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It began before dawn — a devastating, well-planned attack. About 300 insurgents swarmed out of a village and mosque and attacked a pair of isolated American outposts in a remote mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan with machineguns, rockets and grenades. They first stormed the Afghan police post at the foot of the hill in the province of Nuristan, a Taleban and al-Qaeda stronghold on the lawless Pakistan border. They then swept up to the Nato post. The battle lasted all day. American and Afghan soldiers finally repelled them, with the help of US helicopters and warplanes — but at heavy...

Violence has been on the rise across much of Afghanistan since President Obama ordered 21,000 U.S. troops to the country, shifting the focus of the U.S.-led war on Islamic extremism from Iraq. Now some are calling Afghanistan "Obama's war." Do you agree? Is Afghanistan 'Obama's war'? Yes. No. I'm not sure.

The anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan headed to Martha's Vineyard this week, where President Obama is vacationing. Once again she is protesting our two wars abroad. But Sheehan is a media has-been. ABC's Charlie Gibson used to cover her anti-Bush rallies in Crawford, Texas. Now he says, with a sigh, of her recent anti-Obama efforts, "Enough already." The war in Iraq is scarcely in the news any longer, despite the fact that 141,000 American soldiers are still protecting the fragile Iraqi democracy, and 114, as of this writing, have been lost this year in that effort. But after the success of...

Sen. Russ Feingold D-WI says bring'em home regarding the troops in Afghanistan, cites a lack of strategy and believes that increase in troops is not a wise idea. Today, in a meeting with the editorial board of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., Sen. Feingold called for a flexible timetable to bring our troops out of Afghanistan. Per an e-mail announcement, Feingold said: "After eight years, I am not convinced that simply pouring more and more troops into Afghanistan is a well thought out strategy. And I have raised this issue with the President, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

Cindy Sheehan is heading to Martha's Vineyard this week for a three day cruise, 'limited interviews' and a little protesting of vacationing Barack Obama for not losing the war on terror fast enough for her liking.According to Cape Cod Today, Sheehan will be co-captaining three days of sailing around Martha's Vineyard aboard the 'SS Camp Casey' from August 27 to 29 with "peace movement leaders, international news 'anchors' and pro-peace members of the public." as an acting Department of Peace. On her blog, Sheehan says they will be working on 'the first draft of the International People's Declaration of Peace.'...

Obama Revives VA Death Book August 21, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Now, folks, Obama says there aren't death panels. He pooh-poohs the notion that there aren't death panels here. The Wall Street Journal has an interesting report. "If President Obama wants to better understand why America's discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care. Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's...

get many of these emails from readers and friends, and got this one below from my Floridian father Ray Jr, (I'm a third). He's a former Notre Dame Grad, Fortune 500 executive who's now a semi retired, Bonita Springs scratch golfing pro, selling real estate on the side down in Florida who's now taking an unwanted break from the field thanks to Obama's economy..

A conservative pro-family leader believes the Obama administration will move sooner rather than later to attempt to repeal the law that forbids homosexuals from serving in the military. In recent weeks there have been conflicting reports about a timetable for the new, more heavily Democratic-controlled Congress to try to repeal the 1993 law that bans homosexuals from the military. The Washington Times reported that president-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to repeal the ban. The paper quoted two sources who advised the Obama transition team about the potentially explosive issue. But...

Sources tell ABC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be staying on in the top Pentagon job, for at least the first year of the Obama administration. "It is a done deal," a source close to the process tells ABC News. Gates, while a registered independent, has served numerous Republican administrations. President George W. Bush nominated Gates to replace the Donald Rumsfeld after the 2006 midterm elections, when the war in Iraq was spiraling out of control. The former Eagle Scout is expected to be rolled out immediately after the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend as part of a larger national...