PrairiePundit

The New Orleans paradox Deroy Murdock: Nearly three months since Hurricane Katrina battered this glorious city, it has become the capitol of the Catch-22. The multiplicity of chicken-and-egg scenarios here could feed every FEMA employee in town. Business owners who wish to re-open or expand to pre-Katrina levels face a daunting labor shortage. New Orleanians, finding jobs scarce, remain in exile. Shorthanded employers are reluctant to resume operations, so they stay shut, compounding joblessness. Workers desperately need housing. Katrina harmed some 74 percent of local residences, 50,000 of which may be bulldozed. This ranges from modest wind damage, to mold-encrusted walls in structurally adequate homes, to the Lower Ninth Ward’s breathtaking obliteration. Countless houses there floated off their foundations before settling atop cars or street corners, sometimes blocks away. Restoring and creating residences, in turn, would be easier if carpenters and roofers themselves had accommodat...

Stories the national media ignores in Iraq El Paso Times: On short notice, a reserve Marine artillery battery from El Paso learned a new specialty and then earlier this year headed to Iraq where its members worked in military prisons, guarded convoys and provided security for a major Marine operations base. Despite the hazardous duty, the 150-member unit suffered no casualties and received only two Purple Heart Medals. About 80 percent of the battery, which returned in September and October, is from the El Paso area. "Their performance across the board was outstanding," said Maj. Charles Ellis, commander of Delta Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment. After an abbreviated military police training, the unit -- split into three platoons -- deployed in March. One platoon guarded the Military Expeditionary Force Headquarters in Fallujah, one ran a detention facility in Ramadi and the third, based in Taqaddum, traveled throughout Iraq protecting convoys and major transporta...

The story the media misses in Iraq Christian Science Monitor: ... Yet the Iraq of Corporal Mayer's memory is not solely a place of death and loss. It is also a place of hope. It is the hope of the town of Hit, which he saw transform from an insurgent stronghold to a place where kids played on Marine trucks. It is the hope of villagers who whispered where roadside bombs were hidden. But most of all, it is the hope he saw in a young Iraqi girl who loved pens and Oreo cookies. Like many soldiers and marines returning from Iraq, Mayer looks at the bleak portrayal of the war at home with perplexity - if not annoyance. It is a perception gap that has put the military and media at odds, as troops complain that the media care only about death tolls, while the media counter that their job is to look at the broader picture, not through the soda straw of troops' individual experiences. Yet as perceptions about Iraq have neared a tipping point in Congress, some soldiers and marines worry...

Alabama National Guard improvises in Iraq Mobile Register: ... But it hasn't taken the Alabama out of them. After welcoming this stranger into their midst Saturday afternoon, they took me to meet the Third Platoon, headed out on a long convoy mission to Kuwait that will probably not return to camp until I am gone from here. I quickly found that the men of the 3-117th also have a traditional Southern affinity for customizing their rides. Army-issue just isn't good enough: They've got to tinker. Take Viking 1, a Light Motorized Tactical Vehicle (LMTV), more commonly called a "gun truck," which was the lead vehicle in Third Platoon's 28-truck convoy. LMTVs are heavily armored tractor-trailer cabs with a short bed in the back and a .50 caliber machine gun mounted up top. But Viking 1 isn't exactly like the dozens of other LMTVs on this base. Under the direction of Staff Sgt. Carl Morin of Phenix City, the crew has made a few modifications. In addition to ...

Strategy and Steel Curtain Bill Roggio: AL QAIM : The western branch of the Euphrates River, what is know as the Al Qa’im region, which spans from Husaybah on the Syrian border to the town of Ubaydi, at a heart-shaped bend in the river, has long been a haven for al-Qaeda and the insurgency. While the problem was well known, for some time the right mix of forces was not available to address the problem. Until these forces were on hand, the Coalition conducted a series of raids to keep the insurgents off balance and from gaining too strong a foothold in the region. Operations Matador, Spear, Quick Strike and a host of others are examples of such targeted strikes. Many insurgent and al-Qaeda commanders and foot soldiers were killed in these attacks, but until the Coalition could muster the forces to stay in the towns, their impact was limited. The inclusion of Iraqi forces has been seen as vital to the efforts. These forces would have the knowledge of the local customs and language, a...

Ignorance on Iraq Captain's Quarters: The Washington Post carries an interesting argument from Michael O'Hanlon from the Brookings Institute on the divergence of military and civilian opinion on the war in Iraq, a separation that he calls dangerous in the long run for American political discourse. O'Hanlon acknowledges that the support for the war in Iraq among military personnel goes far beyond the normal top-level cheeriness down to at least the mid-level officer corps, and wonders why that doesn't translate to better civilian support.... O'Hanlon only barely mentions the root cause of this problem -- a national media addicted to a narrative that embues every story with fatalism. The media has become addicted to body counts even though, historically speaking, they have remained low for a conflict of this scope and size. The national media continues to avoid reporting any positive developments from Iraq except those which cannot be ignored, like the national elect...

Rich at war with the truth NY Sun Editorial: Those who charge President Bush and Vice President Cheney with lying to get America involved in the war in Iraq, as the New York Times columnist Frank Rich did yesterday, have a special obligation to get the truth correct themselves. It's one thing for Mr. Rich to disagree with the decision to go to war in Iraq and to blame Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney for the decision. It's another for Mr. Rich to accuse our elected leaders of misleading the country while the columnist himself goes about misleading readers of The New York Times. Mr. Rich's New York Times column yesterday refers to Mr. Bush's 2003 State of the Union address with the "bogus 16 words about Saddam's fictitious African uranium." Those words were, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." But those 16 words are neither bogus nor fictitious. They were and are true. A Ju...

Border Patrol uniforms made in Mexico, really AP: The labels inside the U.S. Border Patrol uniforms have been making many federal agents feel uneasy. It's not the fit or feel of the olive-green shirts and pants, but what their labels read: "Made in Mexico." "It's embarrassing to be protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and be wearing a uniform made in Mexico," says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 6,500-member union. Agents and lawmakers are concerned about the consequences if the uniforms for agents charged with combating illegal immigration fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists. "If we're manufacturing uniforms in Mexico, what's to stop someone from walking across the border in a Border Patrol uniform?" asked Rep. John Carter, a Republican from Round Rock. "How do you know who are our guys and who are their guys?" ... Are these guys making up material for Jay Leno?

Dems and Sen. Chafee thwart energy production John Fund: After Hurricane Katrina temporarily knocked out 30% of America's oil refinery capacity and caused gasoline prices to spike, it became dramatically obvious that the nation needed to build more refineries away from the vulnerable Gulf Coast. But when a bill to streamline the permitting process and provide incentives to build refineries on closed military bases was headed for the Senate floor, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R., R.I.) joined with every Democrat on the Senate Environment Committee and blocked the bill. Mr. Chafee says he opposed the bill only because it lacked provisions to develop alternative fuels and raise fuel-economy standards, although he offered no amendments to that effect. But even if conservation takes center stage in the future, existing energy sources must be expanded now before the economy's health is jeopardized. A just published report by the New England Energy Alliance warns that "energy shortages ...

New Orleans college students also do not want to return Washington Times: Stephanie Swisher is settling in nicely as a freshman at the University of Virginia, enjoying classes, Naval ROTC, club volleyball and football Saturdays. Things are going so well, in fact, that she would rather not return to Tulane University in New Orleans -- the school she had expected to attend until Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29. "The argument that everyone's giving me is that I'm a freshman so I've never known Tulane, I need to give it a chance,'?" she said. "My argument is, 'why should I have to?'?" But Miss Swisher probably will have to give Tulane a chance. Despite her wishes -- and a 600-signature petition she helped organize -- Virginia is sticking by the conditions under which visiting students were admitted after the hurricane -- they must leave when their school reopens. Tulane is scheduled to reopen Jan. 17. After Katrina, colleg...

The Rangel-Herbert troop fantasy USA Today: They all volunteered. The U.S. soldiers pitching in with hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast and those fighting and dying in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere decided, on their own, to serve their nation. Or was the decision made so freely? Could it be that unscrupulous Pentagon recruiters duped them, taking advantage of their poverty, their lack of education and the bleak futures they share as members of the USA's urban underclass? That's the view of some critics, such as New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, who writes that "very few" of the soldiers fighting in Iraq "are coming from the privileged economic classes," and that there would likely be no war if rich kids had to fight. According to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., social equality demands reinstatement of the draft, which he justifies by asserting that "the most privileged Americans are underrepresented or absent." Herbert concludes that there...

Planning for the enemy's exit strategy from Iraq Peter Brooks: AMERICAN, or even future Iraqi, military prowess won't be enough to defeat Iraq's bloody insurgency. Victory in Iraq is going to come as much — or more — from political/economic progress in that battered nation as it will from military dominance. Which means that — rather than engaging in mostly useless, politically-motivated caterwauling about a U.S. military "exit strategy" from Iraq — Washington's political class should be concentrating on developing a comprehensive political/economic/military strategy to compel the insurgents to plan their exit strategy. As we all know from our still-painful experience in Vietnam, battlefield victories, while important, are often irrelevant in determining war's outcome. Political and economic conditions "on the ground" are also critical. The next big political milestone in Iraq comes in just over two weeks — the national elections on Dec. 1...

Bush's mixed message on immigration Bill Sammon: President Bush today will call for a crackdown on illegal immigration, a move aimed at further rallying conservatives who recently cheered Mr. Bush's tough talk on Iraq and the Supreme Court. But the president will also renew his call for a program to allow Mexicans who have already entered the U.S. illegally to remain here for up to six years. That initiative has long angered conservatives who equate it with amnesty. "This is going to be about comprehensive immigration reform," a senior White House official said of today's Arizona speech. "He's going to talk about the three elements that comprise such reform -- border security, interior enforcement and a temporary worker program." Mr. Bush will deliver his speech at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, about 90 miles from the Mexican border, after being briefed by customs and border patrol officials. Tomorrow, he meets with another ...

Wars of Muslim aggression and the Crusades that followed James Arlandson: Historical facts say that Islam has been imperialistic—and would still like to be, if only for religious reasons. Many Muslim clerics, scholars, and activists, for example, would like to impose Islamic law around the world. Historical facts say that Islam, including Muhammad, launched their own Crusades against Christianity long before the European Crusades. Today, Muslim polemicists and missionaries, who believe that Islam is the best religion in the world, claim that the West has stolen Islamic lands and that the West (alone) is imperialistic. One hardline Muslim emailer to me said about the developed West and the undeveloped Islamic countries: “You stole our lands” and then he held his finger on the exclamation key to produce a long string of them. Thus imperialism, a word that has reached metaphysical levels and that is supposed to stop all debates and answer all questions, explains why Islamic countries...

Dems out of touch on Iraq Gateway Pundit: You won't see this on the front page of the New York Times ! Town Hall had this bit of news up today on the "Cut and Run" Amending Democrats and not surprisingly the Democrats continued to solidify the public's view that they are horribly weak on defense after their latest fiasco: 1.) When Dems Sens. criticize Bush's policy on Iraq, does it help/hurt morale of troops in Iraq? 68% Hurts 14% Helps 2.) When Dems criticize Bush's policy on Iraq, do you think they are trying to gain partisan advantage or believe it will help US' efforts in Iraq? 52% Gain political advantage 30% Think will help 3.) Should US military withdraw troops immediately regardless of impact, as Iraq meets goals, or set fixed publicaly avail timetable for withdrawal? 50% as goals met 15% withdraw 29% timetable These numbers suggest what many Republicans have been privately saying for a week now: Democrats have classically overreached on the I...

Marines save Katrina victims house belonging to fallen Marine's mother The Daily News: After Hurricane Katrina ripped through Kathleen Faircloth's home, the single woman in Mobile, Ala., desperately needed help. So in came the Marines. Faircloth happened to be the mother of Lance Cpl. Bradley Faircloth, a Marine with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines who died in November 2004 during the battle for Fallujah. Faircloth had stayed in touch with many of the guys from her son's unit - 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1/8 - and when those Marines heard about the extensive damage Faircloth's home had suffered, they wanted to help the mother of their fallen comrade. "I thought what a golden opportunity for us to do what we in 1/8 believe in: taking care of our own," said Maj. Lewis D. Vogler Jr., the battalion's executive officer. "I told those guys, 'If I can find us a way, we'll do it.' " At the time, parts of Camp Lejeune's 1/8 were in Slidell, La...

Iran trains Chechens to kill Russians Con Coughlin: Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports. In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom. The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally of the Iranian regime. Russia has sided with Iran in the diplomatic stand-off over Teheran's controversial nuclear programme. ... "Just as they have orchestrated attacks against British troops in Basra to pressure Britain to drop its opposition to Iran's nuclear pro...

The extroidinary rendition of AlGore's mind Tigerhawk: While we're on the subject of the loyal opposition's wholesale memory failure, perhaps it is worth reviewing Al Gore's support for the practice of "extraordinary rendition" (aggressively anti-rendition Wikipedia entry here ). I stumbled across this passage in Richard Clarke's Against all Enemies , published last year in a fairly blatant attempt to compare the Bush administration's anti-terrorism efforts unfavorably with those of Bill Clinton: Snatches, or more properly "extraordinary renditions," were operations to apprehend terrorists abroad, usually without the knowledge of and almost always without public acknowledgement of the host government.... The first time I proposed a snatch, in 1993, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joine...

"Dead man" orders assination of Saddam judge AP via Fox News: Iraqi police have arrested eight Sunni Arabs in the northern city of Kirkuk for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge who prepared the case against Saddam Hussein , a senior police commander said Sunday. The men were carrying a document from former top Saddam deputy Izzat al-Douri ordering them to kill Raed Juhi, said Col. Anwar Qadir, a police commander in Kirkuk, where the men were arrested on Saturday. Al-Douri is the highest ranking member of the Saddam regime still at large and is believed to be at least the symbolic leader of Saddam loyalists still fighting U.S. forces and the new Iraqi government. ... Al-Douri was also widely reported as dead just a few days ago. It appears that AP either has a bigger story that it missed or it does not want to remind us of a past erronous story.

A speech Bush needs to give on Iraq James Q. Wilson: ... My fellow Americans: We are winning, and winning decisively, in Iraq and the Middle East. We defeated Saddam Hussein's army in just a few weeks. None of the disasters that many feared would follow our invasion occurred. Our troops did not have to fight door to door to take Baghdad. The Iraqi oil fields were not set on fire. There was no civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites. There was no grave humanitarian crisis. Saddam Hussein was captured and is awaiting trial. His two murderous sons are dead. Most of the leading members of Saddam's regime have been captured or killed. After our easy military victory, we found ourselves inadequately prepared to defeat the terrorist insurgents, but now we are prevailing. Iraq has held free elections in which millions of people voted. A new, democratic constitution has been adopted that contains an extensive bill of rights. Discrimination on the basis of sex, religion or politi...