From The Wall Street Journal:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and some allies in the Bush administration are seeking to build bipartisan political support for a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq by moving toward withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq by the end of President Bush’s term.
The complicating factor is how long the administration will […]

free will: The President makes remarks at a rededication ceremony of the Islamic Center of Washington; makes a statement on health care; attends a White House tee ball game.
free will: bush’s schedule for the day
friend: tee ball rocks
friend: i played tee ball for a day
free will: isn’t there a war or two going on?
free will: […]

Tom Cruise and his production company have been barred from filming scenes at German military sites:
Germany has banned the makers of Tom Cruise’s new movie from filming at military sites in the country because the actor is a Scientologist.
The German defence ministry said Cruise has “publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology […]

I’m just going to lift John’s entire post on OP-FOR regarding a piece posted today by Gen. David Kilcullen, Senior Counterinsurgency Adviser, Multi-National Force–Iraq, on the Small Wars Journal Blog:

Via Small Wars Journal:
I’ve spent much of the last six weeks out on the ground, working with Iraqi and U.S. combat units, civilian reconstruction teams, Iraqi […]

There’s a surprising column in Sunday’s The New York Times detailing the power corporate bosses have over government officials in China.
David Barboza recounts his experiences of being held hostage by factory bosses and realizing Chinese officials had no power to free him:
AS an American journalist based in China, I knew there was a good chance […]

The major offensives (Phantom Thunder, Arrowhead Ripper, et cetera) in Iraq continue today. The Washington Post has a story here that’s okay. I’m assuming it’s rather hard to find and report “both sides” of the story when the subject is changing so quickly — that is to say, I’m not certain that all the “naysaying” […]

Thank God for PBS. I watched FRONTLINE’s “Endgame” last night on their Web site. If you want to know how we ended up where we are in Iraq, and the new strategy that’s being employed by Gen. Petraeus and American forces in-country, you have to watch this. In fact, it should be required viewing for […]

David Axe, reporting from Baghdad on his blog (as I noted yesterday), discusses the opposition in the Netherlands to keeping Dutch troops in Afghanistan.
At Kamp Holland, the Dutch base in southern Afghanistan, the troops are mourning the loss of a second soldier: 44-year-old Sergeant Major Jos Leunissen, who died in a mortar accident during combat […]

After only just recently extending combat tours from 12 months to 15 months, the Army is again looking at extending tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to The Associated Press (via Military.com):
The Army is considering whether it will have to extend the combat tours of troops in Iraq if President Bush opts to maintain […]

Abu Aardvark has a thought-provoking post about jihadi’s use of the Internet for more than just recruitment and training. They use its ability to facilitate communications over wide ranges to define their larger ideas, values and strategies. As is often noted, they use the technology of the present to push for a return to the […]