PrairiePundit

Liberal arrogance David Limbaugh: I'm struck by the irony of the liberal punditry warning Republicans not to interpret their sweeping victories as a mandate because such "arrogance" could lead to a voter backlash. In the very process of obsessing over what Republicans might do and become in the future, liberals are blinding themselves to what they have already done and become . They are lecturing Republicans about copping an arrogant attitude when they are so deeply steeped in one themselves they can't accurately interpret their own reflection in the election mirror. A recent Chicago Tribune headline reads: "Beware perils of overreaching, GOP is warned. Analysts say agenda could backfire." The article quotes Illinois Democratic Congressman and former Clinton insider Rahm Emanuel as saying, "If you don't think you are going to be accountable and there are no consequences for what you do, it'll lead to overreaching."

The pre battle gun counting in Fallujah Strategy Page: The two week battle for control of Fallujah began long before the ground troops moved in earnest on November 8th. The intelligence troops did a great deal of preparatory work, which saved many lives and played a large part in the lop sided casualty rate (about 25 dead hostiles for every American killed). Resources available to the intel crew included constant aerial surveillance, some informers inside the city and the ability to eavesdrop on some of the enemy communications. This may have included some bugs placed inside the city, but no one is talking about that, or any of the other surveillance methods. What was used in Fallujah will be used again, and it don’t work very well if the bad guys know what it is. Information was also obtained via dozens of large combat patrols that pushed into the city suburbs in October. These patrols forced the enemy to react, and this reaction was recorded and carefully studied. The f

Mosques no longer a sanctuary Strategy Page: Military and police operations south of Baghdad and up north in Mosul continue. The government is convinced that many Sunni Arab religious leaders have joined with anti-government forces and allowed their mosques to be used as bases for gunmen and terrorists, and is raiding mosques suspected of supporting violence. In Fallujah, 60 of 100 mosques in the city were found to be used for supporting anti-government forces. Since many mosques are large, walled, complexes, they lend themselves to being military bases. Technically, this sort of use is forbidden under Islam, but in times of unrest in Iraq, mosques frequently become centers of military activity. So the government has dropped any pretense of mosques being off-limits. As a result, mosques are now regularly being raided. In southern Baghdad, a mosque was found to house a suicide car bomb workshop, which had seven cars rigged and ready to go. That's a weeks worth of car bomb at

Iraq bomb and chemical weapons labs found in Fallujah Bill Gertz: Chemicals and bomb-making literature found at two houses in Fallujah, Iraq, last week show Iraqi rebels are prepared to use chemical and biological weapons in future attacks, a U.S. military spokesman said yesterday. Rebels in Fallujah had materials for making chemical blood agents and also a "cookbook" on how to produce a deadly form of anthrax, said Army Lt. Col. Steven A. Boylan in a telephone interview. Col. Boylan said there are no signs to date that the terrorists actually used chemical or biological weapons in homemade bombs that the military calls improvised explosive devices (IEDs). "But this definitely shows that they had the intent and willingness to go down that road," he said. "The intent is there to at least make it and potentially to use it." A U.S. military team trained to handle chemical weapons removed the materials and equipment, and testing is

Former Marine named to top CIA post Washington Post: The CIA has appointed the chief of its Near East division, Robert Richer, as the associate deputy director for operations, according to U.S. officials. Richer, previously chief of station in Oman and Jordan, has spent most of his career on Near East issues and assignments. He becomes the number two official in the directorate, which is charged with stealing secrets, recruiting spies and carrying out covert operations overseas. ... One well-known story about Richer is that, as a young Marine Corps captain, he marched his company to a course in unarmed self-defense one morning. Perturbed to find that the Marine sergeant teaching the class was a woman, he volunteered to be the first challenger, according to former colleagues who have heard the story. Within seconds, Richer was flat on his back. Shortly after that, the instructor resigned from the Corps, wh

Abizaid warns Iran USA Today: A top U.S. commander is warning Iran and others against thinking they can exploit the U.S. military because its ground troops are fighting two major missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me,” Army Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview on the way to his headquarters here from Afghanistan. Some members of Congress, including Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have expressed concern that there is a shortage of U.S. troops and that such a scenario might tempt countries such as Iran and North Korea to increase terrorist activity or develop weapons of mass destruction. Abizaid, the top commander for Afghanistan and Iraq, said any nation perceiving a weakness in the U.S. military should think twice. “We can generate more military power per square i

Suffacation and panic in the "triangle of death" W. Thomas Smith, Jr.: I n an isolated region of the Iraqi backcountry, said to be "the worst place in the world," thousands of Coalition troops are systematically wresting control of weapons caches and staging areas from insurgent forces falling back from recent defeats in Fallujah and elsewhere in the Sunni Triangle. The operation, code-named "Plymouth Rock" (because it was launched Thanksgiving week), began last Tuesday when Coalition forces struck enemy forces in the town of Jabella, some 50 miles south of Baghdad. The strike was followed by a series of precision raids — conducted by a 5,000-man combined force of U.S. Marines, members of the famed British Black Watch regiment, and Iraqi soldiers — aimed at cleaning out a region of southern Baghdad and northern Babil Province known as the Triangle of Death. The triangle — its three points connecting at Fallujah, Baghdad, and then south to Najaf

Bush's winning issues Dick Morris: THE Christian right has sought to portray the president's re-election as a victory for their moral agenda, claiming that it was a mandate to legislate further curbs on abortion and to approve draconian Supreme Court nominees. In fact, the president's victory was about terrorism, terrorism and terrorism. It was his steady hand in Iraq and his commitment to battle the "axis of evil" that won him a second term. The only basis for the assertions tying President Bush's win to his embrace of their social agenda is exit-polling data indicating that 22 percent of the voters cited "moral" issues as the basis for their vote. But to tie their comments to abortion, which was not an issue, rather than to gay marriage, which was a huge issue, is a misinterpretation of the information. The election had nothing to do with abortion. To the extent that moral issues played a part, it was the left's overreaching on t

Liberals unhinged Michelle Cottle, Time: Perhaps nothing about President Bush's re-election unhinged Democrats more than the roughly 20% of voters who cited "moral values" as their top concern. Never mind the tizzy of soul searching it has provoked among party officials. (Why do churchgoers hate us? Is Howard Dean too godless to head the Democratic National Committee?) You can't even have a beer with a rank-and-file liberal these days without the conversation degenerating into paranoid fantasies about how evangelical leaders are at this very minute hunkered down in Bush überadviser Karl Rove's office plotting to institute an Old Testament theocracy overseen by Attorney General Jerry Falwell. Even sober liberals express anxiety about the impact the perceived political clout of religious conservatives will have on American society. Will abortion be outlawed? Will stem-cell research be derailed? Will Queer Eye for the Straight Guy get canceled? No,

Election will be defeat for insurgents Donald Lambro: The decision by Iraqi officials to hold national elections as scheduled on Jan. 30 could be the strongest offensive yet against the insurgents' war against a free, independent Iraq, and resolutely tells terrorists: You may kill and intimidate some of us, but you cannot and will not kill and intimidate all of us. Nothing you do will halt this country's course toward a freely elected government. Thus, the decision by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq to go ahead with a national vote — even in areas of the country under siege from insurgent cutthroats — sets the stage for the ultimate battle between the forces of self-government and the disease of evil, hate and tyranny. Yes, voting in the worst terror-infested regions may be nearly impossible, but that must not deter the majority of Iraqis from going to the polls to choose a legislative body to represent them and write a governing constitution.

Dem Senators in red states have targets on their backs Washington Times: Democratic senators in the states that President Bush won will face a tough road to re-election in 2006, Republicans say, with their sights set most eagerly on two Democrats named Nelson — Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida. "They have something to worry about, and they need look no farther than Tom Daschle," said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, referring to this month's defeat of the Senate minority leader from the red state of South Dakota, which Mr. Bush won by 22 percentage points. "Any Democratic senator running for re-election in a state where the president did extremely well has got to know they are an endangered species," he said. Mr. Cornyn said he expects Mr. Bush will "use his capital" to help Republican Senate candidates in 2006, and "these red-state Democratic senators are particularly vulnerable." "F

Dem Senators in red states have targets on their backs Washington Times: Democratic senators in the states that President Bush won will face a tough road to re-election in 2006, Republicans say, with their sights set most eagerly on two Democrats named Nelson — Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Bill Nelson of Florida. "They have something to worry about, and they need look no farther than Tom Daschle," said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, referring to this month's defeat of the Senate minority leader from the red state of South Dakota, which Mr. Bush won by 22 percentage points. "Any Democratic senator running for re-election in a state where the president did extremely well has got to know they are an endangered species," he said. Mr. Cornyn said he expects Mr. Bush will "use his capital" to help Republican Senate candidates in 2006, and "these red-state Democratic senators are particularly vulnerable." "F

Don't know much about history--Oliver Stone edition Belmont Club: Victor Davis Hanson reviews Alexander the Great and finds it bears no resemblance to history. The film goes on for nearly three hours, but we hear nothing of what either supporters or detractors of Alexander, both ancient and modern, have agreed were the central issues of his life. Did he really believe in a unity of mankind, and were his mass mixed marriages, Persian dress, and kowtowing cynical, sincere, or delusions of megalomania? We see nothing of the siege of Tyre, Gaza, much less Thebes or even the burning of Persepolis. Other than the talking head Ptolemy, none of his generals have much of a character. There is nothing really in detail about the page purging other than a single reference; Stone, I would have thought, could have had a field day with Alexander’s introduction of both crucifixion and decimation. ... So since Stone omitted the controversial and key issues of

Palestinians ignor the lessons of Iraq Caroline Glick: Something remarkable is happening in Iraq. There is a civil war going on and the terrorists are losing. US Marine commanders in Fallujah reported Wednesday that they seized enough weapons in the city "for the insurgency to take over the whole country." Iraq is currently undergoing a post-Saddam revolution. Last April, when the Marines first attempted to take over Fallujah from the Sunni terrorists, they were joined by an Iraqi army brigade led by a general from the former regime. His troops quickly went AWOL and joined the ranks of the terrorists in fighting American forces. Under pressure from the UN, the Coalition Provisional Authority, led by then-viceroy L. Paul Bremer, lost its nerve to continue fighting. The Marines fell back to the city's outskirts and enabled the likes of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Palestinian-Jordanian arch terrorist, to take over Fallujah. This month's combined US

Phil Gramm possible choice for Treasury Robert Novak: With Treasury Secretary John Snow's continuation in office uncertain, the White House is seriously considering former Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas as his possible successor. President Bush has never been an intimate of Gramm's, and did not think of him for Treasury four years ago when he made the disastrous choice of industrialist Paul O'Neill. However, according to sources close to the president, he is giving his fellow Texan a serious look this time. Gramm is now an investment banker. Gramm would be a good choice if he would take the job. His story explains why the Democrats are now a minority party. The former Democrat backed the Reagan tax cuts, and in retaliation Democrat leadership stripped him of his committee assignments. Gramm resigned his seat and ran in a special election as a Republican. He used the notoriety from the Dem demotion to springboard to a Senate seat from Texas. President Bush has indi

Who is in charge of Iraq policy Tom Friedman: Here's this week's news quiz. It's just one question, but it's a big one: Who's in charge of U.S. policy in Iraq? No, seriously, give yourself a simple test. Just look in a mirror and mouth these words: "Overall coordinator and strategist of U.S. policy in Iraq today," and tell me whose picture comes into your head. George Bush? Donald Rumsfeld? Porter Goss? Dick Cheney? Condi Rice? Steve Hadley? Colin Powell? General Casey? Karl Rove? Bono? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Tommy Franks? David Stern? (He should be in charge.) I confess that I cover this story and it has never been clear to me who was our chief strategist for Iraq - who was really orchestrating the intelligence and public affairs, with the politics, diplomacy and military operations, around a coherent plan that was being communicated to Iraqis and the world. Indeed, I have never understood how an administration that wanted a war so badly

Zarqawi knows he is looking at defeat World Tribune: Sunni insurgents backing Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi have expressed alarm at the prospect of a defeat by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. An audio tape said to be from Al Zarqawi charged Muslim clerics with letting down the insurgency "because of your silence." On Wednesday, Al Zarqawi, with a $25 million bounty on his head, was the target of a major manhunt in the Sunni Triangle, Middle East Newsline reported. Iraqi military sources said Al Zarqawi was said to have been seen in an area south of Fallujah. Islamic sources said that for the first time in more than a year the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Al Zarqawi appears to have lost control over many of its insurgents in the Sunni Triangle. The sources said Iraqi and U.S. assaults on major insurgency strongholds in such cities as Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul, Ramadi and Samara have resulted in heavy insurgency casualties and a break in the command and contro

Iraqi election, has Sunni participation overated Charles Krauthammer: In 1864, 11 of the 36 United States did not participate in the presidential election. Was Abraham Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate? In 1868, three states did not participate in the election. Was Ulysses Grant's election illegitimate? There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, tough luck. They forfeit their chance to participate in the new Iraq. Americans are dying right now to give them that chance. The U.S. is making a costly last-ditch effort to midwife a new, unitary Iraq. The Fallujah and related offensives are designed to reduce the brutal intimidation of the Sunni p

Theft of a country Ralph Peters: UKRAINE remains an independent state. For now. But last week's shamelessly rigged presidential election results were engineered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's security services. Exit polling, opinion polling, international election observers, Ukrainian local authorities and the people agree that opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western Democrat, won. But the pro-Moscow government of Ukraine claims that the spectacularly corrupt incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych received the major ity of votes. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Kiev's streets in protest. Even Yanukovych has been wary of declaring his own victory. Yet Putin immediately extended his congratulations to the nervous "victor." The Kremlin poured massive funding into the election campaign. The pro-Russian mafia that has a bully's grip on the Kiev government stuffed ballot boxes, manipulated absentee ballots

Will Europe recognize Islamist are at war with Europe too? Tony Blankley: This Christmastime could be the moment when Western Europe finally joins our war on terrorism. Anti-Islamist fear and anger from the mouths of the European volk is breaking through the surface calm perpetuated by the elite European appeasers. The assassination and mutilation of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic fanatic — and the retaliatory firebombings of mosques by ethnic Dutchmen — have forced high European leaders and news outlets to begin to publicly face up to the implications of September 11, 2001 and the migration of Muslims in large and hostile numbers into the heart of Europe. From Holland's leading newspaper, the Telegraaf, to Germany's liberal Berliner Zeitung and Der Spiegel (roughly, the European equivalents of the The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine) has come the same heated prose that could be found in the United States in the aftermath of Sept

Will Europe recognize Islamist are at war with Europe too? Tony Blankley: This Christmastime could be the moment when Western Europe finally joins our war on terrorism. Anti-Islamist fear and anger from the mouths of the European volk is breaking through the surface calm perpetuated by the elite European appeasers. The assassination and mutilation of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic fanatic — and the retaliatory firebombings of mosques by ethnic Dutchmen — have forced high European leaders and news outlets to begin to publicly face up to the implications of September 11, 2001 and the migration of Muslims in large and hostile numbers into the heart of Europe. From Holland's leading newspaper, the Telegraaf, to Germany's liberal Berliner Zeitung and Der Spiegel (roughly, the European equivalents of the The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine) has come the same heated prose that could be found in the United States in the aftermath of Sept

Let's hear it for the Marines Janan Ganesh: THE MOTTO of the US Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis, or “always faithful”. And faith is exactly what the Western media eschew in their relentlessly cynical coverage of the American Armed Forces, which plunged to a new nadir last week with the outrage at a Marine who shot dead an injured and unarmed Fallujah terrorist. Their determination to portray the Americans as trigger-happy louts and the Iraqi terrorists as mere “rebels” slanders the former, sanctifies the latter and betrays everybody who trusts journalists to be objective. Each American transgression is covered exhaustively and reproachfully, while triumphs, such as the trouble-free elections in Afghanistan and the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure, are treated as background noise. The torture of a few dozen prisoners in Abu Ghraib, for example, received far more attention than the restoration of the Marsh Arabs’ homeland. And this bias predates the Iraq war. If you

Appointing people who agree with President offends liberals John Podhoretz: PRESIDENT Bush proved in his first term that he had a talent for provoking fits of madness in the brains of liberals who disagree with him. It appears his second four years will be no different. For a week now, you see, authoritative Washington pundit-types have been making a very serious and deeply reasoned argument about the president's new Cabinet choices for which there is only one possible word: Bonkerswackocrazymeshugah. They claim, in all seriousness, that Bush is exceeding his political, executive and electoral authority by nominating experienced administration officials to serve in his Cabinet. These choices are bad, they say, because — get this — the president is daring to appoint people who are a) loyal to him (horrors!) and b) don't disagree with him enough (meanie). David Gergen wrote in The New York Times that Bush is "closing down dissent and centralizing power in

A new offensive in the "Triangle of death" AP: Some 5,000 U.S. Marines, British troops and Iraqi commandos launched raids and arrested suspected insurgents Tuesday in a new offensive aimed at clearing a swath of insurgent hotbeds south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. ... The new offensive was the third large-scale military assault this month aimed at suppressing Iraq's persistent insurgency ahead of crucial elections set for Jan. 30. The region of dusty, small towns south of the capital has become known as the "triangle of death" for the frequent attacks by car bombs, rockets, and small arms on U.S. and Iraqi forces there and for frequent ambushes on travellers. The military said violence has surged in the area in recent weeks in an apparent attempt to divert attention away from the U.S. assault on Fallujah. The joint operation kicked off with early morning raids in the town of Jabella, 50 miles south of Baghdad, netting 32 su

Sorry about the lack of blogging today My regular computer is in the shop with I believe some viral infection. I am now working antique equipment that required downloading a new browser among other things in order to get Blogger to work. "The Triangle of Death" Daily Telegraph: Hundreds of Iraqi insurgents are trapped inside the "Triangle of Death" following the American assault on Fallujah and the blocking of key escape routes by the Black Watch, according to a British military intelligence officer. He said a "hornet's nest" of insurgents had been stirred by the arrival of the Black Watch and the Queen's Dragoon Guards three weeks ago. "British troops and US forces have sealed off the insurgents' escape routes and they have nowhere to go," he said. "They are fixed in that area and they are angry. "There are still some routes out but they are along small, winding roads where they can get

The Saddam, al Qaeda, al Jazeera link with Zarqawi Powerline: Haider Ajina sent us his translation of an article that appeared yesterday in the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. The headline was: "Al-Zarkawi’s right hand man 'Omar Hadid' was a personal body guard of Saddam Hussein and brother of the manager of Al-Jazeera in Baghdad. He also led the Terrorist fight in Felujah, and was trained in Afghanistan." Here is the text of the article: Iraqi security investigators have revealed that Al-Zarkawi’s right hand man Omar Hadid was a member of Sadam Hussein’s personal body-guards unit. Omar Hadid later joined Al Qaeda and was trained in Al Qaeda’s Afghanistan camps. Omar is the brother of the manager of the Baghdad office of Al-Jazeera news channel, which was closed three month ago. The investigators also revealed that Omar led the terrorists in their fight for Felujah against the U.S. and Iraqi forces. Further, they suspect that he is still in Felujah.

Victory in Fallujah Jack Kelly: The rule of thumb for the last century or so has been that for a guerrilla force to remain viable, it must inflict seven casualties on the forces of the government it is fighting for each casualty it sustains, says former Canadian army officer John Thompson, managing director of the Mackenzie Institute, a think tank that studies global conflicts. By that measure, the resistance in Iraq has had a bad week. American and Iraqi government troops have killed at least 1,200 fighters in Fallujah, and captured 1,100 more. Those numbers will grow as mop-up operations continue. These casualties were inflicted at a cost (so far) of 56 Coalition dead (51 Americans), and just over 300 wounded, of whom about a quarter have returned to duty. "That kill ratio would be phenomenal in any [kind of] battle, but in an urban environment, it's revolutionary," said retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, perhaps America's most respected writer

A more rational explanation of Iran strategy DEBKA files: ... According to DEBKA file ’s Washington sources, the Pentagon’s most recent game model on military measures to dispose of Iran’s nuclear threat concludes it will be necessary to topple the Islamic republic’s regime at the same time. The first stage would be a bombing mission against the regime’s primary prop, the Revolutionary Guards. The second stage would be the destruction of known and probable nuclear sites – a much harder mission given the hundreds of sites known and unknown number and carefully camouflaged underground behind cunning window-dressing. US intelligence estimates as many as 350 sites. It does not have precise knowledge of which are the most important or even which are active. Regime change in stage three would entail ground action. At present, there are no air bases within range for carrying out stages two and three. Sufficient US troops for overthrowing the regime would

A new strategy for Iran? The Guardian: Pentagon hawks have begun discussing military action against Iran to neutralise its nuclear weapons threat, including possible strikes on leadership, political and security targets. With a deadline of tomorrow for Iran to begin an agreed freeze on enriching uranium, which can be used to produce nuclear weapons, sources have disclosed that the latest Pentagon gaming model for 'neutralising' Iran's nuclear threat involves strikes in support of regime change. Although the United States has made clear that it would seek sanctions against Iran through the United Nations should it not meet its obligations, rather than undertake military action, the new modelling at the Pentagon, with its shift in emphasis from suspected nuclear to political target lists, is causing deep anxiety among officials in the UK, France and Germany. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to meet on Thursday to decide whether to refer Ir

Saddam set up insurgent cells in Fallujah , directed from Syria World Tribune: Insurgents captured in Fallujah have told Iraqi military interrogators that most of those fighting in Fallujah were former security officers for the regime of Saddam Hussein. The insurgents said Saddam organized special operations units, starting in 2001, to counter any foreign invasion in Iraq. Most of those units, the insurgents said, are still active in the Sunni Triangle. Officials said the Sunni insurgency was being directed from Syria. They said Saddam loyalists were receiving funding and orders from senior aides of the former Saddam regime based in Damascus, including ex-Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri. ... Al Naqib identified Mohammed Yunus Ahmad as the key liasion and coordinator between Saddam loyalists in Syria and Iraqi insurgents. Ahmad had been a minister and a senior official in Iraq's ruling Baath Party. Al Naqib also said Saddam formed an Islamic ins

Bin Laden trying to work with Zarqawi Rowan Scarborough: Osama bin Laden or other senior al Qaeda leaders are trying to communicate with Abu Musab Zarqawi, who is operating what the United States concedes is a "very effective" terrorist ring in Iraq, a senior general said yesterday. Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy chief of U.S. Central Command, said intelligence shows that bin Laden now communicates strictly through couriers. This is to avoid having his voice electronically intercepted, which could give away his location in the vast Pakistani tribal lands near Afghanistan. "Hence you end up using very slow means of trying to communicate, whether it's couriers that carry compact discs from Pakistan or Afghanistan through Iran or through other countries to Zarqawi," Gen. Smith told reporters at the Pentagon. The disclosure is further evidence that the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who has maintained links with al Qaeda, now is apparently a fu

Grand Opening

No sanctuary in Mosque anymore AP: Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. soldiers, stormed one of the major Sunni Muslim mosques in Baghdad after Friday prayers, opening fire and killing at least three people, witnesses said. In the battle for control of Mosul, Iraqi forces raided several areas overnight, killing 15 insurgents, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said. At least 13 other insurgents were captured in Mosul, authorities said. About 40 people were arrested at the Abu Hanifa mosque in the capital's northwestern Azamiyah neighborhood, said the witnesses, who were members of the congregation. Another five people were wounded. It appeared the raid at Abu Hanifa mosque, long associated with anti-American activity, was part of the crackdown on Sunni clerical militants launched in parallel with military operations against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. On Thursday, the Iraqi government warned that Islamic clerics who incite violence will be considered as &q

Finding more intelligence and weapons caches in Fallujah Christian Science Monitor: The video cassette in the Sony Handycam told the story of how the mujahideen of Fallujah prayed, lived, and died, even as US forces invaded 10 days ago. Found along with a laptop computer, stacks of CD-ROMs, and a number of telephones in an insurgent safe house Thursday, the trove is just one of many intelligence finds in Fallujah that are shedding light on the insurgency. Those finds - along with that of a vast weapons cache and safe house operating under the cover of an Islamic medical charity, which contained flags of Al Qaeda affiliate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - are one reason US marine commanders want to keep pushing the offensive. While firefights continue, the battered city echoed throughout the day Thursday with the crashing booms of US military explosives experts destroying one weapons stockpile after another. "It's going to take a long time [for insurgen

The untold story about Fallujah shooting Oliver North: By now, almost everyone in the world with a television has seen the videotape that appears to show a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded Iraqi terrorist inside a mosque in Fallujah. For the record, here are the facts, because facts -- not rumors or emotions -- really are important. Here is what those who were there told me: On Friday, Nov. 12, U.S. Marines were fired upon by terrorists armed with AK-47s, RPD machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades from a mosque and an adjacent building. The Marines returned fire, first with M-16s and 240G machine guns, and then, as they continued to take fire and casualties, they escalated to an MK-19, a 40mm grenade launcher and then an AT-4 missile. When none of these weapons successfully eliminated enemy fire, the platoon commander called for and received permission to open fire with the main gun of an M-1 Abrams tank and then storm the buildings. In the ensuing assault, 10 te