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SATURDAY AFTERNOON, I attended an "Out of Iraq" forum at a local church, featuring a keynote address by anti-war Congressman Bob Filner. After his speech, Filner opened up the floor for questions. He fielded a few softballs from the largely friendly crowd. Then he called on me.

.Rise of the MilblogsSome of the best sources of information on the war are from the people actually fighting it--and their blogs.by Hugh Hewitt 03/12/2004 12:00:00 AM AS THE WAR enters a phase where most of the fighting is far removed from the networks' cameras, it gets harder and harder to find reliable news on the conflict's many fronts.Unless you read the milblogs, that is. "Milblogs" is short for "military blogs"--online journals run by active duty military or reservists who have returned to civilian life for the time being. These first person accounts of the world and the nation through...

Hangin’ With the In-Laws We drove out to Front Royal yesterday to spend some quality time with my nephews. Ryan is eight, and I hadn’t seen him in almost three years. He nearly tackled me. Within a couple of minutes, we were fencing with makeshift tinker-toy swords. “En garde!” I shouted. “Hyaaah!” Ryan responded, repeatedly “stabbing” me with his “sword.” Ryan’s brother Kyle, who isn’t quite three years old, picked up a tinker toy and brandished it at me. He growled ferociously, then joined the melee. I could hold my own against Ryan, but bringing in the toddler was dirty...

Monsieur President, It has often been said that Americans take a short view of History. This American does not. This American remembers that France was the first nation to recognize our Independence, in 1778. French soldiers fought side by side with Americans in our Revolution. Without the aid of the Marquis de Lafayette, Count Rochambeau, and Admiral Comte de Grasse, we might have lost the struggle. These men are considered heroes in our country. Their names adorn our streets, our warships, and our public squares. The treaty that sealed our Independence was signed in 1783, in Paris. Our nations were...

LCDR (select) SMASH HOME LIVE FROM THE SANDBOX 13 September 2003 Hangin’ With the In-Laws We drove out to Front Royal yesterday to spend some quality time with my nephews.Ryan is eight, and I hadn’t seen him in almost three years. He nearly tackled me. Within a couple of minutes, we were fencing with makeshift tinker-toy swords.“En garde!” I shouted.“Hyaaah!” Ryan responded, repeatedly “stabbing” me with his “sword.”Ryan’s brother Kyle, who isn’t quite three years old, picked up a tinker toy and brandished it at me. He growled ferociously, then joined the melee.I could hold my own against Ryan,...

THE LONG ROAD HOME There’s no daylight savings time in Kuwait. On August 22, 2003 the sun rose at 0520. I stood on a concrete barrier, facing east as the sky turned from gray to orange. An impossibly huge crimson sun broke through the horizon, silhouetting the large gantry cranes and casting long shadows behind the towering cement factory. It became smaller and brighter as it rose above the haze, its brilliance outshining the long flames flickering atop the oil refinery stacks. I could feel its warm rays kissing my face. It was pleasant for the moment, but before too...

L.T. SMASH LIVE FROM THE SANDBOX 23 July 2003 The End of Ugly and Queasy It must have been some childhood. Growing up with Saddam as your Dad, if you got into an argument with another kid you could always say, “Oh, yeah? Well my Dad can throw your Dad in the dungeon and rip out his fingernails one by one!” And it would be true!Birthdays and Father’s Day must have been pretty tricky, however. What gift do you buy for the supreme dictator of a nation floating on a sea of oil? And it better be good, too,...

L.T. SMASH LIVE FROM THE SANDBOX   05 July 2003 Almost Like Home Yesterday was the Fourth of July.Every camp had its own celebration. In our camp, there was a traditional Independence Day meal with your choice of steak, chicken, or pork ribs (believe it or not), corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, etc. In the evening, a few amateur bands and would-be rap artists made some noise for the boys.At another camp, Ah-nold Schwarzenegger stopped by to kick off his new film Terminator 3 at the camp theater. Several folks from my unit made the trip, and reported...

L.T. SMASH LIVE FROM THE SANDBOX  23 June 2003  IT’S NOT OVER YET The United States of America is at war. We didn’t realize it for a long time—several years, in fact—but two years ago, the war came to our shores in a way that we could no longer ignore.After the September 2001 terror attacks, we were faced with two options.The first option was to look within ourselves, to attempt to understand what had happened and how it had occurred. We would examine not just the intelligence and security failures, but how our foreign and defense policies had provoked...

WHERE DO THEY GET YOUNG MEN LIKE THIS? Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine battalion, was talking with 4 young Marines near his foxhole this morning live on CNN. He had been telling the story of how well the Marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the Marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another. He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use...

Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine battalion, was talking with 4 young Marines near his foxhole this morning live on CNN. He had been telling the story of how well the Marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the Marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another. He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use his video phone to call home. The 19...