Money Quote

I haven't read the book, but this quote has got me looking on Amazon to put it on my wish list. At Captain's Quarters, Herschel Smith reminds us of the scale of war during WWII and where we are today. He references the book, Marcus Luttrell’s “Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10″, about the failed SEAL mission in Afghanistan where the SEALS were afraid to kill a witness who ended up ratting on them resulting the death to 19 elite US Soldiers (and the failure of the important mission which arguably resulted in the deaths of many more).

------------
“Look at me right now in my story,” Mr. Luttrell writes. “Helpless, tortured, shot, blown up, my best buddies all dead, and all because we were afraid of the liberals back home, afraid to do what was necessary to save our own lives.

Summary and Status

Here's a quick political status of the war From the Charleston Daily Mail.

-------------
America has been torn over this war. It had enormous popularity early on, which has evaporated into a seething cynicism.

This is not the first time. More than 140 years ago, America faced a similar crisis. The Copperhead Democrats wanted to make peace with the South and leave slavery alone. Too many people had died, the Democrats argued.

At Gettysburg, President Lincoln told them no, he would not allow our troops to die in vain.

Elections have meaning. This past one put Bush on notice: Win the war or be done with it.

He seems to have heard America.

The Brave Democrat

Democratic Rep. Brian Baird has visited Iraq and has written a piece for the Seattle Times. This is a thoughtful perspective on the war. I respect criticism of the management of this war. But what matters is that we win and Al Qaeda loses, not Dem. or Rep. Thank you Representative Baird for saying what needs to be said, not what you've been instructed to say. Please read this article for criticism of the war and for encouragement for victory.

-------------
The invasion of Iraq may be one of the worst foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation. As tragic and costly as that mistake has been, a precipitous or premature withdrawal of our forces now has the potential to turn the initial errors into an even greater problem just as success looks possible.

As a Democrat who voted against the war from the outset and who has been frankly critical of the administration and the post-invasion strategy, I am convinced by the evidence that the situation has at long last begun to change substantially for the better. I believe Iraq could have a positive future. Our diplomatic and military leaders in Iraq, their current strategy, and most importantly, our troops and the Iraqi people themselves, deserve our continued support and more time to succeed.

You may laugh....

... but I think Hugh Hewitt is right.

-----------
Reagan was often attacked as a dangerous ideolouge who needed to reconcile himself to the facts of the world, but he never succombed to Beltway realpolitick.

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War," Reagan declared. "We win, they lose."

This is also George W. Bush's approach to Islamist fanaticism. And a generation from now his resolve concerning the War on Terror will be as esteemed as Reagan's resolve to triumph in the Cold War.

Progress 5

This is impressive (IraqSlogger via. Bill Roggio):

-----------
In an unprecedented combined action in Diyala Province, Iraqi police and citizen volunteers defeated a coordinated attack of approximately 40-60 al-Qaeda terrorists in the southern Burhitz area of Baqubah, Wednesday, and killed an estimated 21 insurgents, wounding more.

As the terrorists entered the city of Burhitz, a group of concerned local citizens, called ‘Baqubah Guardians,’ and IPs stationed in Burhitz engaged the first wave of attackers, killing seven. At least two suicide bombers were killed before they reached their intended targets, with the bomb vests detonating prematurely.

The IP notified the Provincial Joint Coordination Center and requested Coalition Force attack helicopter support after the first engagement. Attack helicopters arrived and engaged another large group of heavily armed fighters staging near the first attack site, killing or wounding an estimated 14 terrorists.

Killing for Congress

Ralph Peters in the NY Post.

----------------
August 16, 2007 -- TWO days ago, al Qaeda det onated four massive truck bombs in three Iraqi vil lages, killing at least 250 civilians (perhaps as many as 500) and wounding many more. The bombings were a sign of al Qaeda's frustration, desperation and fear.

The victims were ethnic Kurd Yazidis, members of a minor sect with pre-Islamic roots. Muslim extremists condemn them (wrongly) as devil worshippers. The Yazidis live on the fringes of society.

That's one of the two reasons al Qaeda targeted those settlements: The terrorist leaders realize now that the carnage they wrought on fellow Muslims backfired, turning once-sympathetic Sunni Arabs against them. The fanatics calculated that Iraqis wouldn't care much about the Yazidis.

...

But the second reason for those dramatic bombings was that al Qaeda needs to portray Iraq as a continuing failure of U.S. policy. Those dead and maimed Yazidis were just props: The intended audience was Congress.

Politics as Usual

Micheal Yon comments and follows-up:

---------------
Almost everyone (by now) must have heard about the “lazy” Iraqi parliament members who, like so many Neros fiddling while Rome burns around them, are taking a month off. ...

False advertising is afoot. I write these words from Indonesia, soaking wet, having just returned from photographing rice paddies in a pouring rain, wearing a Florida Gators shirt. That means there is a green alligator on my chest. While supporting my team, my shirt perpetuates the myth that alligators are green, when in fact they are black when wet, gray when dry.The mantra that “there is no political progress in Iraq” is rapidly becoming the “surge” equivalent of a green alligator: when enough people repeat something that sounds plausible, but also happens to be false, it becomes accepted as fact. The more often it is repeated—and the larger the number of people repeating it—the harder it is to convince anyone of the truth: alligators are not green, and Iraqis are making plenty of political progress.
----------------

I have never really understood the "Iraq has not agreed on oil sharing.. Iraqis need to undo de-baathification laws..." imposed America milestones. Who are we to set their milestones? Our job is to make it safe for sustained, organized government. Once it's sustainable, we can leave and let them take 5, 10, 100 years to optimize their society. As long as they don't send death to our families, our goal has been achieved.

Disaster Porn

I completely agree with James Lileks.

----------------
Headline over at KSTP:

“Hear the screams from inside the bus.”

You know what? I don’t want to hear the screams from inside the bus. I don’t want to hear someone’s kid shrieking in panic, begging her mom to come save her. Why would I?

This is the point in the story where we start to debate what’s news, and what’s just disaster-pr0n....
----------------

This is what we accept news today. Entertainment. The pain and suffering of others.

People we should all know

The weekly radio show, Pundit Review Radio (AM680 WRKO Boston, Sundays 7-10PM), is a fantastic radio show. They have a terrific segment called "Someone you should know" where they highlight a US military hero from the War on Terror. This week they featured New Hampshire resident and citizen soldier SPC. Richard “Buddy” Ghent. Listen to the podcast for a real feeling for his heroism. And Thank you, SPC. Ghent.

---------------
Armed only with a 9mm pistol. Facing insurgents who had just blown up his Humvee, wounded him with shrapnel and a gun shot wound to the back, killed his best friend and badly wounded his sergeant, he charged. With a pistol. Against unwounded insurgents with assault rifles.

He charged them.

And he drove them off and held his position until relieved by another element of his platoon. With a pistol.
----------------

Here is their archive of heroes recognized on their show.

You can subscribe to Pundit Review Radio on iTunes or visit their sight to listen to their show if you are unavailable Sunday evening.

Translation

The Washington Post quotes Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) on President Bush's "electronic surveillance of overseas communications in search of terrorists." (If you don't recognize this program, liberals and CNN call it "Domestic Spying".)

----------------
"Given the continued threat environment and some recent technical developments, I have become convinced that we must take some immediate, but interim, step to improve collection of foreign intelligence in a manner that doesn't compromise civil liberties of U.S. citizens,"
----------------

Allow me to translate:

"Now that you have re-elected us to stop Bush, we must do what is right for the country and continue with Bush's policies on the war and on domestic spying. Oh, and thank you again for your vote."

Bottom line - as I have posted on before, the democrats have two choices, go against the president and put Americans in danger, or accept the fact that Bush is doing what needs to be done to protect America. The latter is their duty. The former is their career.