Santa Bush

A historic gift for Christians in Iraq:

Iraqi Government Declares Christmas an Official Holiday for the First Time Ever

Welcome Home, Friend

Take a minute to watch this video of an American soldier being welcomed home from Iraq by his two dogs. It will make you smile.

HT: The Corner

Changing Perspectives

The candidacy of Barack Obama made me look at Hillary Clinton (and her husband) in a whole new light. I would have never thought someone could make me like and long for the Clintons, but Obama did just that. During the campaign, I was torn between rooting for Hillary to win the Democratic nomination (because I think she would have made a much better president than him) and rooting for Obama (because I didn't think he could win, whereas I thought Hillary could).

Obviously, I was wrong on that last point. We are now facing an Obama administration, and I am looking back with a degree of fondness on Clinton's America and feeling sick to my stomach about what may lie ahead. But the recent talk about Mrs. Clinton possibly serving as Obama's Secretary of State gives me some hope that maybe he is not as far gone as I feared. As Jonah Goldberg points out, it would be a head scratcher, since foreign policy was one of the areas in which Obama and Clinton had the greatest differences. But it has the radical leftists up in arms, and that is a good sign, no?

Dear Mr. Obama

Obama on Bill O'Reilly

Barack Obama finally sat down with Bill O'Reilly. The first segment of the interview was aired last night. (Am I the only who can't help noticing the timing?) I didn't get to watch the interview, but a full transcript is available here. Here is an excerpt on the topic of Iraq. The emphasis is mine.

MR. O'REILLY: I think you were desperately wrong on the surge. And I think you should admit it to the nation that now we have defeated the terrorists in Iraq. And the al Qaeda came there after we invaded, as you know. Okay, we've defeated them. If we didn't, they would have used it as a staging ground.

We've also inhibited Iran from controlling the southern part of Iraq by the surge which you did not support. So why won't you say, I was right in the beginning, I was wrong about that?

SEN. OBAMA: You know, if you've listened to what I've said, and I'll repeat it right here on this show, I think that there's no doubt that the violence in down. I believe that that is a testimony to the troops that were sent and General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated, by the way, including President Bush and the other supporters. . . .

MR. O'REILLY: If it were up to you, there wouldn't have been a surge.

SEN. OBAMA: No, no, no, no. Hold on.

MR. O'REILLY: You and Joe Biden -- no surge.

SEN. OBAMA: No. Hold on a second, Bill. If you look at the debate that was taking place, we had gone through five years of mismanagement of this war that I thought was disastrous. And the president wanted to double-down and continue on open-ended policy that did not create the kinds of pressure in the Iraqis to take responsibility and reconcile --

MR. O'REILLY: It worked. Come on.

SEN. OBAMA: Bill, what I've said is -- I've already said it succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

MR. O'REILLY: Right! So why can't you just say, I was right in the beginning, and I was wrong about the surge?

SEN. OBAMA: Because there is an underlying problem with what we've done. We have reduced the violence --

MR. O'REILLY: Yeah?

SEN. OBAMA: -- but the Iraqis still haven't taken a responsibility. And we still don't have the kind of political reconciliation. We are still spending, Bill, 10 (billion dollars) to $12 billion a month.

MR. O'REILLY: And I hope if you're president, you can get them to kick in and pay us back.

So, the fact that our military was able to go in and do what it was given to do surprises Mr. Obama? I bet the man who survived five years in a Vietnamese prison wasn't surprised.

So much for the candidate of "hope."

Haditha

As a bookend to my recent post on the Supreme Court's ruling in Bush v. Boumediene, please read this column about the so-called Haditha "massacre" by David Harsanyi of the Washington Post. Seems our Marines are getting exonerated left and right. But is the left wing press reporting it?

Harsanyi writes,

"Now that foreign terrorist suspects have the right to habeas corpus, maybe U.S. Marines will be extended the courtesy of a trial before being smeared as cold-blooded murders."

Click here to continue reading.

Whose Issue?

Common wisdom says that as an election year issue, the Iraq War harms John McCain and helps Barack Obama. But here are two convincing arguments that the war--which in case you haven't heard, we're winning--could be a decisive factor in propelling John McCain to the White House. (If you only have time for one of these, read Krauthammer.)

Charles Krauthammer

Abe Greenwald

Our Changing Military

Have you heard about this?

Married troops living together in Iraq

My gut tells me this is not a wise change in policy. But I am not a soldier, nor do I have an immediate family member serving overseas right now. I would be interested in hearing from my readers who fit into either of those categories. Do you think this is a good idea?

The Surge

The Long War Journal is a nonprofit news site that describes itself as "dedicated to providing original and accurate reporting and analysis of the Long War (also known as the Global War on Terror). This is accomplished through its programs of embedded reporters, news and news aggregation, podcasts, and other multimedia formats."

The Journal's recent posting entitled Iraq by the Numbers charts "Overall Weekly Iraq Attack Trends" from September 2004 to the present. The most passing glance at the chart cannot fail to notice the precipitous decline in all categories of attacks since June of this year, which I think is about the time General Petraeus pronounced the surge fully in place. Associated Press is reporting the same thing. It would appear to my eyes, then, that the surge is working, and working mightily.

What I don't understand is why this is not front page, nightly lead-off story news and why the entire country is not celebrating the surge for the success that it is. Nancy Pelosi should be calling a joint press conference with General Petraeus and President Bush to celebrate this national achievement and congratulate our troops. Because whether one agrees or disagrees with the President's Iraq policy and the waging of this war, the facts cannot be ignored: there has been significant improvement in the levels of violence since the completion of the surge, and no matter what your view on the war, this is something to be proud of.

I know people have differing views on the war, and I respect those whose principles lead them to think differently than I. But I do not respect those who refuse to acknowledge the facts simply because it is easier to oppose a policy that is not succeeding.

Iraq & Immigration

Here is some of the best analysis I have seen on the two issues that are currently commanding America's national attention:

Senator Joe Lieberman offers an encouraging report on his visit to Iraq.

Peggy Noonan (this woman is brilliant) considers Americans' attitudes towards immigrants and immigration.