Free Republic

Here's the good part: In Iraq, it’s not new that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has wanted to take control of his own country. But there’s always been this gap between his assessment of his abilities and American commanders’ saying he’s not up to it. As president, faced with that difference between what he says he can do and what the commanders say he can do, how would you choose between them? Iraq is a sovereign country. Not just according to me, but according to George Bush and John McCain. So ultimately our presence there is at their invitation, and their...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Aug. 30) - Ever since Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, National Guard troops from Gulf coast states serving in Iraq have followed the disaster unfolding on television sets, worried about families and friends back home. "It's a significant emotional event. Their families are on the forefront of the disaster," said Lt. Col. Jordan Jones of the 141st Field Artillery of the Louisiana National Guard. "They're all watching TV and some have seen their neighborhoods completely submerged in water." Jones, from Luling on the west bank of Lake Pontchartrain, said he hasn't been in touch with his own family for...

Below is an essay by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Ryan - a Task Force (Battalion +) Commander in Iraq - who has some words about the Fourth Estate: So grab a coffee or a drink, sit down and read: Aiding and Abetting the Enemy: the Media in Iraq By LTC Tim Ryan, CO, 2/12 Cav, 1st Cav Div What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: "Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed," or "More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly from Obesity-Related Diseases"? Both of these headlines might be true statistically, but do they really represent accurate...

Raleigh, NC -- At least half of North Carolina's National Guard troops in Iraq failed to receive their absentee ballots in time for their votes to be counted, according to an officer helping to handle voting. "I can tell you that from experience because I didn't get mine, either," Lt. Michelle Locke told The News & Observer on Thursday in a telephone interview from a base northeast of Baghdad. Locke, 30, of Fayetteville said troops who wanted to vote in the November 2 general election received special all-write-in ballots that had been sent by the military in case something went...

BEIRUT: Dozens of US troops and intelligence services had been sent into northern Iraq from Jordan under a plan to overthrow President Saddam Hussein, a Lebanese newspaper reported yesterday. In a story datelined London, As-Safir daily quoted "well informed diplomatic sources" as saying Washington "has launched a security and military operation in Iraq". Central Intelligence Agency chief George Tenet had "personally visited northern Iraq during his last tour of the region and had given orders to start the security plan after US President George W. Bush (recently) approved a decision to ask the CIA to overthrow Saddam", the source said....