Free Republic

Iraqi and US troops continue to press the offensive against the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army during a series of raids throughout Iraq. Since July 18, US and Iraqi forces have killed six Mahdi Army fighters and captured 18 during operations in central Iraq. Scores more have been captured, including senior leaders, weapons smugglers, financiers, trainers, and cell leaders. The raids have been driven by intelligence, much of it gleaned from captive Mahdi Army fighters, according to information contained in Multinational Forces Iraq press releases. Captive Mahdi Army leaders and cell members are providing US and Iraqi forces information on leaders and...

14 July 2008The war continues to abate in Iraq. Violence is still present, but, of course, Iraq was a relatively violent place long before Coalition forces moved in. I would go so far as to say that barring any major and unexpected developments (like an Israeli air strike on Iran and the retaliations that would follow), a fair-minded person could say with reasonable certainty that the war has ended. A new and better nation is growing legs. What's left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the...

Click to view images from Taji. Photos by Bill Murray. TAJI, IRAQ: There are few pictures of a US Army Tactical Operations Centers, and once inside you realize why. Everything within the walls of a TOC in Iraq -- and there are dozens at the company, battalion and brigade levels -- is more or less classified. Screen after screen of live Unmanned Aerial Vehicle camera footage, high-definition video from floating balloons tethered high above each forward-operating base, high-powered FM radios connected with ground troops, three tiers of desks with sergeants and captains using internal message and email systems to...

Clashes broke out in the Sadr City district in northeastern Baghdad after Iraqi forces detained a senior Sadrist leader, an Iraqi news outlet reported. Iraqi soldiers and police cordoned several neighborhoods in the Mahdi Army stronghold to contain the fighting that occurred after security forces detained Abbas Abdul Aal, who is a "senior Sadrist leader," Voices of Iraq reported. Aal's nephew was also detailed. "Security forces closed all of the city's outlets and prevented the movement of traffic and pedestrians," an eyewitness told the Iraqi newspaper. The move in Sadr comes one day after Iraqi soldiers closed the Sadrist office...

Muqtada al Sadr. Click to view. Over the space of several days in early June, Muqtada al Sadr has issued two consequential orders that will affect the future of his movement and that of Iraq. Sadr has ordered the reorganization of his infamous Mahdi Army and has forbidden the Sadrist movement from participating in the upcoming provincial elections. Sadr’s first declaration addressed the organization and operations of the Mahdi Army, the military arm of the Sadrist movement. Sadr ordered his militiamen to halt the fighting and announced that a small, specialized unit will have the exclusive right to fight...

A tip led soldiers from the 39th Iraqi Army Brigade to a large cache of munitions and weapons that included 217 rocket-propelled grenades, 354 blocks of C-4, and more than 40 explosively formed projectiles in the Al Husayn district of Amarah, June 29. (US Army photo) Iraqi forces detained four senior Sadrists members of the Maysan provincial council on Wednesday in the latest series of aids targeting senior Sadrist leaders in the former Mahdi Army bastion of Maysan province. Meanwhile, Iraqi special forces uncovered a Mahdi Army headquarters and several large weapons caches in the provincial capital. Police and...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: Iraqi and Coalition forces in and around Baghdad captured more than 100 insurgents and defused 147 improved explosive devices during the past week as part of continued security operations, according to Iraqi and Coalition spokesmen. One insurgent was killed, six kidnap victims liberated and about 700 kilograms of TNT discovered during security sweeps in the past seven days, said Iraqi Army spokesman Major General Qassim Atta during a press conference in Baghdad today. The current security plan, called Fardh al-Qanoon, or `Enforcing the Law,’ has been in place since early 2007, when U.S. planners began implementing a U.S....

Iraqi security forces continue to target the Sadrist movement and the Mahdi Army in the southern provinces of Maysan, Dhi Qhar, and Wasit over the weekend. More than 113 Mahdi Army fighters and Sadrists were detained since Friday, including a senior Sadrist leader in the city of Al Kut. The arrests come as a major operation was launched in the former Mahdi Army stronghold in Maysan province. On Saturday, Iraqi forces detained Sayyid Tahseen, a senior member of Muqtada al Sadr's political movement, in Al Kut in Wasit province. Iraqi police described Tahseen as "one of the most important individual...

Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a senior Mahdi Army commander with "close ties" to Muqtada al Sadr's office in Najaf on June 19. Two other senior Mahdi Army commanders in Baghdad and Hillah were captured on June 20 and 21. The Mahdi Army commander captured by Iraqi special forces is thought to be "an influential advisor in west Baghdad" with close ties to the Office of the [Martyr] Sadr in Najaf," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. The commander also is able to appoint Mahdi Army officers into command positions. The US military would not release the identity of the leader as...

Iraqi troops replace border guards. Local police forces are raised. Maliki gives deadline for Mahdi Army to disarm. Sadrists fear being targeted. The Iraqi government and military continue to shape the battlefield for the confrontation with the Mahdi Army in Maysan province. Starting late last week, Iraqi security forces started the operation by sealing off the entrances and exits to the province, deploying additional forces from Baghdad and Basrah, warning the population, starting patrols in Amarah, and relieving the provincial chief of police. Since then, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has ordered all wanted Mahdi Army fighters to turn themselves...

Muqtada al Sadr. Muqtada al Sadr has ordered the Sadrist political movement to boycott the upcoming provincial elections. Sadr's order comes one day after his order to disband the Mahdi Army as a fighting force and the creations of a small, armed wing to attack Coalition forces exclusively. Sadrist aides claim Sadr rejects the election process and fears being associated with the occupation. "Sayyid Muqtada does not believe in elections or in the coming provincial governments as long as the occupation forces are here," Salah al Obaidi, a senior aide to Sadr, told The Washington Post. "We don't want...

Iraqi police have captured three Iranian-backed Special Groups operatives behind the kidnapping and murder of five US soldiers at the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center in January 2007. Meanwhile, US troops captured another Special Groups leader in the Al Kut region, The Iraqi police captured the three "key criminals" behind the 2007 Karbala attack in Musayyib, just south of Baghdad, on June 5. The three Special Groups operatives are "suspected of trafficking and emplacing explosively formed projectiles." Explosively formed projectiles are the signature weapon of Shia terrorists with links to Iran. The US military immediately suspected Iran's Qods Force, the...

Sadr returns to Iraq for a short period of time in May 2007 to deliver a sermon in Kufa. [AP Photo] Click to view. Written by Bill Roggio and Daveed Gartenstein-Ross for The Daily Standard. IN THE PAST MONTH, Iraqi and coalition forces have succeeded in their fight against the Mahdi Army's "special groups." On May 3, the U.S. military destroyed a special groups command center in Sadr City, killing a wanted leader in the attack. On May 25, Iraqi special operations forces captured a mid-level special groups leader in the al-Shuala area of Baghdad. And on May 31,...

So far this year, the Iraqi police force has lost about 10,000 officers. Some 80 percent of those were people fired for corruption or incompetence. The rest were combat casualties, as the police are heavily involved in operations against the Shia Mahdi Army militia, and al Qaeda. Some 90 percent of the losses are from the anti-militia operations. That's because many police units had been infiltrated by Mahdi Army members (who joined for the paycheck, and to support the Mahdi Army as opportunities presented themselves.) The Mahdi Army also had the support of a large block of parliament members, as...

Iraqi and Coalition forces press operations against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and Basrah despite the cease-fire signed with the Mahdi Army in Sadr City. The Iraqi Army has expanded its operations in Basrah province to the east just along the Iranian border, while eleven Mahdi Army fighters have been captured during operations in Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by US and British advisers, have expanded Operation Knights’ Assault to the eastern town of Abu Al Khasib, a region east of Basrah on the Iranian border. A brigade from the 1st Iraqi Army Division,...

Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, maneuver down a path while receiving heavy indirect fire and rocket-propelled grenade fire just on the outskirts of Shula May 16. (US Army photo / Sergeant James Hunter) Iraqi Special Operations Forces have captured a senior Mahdi Army Special Groups leader in the Shula neighborhood in the Ghazaliyah district in northwestern Baghdad. The Shula neighborhood has been a target of US and Iraqi forces over the past several weeks as the fighting in Sadr City has largely subsided. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured what Multinational Forces Iraq called a...

“Why aren’t we hearing about this in the news?” asks Alisyn Camerota. Well, increasingly we are, most notably in the pages of the righty blogosphere’s favorite whipping boy. CNN traditionally has been good about reporting gains too, including having Yon himself on to explain them. As I write this, this story is beaming out to AP affiliates worldwide. The problem with the coverage is that it takes spectacular gains, like the Iraqi army rolling onto Mookie’s home turf in Sadr City, to break through the media narrative while even minor setbacks, which fit the narrative, are easily assimilated and thus...

Arkan Hasnawi. Click the image to view wanted the Mahdi Army leaders in Baghdad. The US military killed a senior member of the Mahdi Army, according US and Mahdi Army sources. Arkan Hasnawi, a senior lieutenant of the Mahdi Army commander in Sadr City, was killed in a guided rocket strike in Sadr City on March 3. The news of Hasnawi's death comes as details emerge on the senior leadership of the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and the blurring of the lines between Sadr's militia and the Special Groups. Hasnawi was among several senior Mahdi Army leaders killed or...

Soldiers from Company A, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division set concrete barriers in place in the surroundings of the southern portion of the Sadr City district of Baghdad May 3. (US Army photo/Specialist Joseph Rivera Rebolledo) The battle for Sadr City continues as US and Iraqi forces continue to erect the concrete security barrier on Qods Street, the main thoroughfare that divides the southern third of Sadr City from the northern portion. US Special Operations Forces teams have entered the fray, and the specialized teams are fighting inside the Mahdi Army bastion for...

<p>Click to view slideshow of operations in the Rusafa district, Baghdad. Photos by Bill Ardolino.</p> <p>The US soldiers and Iraqi police living at Joint Security Station Al Qanat at the Northeastern edge of Baghdad’s Rusafa district have “a front row seat” to the fight taking place in Sadr City. As US and Iraqi Army forces clash with the Mahdi Army, hissing RPGs and small arms fire periodically crackle during the day and are punctuated by occasional orange explosions and red tracers streaking out of the Sadr City skyline at night. Two to four Apache attack helicopters constantly prowl the airspace over the battlefield, randomly popping flares as they search for targets. The characteristic whoosh and boom of a hellfire missile sounds when they find one. But although JSS al Qanat is only 200 meters from the Route Pluto, the main thoroughfare that marks the border to Sadr City, the fighting has not significantly spilled over into the northern part of the Rusafa District.</p>

A member of the Iraqi national police creates an inventory of illegal weapons confiscated by Iraqi national police in the Sadr City District of Baghdad, Iraq, as he turns them over to members of the 42nd brigade, 11th Iraqi army division, at Combat Patrol Base Comanche on April 19. (US Air Force photo/Technical Sergean Adrian Cadiz) US and Iraqi forces continue to target the Mahdi Army as an Iraqi delegation visited Iran to confront the country over its support of Shia militias battling the government. The US military conducted a guided rocket attack on a Special Groups headquarters adjacent...

2nd Lieutenant Mike Hebert leads White Platoon of the Blackfoot Troop, 3-89 Cavalry on a presence patrol of a difficult neighborhood in southern Rusafa District, Baghdad. Photo by Bill Ardolino. BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The nighttime walk through a difficult neighborhood in Southern Rusafa was uneventful; a careful “presence patrol” designed to show local citizens American forces and gauge public opinion. The jumbled maze of brightly-lit ramshackle shops and pitch-black back alleys was one of the less secure parts of the district. Southern Rusafa is “a neighborhood with the most potential to become violent because of the JAM (Mahdi Army) special...

The apparent respite in yesterday's fighting was illusionary as US forces killed an additional 27 Mahdi Army fighters and a senior Special Groups leader during a series of engagements in the afternoon and throughout the night in Sadr City. One of the larger clashes occurred as US force were attacked while constructing the barrier that divides the southern portion of Sadr city where US and Iraqi troops have established a foothold. The fighting began just before noon as Mahdi Army fighters attacked US troops with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire as they were building the concrete security barrier...

Sadr City is experiencing a relative lull after several days of intense battles between the Mahdi army and US and Iraqi forces. US troops killed six Mahdi Army fighters in a series of engagements, while the Iraqi government reported over 900 have been killed since fighting broke out in Sadr City at the end of March. Iraqi's prime minister has vowed to continue the operation in Baghdad and Basrah. US troops killed six Mahdi Army fighters during separate engagements in Sadr City last evening and this morning. US Abrams tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles targeted Mahdi Army fighters as they...

Click the image to view the slideshow several caches of Iranian-made weapons seized in February and March. Images courtesy of Multinational Forces Iraq. Clashes between the Mahdi Army and US and Iraqi forces continue in northern and eastern Baghdad over the weekend despite a call by Muqtada al Sadr for his fighters to cease attacks. US air weapons team killed seven Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr City on Saturday and early Sunday morning while the Mahdi Army attacked a police patrol in the Sha'ab neighborhood and launched mortars at the International Zone. Meanwhile, an Iraqi general has said Iran...

Baghdad, Apr 26, (VOI) – An Iraqi legislator accused the U.S. forces on Saturday of using "internationally-banned weapons" during the military operations in the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City. "Cogent evidence were shown by the criminal investigations and forensics' reports that the occupation forces have used fissile arms during the bombardment of Sadr City," Liqaa Al Yassin, a member of parliament from the Sadrist bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI). The Sadrists comprise a Shiite parliamentary bloc that keeps 30 out of a total 275 seats. "When...

Muqtada al Sadr. Click to view. The battle between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi and US forces intensified over the weekend. As the Iraqi Army took control of a Mahdi Army stronghold in Basrah, Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, threatened to end the self-imposed cease-fire. Iraqi security forces have also stepped up efforts against the Mahdi Army in the center-south region of Iraq, and captured more than 40 of the Iranian-backed Special Groups, a Mahdi Army splinter group. Sadr threatened to end the cease-fire after Iraqi troops took over the Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhood of Hayaniyah...

The Iraqi Army, backed by Coalition advisers and airpower, has launched an assault on the Mahdi Army-controlled neighborhood of Hayaniyah in the port city of Basrah, sparking heavy fighting. Multinational Forces Iraq described the action as "a new phase of operations" as part of the overall operation, called Knights' Charge, which was launched on March 25. The fighting in Basrah is said to be intense. The assault began at 6 AM local time when "British artillery and US aircraft released ordnance against known criminal rocket and mortar sites west of Hayaniyah," the Multinational Forces Iraq press release stated. "There were...

The Sadrist movement said it will not disarm and disband the Mahdi Army unless senior Shia clerics order it two weeks after the Iraqi government said political parties with militias could not participate in the upcoming provincial elections. "The Mahdi army will not allow anyone to disarm it and al Sadr could not disarm the Mahdi Army except if top Shiite clerics gave directives to do that," Basem al Marwani, a senior leader in the Sadrist movement in Najaf told Al Hayat. Marwani also said the Mahdi Army would "continue its armed resistance against the foreign occupation" despite the ceasefire...

The Iraqi government has committed to wresting Sadr City from the control of Shia militias, an Iraqi government spokesman and a US military spokesman said in a press briefing today in Baghdad. "We will continue until we secure Sadr City. We will not come out, we will not give up until the people of Sadr City have a normal life," Ali al Dabbagh, the spokesman for the government of Iraq, told AFP. "(Security forces) will do what they have to do to secure the area. I can't tell you how many days or how many months but they will not...

Members of the Iraqi Army secure a truck load of food as they prepare to go on a humanitarian assistance mission to deliver food and water to eastern Baghdad residents, April 5, 2008. US Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Adrian Cadiz. Three weeks after the Iraqi government initiated Operation Knights Assault in Basrah, US and Iraqi forces have squared off against the Mahdi Army daily in the Shia slums of Sadr City. Additional US and Iraqi forces have moved into northeastern Baghdad to prepare for a possible major engagement against the Mahdi Army. While Muqtada al Sadr, the...

Iraqi and Coalition forces are conducting strikes against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia terror groups in Baghdad and Basrah. As these raids are occurring, the Sadrist movement cancels a scheduled protest in Baghdad and issues conflicting reports about Muqtada al Sadr's consultations with Shia clerics to disband the Mahdi Army. Clashes in Baghdad Today's clashes in the Shia neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad began after Mahdi Army fighters attacked a police and US Army patrol and fired mortars and rockets at the International Zone in central Baghdad. Five policemen and four civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device...

Less than two weeks after Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki launched Operation Knights' Assault to clear the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backer militias in Basrah, the Iraqi government is moving to ban Muqtada al Sadr's political movement from participating in the election if it fails to disband the militia. Facing near-unanimous opposition, Sadr said he would seek guidance from senior Shia clerics in Najaf and Qom and disband the Mahdi Army if told to do so, according to one aide. But another Sadr aide denied this. The pressure on Sadr and his Mahdi Army started on Sunday after Maliki announced...

Fighting between the Coalition and Madhi Army fighters broke out today as operations against the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups continue despite Prime Minister Maliki's call for a halt in operations. Early reports indicate between nine and 20 Iraqis were killed during clashes in Sadr City at the 55 intersection and Falah Street. Abdellatif Rayan, a media adviser to Multinational Forces Iraq said a US Army helicopter killed nine "criminals" in Sadr City. "We do have reports of an air weapons team engagement, a US helicopter, where nine criminals were killed at around 8:00 AM," Rayan told Voices of...

Three days after Muqtada al Sadr ordered the Mahdi Army to withdraw from the fighting in Baghdad and the Shia South, the fighting has dropped dramatically. The Iraqi government has denied that it has agreed to Sadr's terms, but has softened its rhetoric against Mahdi Army, instead shifting its focus on the "criminal elements" just as the US military has done over the past year. Meanwhile, the Iraqi security forces are continuing operations in Basrah. The Iraqi military has continued to target Mahdi Army elements in Basrah and in Baghdad and southern Iraq, but the government is now referring to...

With the fifth day of fighting in Baghdad, Basrah and the South completed, the Mahdi Army has suffered major losses over the past 36 hours. The Mahdi Army has not faired well over the past five days of fighting, losing an estimated two percent of its combat power, using the best case estimate for the size of the militia. A look at the open source press reports from the US and Iraqi military and the established newspapers indicates 134 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 81 were wounded, 98 were captured, and 30 surrendered during the past 36 hours. Since the...

Muqtada al Sadr.Click to view. BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The cease-fire extension issued by Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army, appears to be in jeopardy after the Iraqi government has launched an offensive against the Shia terror group in the southern city of Basra. Dubbed Operation Knights' Assault, Iraqi security forces have gone on the offensive to wrest control of the strategic oil hub and Iraq's second largest city from Mahdi Army control. The fighting has spread to Baghdad and the southern provinces. The Knights' Assault is an Iraqi-led operation, and was ordered directly by Prime Minister...

The controversy over Iran's involvement with the Shia continues to rage in the media. Late this week, a report indicated the top leaders at Multinational Forces Iraq believe Iran has ended its support for the Shia terror groups attacking Iraqi and Coalition forces. This report was incorrect. As the debate over Iran's involvement in Iraq's violence continues, Coalition special forces continue to target Iranian Qods Force-backed Special Groups cell On January 3, The Washington Times reported that Colonel Steven Boylan, the spokesman for General David Petraeus said Iran's leadership has cut off support for the Special Groups. We are ready...

US and Iraq forces continue to target the Iranian-backed Special Groups in southern and central Iraq. The latest raid in Al Kut in Wasit province resulted in 11 Special Groups fighters killed, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. Al Kut, a logistical hub for the Special Groups and center of power for Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army, has seen an uptick in activity over the past two weeks. Today's raid in Al Kut targeted "a Special Groups criminal element member reportedly responsible for attacks against Coalition forces and supporters of Coalition forces" who "was also reportedly an associate of criminal element leaders...

An Iraqi National Policeman walks past one of the cars damaged in the triple bombing attack in Amarah. Reuters photo. The city of Amarah in Iraq's Shia South was rocked by a string of coordinated car bomb attacks designed to kill civilians. At least 41 civilians were killed and over 140 wound after three car bombs were detonated in a market in Amarah. It is unclear if the attack was carried out by al Qaeda in Iraq or the Iranian-backed Special Groups terror cells. The three bombs were detonated in a manner to inflict maximum casualties. A small blast...

Coalition forces capture Special Groups leader, 11 detained (Baghdad) Tuesday, 11 December 2007 MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQPRESS DESKBAGHDAD, Iraqhttp://www.mnf-iraq.com703.343.8790    Press Release A071211bDecember 11, 2007Coalition forces capture Special Groups leader, 11 detainedBAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected Special Groups criminal element leader and detained ten other suspects during operations early Tuesday in the Baghdad area. The targeted individual reportedly supervised criminal splinter group trainers throughout Iraq. He allegedly coordinated the explosively formed penetrator, improvised explosive device, operational security and computer security training of numerous criminals, and was personally responsible for paying each trainer every month. He also reportedly directed his cell to...

CBNNews.com - The Pentagon has said the security situation in Iraq is rapidly improving, with deaths among coalition forces dropping the past five months. Last month it was said casualties declined to the lowest level since February 2004. Iraqi civilian deaths are also down and much of the progress has been attributed to a recent troop surge. Michael Yon has been embedded with coalition forces in Iraq and runs a blog reporting from the front lines there. He spoke with CBN News on his observations of changes in the country. Click the play button for his comments.

The Long War Journal: Raid in Baghdad's Sadr City kills 49 Special Groups operatives Written by Bill Roggio on October 21, 2007 9:57 AM to The Long War Journal Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/raid_in_baghdads_sad.php Sadr delivers sermon in Kufa after returning from Iran in May. [AP Photo] Click to view. Multinational Forces Iraq conducted a major raid in Baghdad's Sadr City. Forty-nine Special Groups operatives were killed in a nighttime raid targeting a cell leader of the Iranian-backed Shia terror group. Coalition forces, often the cover name given to the special operations forces hunter-killer teams of Task Force 88, met heavy...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Army Soldiers, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained a cell leader of the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia near the southwest neighborhood of Bayaa in Baghdad, July 26. The Iraqi Soldiers detained their primary suspect without incident during the early morning operation in Baghdad. The primary suspect is believed to command a rogue JAM improvised explosive device cell that is allegedly responsible for attacks on Coalition Forces. He is also alleged to have received financial support and explosively formed penetrators from Iran, which were distributed to other JAM cell members in the Bayaa and Aamel areas of...

A Glimpse Ahead Timothy Snodgrass The Impossible Will Come Alive In 2005 01/28/05 In January of 2004, as we began to intercede for the New Year the Holy Spirit gave us the prophetic slogan, "The Seas will Roar in 2004". This year we were given a new slogan, "The Impossible will come Alive in 2005". As the veil of darkness begins to come down over nations and regions, along with great shakings will come great breakthroughs; signs, wonders, healings and a spectacular release of miracles in impossible circumstances. This year, although we are ultimately poised to gain much ground, there...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

<p>I was trying to recall the exact moment I lost interest in the 2004 presidential race. It was March 7, the day The New York Times published Maureen Dowd's gushing paean to John Kerry.</p> <p>Dowd gloried in the "vast palette of cultural preferences" that paint the Kerry persona. Why, he not only reads Keats and Shelley and T.S. Eliot, he writes his own verse on the "barren desolation of the desert."</p>

Dear Conservativeman55: Thank you for your recent comments regarding our advertising. We value input from our consumers and appreciate the time you have taken to share your comments with us. In response to your question, we do take precautions to ensure that our announcements air on quality, family-oriented programming. Should you see our announcement air on a questionable program please drop us a note with the name of the program that you were watching, and we will ask our advertising agency to thoroughly review the content of the program. Again, thank you for taking the time to express your concerns...

Iraq could try to jam U.S. military satellite signals during a possible invasion, but the United States has defenses against such attempts, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. Indonesia reportedly jammed signals from a commercial satellite leased by the Pacific nation of Tonga in 1997, and Iraq could try to do the same thing, said the Air Force's space operations director, Brig. Gen. Franklin Blaisdell. Iraq also reportedly is seeking ways to jam the Global Positioning Satellite signals that help guide U.S. bombs. "Any enemy that would depend on GPS jammers for their livelihood is in grave trouble," Blaisdell said at a...

When all those limos pull up to the red carpet at the Oscars this month, some will be outfitted more elaborately than the stars. Beneath their shiny exteriors is the hottest new automotive accessory—bulletproof armor. Just ask David Seelinger, president of Secure Car Worldwide. He’s struggling to keep up with calls from VIPs eager to pay $2,000 a day to ride in his steel-plated limos. CEOS ARE ARMORING themselves against terrorism, movie stars are getting death threats and rappers fear assassination. To keep up with demand, Seelinger has more than tripled his armored fleet to 10 cars. “This is absolutely...