I was waiting for a good moment to buy Michael Yon’s book about Iraq, and Michael Totten’s revealing review is the one. The fact that the book is already in its second printing and currently No. 167 on Amazon’s bestseller list also is encouraging.
MORE: Cobb has an interesting take on it, from quotes from Yon’s changed-his-mind-on-Iraq publisher, to Cobb’s angry responses to some commenters. As he says: lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.
One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist, as the famous relativist’s line goes. In this case the one man speaking of Saman Kareem Ahmad is U.S. Army General David Petraeus, and the other "man," so to speak, are the incompetent bureaucrats of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Michael Totten explains.
Comments Off on Mr. Bumble: The law is a ass
Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged INS, Michael Totten, Petraeus, Saman Kareem Ahmad
Despite all the fancy, tax-raising promises of this or that by the Dems, the presidential race will be a referendum on the war, particularly the Iraq campaign for which the Lefty Obama-rama already has plans:
“’Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq,’ says a statement on the senator’s Web site. ‘He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.‘”
As Michael Totten says, the hedge at the end only means he’ll eschew counterinsurgency for a return to smart bombs and civilian casualties. This is why I think the Dems are headed for defeat. The lefties want to cut and run, they always have. But I’m betting no one else does.
Michael Totten brings his unique eye to reporting from the center of the surge:
"The 82nd Airborne Division is famous for being ready to roll within 24 hours of call up, so they were sent first. The surge started with these guys. Its progress here is therefore more measurable than it is anywhere else."
I especially like these lines from an earlier report, the sort thing you would never see in the MSM because it diminishes the favored narrative, not to mention the club:
"You’d think explosions and gunfire define Iraq if you look at this country from far away on the news. They do not. The media is a total distortion machine. Certain areas are still extremely violent, but the country as a whole is defined by heat, not war, at least in the summer."
Start here, then click on Home Page and start from the top. Then find the link to give him some money, so this stuff keeps coming.
Comments Off on Riding with America’s team
Posted in Iraq, The War, Troops
Tagged 82nd Airborne, Iraq, Michael Totten
AP’s version is inside the crowd, with views of armed police and troops, but no Hez militia in sight.
"Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops."
Pajamas Media’s Michael J. Totten had no trouble finding the militia or other context.
"The Hizbullah militia has laid siege to the government building, trapping the prime minister and cabinet ministers inside. Roadblocks were set up by Hizbullah members in what can only be described as coup d’etat…Saudi King had to intervene through his ambassador, to ‘partially’ remove the siege.
"Hizbullah ‘tents’ are still on the roads, isolating the government building. The Saudi king phoned the cabinet and spoke to all ministers one by one, affirming his support. The only countries NOT supporting this government are Syria and Iran.’
AP gets one strategic point clear: Bush considers Lebanon a central front in the war. It is, indeed.
Comments Off on Coup d’etat in Lebanon
Tagged AP, Lebanon, Michael Totten, Pajamas Media
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 