time magazine would have to admit the miracle that happened in Iraq in 2007.

So, Person of the Year is General David Petraeus.

Letters from Iwo Jima

I'm watching it tonight. It's the companion DVD to Flags of our Fathers. I'm about half way through it and taking a break to head out for a smoke. So far, I can't understand a word they're saying and there's this white blob on the bottom of the screen that keeps changing shape...

In case you're concerned...

...that Hillary won't make it through her primary, you can relax. Jonah Goldberg has the reassuring details over at Townhall - Clinton Triangulation Comes Full Circle.

• The most enjoyable aspect of watching the HMS Hillary take on water is the prospect that Bill - and his cult of personality - will go down with the ship, too.

Shameless self-promoting

Yes, I'm not above that...

From the comments section on one of the Redstate blogs, I made it to the Fred Thompson website in this from the Fred Files. That's pretty cool...

We help Turkey attack the PKK inside Iraq

In an interesting development, the U.S. has given Turkey intelligence to help them with their incursion into Northern Iraq to attack the PKK. The Washington Post has it here.

It's obviously a touchy problem. So far we've averted the Nancy Pelosi war, but the PKK issue is still large. I think helping Turkey with their targeting accomplishes many goals. The main one being that the Kurds now understand that, if they won't do something about the PKK, we aren't going to protect them and will instead help Turkey go after the terrorists. That should be very clear to the Kurds now. If the still refuse to clean up the mess, they will not have much room to complain that we assist Turkey in cleaning it up.

Helping with the targeting gives a better chance of lower civilian casualties.

Turkey is somehow still an ally, despite Pelosi's attempt to drive them off. I'm just fine with us helping an ally fight terrorists.

Iraq analysis

Victor Davis Hanson has another great, in depth analysis up called In War: Resolution that puts the Iraq war in a historical perspective.

• Preoccupied with the daily news from Baghdad, we seem to think our generation is unique in experiencing the heartbreak of an error-plagued war. We forget that victory in every war goes to the side that commits fewer mistakes—and learns more from them in less time—not to the side that makes no mistakes. A perfect military in a flawless war never existed—though after Grenada and the air war over the Balkans we apparently thought otherwise. Rather than sink into unending recrimination over Iraq, we should reflect about comparable blunders in America's past wars and how they were corrected. Without such historical knowledge we are condemned to remain shrill captives of the present.

Excellent, albeit long, read. Link via BlackFive.

Why Bill can't help Hill

Most of America is to the point of "No Bush, No Clinton". She hasn't bothered to pay attention to that or the personality lessons Bill has given her. Without a personality, she falls back into just another Clinton.

The 9/11 commission report said that Clinton was too busy with politics at home to do what was necessary to stop the attack. OBL noticed a lack of retaliation from our government when attacked and decided that the U.S. was a "paper tiger". We were attacked 9 times in the Clinton years. Retaliation seldom came. The military was raped and national defense was a low priority.

We've been attacked once in the G.W. years. You can call it "cowboy diplomacy" all you want, but that doesn't make it ineffective.

They need to fear us, and at the moment, they do. If she gets elected President, everyone in America understands that she will undo that and go back to the just talk approach that failed in the Clinton years.

Hill needs to understand that the failed policies of her husband's administration cannot be repeated if America is to still stand large in the world.

I have zero confidence that she will understand that. I believe she would have us get small. That's not what I would envision of our great nation.

How's Iraq you ask?

It appears to be doing well, thanks for asking.

First, Bill Roggio has a post up covering the misreporting about the British turnover of Basrah - Basrah: Missing the Iraqi Security Force Deployment. It's been claimed that the British failed and have now turned over Basrah to the terrorists. Read Bill's post to understand the hand off to the Iraqi's and how it's not what you've been told.

Bill also has this up concerning Al Qaeda going after the Awakening movements - The Awakening, al Qaeda clash in Iraq. An interesting part of this post is that the Al Qaeda announced a war against the Awakenings to run until January 29th and then the Iraqi's actually initiated the fighting. It would almost make you feel sorry for Al Qaeda. Well no, it won't, but ya gotta love the Iraqi's being up for the game.

And, while we're visiting The Long War Journal Bill also has one up called Iraq by the numbers: Graphing the decrease in violence.

You want me to poke around for more? Not a problem. It's all over the web if anyone wants to look for it.

Hills, babes, it ain't working

So, here's the annoying Hillary "personality" in a nutshell. When she's asked a serious question that she's uncomfortable answering, she goes into that cackle, hysterical laughter mode. You're seeing more and more of it these days. It's all part of the "softening up" of her image, according to her campaign. If that's the goal, it's missing the mark by a mile. She comes off as as someone not up on the issue. When you watch one of these interviews and agree with the interviewer that it's a legitimate question, then it's very condescending to you that she laughs off the question. And no, she doesn't appear any softer. She appears unintelligent.

Too bad. I was hoping she'd somehow survive the Democrat primary so she could implode in the general election. Or, survive the Democrat primary and get steamrolled by Fred. Seriously, can't you envision a debate between the littlest brain against the biggest brain? Oh well, she continues to go all 'fingernails on chalkboard" so if we can get Fred nominated he'll most likely have to take on either Obama or Edwards. He matches up well with either of those two, so it's all good.

Thoughts on the Huckster

Mike Huckabee is obviously not my first choice in the Republican primary. I will vote for him if he gets the nomination though. I have several policy differences with him and Fred Thompson fits with my policy's a whole lot better. The Huckster is likable, has the moral standards I think we need, and has some great one liners. On the fiscal side though, his track record sucks. Sure, he cut 92 or so taxes, but he also raised taxes substantially at the same time. When you do a comparison, you get a net gain on taxes. It seems to me that the easy answer to problems for the Huckster is to go immediately to raising taxes. I'm thinking we could get the same thing by just voting Democrat.

I'm not experienced enough in foreign policy to judge how the Huckster would stack up, but Uncle Jimbo over at BlackFive is and he has this posted today - Huckabee & Dr. Phil on Foreign Policy

More Iraq awakenings

From MNF-I (a little dated at 12/6) - Reconciliation takes center stage across Multi-National Division - Center

• CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The number of Iraqi-led reconciliation efforts swelled over the past two weeks across Multi-National Division – Center as local Iraqi leaders seek to capitalize on an improved security situation by developing the institutions that will enable long-term stability.

Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal has the concerned local citizens tracked via map here. It's very informative. You click on the map to enlarge it then, when you move the mouse cursor over a province, it gives you the details of the CLC there.

The Clinton/Obama contest

From just the highlights of the last debate between the Democrats in Iowa it's becoming clearer to me that one of Hillary's major problems is actually her personality. The moderator asked Obama, since he has a lot of former Clinton advisers on his staff, how he could still claim to be the "change" candidate. Hillary could be heard in the background in what I can only describe as a cackle saying "yeah, I'd like to know that too...". Obama swiftly issued a well deserved put down. Hillary came out looking ridiculous and should be real glad Obama can't think on his feet fast enough to point out that there must be a reason all the former Clinton people are on his staff, like maybe she's the wrong candidate.

To me she comes off very obnoxious, but giving her a break, I'll say she comes off looking small and petty.

Henry Kissinger on the NIE

A good read over at the Washington Post from Henry Kissinger regarding the NIE. He certainly gleaned a whole lot more out of it that than I could've gleaned. A great read called Misreading the Iran Report

• The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran? How are we to judge the intelligence community's relationship with the White House and the rest of the government?

Poor Nancy

Looks like everyone is bailing on Nancy Pelosi. She can't get anything done and it's everyone else's fault. Even the Democrats have had enough and there's rumblings of replacing her. She's a failure. I won't get into all the different issues, but I will address the Iraq war one. She says she was unable to end the war due to Republicans that wouldn't sign on to her program. According to San Fran Nan, the Republicans evidently like being at war in Iraq. There's your proof that she's clinically brain dead. So for Nancy, and anyone else that mistakenly thinks that way, let me set you straight.

No one likes war. No one. That however is the only common ground we have. We do like to win wars when we get in them, unlike Nancy who is striving to lose. There are only 2 ways to end a war. You win it or you lose it. The reason Republicans don't sign onto the Nancy platform is that it is to intentionally lose. They understand that we are currently winning the war and that only a fool would choose to lose it now. There are other things we like that are of lesser importance, for instance the removal of the tyrant Saddam Husein who is no longer massacring hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's. We also like the fact that Al Qaeda isn't free to run terrorist training camps all over Iraq (like the 2 they had in northern Iraq when we invaded).

Cool, Another crazy uncle

I had forgotten how much fun Alan Keyes was. If we were to really want to mix things up, we should put out a Keyes/Paul ticket. Man, could we have the independents scratching their heads with that one. I'd really enjoy the debates with the Democrat candidates, too. I couldn't possibly live in either world, but that'd be some good TV.

Anyway, I've done a quick pass on todays Republican debate. Obviously Fred won hands down. Not that I'm in any way biased. He didn't get a lot of time but made the most of it. Fred was Fred and that's what people need to see from him.

The moderator was in "angry school teacher mode" so it was lacking in content on the candidate's positions , but Fred at least backed her down when she wanted to do one of those stupid "show of hands" questions. The question was loaded and couldn't be answered correctly with a show of hands and Fred stood up.

Not that I'm a Fredhead or anything...

If we can't do Keyes/Paul, then I think we have to go back to the dream ticket I came up with in April which is Thompson/Michael Steele.

The Iraq picture, a little more in focus

We all understand where the moveon and other anti-war groups stand on the Iraq situation. It appears that, other than them, most people understand that the surge and accompanying strategy have worked. This leaves the Democrats in a tough position. They need the George Soros money, via moveon, but they're going to lose the bulk of the voters if they align. A break with them is inevitable. Why you ask? It's all about what the situation in Iraq will look like during the general election.

To get in focus with what that will be, I send you to Reuel Marc Gerecht over at American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research - Why the Worst Is Probably Over in Iraq

• The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack--both sincere, thoughtful Democrats--were pilloried on the Left for their July 2007 New York Times op-ed, "We Just Might Win," which concluded that the surge was working and deserved support.[1] Today, just a little more than four months later, some of the people who hurled animadversions at O'Hanlon and Pollack probably wish they had been a bit more measured in their criticism of the two scholars.

It's a long but enlightening read so if you can take the time, I urge you to read it. It's one of the most complete breakdowns on it I've read. I'll give you a couple of points that are brought out that are well worth understanding.

1. All gains can be lost in short order if we precipitously pull out our troops before the Iraqi's are up to the task of providing their own security.
2. Political benchmarks set out by our government are somewhat pointless as Iraq needs to be what the Iraqi's want, not what our government wants.
   

Again, there's tons of information there that I can't sum up here. He paints the past, current, and what the possible future situations are.

Snow Blower

On a lighter note.

Living in snow country, and being somewhat lazy, I've tried to find the easiest tool to use for snow removal. I've got the light powdery stuff covered. It's a leaf blower built by Troy-Bilt. The TB120BV. It's electric and I have to drag around 100 plus feet of cord, but it gets the job done. I can cover my driveway, the sidewalk up and down the street for both houses on either side. I could even do their driveways, if I was so inclined.

The TB120BV produces wind speeds of 215 mph. That alone should make you want to run right out and get one, but don't be mislead, it's not for blowing leaves around. I know this for a fact. It blows the rocks out of the landscaping, it blows up loose pieces of concrete from your driveway, and pretty much sends any mulch you have into low earth orbit. Do not attempt to use it as a leaf blower.

Now, as a snow blower, it's top of the line. The neighbors all seem to have those 2 cycle gas powered jobs and are very optimistic of their potential for snow blowing. They are out there as soon as an inch or two pile up and slowly blow it around.

Me? I head out every 4 inches or so and create a snow cloud that just envelopes the whole block. When I'm done, I'm pretty much caked with snow from head to toe, but the damn driveway is spotless. Not to mention, there's no loose concrete on it anymore.

Gotta like that...

The Colorado shootings

The tragedy over the weekend at a couple of churches in Colorado ended when the gunman was shot by a church security guard. If the security guard hadn't been carrying a weapon, hundreds more might have been killed. The gunman was carrying 1,000 rounds when he entered the church. The security guard is Jeanne Assam and Denver's channel 7 has the story complete with video of her press conference.

Hopefully, any other lunatics that think they can walk into a church and take out mass numbers of people now understand, they might be confronted with more than they expect.

Iraqi politics

Omar over at Iraq The Model has a good read up focusing on the Iraqi political side - How to eat an elephant?

• Most people would say it’s impossible. No one could eat an elephant. Others would argue that one actually could eat an elephant—with patience, one bite at a time.

"A blank check for billions"

It was only a matter of time before the Democrat presidential candidates were going to have to change position on the Iraq war. Now, apparently, the moveon crew is going to force it upon them. Also of note, the moveon group isn't all that intelligent. A blank check for billions? It wouldn't actually be a blank check then, would it? Anyway, Amanda Carpenter over at Townhall has MoveOn Targets Hillary and Obama

• MoveOn.org claims more than 15,000 veterans and military families have signed their petition that demands Democratic senators running for President filibuster unpassed spending bills until a withdrawal date is set for troops to leave Iraq.

Go read the whole thing to get the "blank check for billions" part. Now, going forward, lets watch for them to positively identify a UFO...

They've gone insane

With Bush Derangement Syndrome running rampant in the Democrat party, I usually expect them to get all up in arms over the littlest things, but now they've gone off the deep end. Time to get the straight jackets out.

Today's "flip out" is over the CIA destroying some video tapes they didn't want our enemies to ever get to see. Sensible and what we should expect the CIA to do. We need to be a little upset if they aren't doing that on a regular basis.

The CIA would have very little value to us as a nation if they didn't make every attempt at secrecy.

The Democrats are livid. The main points I get out of that is that they are clueless on national security, extremely stupid collectively, and they care more for our enemy's "rights" than they do about our country.

I'm afraid we're gonna need to lock them up before they hurt someone.

Nicely done

Take just a moment and view this one posted by haystack over at Redstate called This, Ladies and Gentlemen, Is How You Do It

A quick one minute video that rocks.

Yon on CNN again

From email:

• Greetings,
  
  I'll again be on CNN "This Week at War" this Sunday. "This Week at War" has been doing an excellent job with balanced reporting. I'm honored to do this show again.
  
  For the latest on our British friends, please click here.
  
  Am working on revamping the site and translating to 16 other languages. This takes much time and work, but will be worth it.
  
  2007 has seen tremendous progress in Iraq and many Iraqis seem confident that 2008 will be better still. I've never seen Iraqis so optimistic.
  
  Thank you for the support and well wishes.
  
  Michael
  

  

Reconciliation happens

It was pretty apparent months ago that the Democrats were going to need to shift their stance on Iraq some. As expected, when faced with overwhelming proof that the surge was working, the shift was going to aim at reconciliation and lack of political progress on some benchmarks laid out by our government. It took them a few months longer than I expected it would, but they are Democrats after all. They have partially gone this predicted route.

Now for the bad news for the Democrats (and one that will obviously take months for them to figure out) is, they lose on this one to.

MNF-I has Reconciliation takes center stage across Multi-National Division - Center

• CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The number of Iraqi-led reconciliation efforts swelled over the past two weeks across Multi-National Division – Center as local Iraqi leaders seek to capitalize on an improved security situation by developing the institutions that will enable long-term stability.

It's ironic that they moved so slow to shift positions that the window of opportunity closed on them. Also, remember that the political changes are happening from the bottom up now and so they'll soon lose that as a battle ground too.

Iran in Iraq details

Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal has a very detailed post up covering Iran's Ramazan Corps and the ratlines into Iraq complete with an animated map.

• The issue of Iranian complicity in the Iraqi insurgency has been contentious since US and Iraqi forces began heavily targeting the Iranian networks in late 2006. While news reports have touted Iran's role in reducing the violence, US military officers believe Iran still serves as a source of weapons and fighters in Iraq.

Fred

Okay, Fredheads and those who just want to know more about the man. Fred was on the Charlie Rose show for a 1 hour interview. Erick over at Redstate has a review called The Makings of a Real Conservative. It's complete with video, if you have an hour, if not he brings out the pertinent points.

Also from Redstate is fredforamerica with Why This Southern Baptist Minister Supports Fred Thompson

Both are insightful views of Fred.