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This week's news from Iraq isn't good, though when has it ever been? Well, maybe during those exceptional times when Washington was paying close attention and American troops were being given the support and leeway to do their job right. Indeed, superlatively. As they can be given their head and led by field commanders like David Petraeus, a thoughtful leader who had prepared himself -- and our whole military culture -- for a new kind of warfare called counterinsurgency. Gen. Petraeus would later become a-cropper about a matter quite outside the military realm but all too common among the male...

Washington continues to talk, but only talk, about the danger of Bashar al-Assad's increasingly desperate regime in Syria distributing its arsenal of high-tech or even nuclear weapons to terrorists throughout the Mideast. Meanwhile, the Israelis continue to act. Five years ago, they took out a nuclear reactor the Syrians were building without seeing any need to noise it about, realizing that action speaks louder than words -- and that much of the world, especially the Bush administration back then, would discreetly approve. This time the Israelis aren't saying anything official about what seems to have happened to a convoy of...

CINCINNATI — Mitt Romney assumed the mantle of change agent here Thursday, promising over and over again to bring “big change” to the White House as he opened a two-day campaign swing across the critical battleground of Ohio. .....Although Romney’s crowd of about 3,000 was smaller than many of the other rallies he has staged this week, the throng packed inside a Cincinnati warehouse was electric. Every time Romney spoke of “big change” — a phrase he used at least a half-dozen times — his supporters’ screams were nearly deafening, a sign of the growing enthusiasm among Republicans.....

“I hear Pittsburgh is very nice this time of year.” -- A senior Romney campaign staffer talking to Power Play about the strategy for the closing weeks of the campaign. Two weeks ago, Mitt Romney trailed in five Rust Belt battleground states by an average of 6.9 points in the Real Clear Politics Average of polls. This morning, his average deficit was just 3.2 points. While all 11 swing states have moved his direction since the Republican nominee’s boffo performance in his first debate with President Obama, Romney has seen the most significant improvement in the core column of the...

SIDNEY, Ohio (AP) -- The crowds tell the story. As Election Day nears, Mitt Romney is drawing large and excited throngs. Look to dusty Iowa cornfields, rain-soaked Virginia parks, the muddy fields of the Shelby County Fairgrounds, where a crowd of 9,500 - almost half of this western Ohio town - gathered among the barns and stables on a frigid October evening this week to glimpse the Republican presidential contender. "Where else would we want to be?" ...

A day after some national polls showed President Obama’s edge over Mitt Romney evaporating, he responded first thing on Tuesday with a new commercial featuring Big Bird of “Sesame Street” and Mr. Romney’s debate-night vow to cut financing for PBS. It did not exactly take flight ....

The world is slowly returning to its proper axis after being out of kilter for a while. San Francisco is once again the best team in the NFL. The Chicago Cubs lost 100 games. Hockey players are locked out, causing the fourth work stoppage in 20 years. NBC is the number one TV network again. Nucky Thompson [1] is back and is as slimy as ever. And Nicholas Brody [2] has also returned, teasing us with the prospect that he really isn’t an American terrorist, just some poor, misunderstood Muslim convert who may be the next vice president of...

The leaders of the congressional committees said Sunday they believed that the Taliban had grown stronger since President Barack Obama sent 33,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in 2010. The pessimistic report by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., challenges Obama's own assessment last week in his visit to Kabul that the "tide had turned" and that "we broke the Taliban's momentum." Feinstein and Rogers told CNN's "State of the Union" they aren't so sure. The two recently returned from a fact-finding trip to the region where they met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "President Karzai believes...

How can it be that Pennsylvania, the state with the most precious historical legacy of all, has produced only one president? This is the land of Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, the Declaration of Independence, George Washington crossing the Delaware, Valley Forge, the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights, the most pivotal battle in the Civil War, three cities that served as the nation's capital, etc. And the best we could do in 223 years is James Buchanan, widely considered to be one of worst presidents America ever had? Robert P. Casey Virginia has had eight presidents, including three...

In the increasingly rough Republican campaign, no candidate has wrapped himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan more often than Newt Gingrich. “I worked with President Reagan to change things in Washington,” “we helped defeat the Soviet empire,” and “I helped lead the effort to defeat Communism in the Congress” are typical claims by the former speaker of the House. The claims are misleading at best. In the Reagan years I was an assistant secretary of state — Mr. Gingrich voted with the president regularly, but equally often spewed insulting rhetoric at Reagan, his top aides, and his policies to...

No doubt about it, President Obama deseves credit for the Iraq "surge". The AP reported on Tuesday that, "Attacks in Iraq have 'surged' since the U.S. troops left. [Because Obama refused to leave a residual force of U.S. troops in Iraq.] More than 160 people have been killed since the beginning of the year." Clearly, Obama deseves credit for the "surge" in Iraq.....

... In November of 2011, the Washington Post reported that the Iranian government had mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon after receiving assistance from foreign scientists. The Post went on to say: An intelligence update will be circulated among International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] members... It is expected to focus on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles... Julian Borger of the Guardian-UK reported in November of 2009: The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design......

The latest polls out of Iowa confirm two things as we head into the caucuses: Ron Paul has peaked, and his support is now on the downswing. And Rick Santorum is surging, going from single-digits to third place in a matter of days.If the Des Moines Register survey holds true, Santorum may just be getting started: The poll, conducted Tuesday through Friday, shows support at 24 percent for Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts; 22 percent for Paul, a Texas congressman; and 15 percent for the surging Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.But the four-day results don’t reflect...

The extent to which Rick Santorum has gained in Iowa polling is not entirely clear. Although two polls have him with 16 percent of the vote, two others that were in the field at the same time have him at 10 and 11 percent, respectively.Nevertheless, Mr. Santorum can make the most credible claim of any candidate about having momentum in the state. Our forecast model actually tries to quantify momentum by looking at the trajectory of each candidate’s polling and assigns him a small bonus or penalty based upon it. Right now, Mr. Santorum is benefiting from that adjustment, while...

SNIP SNIP It seems to us that Gingrich's appeal to the primary electorate is best explained by reference to an earlier period in his career: 1989-94, when he was House minority whip. He was an extremely effective insurgent leader, helping to bring down two Democratic leaders, Speaker Jim Wright and Majority Whip Tony Coelho, by calling attention to their ethical problems. As the Orlando Sentinel reported in May 1989, just after the latter announced his departure: "House Democratic whip Tony Coelho said Sunday that Republican whip Newt Gingrich was trying to destroy the Democrat-controlled House in order to rebuild it...

Many people forget that Michele Bachman had a first surge that briefly made her the GOP Presidential Primary frontrunner. But that may have been because many Bible believing Christians loved her values and spunk but quickly had 'buyer’s remorse' as second thoughts kicked in, wondering if it biblically correct to have a woman president. So, the question is: Is there a biblical precedent for a woman President? Yes. In a word: Deborah. The book of Judges, chapter 5, explains an eerily similar pattern to today's political and economic state of America. Ancient Israel had fallen on tough times. They had...

Wednesday’s brief by two of DC’s top defense analysts included another interesting element besides their endorsement of an “industrial strategy” to protect the defense sector: If the U.S. got into a desperate national pinch and needed to “surge” its stocks of weapons or equipment, it probably could not do it, they said. Barry Watts and Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, explained that there are many reasons why the U.S. could not switch on a major industrial effort like the one that built the “arsenal of democracy” in World War II: • You can’t just simply...

In the past few minutes both gold and silver have seen a dramatic rally of buying on seemingly no news. The reason for this rally are remarks from a Bloomberg TV interview with FX Concepts' John Taylor, who just predicted that Gold will extend its rally to $1,900 by October, or in three months, coupled with a rally in the Assuie and Loonie as the EU debt crisis eases. But not for long: this record price will be promptly followed by a plunge down to $1,100 following liquidations as the latest and greatest recession grips the world, which he believes...

WASHINGTON – Six months after Republicans alarmed Democrats with a midterm election wave, President Barack Obama has shaken off the jitters and found his political footing despite sluggish economic growth and deep public anxiety about the direction of the country. The White House now displays an air of confidence, bolstered in part by achievements such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos and the financial success of an auto industry that Obama bailed out over the objections of many. Obama is also benefiting from the absence of negatives. The economy, while lethargic, is growing. The private sector...

Again, what better subterfuge is there than to accuse your enemy of what you yourself have engaged in for years? And the fabricated stories of Muslim women (or alleged converts to Islam) being abducted by Christians in Egypt have indeed provided a handy cover for a new string of disappearances. They are nothing new, as Coptic Pope Shenouda III observed even in 1976 that "there is a practice to convert Coptic girls to embrace Islam and marry them under terror to Muslim husbands." And our own archives are full of over seven years of such reports. Meanwhile, the world looks...

In the last several months there has not been a solid frontrunner in Republican polls for the 2012 nomination. While Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney have been near the top, neither has been dominant. Donald Trump was able to surge last month, although where his polls go now is unclear. With much of the attention reverting away from him, he may see a dip in his vote share. And it appears that may have already happened-- and Sarah Palin has picked up the slack. Palin has reduced her profile over the last several months, cutting back on public speaking events....

Even as the economy grew and the unemployment rate began to shrink, the number of Illinois households getting food stamps hit record levels in December, showing no signs of an economic recovery, and area food pantries say they’ve continued to see more people asking for help. (Snip) Job losses caused by the recession drove numbers up over the year in all seven counties in the Chicago area. The biggest percentage increases were in DuPage, Kendall, Kane and McHenry counties. “Since the fall of ’08, we’ve had an increase practically every month” statewide, said Jan Freeman, director of the SNAP program

Price of oil rises 30 percent in 2010; gasoline prices could hit $4 a gallon in 2011 NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of oil is poised for another run at $100 a barrel after a global economic rebound sent it surging 34 percent since May. That could push gasoline prices to $4 a gallon by summer in some parts of the country, experts say. Flying, shipping a package and ordering a pizza all likely would get more expensive in the new year if that happens and companies pass along higher energy costs. Some economists say rising energy prices will...

Gold hit an all-time record while silver and oil both touched multi-year highs on Monday, supported by the Federal Reserve's move to spur the U.S. economy and by growing worries about inflation. A rally in the dollar trimmed early gains, but commodities still found support across the board as investors considered the outlook for the currency as the United States pumps $600 billion into its economy and money markets. "Investors are looking for real assets, and almost all commodities are benefiting from that as a class," said Carsten Fritsch, a commodities analyst at Commerzbank. "Chinese growth, inflation and the declining...

A Surge in Democratic SpendingBy MICHAEL LUO and GRIFF PALMER Published: October 29, 2010 Groups aligned with Democratic candidates have unleashed a last-minute paroxysm of spending in competitive House races in the final days of the campaign that has them outpacing Republicans, reversing the trend of the past few months, according to an analysis of campaign finance data by The New York Times. It appears that the groups, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had been conserving their resources for the final week or two of the midterm election season, calculating that a final burst was the only way they...

Taleban On Verge Of Collapse After Surge Success, Allies Insist Top-level figures say the battle has developed 'irreversible momentum', Anthony Loyd reports from Kandahar The best Taleban commanders are dead or captured. Their men are harried and subject to constant attack and betrayal. They are under-equipped, overwhelmed and demoralised. In a word, the Taleban are losing. In Britain and America there may be doubt and confusion over the future of the Afghan war, but in southern Afghanistan the description of the Taleban insurgency by senior figures at the forefront of the fighting is bold and unequivocal. The troop surge is...

Democrats are now talking about a surge in the run up to the midterm elections while Joe Bite Me and Pelosi keep touting Democrats will keep the House and Senate. Let's take a look at the Democrats' record on surges. April 19, 2007 - Harry Reid about the surge in Iraq: "this war is lost" and that it ""can only be won diplomatically, politically and economically". December 03, 2007 - Harry Reid again: "The surge hasn't accomplished its goals."Now let's look at what Jim Geraghty has to say about a Democrat surge: A Democratic Surge? This Pollster Doesn’t See It...

The quote that jumps out of this Washington Post teaser story is the one where Obama says We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger. There’s already debate about what this means. On the one hand, it’s not as if Obama is shrinking back from our defense. In some ways (drone strikes in Pakistan), he’s actually been more aggressive than President Bush. On the other hand, Ace is right that this formulation only makes sense...

Video of Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) supporting the Democrats in voting against the surge in Iraq. The resolution was approved 246 to 182. Seventeen Republicans joined 229 Democrats in support of the resolution. Mike Castle was one who joined the Democrats. VIDEO LINK

Here is video of Sen. John McCain reacting to President Obama’s Iraq Speech, where he blasted Obama for a “real lack of generosity of spirit” in not giving President George W. Bush credit for the Surge Strategy that brought victory in Iraq. McCain said about Obama’s Speech: “The part that really disturbs me the most – I’m not surprised that he wouldn’t give George Bush credit. That’s just in the DNA of the individual, apparently. But when he said, ‘Our withdrawal will be conditions based,’ and then contradicted that by saying ‘We will begin to withdraw (from Afghanistan) in the...

It grieves me to say it, guys, but Olbermann nailed this one. For your viewing pleasure, behold The One trying to atone for neglecting economic priorities last year while Democrats diddled with ObamaCare by awkwardly shoehorning two and a half minutes on the subject into a speech about war. You can practically see the gears turning in his and Axelrod’s heads: On the one hand, this is his chance to crow about keeping his campaign promise to “end the war” even though the war’s far from being over. On the other hand, that kept promise won’t do jack to spare...

The White House sought on Tuesday to put the pressure on top Republicans to say whether they support the withdrawal of 90,000 troops this month from Iraq. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs questioned GOP leaders — in particular, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) — to say where they stand on the change in mission in Iraq that resulted in the withdrawal of tens of thousands of U.S. troops from the country. "I think what the American people would like to know with Congressman Boehner is: Do you support the withdrawing of 90,000 troops that the president is marking...

The US and Iraq will formally commit to a pact that withdraws all American forces from the country within three years, ... President George Bush had opposed setting a timetable for a troop withdrawal, saying combat forces would leave only when Iraq was stable enough for them to go. However, the US embassy in Baghdad yesterday hailed the decision as a "positive step".

“I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.” - then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., January 10 2007, discussing then-President Bush’s proposal for a surge of troops in Iraq "I don't think there's been any doubt that if we put U.S. troops in that, in the short term, we might see some improvement in certain neighborhoods because the militias are going to fade back into the community. That's one of the characteristics of what we've seen. The problem is that we don't see...

President Obama yesterday accepted the resignation [1] of his headstrong four-star commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal. Despite being handpicked by the President himself just over a year ago, as a sign of the administration’s commitment to win in Afghanistan by putting in place a well-respected leader with counter-insurgency experience, McChrystal is out, a victim of intemperate comments to a reporter who knew a good story when he heard one. The President, no doubt aware of the optics of sacking his own chosen general, has replaced him with General David Petraeus, the Commander in Chief of the Central Command. Petraeus,...

Senate Votes to Condemn MoveOn for Ad Attacking General Petraeus Friday , September 21, 2007 WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a measure condemning MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad it ran last week attacking Gen. David Petraeus. The move came as President Bush accused Democrats of cowering to the liberal political action group. The measure passed in a 72-25 vote, with none of the Democratic presidential candidates supporting it. Sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, never one to shy away from forcing Democrats to go on record on politically sticky issues, the amendment to the defense authorization...

4/2/2010 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- The Heavy Airlift Wing, comprising 12 nations, recently moved 2.1 million pounds of equipment essential to surge operations supporting the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The international wing has been part of the operation to move more than 6 million pounds of basic expeditionary airfield resources, or BEAR materiel, to build six forward operating bases supporting 3,500 people in austere settings. "The HAW received the requirement and planned these airlifts that are running 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week," said Lt. Col. Brad Johns, HAW liaison officer at the 603rd Air Operations Center. "Here we...

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2010 – With 60 percent of the surge force, along with their equipment and supplies, yet to be delivered to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama’s August deadline, the commander charged with making it happen said he has assured commanders that everything is on track. Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, credited the close cooperation between the transportation and logistics communities as among the contributing factors why Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, will get the forces he needs, on time, and with the distribution network required to sustain...

3/5/2010 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- As President Barack Obama's plan to plus up U.S. forces in Afghanistan goes into motion, members of the 86th Materiel Maintenance Squadron here are helping one of U.S. Air Force's in Europe's largest movement of war readiness materiel since Operation Desert Storm in 1991. "The pure size of it alone is daunting," said Master Sgt. Edward Watson, the 86th MMS Engineering and Materiel Management Flight chief. "When we're asked to do something like this everybody steps up and brings their game face. They're working seven days a week, (and) 14, 16 hour...

Politics: A battle ensues between one vice president who defended freedom well and another who sorely needs his boss's teleprompter. Biden accuses Cheney of rewriting history while claiming that Iraq is this administration's victory. Maybe Vice President Joe Biden should think about writing talking points on his hand as his rhetoric reaches levels of absurdity where no politician has gone before. After last weekend's round of competitive gabfests, one would expect to see a billboard of former Vice President Dick Cheney with a caption, "Miss me yet?" We do, sir, we do. After yeoman service helping President Bush fight the...

Afghan Summit Agenda - Head For The Exits By Steve Hynd According to a leaked document handed to the UK's Financial Times, the first item on the agenda for the London summit on Afghanistan is a rapid handover of responsibility for security to Afghan forces. The six-page draft envisages Afghan forces starting a phased process to take over responsibility for security at provincial level from the 110,000-strong Nato-led force later this year. Afghan security forces may assume primary responsibility for securing a number of the country’s 34 provinces by early 2011, the draft says. A Western diplomat said the agenda...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2010 – Nearly all of the U.S. combat troops slated to deploy to Afghanistan to take part in the military buildup there should arrive by the end of August, the commander of U.S. Central Command said here yesterday. Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, answers questions from the audience during a military strategy forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2010. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Molly A. Burgess  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Everybody engaged in this [Afghanistan deployment], from the president...

WOBURN, Mass. – Sitting in my room at the Red Roof Inn, after a day of covering the Massachusetts Senate campaign in the city of Lawrence, it is interesting to watch the excitement surrounding the campaign of Republican Scott Brown, who won the seat, formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. “I’m ready to go to Washington without delay!” declared U.S. Senator-elect Brown at his victory speech Tuesday night. It’s really quite remarkable that he beat Martha Coakley, the Democrat that everyone expected to win, at least early on. One wonders what this means for the fall elections. Brown...

Riding a wave of opposition to Democratic health-care reform, GOP upstart Scott Brown is leading in the U.S. Senate race, raising the odds of a historic upset that would reverberate all the way to the White House, a new poll shows. Although Brown’s 4-point lead over Democrat Martha Coakley is within the Suffolk University/7News survey’s margin of error, the underdog’s position at the top of the results stunned even pollster David Paleologos. “It’s a Brown-out,” said Paleologos, director of Suffolk’s Political Research Center. “It’s a massive change in the political landscape.” The poll shows Brown, a state senator from Wrentham,...

The top Senate Democrat in charge of military affairs on Wednesday ended a three-day trip to Afghanistan with a message of optimism that the U.S. mission can still succeed. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he sees a higher confidence on behalf of U.S. military leaders and Afghan leaders that the war against insurgents can be successful. "Our counterinsurgency strategy is taking hold," and both the U.S. troops and Afghans are "comfortable" with it," Levin said. Levin said President Barack Obama’s announcement of a troop surge late last year — along with a troop reduction...

Veteran war cameraman, Jon Steele, spent four months with the fabled Baker Company of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, as they “surged” into the notoriously dangerous Salman Pak region of Iraq to set up a combat outpost. Casualties were expected to be as high as 50%. (Incredibly there were none in this operation!) If you can get HDTV Net (FIOS, Direct TV and maybe some cable providers), I urge you to watch this compelling four part documentary. You’ll never feel closer to our troops or more proud of them. It is being presented in four 1 hour segments at...

A CBS news report filed by Kimberly Dozier states that U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met in Kandahar with five Afghan tribal elders. Pulling out his notebook, the admiral asked the Afghans what they need. Apparently the new fashionable counterinsurgency introductory question is "What do you need?" rather than "Are you fighting on our side?" or "Are we winning?" (snip) To use Dozier's own words, the most striking comments made to Mullen by the Afghan elders was "Stop fighting for us." "You must understand our culture," one said. "It's insulting for you...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2009 – With the first additional Marines beginning to stream into Afghanistan to help bolster security in the south and east, preparations are under way for the arrival of soldiers to focus on the other key goal of the surge: recruiting, equipping and training Afghan security forces. Initial elements of the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., are slated to deploy to Afghanistan starting in January, Army Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commander of the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, reported last week. Speaking with...

No human endeavor is more complex than warfare, and the battlefield is the realm of the unexpected. Will our troop-surge chemistry lead to a stable Afghan compound, or just to more combustion? Since President Obama chose to send at least 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and to intensify our engagement with Pakistan, all Americans should pray for our success. But what are our chances? Here are the Big 10 pluses and minuses facing our troops and policymakers. First, on the positive side:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Troops are being sent to war zones without proper training and suitable gear, according to two senior Democratic lawmakers who say they've been told by soldiers about problems ranging from their backpacks to their rifles. In a Dec. 10 letter to the Pentagon's top leaders, Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, who heads the subcommittee on military readiness, said they are "greatly troubled" by what they learned as the Obama White House begins escalating the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.