From StrategyPage:
"Without much fanfare, much less a press release, the [Iraqi] government and Coalition troops have gone to war with Moqtada al Sadr’s Madhi Army militia. Leaders are being arrested or killed. The raids are being carried out with overwhelming speed and force, so that pro-Sadr gunmen have little chance to put up effective resistance."
General Abizaid told Congress last year things would start to turn around by February.
Comments Off on About time
Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged Iraq, Moqtada al Sadr's militia, StrategyPage
President Bush, who lately seems to be dithering, welcomes the new Congress in Opinion Journal, with a warning for the party most identified with retreat:
"If democracy fails and the extremists prevail in Iraq, America’s enemies will be stronger, more lethal, and emboldened by our defeat. Leaders in both parties understand the stakes in this struggle. We now have the opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus to fight and win the war."
He also notes that Republicans will get their say in anything the Dems seek to pass, and he has a veto to use, if necessary. Tough stuff.
Comments Off on A welcome and a warning
Tagged Democrats, Iraq, new Congress, President Bush
He wants to wait until "a more effective strategy in Iraq" is arrived at but former Joint Chiefs chairman John Shalikashvili is ready to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly:
"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."
It’s about time, and a welcome decision.
Comments Off on Ask. Tell. Enlist. Almost.
Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged armed forces, gays, John Shalikashvili, lesbians
J.R. Salzman, a different kind of active-duty milblogger, the kind who was wounded by an IED in Iraq:
"I’m here at Walter Reed and I’m doing OK. I have surgery pretty much every other day. They are trying to close up my amputated right arm/hand, and they are repairing the smashed knuckles on my left hand. I’m in a lot of pain and it is making it hard to sleep and do normal tasks. It’s going to take a long time to learn how to do everything over again."
His wife is doing the typing now, as he has just three fingers left. Going to be worth reading, so bookmark it.
Comments Off on Dispatches from Walter Reed
Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged IED, Iraq, J.R. Saltzman, Walter Reed
Retirement, I discovered in 2006, is good, if you keep busy. Set goals and meet them. Finish what you start. So far, I’m only procrastinating about as much as usual. Here’s to 2007–good health and good accomplishments, an end to the Texas drought, and success in the Long War!
Comments Off on Happy New Year!
Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles, The War
Tagged Happy New Year, The Long War
A fitting epitaph by Mohammed at Iraq the Model:
"On this day as we celebrate justice we shall not forget to pray for blessings for the souls of the dictator’s victims and we shall not forget to thank our brothers in America and the rest of the coalition nations who helped us and are still helping us in our struggle to build the new free and democratic Iraq."
Read it all.
Tonight’s the night, roughly between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. CST. The mass murderer joins his rapacious sons in hell. Hangman, set your knot.
UPDATE It’s over. Happened close to 9 p.m. CST, near as I can figure out from the various reports, including this one. Good riddance. Through the wonder (?) of the Internet, here’s a (not especially gruesome) cell phone video of Sammy taking the fall. Youtube may not leave it up too long. It showed that the knot didn’t seem to be set too close to his left ear, as if maybe the executioner wasn’t too concerned about breaking his neck quickly. But the last scene suggests, by the tilt of his head, that it worked correctly after all. So he got off easier than some of his victims.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 