Free Republic

The US proposal essentially corresponds to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a refusal to allow for the IDF to fully withdraw from Gaza, Hamas said. Hamas rejected the United States “bridging proposal” to help finalize a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel Sunday night amid a major diplomatic blitz to finalize an agreement. The new “bridging proposal” placed new conditions on the exchange of hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, Hamas said as it referred to Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists that would be released. Other...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2008 – In 1997, a Web site kept one family’s far-flung friends and relatives up to date on the status of a loved one facing a serious medical condition. CaringBridge began offering free, personalized Web sites to keep family and friends connected during a loved one’s medical struggles in 1997. The organization is now offering the same opportunity to servicemembers and their families who are coping with serious medical issues or long absences. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Today, that Web site has grown into CaringBridge, and it helps more than 16 million...

In central and southern Iraq, there are lots of water obstacles. You have rivers, irrigation canals, mudflats and fields that can be flooded. There's a lot of soft ground in general. The Tigres-Euphrates "valley" has a high water table and a lot of soft ground. The Iraqis keep their armored vehicles on the roads and known hard ground, but American troops tend to be more adventurous. That's one thing the Special Forces scout teams are no doubt checking out. Probably Navy SEALs as well (they train to go in and grab soil samples to see which vehicles might have trouble...