Petrified Truth

Honor killings

Courageous Athena, far from home, has posted her brutally honest observations about "honor killings" and the attitudes of women in seemingly modern Jordan. From my perspective, sitting here as the father of three thoroughly modern young women, what she describes can only be called primitive and appalling. Athena is visiting another time as well as another place. And it's not even the most medieval part of the Middle East by far.

Her conclusion?

Don’t believe it when people tell you how modern a lot of the people in Jordan are.

It's one big facade.

They may be one of the most modern Middle Eastern countries, and they drive their 8 series BMWs, the women have the nicest clothes, they engage in talks about “freedom” and “feminism,” they seek out capitalistic business ventures, and they can quote Locke and Marx and Hume all they want.

These people are living lies. All the women here are veiled, whether the physical fabric is covering them or not.

And the men are just as blind.

Tip via PoliPundit.

Blogalicious

This is sweet.

A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 words of the year.

Merriam-Webster Inc. said on Tuesday that blog, defined as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks," was one of the most looked-up words on its Internet sites this year.

Eight entries on the publisher's top-10 list related to major news events, from the presidential election -- represented by words such as incumbent and partisan -- to natural phenomena such as hurricane and cicada.

Springfield, Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster compiles the list each year by taking the most researched words on its Web sites and then excluding perennials such as affect/effect and profanity.

Read the list via Merriam-Webster. No. 10 is an old favorite.

Jihadism examined

STRATFOR's George Friedman examines the history and evolution of jihadism in a report reprinted at The Braden Files. It's a useful summary of one dimension (out of many) of the challenges faced by the West in its evolving face-off with relentless enemies.

In the course of relatively few years, jihadism has burgeoned from a low-key movement seeking the ouster of corrupt regimes in the Muslim world into a global phenomenon that seeks to eradicate Western influence from that world. Though the movement is encapsulated in the minds of the public by the person of Osama bin Laden, it is important to understand that the phenomenon is not restricted to a particular group or brand of groups, but rather is a broad ideological movement to which many disparate groups -- separated by geography, individual motivations and even immediate political goals -- may belong.

For our purposes, jihadism is defined as an ideology espoused by a fringe minority of various extremist Muslim groups, all operating on the periphery of the Islamist political spectrum. The movement has appropriated the notion of jihad ( "righteous struggle") in calling for the use of force - against either military or civilian targets -- by non-state actors whose ultimate objective is to establish an Islamic state.

The movement, which has been propelled by a number of events during the course of the past half-century, today is being driven forward chiefly by two factors: the continued decentralization of al Qaeda and the U.S. occupation of Iraq....

Prior to al Qaeda's emergence, the jihadist movement lacked a standard-bearer. Instead, it was a grouping of religious scholars and activists, rallying to various interpretations of the Koran and Sunnah. To some extent, that reality continues today -- though the movement as a whole is heavily influenced by al Qaeda's Wahhabi extremism. However, al Qaeda does not represent the sum total of jihadism. Bin Laden views himself and his organization as a vanguard for the wider movement.

Ultimately, the jihadists are set apart from other Muslims by their use of jihad as a vehicle to establish an Islamic polity -- a departure from the classic conception of jihad as an affair to be conducted by Islamic authorities, such as the caliphates and various local or regional emirates. The philosophy that non-state actors can appropriate jihad - which has been the prerogative of a state entity -- is an unprecedented intellectual development in the history of Islam. More.

C.S. Lewis, prophet?

Today is the anniversary of the birth of C.S. Lewis -- author, scholar, Christian apologist, and former atheist who was, at a crucial moment in his life, persuaded by his friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien to believe in Christianity.

Chuck Colson marvels at how Lewis became "a true prophet for our postmodern age." (Tip via Michelle Malkin.)

Why was Lewis so uncannily prophetic? At first glance he seems an unlikely candidate. He was not a theologian; he was an English professor. What was it that made him such a keen observer of cultural and intellectual trends?

The answer may be somewhat discomfiting to modern evangelicals: One reason is precisely that Lewis was not an evangelical. He was a professor in the academy, with a specialty in medieval literature, which gave him a mental framework shaped by the whole scope of intellectual history and Christian thought. As a result, he was liberated from the narrow confines of the religious views of the day—which meant he was able to analyze and critique them.

Oddly, the anniversary of Lewis's death was just a week ago. Last year, this quote came to mind.

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality."

Meaning of Advent

Rev. Donald Sensing had a thoughtful (as always) sermon yesterday, reflecting on Fallujah, the end of history, and the meaning of Advent.

The Scripture for the first Sunday of each Advent season always looks forward to the return of Christ. The Advent season, celebrating Christ’s incarnation, is always begun with passages to remind us that the reign of God over human affairs is ultimate and for all time. Advent thus does not celebrate only Christmas, Christ’s first coming among us. It also looks ahead to the completion of God’s redemptive acts in the coming again of Christ in judgment. Advent’s first question is quite properly, “Are you ready for Christ?” rather than “Are you ready for Christmas?”

Yet the coming of Jesus in the manger and Christ’s coming again in judgment are not so very different. Business as usual describes not only the world when Christ will come again, but also the world when Jesus was born. After all, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem in the first place because their taxes had been raised. There sure isn’t anything unusual about that!

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was an act of God’s judgment on the world. No savior would have been born if the world had no need for a savior. When we celebrate Christmas we celebrate the judgment of God on each of us. To visit the manger is both to be indicted by God and invited by God to be reconciled.
More.

Church as counterculture

The ebbing of Christian, especially Roman Catholic, influence on European society is a huge social and moral change in European culture. Now the Catholic Church is responding with tactics like "urban missions" aimed at young people.

Now that it is often treated like a maligned minority, the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe has decided to start acting like one, too.

Taking a page from pressure-group tactics, the church is increasingly staging "Catholic pride" events in public, and it's training members to stand up for their faith on the world's most secularized continent.

This new self-confidence marks a sharp departure from the defensive stand the once-powerful church had taken since the 1960s in Europe, where religious practice has collapsed and Catholicism is often the butt of cruel jokes.

With such vital signs as baptisms, Sunday Mass attendance and new priestly vocations having fallen so low, some in the church think the only way it can go now is up.

"Something is changing," Brussels Cardinal Godfried Danneels told Reuters at a weeklong conference in Paris aimed at rekindling the faith in the not-very-religious French capital.

"The church had descended into the catacombs and was afraid of public manifestations. Now Catholics are a minority and, like all minorities, they don't have complexes. They are much less afraid of professing their faith than they were 20 years ago."

Europe's younger generation also has changed, Danneels said during the "urban mission" drive attended by Catholics from around Europe in late October.

"They are completely ignorant of most things about the Christian faith, but they are open to listen," he said.

The Paris "urban mission" effort — conferences and concerts attracting Catholics from around Europe — was part of a five-year drive launched in 2003 in Vienna and due to continue in coming years in Lisbon, Portugal; Brussels, Belgium; and Budapest, Hungary.

This campaign to strengthen Catholicism in Europe is a telling turnaround for a region once so solidly Christian that it sent missionaries around the world.

Short Straw

This is nothing short of repulsive.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has laid a wreath at the grave of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Mr Straw is meeting Palestinian leaders at their headquarters in the occupied West Bank, following talks in Israel. He has offered Britain's help in ensuring a smooth succession to Arafat. He earlier said solving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is his priority.

British writer Melanie Phillips understands.

Our Foreign Secretary progresses from supine to sick. A garland for terror and respect for mass murder. Who said New Labour had no continuity with British history?

Medal of Honor recognition

This was a welcome educational announcement earlier this month from Texas Gov. Rick Perry with support from erratic, but patriotic, billionaire Ross Perot.

Gov. Rick Perry today announced that 10,000 copies of the book “Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty” have been donated to the State of Texas and will be made available to every school district in the state.

“Today, I am proud to announce that the book chronicling the personal stories of 116 Medal of Honor recipients will be made available to every Texas public school district free of charge,” Perry said. “To a great extent, the character of our country has been forged through the actions and sacrifices of these heroes. It is my hope that this book will inspire our youngest generation to ponder the great price that has been paid for freedom, and to make the same commitment generations past have made on its behalf.”

Joining the governor at the announcement were Medal of Honor recipients Mike Thornton, Bob O’Malley and David McNerney. Thornton was a Navy SEAL wounded while rescuing two comrades during an intense gun battle with more than 50 enemy soldiers. O’Malley is the first living Marine from the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor; he single-handedly eliminated an enemy stronghold and then helped his men evacuate. McNerney was an Army sergeant wounded after he assumed command of his company when his commander was killed in action; he then destroyed an enemy machine gun position and cleared a helicopter landing zone so his wounded friends could be evacuated.

“These remarkable stories of courage remind us of the great price that has been paid to secure our freedom, and I am proud to help make this book available to the schoolchildren of Texas,” said Ross Perot, who donated the books to the state.

“Over the years, Mr. Perot has shown an unwavering commitment to the education of our children and a profound support for our military men and women,” Perry said. “This generous contribution of 10,000 books continues in that spirit and I thank him on behalf of the people of Texas.”

The American Association of Publishers has agreed to pay for the shipping costs and the Resolve Corp., a distribution and fulfillment company, will coordinate the distribution of the books with the Texas Education Agency. The book was written by Peter Collier and published by Artisan Books.

Since 1861, the United States has recognized its most heroic soldiers by awarding the Medal of Honor to those who have gone beyond the call of duty in combat to accomplish critical objectives or save the lives of their fellow soldiers and innocent civilians. Of the 3,440 individuals who have received the Medal of Honor, fewer than 140 recipients are alive today.

“Since our country’s founding, our freedom has been purchased at great cost by men and women who have confronted evil with courage and placed themselves in harm’s way for the liberty of others,” Perry said. “For the future of our nation, and for the honor due these heroes, we have an obligation to pass on their stories to current and future generations.”

Related:

• Peter Collier - Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
• U.S. Army Center of Military History - Medal of Honor Citations

Diana Krall takes off

Coolness: listen to pianist/singer Diana Krall's extended interview on NPR's Morning Edition.

Jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall became a Grammy winner putting her distinctive stamp on other people's music, bringing enormous emotional power to old standards. But now she's writing her own tunes, in an evolution unpopular with some of her fans and some critics, as well.

Her concert in Houston last July, as noted then, was first-rate, funkier and more soulful than expected. She's taking off in new directions.

Pat Tillman - SI Sportsman of the Year

Why vote for the late Pat Tillman as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year? Recall via John McCain's moving eulogy of this national hero.

Pat Tillman understood his obligations, no better than his comrades in arms, perhaps, but better than many of his contemporaries. He must have known that such debts are not a burden, but that their recompense earns us our happiness. So he volunteered to take his place in the ranks, and defend his country in a time of peril.

Then vote here.

• Backcountry Conservative
• BlackFive
• Blogs of War (includes voting tips)

Fun stuff

Shopping for children's holiday gifts? Eschew those meaningless shiny baubles in the toy aisles and pick out good books (that children will really like) instead. Visit Book Moot for expert recommendations.

The new home front

Daniel Henninger notes that the "home front" in the Global War on [Islamic] Terror is emerging spontaneously and finding its voice on the Internet.

Support for the U.S. soldiers fighting the war on terror is coming together in a traditional American way--as spontaneous, private, voluntary pro-soldier groups of like-minded citizens. This is the real American home front in the war on terror. It properly has little to do with Homeland Security, Defense, the White House or any other part of the government.

The groups have names like Adopt a Platoon, Homes for Our Troops, Soldiers Angels, Operation Mom and Operation Gratitude. The larger, traditional organizations are also there--the VFW, the American Legion and the USO. The Intrepid Museum Foundation, which runs the famous battleship site in Manhattan, has a strong program called the Fallen Heroes Fund.

It's better that home-front support for the troops should come bottom-up like this rather than from the government. Many in the U.S. are still having difficulty coming to grips with the nature of the war on terror or are discomfited by the war in Iraq. World War II was fought on many well-known fronts and without each bad day or explosion elevated to top-news status (with today's electronic world, we'd have never made it to 1944). Now we have a volunteer home front for a volunteer army. More.

Related:

• America Supports You announced
• Ways to Help

Post-Thanksgiving

Well, back now from a 5:30 a.m. trip to CompUSA's post-Thanksgiving supersale, along with other diehards and insomniacs. Scarfed up a Motorola wireless router for $9.99 after rebates and a few other goodies. Lots of folks lining up at the malls, etc.

Don't know what President Bush is doing today, but it sounds like he had a good Thanksgiving Day yesterday.

President Bush spent a down-to-earth Thanksgiving Day at his ranch eating leftovers and riding his mountain bike — a world away from Baghdad, his secret destination a year ago.

Bush also called members of the military stationed around the world, most of them deployed to the Middle East.

It was a dual celebration: His twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, marked their 23rd birthdays on the family's ranch. Also at the home were Laura Bush and her mother, Jenna Welch, and the president's parents, former President Bush and Barbara Bush.

The family worked on leftovers from Wednesday's luncheon meeting with Spain's King Carlos and Queen Sofia. That meal had a Thanksgiving theme, with free-range turkey and gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, bass caught at the ranch, stuffing, pan-roasted vegetables, pecan and pumpkin pies with ice cream. There was cake Thursday for the twins' birthdays.

Bush also rode his bicycle on the trails at the 1,600-acre ranch, and chopped cedar, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said.

Our feast yesterday was also great and we anticipate succulent leftovers too.

Salute to the Armed Forces

This is 100% schmaltz, and commercial schmaltz at that, but it's really good schmaltz: Homecoming, by Ford Motor Co.

Tip via ...right justified

T-Day

Thanksgiving Day is mostly about family and friends, for which we are profoundly grateful. But let's not forget some important neighbors serving far away. This editorial from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer sums things up pretty well.

Pause a moment over your Thanksgiving turkey to remember those whose only repast today will be labeled MRE, for "meals-ready-to-eat."

Two days ago, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops and police commandos began an offensive against Sunni Muslim insurgents in a group of lawless towns southwest of Baghdad, popularly known as the "triangle of death." Call it Fallujah, Round Two.

Americans being Americans, the U.S. military dubbed the new push Operation Plymouth Rock. It began in the town of Jabala but was planned to reach across the Sunni area southwest of Baghdad, where rebels rule the streets after scaring off police.

It's the gritty urban warfare that many observers warned would come. The enemy wears no uniform. Civilian casualties haunt young Americans to whom the deaths of innocents is an abhorrent reality.

What they face today and tomorrow is almost impossible for most of us to imagine -- like missing a meal, or taking Thanksgiving dinner out of plastic stamped "MRE."

On this day -- and every day -- we remain grateful for the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.

Tip via Target Centermass.

UPDATE: Via the omniscient InstaPundit, here's a very comprehensive list of ways you can support our military and their families. Pick one.

Gravy on the keyboard...

Uh-oh.

It's that time again: the internets are closing for the holiday. Anyone caught posting after, say, 7 PM Wednesday evening or before 1 PM next Monday is officially a pathetic, internet-addicted loser.

Tip via Terry Teachout.

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Here is President Bush's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.

All across America, we gather this week with the people we love to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. We are grateful for our freedom, grateful for our families and friends, and grateful for the many gifts of America. On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge that all of these things, and life itself, come from the Almighty God.

Almost four centuries ago, the Pilgrims celebrated a harvest feast to thank God after suffering through a brutal winter. President George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, and President Lincoln revived the tradition during the Civil War, asking Americans to give thanks with "one heart and one voice." Since then, in times of war and in times of peace, Americans have gathered with family and friends and given thanks to God for our blessings.

Thanksgiving is also a time to share our blessings with those who are less fortunate. Americans this week will gather food and clothing for neighbors in need. Many young people will give part of their holiday to volunteer at homeless shelters and food pantries. On Thanksgiving, we remember that the true strength of America lies in the hearts and souls of the American people. By seeking out those who are hurting and by lending a hand, Americans touch the lives of their fellow citizens and help make our Nation and the world a better place.

This Thanksgiving, we express our gratitude to our dedicated firefighters and police officers who help keep our homeland safe. We are grateful to the homeland security and intelligence personnel who spend long hours on faithful watch. And we give thanks for the Americans in our Armed Forces who are serving around the world to secure our country and advance the cause of freedom. These brave men and women make our entire Nation proud, and we thank them and their families for their sacrifice.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for His blessings and ask Him to continue to guide and watch over our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 25, 2004, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship to reinforce the ties of family and community and to express gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy.

Amen to that.

Thanks for life itself

Troops serving in Iraq have their own priorities for giving thanks this week.

Six hundred thirty times since the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment arrived in Iraq last March, they have been attacked by the enemy.

Sometimes a roadside bomb blows up next to a truck. A mortar explodes in the middle of the base. Insurgents pop out from hidden positions and open fire with AK-47 rifles on a whole convoy. In Iraq, the front lines are nowhere, and they are everywhere.

At a base like FOB MacKenzie, home of the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, it is hard to find an infantryman, engineer, supply sergeant, pilot or clerk who hasn’t had a close brush with death. Most have had several.

They’ve lived through things they’ll never share with anyone except other combat veterans and fought fear beyond anything most civilians will ever feel. The experience has changed some of them in ways they don’t yet realize.

“These guys are battle-hardened. There isn’t anybody who hasn’t been under attack,” said Maj. Kirk Dorr, 38, of Marlboro, Mass., the squadron’s operations officer. “The logisticians and convoy supporters see just as much contact as our line troops.”

Seven 1-4 Cavalry troopers and one civilian from MacKenzie have died in the nine months since the unit took over the former Iraqi airfield 20 miles east of Samarra. More than 50 others have been wounded.

Hundreds of 1-4 Cavalry soldiers have dodged death by a whisker, aided by luck, pluck or divine providence. Almost everyone here can name three or four or more occasions he should have died, but didn’t.

“I can’t even count them,” said Spc. Joshua Burgess, 25, of Arlington, Texas, a member of Troop B. He has lived through two bomb attacks on his convoy the same day and countless pot shots he describes as “nothing really significant.”

For thousands of soldiers in the war zone, life itself is something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

“I’m thankful for having all my fingers and toes,” said Spc. Jose Bartual, 26, of New York City.

The truth about Fallujah

Here is more of the ugly reality being learned following the long overdue battle for Fallujah in Iraq.

U.S. Marine officers said today that U.S. and Iraqi troops sweeping Fallujah have uncovered enough weapons to fuel a nationwide rebellion and that clearing the former insurgent bastion of arms is holding up the return of civilians.

Most of Fallujah's estimated 250,000 civilians left the central Iraq city ahead of the devastating Nov. 8 assault and "it will be probably several more weeks" before significant numbers of them can return, said Lt. Col. Dan Wilson of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

"We are looking at a very dense city, of some 50,000 structures -- each and every one of them has a potential (weapons) cache hidden inside," he told reporters.

Searching out and disposing of weapons is "very tedious hard work for the Marines," he said. "People still have to be patient, they need to have a safe and secure environment before they can go back."

Without providing details, Wilson called the amount of arms uncovered in Fallujah "stunning."

"The amount of weapons was in no way just to protect a city," said Maj. Jim West, a Marine intelligence officer. "There was enough to mount an insurgency across the country."

A huge store of weapons and explosives was discovered at the mosque of Abdullah al-Janabi, a Muslim cleric and insurgent leader, according to a report on The New York Times' Web site. Al-Janabi is thought to have fled the city.

The Times said the mosque compound in a residential area had sheds stacked with TNT, mortar shells, bombs, guns, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition. A naval mine was in the street outside, it added.

Military officers told the Times there were no arms in al-Janabi's nearby house, but they said they discovered files on people who had been tortured and executed for cooperating with U.S. authorities and their allies.

Marines clearing houses in Fallujah have found Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells and heavy-caliber cannon -- with weapons caches often marked by a brick hanging by a string on homes' outside walls.

U.S. and Iraqi forces moving into the city smashed much of the insurgents' weaponry, bending gun barrels to prevent future use. Many large weapons caches were blown up quickly with only a cursory attempt at inventory.

West noted that insurgents stashed arms in mosques. "Even gravesides were used to bury weapons," he said.

West said U.S. forces turned up a "cook book" with instructions on using mercury nitrate and silver nitrate and descriptions of nerve agents. He didn't elaborate.

West said the majority of the weapons caches were in the south, as the insurgents likely expected the attack to be initiated from there.

Via Winds of Change, here's a 59-slide PowerPoint deck prepared by an exploitation team presenting photographs and other astounding and disturbing details.

Via BlackFive, here are first-hand reports from the Marines who took the city back from jihadist fanatics at point-blank range. The word "heroism" comes to mind immediately. God bless them all.

Iran's nuke program

Here's new information from the CIA confirming suspicions about the connection between Iran's nuclear program and Pakistan.

A new report from the CIA says the arms trafficking network led by a Pakistani scientist provided Iran's nuclear program with "significant assistance," including the designs for "advanced and efficient" weapons components.

The unclassified version of the report, posted Tuesday on the agency's Web site, does not say explicitly whether the network led by A.Q. Khan sold Iran complete plans for building a warhead, as the network is known to have done for Libya and perhaps North Korea. But it suggests that U.S. intelligence agencies now believe that the bomb-making designs provided by the network to Iran in the 1990s were more significant than the U.S. government had previously disclosed.

Until now, in discussing Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials have referred publicly only to the Khan network's role in supplying designs for older Pakistani centrifuges used to enrich uranium. But American officials have also suspected that the Khan network also provided Iran with a warhead design.

The CIA report is the first to assert that the designs provided to Iran also included those for weapons components.

Related: CIA Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions.

America Supports You

Here is a worthy cause for you to support in a time of great stress on our military and their families. Read the story.

The Defense Department has launched a new program to showcase America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and the myriad ways the country is expressing that support.

"America Supports You" is designed to gather information about the many activities and programs Americans have launched to show support for the troops — and most importantly, to ensure they and their families know about it, Charles Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told Pentagon reporters today.

Abell said communicating America's support for servicemembers and their families is a big morale booster for "those who are fighting to defend our freedom" and communicates America's "recognition and appreciation of the courage and commitment of those who serve."

Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Americans have come together as never before, united in their resolve against their terrorist enemies, Abell said. "And in the three years since Sept. 11, 2001, throughout our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere around the world, the American people have stood solidly behind our military personnel, both men and women, and their families," he said.

That support spans every segment of society — from individuals and families to schools to local communities to major, multinational corporations, Abell said, "all doing their part to show their appreciation for the dedication and sacrifice of America's fighting forces."

But despite the outpouring of support, said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, servicemembers aren't always aware of it. "We've heard troops in the field asking if Americans are still supporting them," she said, "and we were determined to be able to answer that question in a meaningful way."

The America Supports You program will ensure servicemembers know about their many acts of gratitude — including activities conducted at the local level, said Barber, who will run the program.

The program encourages people to visit a Web site and share details about their project or activity. By doing so, they can sign up to receive a military-style dog tag with the "America Supports You" logo that provides a tangible symbol of their support.

Then visit the website. Show your support.

Alexander the not-so-Great

If the idea of dishonest Oliver Stone filming a mammoth biopic of Alexander the Great gives you pause from the get-go, your already low expectations are being confirmed by film critics. Here's David Elliott in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Working on a scale so vast that his head exploded, Oliver Stone clearly lost direction.

That probably won't make the blurbs in ads for the movie, but sounds like as succint a summary as we really need. Recommendation: avoid.

Better choice: In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, the eloquent 1998 documentary by scholar-filmmaker Michael Wood.

The Bush insurgency

Invoking the term "insurgency," Fred Barnes explains how George W. Bush has steadfastly refused to be "housebroken" by the Beltway establishment that presides in Washington, D.C.

The scheming in Washington as President Bush prepares for his second term is easily explained. It's the insurgents versus the Washington establishment, and the insurgents are winning.

Mr. Bush finds himself in the unusual position--for a president, anyway--as leader of the insurgents. Unlike other presidents who came to Washington with bold plans, Mr. Bush has not been housebroken by establishment forces. Even Ronald Reagan made peace with Washington. Mr. Bush hasn't. He wants to impose a breathtakingly conservative agenda in his second term, one that has prompted cries of protest from establishment figures like David Gergen, aide to four presidents, and the voice of the Beltway, the Washington Post.

By Washington standards, Mr. Bush is a misfit. He's different. He barely socializes at all and on weekends and holidays makes a beeline for Camp David or his ranch in Crawford, Texas. He'd rather invite Christian musician Michael W. Smith and his wife to the White House for dinner than eat out. If Mr. Bush really wanted to soothe establishment types, he'd invite them to state dinners at the White House, after which their names would be in the paper. But he's held fewer state dinners than any president in memory.

Mr. Bush is also a seriously religious man in a largely secular town. This has brought him no end of criticism. He also refuses to hide his loathing of the press, probably the most dominant force in Washington. In short, Mr. Bush hasn't tried to fit in.

If Mr. Bush is anxious his insurgency might fail, he hasn't let on. On the contrary, he exudes confidence that, despite the establishment, he'll succeed in his second term. Mr. Bush did make one bow to the establishment last week. He showed up in a tuxedo at the British embassy for a party honoring Ms. Rice. "One tux a term," a White House official said. "That's our idea of outreach to the Washington community."

Trapped like rats?

This from The Telegraph in London sounds encouraging.

Hundreds of Iraqi insurgents are trapped inside the "Triangle of Death" following the American assault on Fallujah and the blocking of key escape routes by the Black Watch, according to a British military intelligence officer.

He said a "hornet's nest" of insurgents had been stirred by the arrival of the Black Watch and the Queen's Dragoon Guards three weeks ago.

"British troops and US forces have sealed off the insurgents' escape routes and they have nowhere to go," he said. "They are fixed in that area and they are angry.

"There are still some routes out but they are along small, winding roads where they can get bogged down or where they might run into British or American patrols." British and US troops were moving slowly into the "nest", setting up roadblocks, searching for insurgents and seeking intelligence that would help to identify them.

UPDATE: Here's some new information from the U.S. military via AP.

Some 5,000 U.S. Marines, British troops and Iraqi commandos launched a new offensive Tuesday aimed at clearing a swath of insurgent hotbeds south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

The joint operation kicked off with early morning raids in the town of Jabella in Babil province, netting 32 suspected insurgents, the U.S. military said in a statement. Jabella is 50 miles south of Baghdad.

Insurgent violence has increased in the areas south of the capital in "an apparent attempt to divert attention" away from the U.S-led assault on the militant stronghold of Fallujah, the military said.

The cluster of dusty, small towns located south of the capital, has been a major area for insurgent activity. U.S. and Iraqi forces have come under repeated attacks by car bombs, rockets, and small arms fire in the area.

The region has become known as a "triangle of death" for the numerous attacks by Sunni Muslim insurgents and criminal gangs on Shiites, Westerners and members of the Iraqi security services.

In the past three weeks, Iraqi troops and Marines have detained nearly 250 insurgents in the area, the statement said.

It would seem that this campaign is aimed at the urgent situation described earlier by Iraqi blogger Alaa at The Mesopotamian in posts here and here.

Fallujah results

Here's a report from a brigade commander in Iraq on just some of what was accomplished in Fallujah, shared via NRO's The Corner.

The insurgents used 60 of the Mosques as fighting positions and weapons caches during the battle - that's 3 of every 5 Mosques in the city. 653 IEDs were found and detonated by coalition forces - 11 IED "factories" were also found, not to mention the slaughter houses and just run-of-the-mill weapons stockpiles.

What a rat's nest has been cleaned out.

UPDATE: PowerLine has even more:

It's horrifying reading--cages, blood, masks, blood-stained knives, bloody handprints on walls, facilities for torturing and murdering prisoners. Over it all, a banner that says: "There is no God but God."

Plane crashed on way to pick up Bush 41

Tragic news from our area this morning, with an extra-creepy angle for Houston:

A small passenger plane that crashed along Beltway 8 this morning, killing all three on board, was on its way to pick up former President Bush as its passenger, his office said.

The plane was about to land at Hobby Airport when it crashed between Wayside and Cullen, raining down debris on drivers and closing the tollway in both directions.

Just 1-1/2 miles from Hobby's Runway 4, the plane clipped a light pole in the fog just past the Wayside exit's toll booth, then plunged into a field north of the beltway. Debris flung from the plane damaged at least three cars on the tollway, narrowly missing those inside the cars and apparently causing no injuries.

Investigators said the aircraft was a private Gulfstream jet capable of carrying about a dozen passengers, but it was believed to be carrying only a flight attendant and two pilots traveling from Dallas Love Field to Hobby to pick up passengers. One of those passengers was former President Bush, who canceled a trip to Ecuador after the crash.

UPDATE: Blogs of War has been cataloging the paranoid ravings at Democratic Underground as they heap their scorn and hatred on this tragic event. Ugh.

Iran and the EU

Harvard arms control specialist Matthew Bunn was interviewed on NPR this morning about Iran's aggressive nuclear weapons development program.

Bunn pegs his hopes on the U.S. joining the EU-led negotiations. But the editors of the Wall Street Journal, after a review of Iran's duplicitous track record, understand the real story here.

All of this should make it obvious that Iran fully intends to develop the nuclear bomb into which it has sunk some $16 billion over the years. It also seems obvious that Iran is using its so-called dialogue with the Europeans to win the time and diplomatic wriggle room to do so. So why are the Europeans going along with this charade? Maybe they really believe that Iranian good faith can be purchased by what they have to offer in terms of carrots and sticks. But we doubt it. Europeans are not as self-deceived as all that.

A more plausible explanation is that the Europeans are complicit with Iran in this diplomatic charade. That's not to say Berlin, London or even Paris welcome the idea of a nuclear Iran. But they see it as a soon-to-be fact of international life that will have to be managed, just as other unsavory nuclear powers such as the Soviet Union and China were managed.

By contrast, what the Europeans really seem to dread are the potential consequences of a more determined American effort to halt Tehran, especially if that effort includes a pre-emptive military strike against Iranian nuclear installations.

This, then, is what the latest Iranian-European deal is about. It is not mainly intended to stop Iran from getting a bomb. Mainly, it is intended to stop the U.S. from stopping Iran.

We are not suggesting that the only feasible alternative to Europe's current effort is military action. But as Mr. Bush considers his options, it's important that everyone acknowledges just what the Europeans are offering. It is not diplomacy with the country of Iran. It is pre-emptive capitulation in the war on terror.

It doesn't seem likely that our President will go down that fruitless path. Everyone just keep in mind why.

Europe, thy name is cowardice

Via David Kaspar, read a "blistering" attack on Western appeasement of radical Islam by outspoken German publishing executive Matthias Döpfner.

Appeasement stabilized communism in the Soviet Union and East Germany in that part of Europe where inhuman, suppressive governments were glorified as the ideologically correct alternative to all other possibilities. Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo and we Europeans debated and debated until the Americans came in and did our work for us.

Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word "equidistance," now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians. Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore 300,000 victims of Saddam’s torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace-movement, to issue bad grades to George Bush.

For his policies, Bush risks the fall of the dollar, huge amounts of additional national debt and a massive and persistent burden on the American economy—because everything is at stake.

While the alleged capitalistic robber barons in American know their priorities, we timidly defend our social welfare systems. Stay out of it! It could get expensive. We’d rather discuss the 35-hour workweek or our dental health plan coverage. Or listen to TV pastors preach about "reaching out to murderers."

These days, Europe reminds me of an elderly aunt who hides her last pieces of jewelry with shaking hands when she notices a robber has broken into a neighbor’s house. Europe, thy name is cowardice.

Tip via Tim Blair.

Note the apocalyptic post from Steven den Beste in the Comments.

Little Melissa

RJ, an Army Reserve chaplain in Iraq, has been blogging as Strider172 from Deep in Mordor, where the Shadows lie. His unit is scheduled to come home in a few weeks. On day of 306 in theater, he pauses to pass on the heartwarming story of Little Melissa.

Little Melissa comes home from first grade and tells her father that they learned about the history of Valentine's Day. "Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint and we're Jewish," she asks, "will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine?"

Melissa's father thinks a bit, then says "No, I don't think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to?"

"Osama Bin Laden," she says.

"Why Osama Bin Laden?" her father asks, in shock.

"Well," she says, "I thought that if a little American Jewish girl could have enough love to give Osama a valentine, he might start to think that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little. And if other kids saw what I did and sent valentines to Osama, he'd love everyone a lot. And then he'd start going all over the place to tell everyone how much he loved them and how he didn't hate anyone anymore."

Her father's heart swells with pride and he looks at his daughter with new found pride. "Melissa, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard!"

“I know," Melissa says. "And once that gets him out in the open, the Marines could blow the $&@# out of him."

As RJ says:

HAVE YOU PRAYED TODAY FOR THE SAFETY OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS? FOR GOD TO SEND CONFUSION TO THE ENEMY? FOR THE WICKED TO BE BOUND WITH THE CORDS OF THEIR OWN INIQUITY? IF NOT, PERHAPS NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO DO JUST THAT!

Consider it done. Come home safely, RJ.

Bush rescues his Secret Service agent

Don't mess with Texas, indeed.

President Bush broke up a fight last night between his lead Secret Service agent and a Chilean security detail, pulling the agent through a wall of men trying to bar his bodyguard's access to a state dinner.

Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush arrived at 8 p.m. local time yesterday at the Estacion Mapocho Cultural Center for the official dinner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

After the first couple posed for photos with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his wife, the four entered the doorway with a line of Chilean security guards and uniformed police closing quickly behind him.

The president's lead agent approached the line of men as quickly as it closed and demanded to be allowed through. Within a few seconds, the confrontation began to escalate with voices being raised and shoving in all directions.

"You're not stopping me! You're not stopping me!" yelled the agent, as captured by several television cameras. "I'm with the president."

During the fracas, another Secret Service agent was roughly pulled from the tumult and pushed against a concrete wall by Chilean security. A few seconds later, after posing for yet more pictures about 15 feet inside the doorway, Mr. Bush and the rest of the party turned to enter the dining room. But the president quickly turned his head to the growing din just outside.

Mr. Bush calmly turned right as the other three continued on and inserted himself into the fight. The president reached over two rows of Chilean security guards, grabbed his lead agent by the shoulder of his suit jacket and began to pull.

A few Chilean guards turned their heads and noticed that the arm draped over their shoulders was that of the president, and the line softened. Mr. Bush pulled his agent through, who was heard to say, "Get your hands off me" as he passed roughly through the doorway.

Mr. Bush then adjusted his shirt cuff and said something to the first dignitary he passed as a grin crossed his face. More.

Tip via PoliPundit. Photos via Yahoo! News. Video via The Daily Recycler

No protest to the United Nations. No public trashing of his security detail like John Kerry. Just do it. And that's why we re-elected him.

UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang speculates on how other presidents and wannabe presidents would have handled the scene.

UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang has second thoughts now, about the potential security risk to President Bush when he reached into a melee. Methinks he frets too much, but it's not unfounded.

A seed change in the American imagination

Ground-breaking author Ray Bradbury is growing impatient waiting for America to return to space. What will spur us on? A challenge...

In this time when our freeways are frozen in place, space travel suffers the same terrible winter. Years have passed since Apollo 11, with only faint cries for a lunar rediscovery, then Mars and beyond.

How can we thaw this deep-freeze to unlock our vision so that we see the stars once more with the same fever that we knew that fabulous night we took the first Giant Step?

What we need now is a competition of hatreds and loves. The final reward on Mars might well be not spices or gold, but the squashing of egos and a promise of immortality.

In any event, time is running out. Congress, as usual, is imitating Sleeping Beauty. It is time to waken from the slumber.

That footprint on the moon is being filled with eternal dust and Mars still waits to have its canals filled with our dreams. Where, oh where, is the technological madman to wake us from our slumbers and provide us with the proper destiny?

Tomorrow morning, may that madman be born.

Iraq intensifies

Tough action is happening across the deadly Sunni Triangle in Iraq, including many areas of Baghdad itself.

Baghdad exploded in violence Saturday, as insurgents attacked a U.S. patrol and a police station, assassinated four government employees and detonated several bombs. One American soldier was killed and nine were wounded during clashes that also left three Iraqi troops and a police officer dead.

Some of the heaviest violence came in Azamiyah, a largely Sunni Arab district of Baghdad where a day earlier U.S. troops raided the capital's main Sunni mosque. Shops were in flames, and a U.S. Humvee burned, with the body of what appeared to be its driver inside.

U.S. forces and insurgents also battled in the Sunni Triangle city of Ramadi, where clashes have been seen almost daily. Nine Iraqis were killed and five wounded in Saturday's fighting, hospital officials said.

Zeyad at Healing Iraq says the fighting has been happening right on his doorstep.

I was supposed to leave for Basrah this morning, as soon as I walked out of the front door I was face to face with ten or so hooded men dressed in black carrying Ak-47's and RPG's. They had set up a checkpoint right in front of our door.

Someone barked at me to go inside. Nabil was also about to leave for his school. His driver had just called him and said that he was turned back at the street entrance by another checkpoint. We looked at the main intersection and it was swarming with armed men running about and motioning drivers and pedestrians to leave the area.

We watched them from behind the door with my mother frantically trying to get us inside. There was an exchange of fire and someone was bellowing "Where are the National traitors? (referring to the National Guards) Let them come and taste this." More shooting followed.

Tens of voices on the street were chanting "Allahu Akbar" and the ground beneath us suddenly shook from a nearby explosion. The shooting was frantic now and a series of explosions followed. Everyone in the house rushed to open windows to prevent their shattering from the pressure.

BlackFive has gathered an impressive set of frontline reports about the Battle of Fallujah, testaments to the fortitude and courage of our Marines and soldiers.

Fallujah was just the beginning of an entire campaign, which will involve both proactive and reactive engagements, as predicted some days ago by Belmont Club as the "River War."

[I]t is likely that while the battle for Fallujah is ending, the campaign for the Sunni Triangle is just beginning.

It's a campaign, not a battle for a single town, and at issue is the destruction or survival of the Sunni insurgency. The enemy is maneuvering to strike at his chosen points and at US lines of communication. It's safe to say the foe will pull no punches. They won't be holding anything back for tomorrow. Allawie has also crossed his Rubicon and so, perhaps, has CENTCOM.

As for the sources of the resistance, World Tribune.com reports this very plausible, if so far publicly unconfirmed, account:

Insurgents captured in Fallujah have told Iraqi military interrogators that most of those fighting in Fallujah were former security officers for the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The insurgents said Saddam organized special operations units, starting in 2001, to counter any foreign invasion in Iraq. Most of those units, the insurgents said, are still active in the Sunni Triangle.

Officials said the Sunni insurgency was being directed from Syria. They said Saddam loyalists were receiving funding and orders from senior aides of the former Saddam regime based in Damascus, including ex-Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri.

Iraqi Interior Minister Faleh Hassan Al Naqib said his government and the U.S.-led coalition faced a revolt throughout the Sunni Triangle, Middle East Newsline reported. Al Naqib said the revolt was being directed by a unified command and control network led by Saddam loyalists. He said the insurgents sought to prevent or disrupt national elections scheduled for Jan. 27.

Best children's books

If you have kids, or otherwise care about recommendations of the best children's books, check out Book Moot. Lots of good stuff there.

True friends vs. false ones

Keep in mind who are our true friends around the world, and who are not.

At least six NATO allies are refusing to send military instructors to help the United States train Iraqi officers, another impediment in the Bush administration's drive for support for its effort to pacify Iraq.

The six nations — Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and Greece — had refused to contribute troops to the U.S.-led coalition that overthrew President Saddam Hussein and to the postwar campaign against insurgents.

The administration was hoping to forge a consensus on postwar peacemaking. The project to train Iraqi officers will not involve combat duties and is part of a broader security program.

A State Department official close to the dispute said Friday that all 26 NATO allies voted on Wednesday at alliance headquarters in Brussels for the training program and agreed to help fund it. However, at least six held out from playing any active role and refused to send officers to NATO staging areas in Norfolk, Va., and Mons, Belgium.

Still, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that all NATO allies, including the holdouts, approved the plan by consensus and were committed to paying a share of the costs.

Hungary, which is withdrawing its troops from Iraq, will contribute a company to help protect the training officers, the official said. Fifteen other NATO countries will contribute trainers, protect troops, or both.

So, buy Hungarian, not French, Spanish, etc. These allies-in-name-only deserve no support from Americans.

Support the Marines

There's a lot to say about the absurd, wrong-headed press reaction to the well-deserved dispatching of one more "insurgent" by a young Marine in Fallujah, but this e-mail written by a Marine serving in Iraq and shared with NROs' The Corner is truly indispensable.

This is one story of many that people normally don't hear, and one that everyone does.

This is just one most don't hear:

A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with Ak-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives.

The Marines' remains are gathered by teary eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag. But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:

A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded. Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face.

The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!"

The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead.

Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for committing a war crime. Unlawful killing.

And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I have been in your boots, i too would have done the same.

For those of you who don't know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man's actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind and join me. See what I've seen, walk where I have walked.

To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.

I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US military, or any other.

Show your support. In particular, write your Congressman and Senator. Now. Today. Stand behind those who are willing to fight on behalf of all of us and our country.

CIA purge, continued

Former CIA director Stansfield Turner sees parallels between his tenure at the agency and the current period of unhappy change under new director Porter Goss.

Turner says the reaction to his cleanup and Goss's are similar. "I came in and tried to clean that up, and [the staffers] came after me," Turner says. "And the leaks in this instance are indications of fierce opposition to anybody who criticizes them."

He goes on to say that it shouldn't be unexpected. The intelligence community has suffered huge blows: the failure to predict the 9/11 attacks, the incorrect estimate about Iraq's possession of mass destruction, and the several committee reports that have censured their performance. "The leaks and this whole reaction to Goss is irresponsible in the midst of a war," Turner says. "But you've got to expect it - [CIA officers] are experts at disinformation; that is what they do for a living."

Turner's reforms were, in hindsight, not the right changes. But his observation about resistance through leaks is correct, especially in the context of an agency that has veered into overt opposition to the current President.

Goss has issued fair warning to the agency's management and staff:

Porter J. Goss, the new intelligence chief, has told Central Intelligence Agency employees that their job is to "support the administration and its policies in our work,'' a copy of an internal memorandum shows.

"As agency employees we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies," Mr. Goss said in the memorandum, which was circulated late on Monday. He said in the document that he was seeking "to clarify beyond doubt the rules of the road."

While his words could be construed as urging analysts to conform with administration policies, Mr. Goss also wrote, "We provide the intelligence as we see it - and let the facts alone speak to the policymaker.''

"I am committed to sharing these changes with you as they occur,'' Mr. Goss said in the memorandum. "I do understand it is easy to be distracted by both the nature and the pace of change. I am confident, however, that you will remain deeply committed to our mission.''

Mr. Goss's memorandum included a reminder that C.I.A. employees should "scrupulously honor our secrecy oath'' by allowing the agency's public affairs office and its Congressional relations branch to take the lead in all contacts with the media and with Congress. "We remain a secret organization,'' he said.

Courage under fire

Old-time liberal Nat Hentoff pays his respects to the dogged courage of attorney John O'Neill and journalist Thomas Lipscomb, both of whom were unafraid to confront John Kerry's actual record in Vietnam.

Of all the targets of vitriol and attempted ambushes during the presidential campaign, I most admired John O'Neill of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for his calm determination to stand his ground on his charges against John Kerry's Vietnam service in Unfit for Command, the book he co-authored.

[O]n Election Day, historian Douglas Brinkley -- who wrote a hagiographic book on Kerry, Tour of Duty, triumphantly told the Financial Times that the mainstream media have ''exposed Kerry's critics as liars and frauds.'' I would not take a course with that careless historian, but I respect O'Neill for his courage and his public service for having enabled many Americans to look much more closely as John Kerry's presidential qualifications. And, indeed, the Swift Boat Veterans did a lot to keep Kerry from the Oval Office.

Tip via Power Line.

As a point of reference, Hentoff is a regular columnist at the Village Voice.

Nightline again

Interesting: here's how ABC News, in its daily e-mail blast, set up tonight's planned Nightline segment on Condi Rice.

President Bush nominated National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice to be the Secretary of State, and the first African American woman nominated for the cabinet position. If she's confirmed, she'll have a tough job explaining what many around the world see as a flawed US foreign policy. The war in Iraq isn't going well and the US bears most of the responsibility.

It's edifying to learn that ABC doesn't ascribe things not "going well" to the enemy or anything. The other segments look about that unbalanced too, in the same spirit as their selective video editing on Veteran's Day.

CIA vs. Porter Goss

More resignations at the CIA were revealed today, via leaks not announcements, indicating that Porter Goss's shake-up continues.

The two top officials running the CIA's clandestine service resigned this morning, following a series of clashes with director Porter J. Goss's chief of staff. Stephen R. Kappes, the deputy director of operations, and his deputy, Michael Sulick, announced their resignations at a senior staff meeting, according to former CIA officials.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment, but another intelligence official confirmed that the departures had occurred.

Stephen Hayes explains what's really going on and the role that the media is playing in helping the CIA insurgency.

After hundreds of words from the [Washington] Post we still have very little idea of what, exactly, Goss is doing that has caused so much heartburn at the agency. But if he's aggressively reforming the bureaucracy, he should most certainly not stop what he is doing. In fact, the concern among critics of the agency is that Goss faces a nearly impossible job and will not do nearly enough to change the dysfunctional culture of the agency.

On Friday, the CIA lost Michael Scheuer, a senior official who headed the agency's bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999. The agency had allowed Scheuer to write two books critical of the Bush administration as "Anonymous." But as he gave media interviews upon the publication of his most recent book, Imperial Hubris, he became more critical of the agency. He was then silenced by his CIA superiors.

"As long as the book was being used to bash the president," said Scheuer, "they gave me carte blanche to talk to the media."

That has been the modus operandi of the CIA for years. Goss wants to end it. He'll have to fight.

Iran's war with America

US News & World Report has a lengthy, comprehensive review of Iran's role in keeping the insurgent pot simmering in Iraq. Iranian subversion there is yet another front in the mullahs' long war with American power.

In the summer of last year, Iranian intelligence agents in Tehran began planning something quite spectacular for September 11, the two-year anniversary of al Qaeda's attack on the United States, according to a classified American intelligence report. Iranian agents disbursed $20,000 to a team of assassins, the report said, to kill Paul Bremer, then the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq. The information was specific: The team, said a well-placed source quoted in the intelligence document, would use a Toyota Corona taxi and a second car, driven by suicide bombers, to take out Bremer and destroy two hotels in downtown Baghdad. The source even named one of the planners, Himin Bani Shari, a high-ranking member of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group and a known associate of Iranian intelligence agents.

The alleged plan was never carried out. But American officials regarded Iran's reported role, and its ability to make trouble in Iraq, as deadly serious. Iran, said a separate report, issued in November 2003 by American military analysts, "will use and support proxy groups" such as Ansar al-Islam "to conduct attacks in Iraq in an attempt to further destablize the country." An assessment by the U.S. Army's V Corps, which then directed all Army activity in Iraq, agreed: "Iranian intelligence continues to prod and facilitate the infiltration of Iraq with their subversive elements while providing them support once they are in country."

With the Pentagon's stepped-up efforts to break the back of the insurgency before Iraq's scheduled elections in late January, Iran's efforts to destabilize Iraq have received little public attention. But a review of thousands of pages of intelligence reports by U.S. News reveals the critical role Iran has played in aiding some elements of the anti-American insurgency after Baghdad fell--and raises important questions about whether Iran will continue to try to destabilize Iraq after elections are held.

Many of the reports are uncorroborated and are considered "raw" intelligence of the type seldom seen by those outside the national security community. But the picture that emerges from the sheer volume of the reports, and as a result of the multiplicity of sources from which they were generated, leaves little doubt about the depth of Iran's involvement in supporting elements of the insurgency and in positioning itself to move quickly in Iraq if it believes a change in circumstances there dictates such action.

Iran clearly has the potential to stir up far more trouble than it has, particularly in the largely Shiite southern half of Iraq. But so far, as it continues its elaborate dance with the West over its ambitious nuclear program, the Islamic regime has yet to turn the heat up full blast in Iraq, evidently secure in the knowledge that it can do so when and if it sees the need to. "I would not put it past them to carry out spectacular attacks," says David Kay, the former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq, "to demonstrate the cost of a hostile policy. That is the policy issue--can we learn to live with Iranian nuclear capacity?" More.

No time-outs

Read Ralph Peters's homage to the critical, difficult role of the infantry in military operations.

Urban warfare is formidably difficult and dangerous. The utility of our wonder-technologies plummets when we have to fight inside wrecked industrial plants or in the labyrinths of ancient cities. Past a point, the intelligence systems can no longer see. The troops at the tip of the spear engage enemies at short range in abruptly chaotic circumstances. Who lives or dies is decided with rifles, grenades and automatic weapons.

Viewed from a distance, our victory in Fallujah was impressive from the opening round. But the sense of ease we get from 24/7 summaries isn't shared by the Infantrymen fighting their way through a booby-trapped city defended by enemies who seek death as a blessing.

In urban combat, the physical difficulties and psychological stresses soar. There are few clear fields of observation and fire. Everything seems a deadly muddle. The enemy might appear from any angle, in front of you, behind you or on a flank, firing from a window or a rooftop, waiting in a ruin to detonate a booby-trap or popping up from a tunnel or a cellar with a rocket-propelled grenade.

For the Infantry squad — sometimes reduced to a half-dozen members — there's no time-out. Even during pauses to bring up ammunition or water, the danger meter always pegs out. The adrenalin rush of combat alternates with weariness of body and soul. Nerves move outside the skin. All senses intensify.

That's when all the rhetoric about "bands of brothers" gets real. Each soldier must trust his life to the handful of young men with whom he's trained, lived, argued, shared and suffered. Junior NCOs barely older than those they lead must command the confidence of their subordinates. Battle drills have to work, the soldiers have to function as a team and follow procedures instinctively. And if one goes down, bleeding in a gutter, the assault can't stop.

More shouting. Orders can barely be heard. But the squad seems to share a common intelligence. Weapons bark over the clink of empty shell-casings. Fresh magazines snap into rifles. Fire teams work their way forward, a machine-gun is rushed to a r