55 tribes form "Party of the Nation," supposedly, to oppose the drooling submoron Basher Assad.

I certainly hope there is no covert US assistance for this dastardly attack on Assad's personal sovereignty.

Because that would be wrong.

More... I think this falls under the category of "informed speculation," but it's still speculation. DaveP says he'll be adding this to his post: the likely culprits here opposing Assad (assuming this is real) are tribal cousins of the Iraqi Anbar tribes, and this may (repeat, may) be a welcome ripple from the Lost War in Iraq.

Posted by: Ace at 11:34 AM | Comments (12)
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Flood the zone:

Hundreds of US-led troops have launched an offensive against al Qaida and Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan....

The offensive involving ground troops and airstrikes in the Tora Bora region of eastern Nangarhar province is targeting "hundreds of foreign fighters" who are using dug-in fighting positions, said coalition spokeswoman Capt Vanessa Bowman.

...

"This region has provided an ideal environment to conceal enemy support bases and training sites, as well as plan and launch attacks aimed at terrorising innocent civilians, both inside and outside the region," Bowman said in a statement released by the Pentagon.

...

Sensitive to criticism over rising civilian casualties in Afghanistan, US officials said they had carefully chosen targets for air strikes.

Sensitive to criticism? By whom? Would that be by Barack Obama, who's all hot to invade Pakistan but also scolds our troops over civilian collateral losses?

We're holding back on airstrikes against dug-in jihadis because of this son-of-a-bitch?

How many US soldiers are going to be killed or wounded pursuing Obama's very nuanced bad-ass-but-carefully-so policy?

Posted by: Ace at 11:30 AM | Comments (9)
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I can't vouch for the report, as this blog translates the Persian I obviously can't, but that's the basic gist.

Supposedly it's a CIA team of American Muslims. Come on, Mahmoud. You're slipping. You know who it really is.

Thanks to Snapped Shot. He thinks this represents a major rhetorical escalation intended to whip up Iranian frenzy for war against the West.

Posted by: Ace at 11:19 AM | Comments (28)
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Democrats will soon demand a dramatic new change-the-course policy that "where Iraqis can stand up, the US will stand down." Despite the fact that this is the policy.

Intent on demonstrating progress in Iraq, the top U.S. general there is expected by Bush administration officials to recommend removing American troops soon from several areas where commanders believe security has improved, possibly including Al Anbar province.

According to the officials, Gen. David H. Petraeus is expected to propose the partial pullback in his September status report to Congress, when both the war's critics and supporters plan to reassess its course. Administration officials who support the current troop levels hope Petraeus' recommendations will persuade Congress to reject pressure for a major U.S. withdrawal.

The expected recommendation would authorize U.S. commanders to withdraw troops from places that have become less violent and turn over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.

...

Petraeus has not told the White House where he might recommend reductions. But military commanders have indicated in recent briefings that Nineveh province in northern Iraq and its capital, Mosul, like Al Anbar in the west, could be an area from which it might be suitable for the U.S. to withdraw.

From Instapundit, who has a particularly link-heavy post about Petraeus and progress in Iraq.

And then there's this from Totten, about the JAM-infested IA in Baghdad.

Not good news there, of course.

Posted by: Ace at 11:12 AM | Comments (10)
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"Disdain," by GeorgeG.

Quote Of The Gag:

Our troops are tossing bullets in fashion reminiscent of Jenjis Khan.

-- John Kerry

Posted by: Ace at 10:12 AM | Comments (20)
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Gerard Butler will take the role, which should please the wymynfylk.

Not sure I can buy anyone else as Snake Plissken but Kurt Russel, but it would be wonderful to finally get that good version of Escape from NY we've all been waiting for since 1981.

Well, the older among us have been so waiting.

Thanks to dri A. Weasel. Dri is such a good tipster he wrote to tell me I'd h/t'd the wrong guy.

Posted by: Ace at 09:38 AM | Comments (61)
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DC administrative law judge Roy Pearson files an appeal to his $54 million lawsuit even after the owners of Custom Cleaners withdrew their demand for compensation of their legal fees.

What a beautiful human being.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 09:08 AM | Comments (21)
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[AFP Caption:] An elderly Iraqi woman shows two bullets
which she says hit her house following an early coalition forces raid
in the predominantly Shiite Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.

It's like a how a dull knife inflicts the nastiest wounds. The monsters we call "our troops" are now throwing intact, unused ammunition at poor elderly Iraqi women to inflict the cruelest wound of all: mocking disdain.

Thanks to CAD Daddy, and also dri.

Sure seems like a ripe picture for photoshopping. What other deadly implements might our boys have tossed at her home? What other instruments of death might be seen held in that gnarled hand?

A rubber chicken, perhaps? A Fozzie the bear Muppet doll? Who knows what Beauchampian mockeries our military monsters are capable of.

The Autonomist had this earlier and is already collecting up links. Among the more interesting links is this collection of the work of the photograper, Wissam al Okali.

You will not be surprised to know he specializes in crying babies, heartbroken mothers, and heroic -- nay, homoerotic -- portraits of Moqtada al-Sadr.

It Had To Be You: Hot Air has more links.

It will shock precisely nobody that while every conservative blog is pwning Wissam al-Okali for being a stooge of Moqtada al-Sadr's, Andrew Sullivan is of course featuring an al-Okali propaganda picture as a poignant indictment of the war.

Oh, Andrew. Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.

Why does God hate you?

Maybe he doesn't like narcissistic pricks. I think that's in Corinthians or something.

Wassim al-Okali's Specialty: Maybe not the same woman, but al-Okali definitely has a favorite subject matter.

Back on July 10th, this same photographer snapped a pic of another sad elderly woman, that time claiming that gleaming, undamaged bullet had hit her bed.

An Iraqi elderly woman inspects a bullet

which she says hit her bed during an alleged overnight raid

by US and Iraqi troops in Baghdad's impoverished district of Sadr City.

Residents said two people were killed and four wounded

during the raid.(AFP/Wissam al-Okaili)

Ohhhhh... so delicious.

I love the smell of propaganda fauxtography in the morning.

Thanks to cedeegan.

More Staged Photo: Where Sullivan finds poignant sketches of a lost war, Confederate Yankee finds staged Sadrist propaganda pictures.

In three -- three! -- pictures, al-Okalli managed to snap pictures of haunted victims of Bush's aggression against the Sadrist militias, all conveniently snapped through bullet-shattered windows.

It is simply not possible that he has had the good fortune to be at the precise spot needed to take these photos at the precise moment the Sadrist Victims just happened to look into the camera with their most solemn, war-weary expression.

Not without stage direction.

These are obviously stated propaganda pictures on behalf of the thug Sadr. And yet AFP runs them. They're not credulous. They're complicit.

Just Tossing This Out There: I don't know how much this matters -- obviously the bullets were unfired, so the photo is a lie in any event.

Still, Kevin thinks that the bullet she's holding isn't even the standard 5.56 mm bullets our troops would be firing from their M-16s (and variants), but rather the 7.62 mm bullets Sadrist troops would have on hand, given it's the AK-47 standard.

The bullets seem too similar to my eye to make reliable comparisons, but I'm not an expert.

Anyway, here's his comparison.

Posted by: Ace at 08:00 AM | Comments (194)
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Strong, smart.

Posted by: Ace at 07:55 AM | Comments (6)
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Details here.

I don't really have much to add. I just wanted an excuse to use the title.

Posted by: Jack M. at 07:45 AM | Comments (16)
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