The GWOT

I know the press counts the bodies and not the successes that is why I prefer alternative sources like Bill Roggio and Mike Yon and until recently Chrenkof and pundits like Ollie North. Bill's latest extensively analyzes the letter between the the bottom Z's of al qaida. This is from around the time of the wrapup in Mosul that Mike brings to you so well. We were kicking butt and taking names then and have since destroyed the ratlines from Syria cleaned up Tal Afar and are working our way through the Al Anbar region, with Iraqi soldiers on point. They are losing badly and the letter expresses that .

By Bill Roggio
The Office of the Director of National Security has published the much-discussed letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's number two in command, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the commander of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The letter provides insight into the workings of al Qaeda, the perception of Zarqawi's campaign in Iraq and the status of the insurgency. The news that a compromise has been reached to satisfy Sunni concerns over the Iraqi constitution makes the letter all the more important.
The are many interesting pieces of information contained within the letter. Zawahiri confirms that Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who was captured in Pakistan, was indeed a major player in al Qaeda, "The enemy struck a blow against us with the arrest of Abu al-Faraj." However, al Qaeda views Pakistan's operations in the tribal areas as an even greater threat, "the real danger comes from the agent Pakistani army that is carrying out operations in the tribal areas looking for mujahideen." This conflicts with many analyst's portrayal of Pakistani operations on the Afghan border as ineffective.

And on Another Note
A great positive article on Harriot Miers that mirrors my view to a large extent by Horace Cooper is up at Townhall

"Harriet Miers brings different perspectives to the table and a view like few others because of her varied past experiences. And a real appreciation for diversity should include strengths associated with living in the real world. Concerns like running a business and meeting a payroll, understanding the perspectives of elected officials and the attitude and the outlook of main street Americans is arguably much more important than diversity defined primarily by gender and race.
Harriet Miers will bring to the Supreme Court her knowledge of the critical issues facing our country today and fully informed view of the political branches on these issues. We need a judge on the Supreme Court who brings these new perspectives to the table, and together with her stellar accomplishments in her legal career it is obvious that she is a well qualified candidate."

And on the Odd and Interesting
Anthropolgy , archeology and paleontology being among my many interests, I enjoyed this one on some ancient human remains fascinating.

Don't miss this awesome post at KarensKorner from a soldier.