It’s been a long time since I have relied exclusively on the news media’s biased reporting concerning our progress in the GWOT (or anything else for that matter). I prefer the unfilitered perspectives of those who are on the scene, Iraqis and soldiers. Yesterday I got an email from Ranger Bill, the COL I reported through when I first arrived in Korea. He is retiring later this year but volunteered to spend his last year in uniform serving in Iraq. He’s no bullshitter. Here’s the scoop from the front lines:

Sorry it has been five months since my last update, but then, we have been busy. Let me give you the bottomline up front (BLUF), and then catch you up on things. Feel free to forward this to whomever, since we still can’t seem to get the press to tell folks what is going on. This is how the fight is going from my foxhole, and it is much more than the bombings, US casualties, and rumors of civil war the press seems to be focused on.

BLUF: We are not, and have not been, on the verge of civil war. We have had an increase in killings by militia groups in the past five weeks, and that is not helping get the new government seated, but we (the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Coalition Forces) are far from losing control.

As you probably noted, Al Qaida and the other insurgent groups were not able to mount a Tet like offensive this past fall. Iraqi and US operations prevented them from organizing major attacks, and the ISF did a superb job of securing the polling sites. Iraq ratified a constitution and conducted a credible election. Although the Iraqis face some significant challenges forming the new government, the basics of democracy are present and taking root.

Saddam’s trial is making progress, albeit painfully slowly. The new judge is ensuring the defendants receive due process and a fair trial, while eliminating their ability to turn the trial into a political circus. Saddam’s and the others’ security continue to be one of my personal headaches, so I am a big fan of keeping the trial moving.

2006 is the Year of the Police, which means our focus is to get the Iraqi police forces trained and operational. We continue to work to rebuild the Iraqi Army, which assumes responsibility for more battle space each week. It is the ability of the Iraqi Army to take the fight to the enemy that allowed us to turn off two US replacement brigades at the end of 2005. The Iraqi Army is having successes and failures, but is steadily improving. Recently they have conducted a number of truly outstanding operations, both in conjunction with us and on their own. The police are not as far along, hence our focus on them in 2006. What you don’t see in the media is the tremendous courage of most of the Soldiers, Policemen, and Judges who take significant risk each day to bring stability to their country. I lost an Iraqi friend last week who was the leader of the security of the prison where we send our convicted terrorists to serve their sentences. Another equally brave corrections officer stepped up immediately to take his place.

The fight against Al Qaida is going well. They have chosen to make Iraq the battleground against the US, and this has enabled us to kill or capture significant numbers of their senior leadership, and put a dent in their funding. They believe they can prevail by killing US Soldiers, and waiting for the US public to tire of the war and casualties, and bring us home. As I talk to Soldiers around Iraq, they overwhelmingly believe in what they are doing and why they are doing it. They know they are winning, and are frustrated by what they see and hear in the news about America questioning why we are here. In my opinion, it is much better to fight these terrorists in Iraq vice in the US.

Our counterinsurgency strategy continues to focus on: offensive operations to kill or capture insurgents; train and reinforce the Iraqi Army and police forces to conduct the counterinsurgency; establish a strong democratic Iraqi government; and rebuild the infrastructure and economy. The interagency process is working fairly well in Baghdad (Washington could take a lesson), with most of my contacts being with the Departments of State and Justice. One of our two largest challenges is to get the Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds to work together. No one party/sect has a majority in the newly elected Council of Representatives, so learning to compromise and put together alliances in the government will be key to success. Who is selected to head the Ministries of Defense and Interior (police) is also key; we really need individuals who are secular, and are clearly not tied to any of the various militia groups. The militias are the other major challenge to success here. We will have to disarm them, weed them out of the government, and neutralize their ability to terrorize the citizens of Iraq. This will be at least as challenging as getting the major sects to work together, but not impossible. On top of these two challenges, we have the Iranian influence to combat. Our neighbors to the east are intent on destroying this attempt at democracy, and infiltrate and support terrorists at every opportunity. The Judiciary continues to be a success story, and it remains strongly independent and resistant to executive branch influence. As a side note, we got our first death sentence in a Coalition case this week; one of the Al Qaida terrorists who participated in the beheading of Nick Berg.

I could not have been prouder than to spend my final Thanksgiving and Christmas in uniform with the outstanding young Americans who are serving here as Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. Thanksgiving morning dawned clear and crisp at 45 degrees with a 20 knot wind. Although it was warm by Minnesota and Korea standards, it was chilly for the desert as we donned our body armor and loaded our HMMWVs for the convoy to Abu Ghraib. Had a great dinner in the mess hall there with the Soldiers, and spent the afternoon checking fighting positions and guard towers. That evening I spent some talking with the joint service members of our intelligence unit, a section of which is dedicated to finding our one MIA, SGT Keith Maupin. They are out on missions each week, intent on bringing him home.

Troop morale continues to remain high. The Soldiers can see the difference they are making, whether killing bad guys, training the Iraqi forces, or improving the living conditions for Iraqis. They can no longer give beanie babies to the kids, because Al Aqaida has taken to placing explosives in them, giving them to kids, blowing their arms off or killing them, and blaming the Americans. This is a tough fight, and we are once again up against an enemy who has no moral compass. Our kids continue to excel at every mission, and are undaunted in their task. If anyone has any doubts about this generation, they can erase them. 2006 will be a decisive year. We have the opportunity to do a battle handoff to the Iraqis for the lead in the counterinsurgency fight, and begin to reduce our combat presence. Concurrently, we must continue to coach and mentor the Iraqi Government as it continues its journey toward democracy. We will need to be here for awhile, but my assessment is that this is the make or break year. I’m betting on our Soldiers and the Iraqi people.

Take heart, we are winning.

I’m still here, just hunkered down trying to keep warm. Sorry for the lack of posts, but unless you want to hear about my CIV gaming or what I’m watching on TV, there’s just nothing to report right now.

I do have this to share from the Mudville Gazette. Please take a few moments to read this father’s tribute to his soldier son. We have all been treated to Cindy Sheehan’s views courtesy of our MSM friends, but we don’t hear much about people like this.

I’ll be back.

Amid all the hoopla as the mainstream press and America-haters all but celebrate the milestone of 2000 deaths in Iraq, I have seen next to nothing written about what the ultimate sacrafice of these brave troops has accomplished. Well, the liberation of 27 million is no small thing. But that’s just me talking, and I’m not there and no one in my family has given their life for a free Iraq, so who am I to say it has been worth it?

CPL Jeffrey B. Starr did go to Iraq. Three times. And did not return alive. His name was featured in the New York Times “grim milestone” piece, but oddly enough the Times chose not to include the words from a letter to CPL Starr’s girlfriend discovered when his laptop was returned to his family. Since CPL Starr gave his life in the service of his country, I will let his words speak for me on whether what we are doing in Iraq is worth the cost:

Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I’m writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I’m pushing my chances. I don’t regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it’s not to me. I’m here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.

I understand that many people can’t grasp the ideals for which CPL Starr gave his life. I sometimes wish that it was not our nations place in history to be defenders of liberty. But if not us, then who? With great power, comes great responsibility. To turn our backs on tyranny and oppression would do dishonor to the generations of Americans who have died in defense of freedom throughout the world. And who can honestly dispute that a free Iraq and Afghanistan makes the world (and selfishly the U.S.) a safer place?

Rest in peace, CPL Starr. It WAS worth it.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a “town hall” meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It was quite the event here on Yongsan. The town hall was intended for soldiers and their families, but they let a few of us civilians attend too. I had a great seat and view, even had the opportunity to reach out and shake his hand after the event, but I demured to allow the folks in uniform that honor.

It was a pep talk for the troops for the most part, but a couple of points the SECDEF made resonated with me. First, our troops are doing an amazing job in Iraq. And job one right now is getting the Iraqi security forces trained up and ready to assume responsibilty for defending Iraq. He said there are now more than 200,000 in the field with more coming on each day. He also noted that it was primarily the Iraqi forces who successfully provided security for last weeks contitution voting.

He also made the point that Iraq is now a sovriegn nation and attacks there are not attacks on an occupying army, but are attacks against Iraq. And the Iraqi people are increasingly taking the lead on dealing with the insurgents head on. We will stay as long as the government of Iraq wants our assistance, but the utlimate responsibilty for secruing the peace depends on the courage and willingess of the Iraqis to confront those among them who prefer violence to democracy. Rumsfeld said that calls to tip lines identifying terrorist hideouts have gone off the charts recently, which is a good sign that we have turned an important corner in this effort.

I also thought his comments regarding the Korean war were noteworthy. He said when President Truman left office in 1952 his approval rating was around 25%. People were questioning why Americans were dying to defend democracy on the other side of the world. Today, Truman is rightfully considered a great leader and the ROK has the world’s tenth largest economy in terms of GNP. No one questions that our efforts here were worth it, even at the cost of 40,000 American lives. Rumsfeld believes (and I concur) that in 50 years no one will question that whether our involvement in bringing freedom to Iraq was worthwhile.

During the questions and answer session, a soldier asked why we were not doing a better job in countering the media portrayal of our efforts in Iraq. Rumsfeld acknowledged that our enemy is a master at manipulating the media. He said we cannot be defeated on the battlefield, so our enemies are working to undermine the will of the people to pursue the war. He recalled how Mark Twain had said “a lie travels the world three times before truth gets its boots on”. The answer to this problem is to rely on the collective wisdom of a free and democratic people to listen and watch and come to the right decision. He said throughout our history Americans have demonstrated this ability to discern the truth. He noted that this is the first war were we had things like the Internet and other forms of mass communication. And while the media has been manipulated, he is confident that people will ultimately recongize what is really happening.

I hope he is right about that. I know when I talk to people who only get their news of the world from MSM sources, they tend to be much more negative about our prospects in defeating the terrorists. I always encourage them to seek out other sources, like blogs from soldiers on the scene or blogs written by Iraqis. You get a completely different perspective on just how much better things really are, and how each day brings us closer to achieving our goals.

Anyway, it was a very uplifting afternoon and it was great to join the troops is some rousing “hooAhs”.

I had the honor of working with a Colonel during my first couple of months in Korea. He volunteered for Iraq and recently sent the following email:

A little slow today (not necessarily a bad thing), so I’ll try to bring you up to date on what we are doing over here. Apologize for the length.

Was up in Kurdistan in northeastern Iraq two weeks ago on a recon for future operations. It is quite different from the desert part of Iraq. It is rolling, grass covered hills that turn into mountains as you approach the border with Iran. The Kurdish people also have a different approach than the general Arab population. They are much more direct in their dealings, and have more drive to get the task done. Because of this, and the fact that we did not do much fighting in that region, their infrastructure is well ahead of what we find in most of the rest of Iraq. It is also one of the issues the Iraqi Constitutional Committee will have to resolve as they struggle with the concept of federalism. We had a little down time before our meeting with the Kurdistan Minister of the Interior, so our interpreter took us to the site of the former Ba’athist police HQs and prison, which is being turned into the Kurdish version of a holocaust museum. There are over 182,000 Kurds who just “disappeared” when Sadam purged the border areas, and that does not include the 5000 killed in the chemical attack on Halabja or the other atrocities committed over the past three decades. It was good for the young Soldiers (and some of us old Soldiers) to see first hand why we are here, and why we are helping the Iraqis to fight the insurgents.

I also had a chance to tour the prison part of Abu Ghraib while I was there working some of the issues with our detention facility. Sadam executed 4000 there in AUG 04 to reduce the overpopulation, and estimates run as high as over 300,000 executions at Abu during his regime. The hooks they used to hang prisoners from during questioning are still in the ceilings.

Although adaptive, the enemy is not particularly good. He is capable of killing us on a daily basis, but not of mounting any sustained type of operation. We have the advantage strategically, operationally, and tactically in theater (I’m not sure how we are doing in the States). The insurgents have figured out that killing us won’t get us to leave (Somalia syndrome), and it often results in many of them being killed or captured. Therefore they have shifted many of their attacks to the Iraqi Security Forces and the population. Attacking innocent civilians generally is not a good way to gain support for an insurgency, and consequently, the insurgents do not enjoy widespread popular support. They do have support in pockets of Iraq, and are capable of coercing support on a case by case basis, but by and large, they are not representing an oppressed people and enjoying a lot of popular support. Their most recent tactic of attacking foreign diplomats is not likely to garner much support on the world or local stage either. The key to American success here is not defeating the insurgency. It is keeping the insurgents off balance and defeating them tactically and operationally while we train the Iraqi Security Forces, both Army and police, to conduct an effective counterinsurgency without a large US or Coalition presence, while concurrently establishing a governmental infrastructure. Each day and night, Iraqi units are conducting combined operations with our forces and independent operations, and are being quite successful. The LAST thing we want to do is set a timetable for a withdrawal.

Concurrent with finding and killing the enemy, US and Coalition forces are putting a lot of effort and resources into restoring and improving basic infrastructure: electricity, water, schools, sewage. We are making significant strides in these areas each week. The US interagency effort, headed by State, is also making great strides in helping the current government establish an Iraqi version of democracy. DoS, DoD, and the Dept of Justice are the major players with whom I have been working to bring about a governmental infrastructure that will support the requirements of the country. This will be a busy summer and fall with the Constitution scheduled to be written by mid-August, the Constitutional referendum in October, and then National elections under the new Constitution in December. Truly another opportunity to watch a democracy be born, as I have had the privilege to observe in Korea over the past 20+ years. I suspect that the bad guys will pick up the pace to block these momentous events, but that just gives us the opportunity to send that many more of them off to their meeting with Allah.

As always, our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors are doing an outstanding job. The Soldiers and Marines who are kicking in doors, patrolling every day and night, and conducting the raids show remarkable restraint. The bad guys know they will be treated humanely by US forces, and they are quick to drop their weapons and surrender when we close in for the kill. I’m amazed how many times we have Soldiers and Marines killed and grievously injured by IEDs, and our guys show restraint and capture the insurgents who detonated the IED instead of doing what they want to do which is kill the bastards (hence my particular problem of an ever increasing detainee population). I don’t think there is another Army or Marine Corps in the history of the world that has trained its young men so well that they consistently make snap decisions in the middle of firefights to kill or not kill based on the ever changing situation. Our kids are truly the best of the best; more aggressive, violent, fierce and formidable than any others, but able to instantly adjust to keep their fight within the constraints of the law of war and the Geneva Conventions. Absolutely remarkable.

The vast majority of individual replacements volunteered to come over. From the Navy JAG LTs to the Air Force admin specialists, all could have avoided Iraq, but volunteered to serve here. The security detachment I move with most of the time is a reinforced squad of about 15 guys, led by an active component Army SSG. The members of the detachment are from all four services, and about 1/3 active and 2/3 reserve. The Air Force sent its guys over on four month tours. All three of these guys have put in 8 month extensions because they did not want to leave their Army counterparts, who are on one year tours. I overheard one of them explaining to his Mom on the phone that he had to stay because his Army buddies couldn’t leave; they would all go home together. I really enjoy getting out with these kids. They know their business, and are eager to do it. Yesterday’s missions required us to run up and down the road to Baghdad a few times. One of the Marine NCOs stated that some folks spend their Saturday mornings watching cartoons; we spend ours running the gauntlet four times with COL XXXX. [since this was a private email, I’m deleting his name]

Normally when I go some place, I am in the process of looking up all of my old buddies. This time I came over with a list of my friends’ kids to look up. Guess I’m getting old. So far I have tracked down two of these great Americans, who are following in their Dads’ footsteps. Both are doing well, and are fired up about being here and doing the work they are doing.

Guess it’s time to get back to the business at hand. Been fairly quiet lately here in the base camp.

Compare and contrast this account to the daily offerings of our news organizations.

You know, I don’t talk about it much and it is really not at the forefront of my thoughts, but we are here in Korea for one reason: to deter North Korean aggression. It’s been working out pretty well for the last 50 years. But we are dealing with a madman in Kim Jung Il. Well, we aren’t really dealing with him, and that’s a problem. My sense of things is that the US wants to take a more aggressive posture, while the ROK is still in an appeasement mode. I think history has proven countless times what appeasement ultimately buys: disaster.

So what’s to be done? I’m all for finding a peaceful solution, but that presupposes having a leader in the North that is not insane. Allowing Kim to build a nuclear stockpile is simply unacceptable and would undermine any hopes for regional stability. But there is no easy fix, and once again we are paying the price for President Clinton’s misguided policies. I don’t know what President Bush is going to do, but he has proven he won’t sit on his hands if a threat to our national security exists. A great Korean blog, The Bass Hole, has some interesting perspectives on this situation. I hope it doesn’t come to this. But it might.

This does not bode well for anyone. If we used nuclear tipped bunker busters we risk radiating hundreds of thousands of people in N. Korea, Japan, S. Korea, and depending on a change in wind direction, China and Russia too. This could well spark WWIII. The only real alternative is a conventional bombing campaign so relentless and enduring the N. Koreans would have to be shaken senseless in order to deny them a chance to significantly respond. I’m sure they will still get off a few rounds of their 5,000 tons of chemical artillery, and the missile test Sunday showed they have improved their Russian bought Frogs to 120KM range, easily within striking distance of the US hub in Pyeongtaek (so much for fishing). Any sustained aerial bombardment would have to be followed with a lightning raid North by allied troops to take the ground and try and secure the nukes before they can be fired or relocated. This is a tar baby of astronomical proportions, but I don’t doubt for a minute George Bush isn’t contemplating ending this evil empire on his watch. If he doesn’t do it, we may very well have 8 more years of Democrats in office who would ignore the problem or strike a deal similar to Clinton’s which only bought the U.S. a false sense of security, but bought the Norks more time to conduct their clandestine nuke development.

Read it all. And pray that our leaders have the courage and wisdom to find an appropriate way to resolve this problem once and for all. The Eighth U.S. Army’s mantra is “be ready to fight tonight”. I hope we are.

Victor Davis Hanson has a great article at National Review Online discussing our progress (and set backs) in the GWOT. Please go have a read. Here’s just a taste:

The worst attitude toward the Europeans and the U.N. is publicly to deprecate their impotent machinations while enlisting their aid in extremis. After being slurred by both, we then asked for their military help, peace-keepers, and political intervention — winning no aid of consequence except contempt in addition to inaction.

Praise the U.N. and Europe to the skies. Yet under no circumstances pressure them to do what they really don’t want to, which only leads to their gratuitous embarrassment and the logical need to get even in the most petty and superficial ways. The U.N. efforts to retard the American removal of Saddam interrupted the timetable of invasion. Its immediate flight after having its headquarters bombed emboldened the terrorists. And a viable U.S. coalition was caricatured by its failed obsequious efforts to lure in France and Germany. We should look to the U.N. and Old Europe only in times of post-bellum calm when it is in the national interest of the United States to give credit for the favorable results of our own daring to opportunistic others — occasions that are not as rare as we might think.

Geez, I don’t know. How can you help but bash Europe and the UN? They are such easy patsies. Well, I will try and go easy on the Euroweenies, but the incompetence and thievery at the UN is criminal, and we should never cut that bunch one inch of slack. Oh yeah, I won’t shut up about the French either. F*** the French.

Anyway, Hanson sums up this way (how come you haven’t hit that link are read the whole thing yet?):

The events that followed September 11 are the most complex in our history since the end of World War II, and require far more skill and intuition than even what American diplomats needed in the Cold War, when they contained a nuclear but far more predictable enemy. Since 9/11 we have endured a baffling array of shifting and expedient pronouncements and political alliances, both at home and abroad. So we now expect that most who profess support for democratization abroad do so only to the degree that — and as long as — the latest hourly news from Iraq is not too bad.

One of the most disheartening things about this war is the realization that on any given day, a number of once-stalwart supporters will suddenly hedge, demand someone’s resignation, or bail, citing all sorts of legitimate grievances without explaining that none of their complaints compares to past disappointments in prior successful wars — and without worry that the only war in which America was defeated was lost more at home than abroad.

Yet if we get through all this with the extinction of Islamic-fascist terrorism and an end to the Middle East autocracy that spawned and nurtured it — and I think we are making very good progress in doing just that and in less than four years — it will only be because of the superb quality of the American military and the skilful diplomacy of those who have so temperately unleashed it.

Yeah, what he said.

Via Instapundit

I was re-watching Band of Brothers on DVD last night. And this morning came across this great article on Major Dick Winters. He provides some of the backstory you don’t see in the movie and also some great insights on leadership. It’s well worth the read.

Via Mudville Gazette

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the Stars and Stripes story….

Mr. Kim, Yong-tae was honored yesterday in a ceremony at “the white house” (USFK Headquarters) in recognition of FIFTY years service to the United States.

As his supervisor, I have come to rely heavily on his wisdom and expertise. But I have tremendous respect for him as a really great person who is also extremely dedicated and hard working. Frankly, I would be lost without him.

Here’s some photos from the ceremony:

It was interesting watching them set up. The Army is real big on protocol, and they had every detail managed from seating charts to the order of the flags. Were it up to me, the UN flag would not have been so honored as to be postioned next to Old Glory, but of course it was not up to me….

GEN LaPorte (he of 4 stars and Commander of all US Forces Korea) made some very nice remarks about Mr. Kim’s contributions through the years. I was glad he wasn’t reading some prepared remarks, he appeared to be speaking from the heart. I think Mr. Kim was moved. GEN Campbell, head of the Eighth US Army was also present.

The presentation of the 50 years of service certificate. This is such a rare event, I doubt I will ever see another.

And the awarding of the 50 year service pin. I asked and that’s as high as they go.

In addition to the certificate and service pin, each of the Commands present at the ceremony gave Mr. Kim one of their medallions.

And Stars and Stripes was there to do an interview.

Mr. Kim with the Director, Civilian Personnel Division, Sharon Alsop.

And finally, one with me.

Very nice ceremony. Mr. Kim is a modest man and wanted to avoid all the hoopla. We tried to accomodate his wishes as best we could, but it was such a milestone event we had to give him the honor he has so richly earned.

It’s a tough job and this wife shares some lessons learned:

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED
By Mandy B, Wife of SGT Erik B

Now that the journey has almost come to a much-anticipated end, I find myself looking back, and discovering that I’ve learned some precious lessons along the way…

I’ve learned that dads need their kids.
I’ve learned that two-year-olds hurt & need their daddies more than I expected.
I’ve learned that kids know more about what’s going on than we think they do.

I’ve learned that moms can fix more than just broken hearts; we’re pretty handy with tools when we have to be.
I’ve learned that I can chase away monsters just as well as my husband can.
I’ve learned how hard it is to cook for just two people, one being a two-year-old.

I’ve learned, in my husband’s absence, just how much he does to help me out.
I’ve learned that a family is a family, no matter how many miles separate them.
I’ve learned that I can hold down the home front pretty well on my own, but I’d much rather have best friend there to help me.
I’ve learned that we are a team.

I’ve learned that it’s no fun being without the one you love on special days.
I’ve learned that love can go the distance.
I’ve learned that trust is the most crucial quality that a relationship can hold.
I’ve learned that love can withstand all things.
I’ve learned how much a late-night phone call home can mean.
I’ve learned that a package is like a little piece of home in an unfamiliar world.
I’ve learned about sacrifice.

I’ve learned that just hanging out together is so precious.
I’ve learned how nice it is to feel his arms around me.
I’ve learned how quickly two weeks goes!
I’ve learned just how long 15 months really is.

I’ve learned that freedom really is not free.
I’ve learned that there is always someone else worse off.
I’ve learned how lucky we are to be living in the United States, be free, and be safe.
I’ve learned that there is always someone sacrificing for the rest us to have that freedom.

Via Big Al’s Army Life

More evidence of which side the MSM has taken in the GWOT is summed rather nicely in this post from Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette.

It is bad enough that we have to endure biased coverage that misrepresents what is happening on the ground in Iraq. To learn that CBS actually has the bad guys on their payroll strikes me as crossing the line into treason.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, over at CNN Tim Blair notes an interesting example of what is considered “news”.

This article in the Chosun Ilbo indicates that at least some folks here see the implications of what may be a fraying alliance. As I said yesterday, it is just a damn shame.

Daughter Hillary just completed her two weeks of R&R and is enroute back to Afghanistan. I got to visit with her by phone yesterday and she is in great spirits. She spent some time in South Carolina and in Florida while on leave, but mostly just caught up with friends and family. Carol reports that Hillary and sister Ashley stayed up late into the morning yesterday drinking and laughing, and when those two get into that mode, there is just no hangin’ with him.

Anyway, Hillary called from the airport in Atlanta and relayed a very touching story. They were in line for lunch at one of those Chinese concessions and the man in front of them turned and said “It would be an honor if you would allow me to buy your lunch” and when they thanked him he said “it is such a small thing to do for you our soldiers.” Hillary was almost moved to tears.

I am so proud of my fellow Americans. They get it. Oh sure, you have the Michael Moore fringe out there, but I expect for every barking moonbat who denigrates the real freedom fighters, there are a million people like that kind man in the airport.

I have said many times that the only way we will be defeated in this GWOT is from within. I think we are winning the critical battle on the homefront.

God bless America and our brave soldiers.