Free Republic

Ten years ago, NASA researchers discovered that the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft had fallen slightly behind course during their 35-year journeys to the outer reaches of the solar system. In what has become known as the Pioneer anomaly, which was the subject of one of the talks this weekend at the American Physical Society here in St. Louis, nobody knows for sure why it happened. It probably stemmed from leaking gas or heat. But there's also the possibility, however remote, that gravity doesn't behave the way we expect. Until recently, researchers haven't had the data to distinguish the different...

On Friday, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald indicted Scooter Libby on five counts of obstruction of justice, false statement, and perjury. The charges are serious but, as columnist David Brooks noted in the New York Times, Fitzgerald found no evidence of the broad conspiracy hinted at by journalists, bloggers, and partisan pundits. Nevertheless, opponents of the Iraq war have painted the indictment as evidence of original sin. The American Conservative, for example, accused the Bush administration of "forging the case for war." Liberal blogger Arianna Huffington argued that "the scandal has reignited a national debate about the White House lies...

The Pentagon is considering creating a military force that would be dedicated to stability and reconstruction operations, according to retired Navy Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, chief of the Defense Department's Office of Force Transformation. Although it may be some time before a final decision is made on whether such a force becomes reality, Cebrowski -- one of the department's chief architects in the effort to transform the military -- said the ever-changing post-Sept. 11 security environment, as well as the lessons of history itself, make a strong case for stability and reconstruction operations. "We're going to need this capability. And...