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theory of the thing is very peculiar indeed. You are in the middle of a war -- a hard war, a war that is going badly. If the government has bogged down, if the people inside have gone stale, you would say that the sound thing, the Churchillian or Lincolnian or Rooseveltian thing, would be, first, to fire a bunch of officials (generals as well as top civilians), promote or bring in fresh talent, and put together a small group of people to take a new and unillusioned look. Those people would report back in secrecy to the president and...

Fallujah Today, and on Route Mobile Patroling one of the two main arteries through the Fallujah region The city of Fallujah and its surrounding environs has both a symbolic and strategic importance to the security of Iraq. Fallujah is the city where al-Qaeda fought the U.S. forces toe-to-toe and lost. Fallujah is a rallying call to al-Qaeda. The city also serves as the gateway to Baghdad, the end of the line of al-Qaeda's Syrian ratlines which are used to run foreign fighters, money and weapons into the capital. Fallujah was where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi set up his first infamous Islamic...

NEWS RELEASE CONTACT:  Robert Dixon - Phone: (916) 441-6197 or Email: robert@moveamericaforward.org December 6 2006 IRAQ STUDY GROUPA COMPLETE FAILURE Report Makes Few Constructive Proposals Advocates Cooperation with Sponsors of Terrorism: Iran & Syria The Chairman of the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, Move America Forward, has issued the following statement after reviewing the Iraq Study Group’s report.  A complete analysis will soon be posted on the organization’s website (www.MoveAmericaForward.org). ________________________________________ STATEMENT BY MELANIE MORGAN, CHAIR, MOVE AMERICA FORWARD: “The Iraq Study Group has failed.  With great hubris and pomposity, the Iraq Study Group released a report they wrote...

WHAT A STORY OF GUTS AND COURAGE, AND A LOVELY WIFE AND FAMILY

Spc. Ashley Pullen wasn't thinking about the dozens of Iraqi insurgents who had just ambushed the convoy. Or their piles of guns and grenades or the bullets ripping through the air around her. Her bloody comrade lay on the road south of Baghdad, and she had to help the gravely wounded soldier — fast. So she hustled as quickly as her short legs would carry her, ignoring the heat, the ferocious battle and her heavy gear. She ran 100, 200, 300 feet — the length of a football field. It was March 20, 2005, the day Pullen, a member of...

The past four days during which we were under siege were long and rough for Baghdadis. Anxiety and fear haunted us at our homes and a flow of horrible news made the prison feel even tighter…it was a material and psychological siege that will not be easy to forget. Thursday began differently for me, first thing in the morning I received very troubling news that one of our friends has been kidnapped. His shocked, terrified father came to us looking for any bit of information that might be possibly helpful in the search for his son who vanished a day...

Mike Fumento was a guest on the Mike Rosen show on 850am KOA here in Denver Wednesday (Nov. 23rd) to talk about his recent October 2006 trip to Ramadi, Iraq. Mike talks about the REAL story from the one of the most dangerous places in the country. Rosen Replay 11/22/06 10-11AM (about 45 minutes, MP3) Guest: Mike Fumento, journalist for "The Weekly Standard" talks about his latest article, "Return to Ramadi."Click here for part one of the interview Rosen Replay 11/22/06 11-11:45AM (about 30 minutes, MP3) Mike Fumento continued. Click here for part two of the interview --- Mike Fumento's...

THE Prime Minister of Iraq will sit down for the first time next week with representatives of insurgent groups in his most concerted effort yet to quell the country's sectarian war. Nouri al-Maliki's Government has asked insurgent leaders to send intermediaries to a national reconciliation conference, marking a new domestic drive to bring peace to Iraq. It will pave the way for a subsequent conference outside Iraq, possibly in Damascus or Amman, with insurgent leaders themselves. The one-day conference, which will be held on Tuesday or Wednesday, was disclosed by Akram al-Hakim, the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Minister Mr Maliki...

Greetings from Ramadi By Michelle Malkin   ·   November 18, 2006 08:39 AM Mike Fumento has photos from his latest trip to Ramadi. Here's one he snapped at Camp Ramadi. Mike writes: "Something tells me Cindy Sheehan wouldn't feel comfortable here." Speaking of Ramadi, Patterico is looking to talk to soldiers fighting there. Give him a shout at patterico-at-gmail.com.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2006 -- Two years ago, much of the Iraqi city of Fallujah had suffered severe damage after some of the hardest fighting seen since the country was liberated by U.S. and coalition forces in the spring of 2003. Today, construction across Fallujah is booming, and the city’s 400,000-resident population is growing, Marine Col. Larry D. Nicholson, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5, told Pentagon reporters today from Fallujah during a satellite-televised news conference. Nicholson has commanded RCT-5’s nearly 5,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors since February. The unit’s primary mission, he said, is to train and...

(ERBIL, IRAQ) – The Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government met with the families of fallen U.S. soldiers today and he had a message for the news media: your coverage of the Iraq war is terribly biased. “CNN International and Al Jazeera are equally bad in their coverage of the situation in Iraq,” said Nerchivan Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan. “When I was in the United States recently and read the negative news in the Washington Post, New York Times and in the network TV broadcasts, I even wondered if things had gotten so bad since I...

A group of California parents whose sons were killed in combat have traveled to Iraq to meet with U.S. soldiers and visit the northern part of the country. Twelve people left last Wednesday and spent part of their time in Amman, Jordan before arriving in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil. A spokesman for the nonprofit Move America Forward, which organized the trip, says they are expected to stay the rest of the week before returning home. Although they were not given clearance by military officials to visit Baghdad or other parts of the country, the families wanted to see...

* Kristinn Taylor's Audio Report from Iraq - CLICK HERE TO LISTENKristinn's Written Dispatch from Monday, November 6, 2006: The families had an incredible day in Iraq today! In the morning, they met with American troops stationed outside Erbil. It was a very emotional meeting. One soldier is from the same town as one of our parents. Another mother arranged for the Gold Star flag to be delivered to the family of a soldier from one of the units stationed up here who was recently killed in action. The families presented the troops with a banner signed by Americans back...

Baghdad is living tense hours awaiting the announcement of a verdict by the special tribunal against Saddam. First, the defense ministry announced canceling all leaves and vacations for all personnel then the government declared a curfew for tomorrow in Baghdad, Salah Addin, Diyala and Anbar. Baghdad's international airport will also be closed from Sunday morning "until further notice" according to al-Iraqiya state TV. Today, heavy presence of police forces is visible in Baghdad and a few districts like Adhamiya and Ghazaliya are, partially or completely, locked from the rest of the capital with roadblocks and checkpoint. However, the situation is...

(before the verdict) Baghdad is living tense hours awaiting the announcement of a verdict by the special tribunal against Saddam. First, the defense ministry announced canceling all leaves and vacations for all personnel then the government declared a curfew for tomorrow in Baghdad, Salah Addin, Diyala and Anbar. Baghdad's international airport will also be closed from Sunday morning "until further notice" according to al-Iraqiya state TV. Today, heavy presence of police forces is visible in Baghdad and a few districts like Adhamiya and Ghazaliya are, partially or completely, locked from the rest of the capital with roadblocks and checkpoint. However,...

"Mission Accomplished" vs. "Halp us jon carry - we r stuck hear n irak" (media bias) Compare the coverage in the liberal media of the "Halp us jon carry - we r stuck hear n irak" banner by our troops in Iraq this week vs. the feeding frenzy over the "Mission Accomplished" banner from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln returning from an extended deployment so they could participate in Iraqi Freedom back in March 2003. This morning ONE major newspaper decided to run a picture of the banner along with a cover story... The New York Post, ironically the only...

Apology aside, it's a matter of arrogance That seems pretty clear-cut. But the ever-evasive Sen. Kerry, who voted for the war in Iraq before he voted against it, angrily denied that he was questioning the intelligence of our fighting men and women. According to Sen. Kerry, it was a botched joke that was aimed at President Bush. ... Several key Democrats said Sen. Kerry should apologize for his remarks. But the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee couldn't find the humility to admit that he was wrong. Finally, he offered a quali-

American forces killed an Al-Qaeda chieftain in the lawless western Iraqi city of Ramadi by destroying his car with a laser guided bomb, the US military said Thursday. "Rafa Abdul Salam Hamud al-Ithawi, also known as Abu Taha, was the emir of Shamiyyah," it said. "He frequently harboured foreign fighters who entered Iraq illegally in order to assault innocent Iraqis and coalition forces." Ithawi was killed on Wednesday along with his driver, "diminishing the al-Qaeda in Iraq network," the statement said.

I took time out from politics today to attend the funeral of Eric Herzberg, Jr., of Severna Park, Maryland. Herzberg, 20, a proud Marine, was killed in Iraq 10 days ago. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. It was a glorious fall day, perhaps the last warm day of the season. It was a privilege to be present as this young Marine was laid to rest. I asked his grandfather how long Eric had wanted to be a Marine. "Ten, fifteen years-since he was a little boy," he said. One of Eric's high school friends, riding on the bus...

Attention GOP: Spread this video By Michelle Malkin   ·   October 31, 2006 09:54 AM Video of traitor john kerry trashing our military at a campaign stop for the governor democratic candidate in California -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o Feedback continues to pour in this morning: Michelle, I'm a reserve Army officer, currently employed as a professor overseas. The DoD contracts with several universities to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees to servicemembers, either online or face-to-face, in darn near every corner of the planet. Many enlisted soldiers have graduate degrees; many more have bachelor's degrees, and the rest are working on them. Teaching soldiers is...

video and audio also linked, of John Kerry saying: "“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”"

RICHMOND, Va. - From the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan to here at home, soldiers blogging about military life are under the watchful eye of some of their own. A Virginia-based operation, the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell, monitors official and unofficial blogs and other Web sites for anything that may compromise security. The team scans for official documents, personal contact information and pictures of weapons or entrances to camps. In some cases, that information can be detrimental, said Lt. Col. Stephen Warnock, team leader and battalion commander of a Manassas-based Virginia National Guard unit working on the operation....

To be a good Muslim! Respond violently to anyone that says, writes, draws that Islam is violent... Lie on 9/11 or support "theories", but do you use it to threaten the west especially Europe (like the signs at the 'Cartoons Jihad) 'Europe! take some lessons from 9/11'. Turn eyes away from Islamo racist-Arab led genocide on the Millions in Sudan, even though the victims are Muslims too (though black, not Arab), since it's done by "our guys".Await a "Palestinian" or another Arab kid to die, if you are Hamas or Huzbullah, you "know what to do" so that happenes...

While visiting Iraq on assignment, KOA Denver reporter Steffan Tubbs was touched by the children forced to survive in such harsh conditions. After talking to several soldiers, he learned that soccer balls are "like gold" in Iraq and the soldiers asked Steffan to send over as many soccer balls as possible when he returned home. Along with the help of his college friend Trevor Slavick, "Little Feet, Big Goals" was started. Must see video - Soccer ball drive with commentary by Steffan Tubbs - http://www.startcolorado.com/mpdownload/LittleFeet.wmv (windows media player) Photos and email from soldiers who have already received a shipment of...

If you don't know why I'm pissed, read this from Matt. That noise you just heard was me loosening up my swearing muscles. It has been about three hours since I found out that CNN became a terrorist press agency, and it took that long to chill enough to type. I keep clenching all my muscles and imagining my hand, Ted Turner's scrawny neck, a wall, and a torrent of verbal abuse flowing from my cakehole to his entire existence, punctuated by occasional slams of him into said wall. WARNING LANGUAGE

If I put on my reporter hat and told you President Bush’s approval rating is 77%, but might be as high as 137%, how would you view the quality of my reporting and of this newspaper? You can view some recent conduct by the three major broadcast networks the same way. All three prominently covered a study published in The Lancet, the famed British medical journal, by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I use the terms “study” and “researchers” very loosely. The researchers claim post-invasion violence in Iraq has killed 655,000 civilians there. Introducing the...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he hoped legal proceedings against former president Saddam Hussein would be short and that he would be found guilty and sentenced to death soon. The Shiite Prime Minister's comments come just one month after his government sacked the chief judge trying Saddam on genocide charges, saying he had sacrificed his neutrality by stating the ousted leader was not a dictator. That prompted criticism by some international legal rights groups, who have said government pressure and sectarian violence in Iraq make a fair trial of Saddam impossible. Mr Maliki met Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday in...

US Army Watching BlogsPosted By Blackfive Note: One reason that I wanted "The Blog of War" published was to preserve several excellent military blogger entries from blogs that were either shut down by the military or the author decided to shut down in order to avoid trouble with the military (The Questing Cat, Armor Geddon, Training For Eternity, This Is Your War, A Day in Iraq, etc.).  This topic is a difficult one for me to navigate.  I hope this post effectively describes what I think about monitoring milblogs. I just spoke to an *ackk!!!* AP reporter who talked with...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (Army News Service, Oct. 16, 2006) – On the way to a yearlong deployment in Iraq, 307 Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, participated in the Army’s largest-ever reenlistment ceremony held during a deployment Saturday. Headquartered at Fort Richardson, Alaska, the unit ceremony took place at Camp Buehring, where the Soldiers stopped for final preparations before entering Iraq. “This ceremony says a lot about the personal courage and selfless service of these paratroopers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David Turnbull, command sergeant major for the 4th BCT, 25th Inf. “They understand they have...

Grant K. HolcombOctober 17, 2006 On Monday October 9, 2006, I walked into my home to see my wife and son watching CBS Evening News just as Ms. Couric was introducing Ms. vanden Heuvel's "freeSpeech" segment. As a combat veteran I was devastated to hear such an intentional misrepresentation of the Iraq war. Because of what I heard, I was ashamed to be an American for the first time in my life. Truth, ethics, integrity, honor, professionalism, and patriotism have meaning to the vast majority of U.S. Citizens. These values are part of our nation's foundation and need to be...

A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said. Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor had been near the only door to the rooftop structure Sept. 29 when the grenade hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor, said four SEALs who spoke to The Associated Press this week on condition of anonymity because their work requires their identities to remain secret. "He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was...

This is the kid we have been helping send boxes to the troops, http://www.capecodcares4thetroops.com He has surpassed 1000 boxes on his own and has been taking care of our Marines and others,send this far and wide and see if we can get him in the segment.......

Living in war is the hardest thing in the world because you'll see the place you have lived in for your whole life is being destroyed completely and all the people you love are getting hurt, growing up in war is very hard, all the things you used to do is impossible to do now including going out that's because it is very dangerous to go any where so you have to stay home all the time and even home isn't safe, for me the most thing I missed was going out and visit my relatives and friends, when school...

BAGHDAD, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was expelled from the courtroom for the second hearing in a row on Monday after the new chief judge dismissed his request to be allowed out of the metal pen where defendants must sit. "I have a request here that I don't want to be in this cage any more," he said, waving a yellow paper. "Get him out," the judge ordered court guards.

IRAQ POLL: Kurds Grateful for U.S. SupportA delegation of Iraqi Kurdish officials is currently traveling through the United States right now. The mission is to build upon the great friendship between the Kurdish people and the United States of America.Most specifically, the people of Iraqi Kurdistan wish to invite American businesses to come and help invest in the rebuilding of Kurdistan. It's a win for the people of Iraqi Kurdistan to have help in building a brighter future, and it's a win for American businesses seeking promising new opportunities.We have launched an advertising campaign called "The Other Iraq" because...

An al-Qaida-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to demand more of an apology from the pontiff for his remarks about Islam and violence. The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq, issued a statement on a Web forum vowing to continue its holy war against the West. The authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified. The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross"...

BLOG ALERTCommentator Arianna Huffington Makes Disparaging Remarks About Plight of Iraqi Kurds Under Saddam Hussein* Chairman of Kurdistan Development Corporation Invites Ms. Huffington to Visit Iraqi Kurdistan to Gain a Better Understanding for Herself In an appearance last night on the O'Reilly Factor, commentator Arianna Huffington, who runs the blog website, www.HuffingtonPost.com dismissed the plight of the Kurds under dictator Saddam Hussein. Huffington also attacked a television ad campaign by the Kurds to thank Americans for helping liberate them from Hussein's reign of tyranny. Huffington inaccurately stated that, "I think the Kurds were free before we invaded Iraq. But how...

Just in. I am looking at a picture of the WTC with smoke pouring out of the western tower. Looks like a huge amount of damage. Debris raining down on people in the street.

Here are some links from the FR archives in observance of the fifth anniversary of 9/11/2001 - Threads list of several breaking news items - Latest Articles The first post reporting the attacks by OldEconomyBuyer - World Trade Center Posted on the first anniversary - Associated Press newswire - September 11, 2001 - Chronology of news alerts, bulletins and flashes

Sacramento Bee tries to take a shot at pro-troop group, Move America Forward. You can send an email to the reporter, Todd Milbourn, at: tmilbourn@sacbee.comIraq war backers proudly pugnaciousBut critics say Move America Forward may abuse nonprofit status. When Cindy Sheehan's anti-war protests last year drew widespread news coverage, a Sacramento nonprofit jumped to defend President Bush with a series of "counterprotests" against the Berkeley mother. When Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi called Bush an "incompetent leader" in 2004, the group responded with an "action alert" calling Pelosi a "domestic enemy." And as a liberal U.S. senator pushed to censure...

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday vowed the United States will not give up in Iraq "so long as I'm the president" and said advocates of a troop pullout do not "see the world the way it is." In a hastily called news conference, Bush said retreat from Iraq would turn the fledgling democracy into a "safe haven for terrorists and extremists." "We're not leaving, so long as I'm the president. That would be a huge mistake," Bush insisted. "If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend...

Earlier this year, Erik Duane was living in California with his wife and daughter and working in Cerritos College’s information technology department. Now, he is Gunnery Sgt. Erik Duane, a Civil Affairs Group Marine in Al Asad, Iraq. Duane’s list of his team’s projects is a microcosm of what the U.S. is doing throughout Iraq: “We have water and sewage treatment projects planned, as well as numerous repairs to the local schools and residences. We are also working closely with the local leaders to establish a strong governance in this aea.” His troops call him “Gunny,” and Shu’aib Barzan Hamreen...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, detained two suspected terrorists and seized a large weapons cache in a warehouse during a search of Nur and Ghazalyia Friday in support of Operation Together Forward. The weapons and munitions seized included more than 580 mortar rounds, about 39,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, more than 100 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 270 rockets, two landmines, a shape charge, a crater charge, 11 fragmentation grenades, several machine guns, ammunition drums, 5,000 feet of detonation cord, mortar tubes and bipods, land mines, more than 50 rocket motors and...

The Iraq inner facsistic massacres are not just "sectarian". Nor is Iran's playground: Lebanon a local "conflict". http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1222824,00.htmlTIME.com:How the Hizballah Factor Will Determine an Iraq Civil ... http://onthescene.msnbc.com/baghdad/2006/03/sunni_vs_shiite.html Sunni VS Shiite, or rather, Iran VS Iraq? http://www.meib.org/articles/0404_iraq1.htm "Iran, Sadr, and the Shiite Uprising in Iraq" (April 2004) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,124835,00.html Iran presses Shi'ites to step up Iraq attacks - Times | Top News http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-12T045657Z_01_N12291036_RTRUK OC_0_UK-IRAQ-IRAN.xml Iranian Intel Officers Captured in Iraq - US & World http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2310725 ABC News: US: Iraqi Shiites Get Help From Iran http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/11/business/iraq.php Iran stokes Iraq unrest, US says - Africa & Middle East ... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/al-sadr.htm Iran's Al-Madi army

I heard Brian Williams compare suicide bombers to US special forces. I was listening to Hugh Hewitt's Radio Show. He is on vaction, his host was someone nameed Jed or Jess I heard this man on other shows like Rush, Hannity etc. He said I am going to break when I come back I will tell you something that is unbelieveible and until I heard it I could not believe it. After the break he mad e a few comments on the Theorists already saying the Bob Threat was Bush engineered. Then said just hours Chris Matthews was talking to...

The Freedom Alliance is a 501(c)3 educational and charitable organization founded by USMC Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Oliver North. It has raised over 7 million dollars since its inception in 1990. A primary mission of the foundation is to provide scholarships for the children of service members who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty, or currently classified as POW or MIA. The recipients to date include sons and daughters of those killed (or POW/MIA) during the Vietnam War, the 2000 attack upon the USS Cole, the 9/11 attack upon the Pentagon, and during the Greater War on...

Those familiar with Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" - featuring comedian Jon Stewart - will no doubt be familiar with the show's bias against Operation Iraqi Freedom and the efforts of the Bush Administration to combat Islamic terrorism in the Middle East. But even Stewart and company couldn't deny the progress being made in northern Iraq. The 3 Iraqi provinces that make up Iraqi Kurdistan have built a peaceful democracy modeled after Western nations. Not one single Coalition soldier has been killed in Iraqi Kurdistan. No westerners have been kidnapped. And just this past week, Iraqi Kurdistan's regional government passed...