Free Republic

WINNING IN IRAQ By RALPH PETERS July 26, 2007 -- TO a military professional, the tactical progress made in Iraq over the last few months is impressive. To a member of Congress, it's an annoyance. The herd animals on Capitol Hill - from both parties - just can't wait to go over the cliff on Iraq. And even when the media mention one or two of the successes achieved by our troops, the reports are grudging. Yet what's happening on the ground, right now, in Baghdad and in Iraq's most-troubled provinces, contributes directly to your security. In the words of...

I’ve spent much of the last six weeks out on the ground, working with Iraqi and U.S. combat units, civilian reconstruction teams, Iraqi administrators and tribal and community leaders. I’ve been away from e-mail a lot, so unable to post here at SWJ: but I’d like to make up for that now by providing colleagues with a basic understanding of what’s happening, right now, in Iraq. This post is not about whether current ops are “working” — for us, here on the ground, time will tell, though some observers elsewhere seem to have already made up their minds (on the...

From: Franklin D Terrell Date: 2006/06/16 Fri PM 02:49:14 EDT Subject: Army Retired General Officer Conference This comes from a contact who's still actively involved in our nation's defense activities. Below is an email I recently received from one of those individuals, written by an attendee to the conference. Some interesting insights. Earlier this week I attended a retired general and flag officer conference at Fort Carson, hosted by MGen Bob Mixon, the 7th Infantry Division Commander which calls the Fort its home. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ft. Carson, it is a huge installation located to...

> > Here is the story in New Orleans as per Vald Heiberg: > > > I was the District Engineer in New Orleans in the '70's as we fought the "Greens" over putting two huge "Dutch style" flood gates at the east end of Lake Ponchartrain. That was the Corps plan, to allow us to protect ALL of the lake shore and to keep the levees where needed along the lake (especially at New Orlean s) lower. The soil conditions near the big Lake are atrocious, unlike along the Mississippi River where centuries of natural levees with far better...

My Dad will be 84 on the 15th. of this month. He is one of the WWII vets still with us. The following email got me to thinking about him and how unique he has become and ever more so every day. He never talked much about the war and still doesn't until this day. About all he ever told me is that he drove a gasoline truck and that he spent a lot of time in North Africa and Italy. I know he won a bronze star because I saw it once. But other than that, he won't same...

Washington - As a first-grader, Garrett Nash blurted out answers before his teacher called on him. He tickled a student sitting next to him and sometimes bolted out of lines. One cold day, he left school without his winter coat. Michelle Nash thought her son's behaviour was typical for a child adjusting to a full day of classes, but school officials suspected he had a hyperactivity disorder. They recommended giving him Ritalin, a stimulant used to treat children with that problem. She refused. "I just said I'm not going to do it," said Nash, 40. "And their response was, "You...

ROMULUS, Mich. — The sign at the edge of Romulus, Mich. (search) proclaims: "Industry and its citizens working together." But try convincing cabinet shop owner Ed Hathcock. snipe. Hathcock's property abuts Detroit's airport where the county had planned a 1,300-acre industrial park. But when Hathcock turned down the county's buyout offer, the local government made a play to take his land to use on the project. The Supreme Court of the United States (search)' recent ruling that local governments can seize private property for private economic development has put the affected property owners across the country in a fighting mood,...

21 Things You Wish You Could Say At Work 1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of it. 2. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care. 3. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word. 4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public. 5. Ahh, I see the screw up fairy has visited again. 6. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers. 7. I'm already visualising the duct tape over your mouth. 8. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean...

To the editor: The term "liberal" has been used to defien the "progressive" wing of the Democratic Party. What does the term actually stand for? Her is my definition. A "liberal" is: One who believes that it is acceptable to murder unborn children and yet wants to save the lives of convicted serial killers and rapists on death row. One who is in favor of affirmative action, but vehemently opposed the nomination of a black American to the Supreme Court of the United States. One who alleges he or she is in avor of equal rights for women, but denigrates...

Subject: What the Pledge of Allegiance meant to one man John McCain and the Pledge In light of the recent appeals court ruling in California, with respect to the Pledge of Allegiance, the following recollection from Senator John McCain is very appropriate: "The Pledge of Allegiance" -by Senator John McCain As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions...

If you are a smoker you remember too well when Governor Granholm pushed to raise the state’s tax on tobacco products from a $1.25 to $2.00. This increase forced many smokers to find alternatives. Some people quit, some people cut back, or found a cheaper place to buy. For many smokers they turned to the online vendor to purchase their tobacco products. It’s cheaper and best of all they don’t have to pay the $2.00 per pack sales tax. The luxury the internet shopper enjoys is the convenience of shopping at home. Products are less expensive and they think that...

Subject: Secret Service Comments [Dave Kulow] We had a neighbor when I lived in DC who was part of the secret service presidential detail for many years. His stories of Kennedy and Johnson were the same as those I heard from the guys who flew the presidents' plane --- [yes, Kennedy did have Marilyn Monroe flown in for secret "dates," and LBJ was a typical Texas "good ol boy" womanizer. Nixon, Bush 41, and Carter never cheated on their wives. Clinton cheated, but couldn't match Kennedy or LBJ in style or variety.] The information below is accurate. Former Pres. Bush...

<p>The American nuclear submarine USS San Francisco hit an uncharted seamount on January 7th, killing one sailor and injuring sixty others, 23 of them so seriously they could not perform their duties. Facts about the incident were slow to emerge. It appears that the sub was traveling on a course it was ordered to follow, at a depth of 500 feet and a speed of about 56 kilometers an hour. This was the first time the navy had given the speed of a Los Angeles class sub as anything but “25+ knots” (45 kilometers an hour.) It has long been believed that these subs could make more than 55 kilometers an hour.</p>

This is a poem being sent from a Marine to his Dad. For those who take the time to read it, you'll see a letter from him to his Dad at the bottom. It makes you truly be tankful for not only the Marines, but ALL of our troops.