Information likely extracted by waterboarding leads to Al Qaeda operative's capture

Check out Bryan's post at Sublime Bloviations.

He makes an excellent point about waterboarding "torture".

U.S. military sends humanitarian aid to Georgia

U.S. military transport aircraft began ferrying humanitarian aid into war torn Georgia today.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft flew into the city of Tbilisi carrying medical supplies, shelters, bedding and other supplies, according to the Department of Defense.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said other flights will follow as the U.S. assesses the needs in Georgia and what type of assistance they can provide.

“That will be the first flight in; there are plans for another flight tomorrow as we continue to assess the wide range of humanitarian assistance options that we might be able to provide both in the immediate and long-term humanitarian capabilities," he said in a DoD press release.

A twelve person military assessment team will arrive in Georgia within the next few days and serve as a liaison between the U.S. Embassy in Georgia, the Georgian government, and U.S. European Command and other U.S. agencies.

Whitman said the aid shows the commitment to Georgia by the U.S.

“We’ve had a strong relationship with Georgia for many years now,” he said.

Georgia provided troops to the coalition forces in Iraq and have been a strong supporter of the war on terrorism.

Russia sent troops into Georgia earlier this week when Georgia sent their own forces into the breakaway province of South Ossetia. The Russians claim they sent troops to protect Russian citizens in the province.

Iraqi refugees return home

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's presidential aircraft landed in Baghdad today, carrying the first group of Iraqi refugees returning home from Egypt, according to a report in Aswat Aliraq, an independent Iraqi news agency.

"This flight will be followed by other weekly flights with the aim of facilitating the process for displaced Iraqis to return to their land," Maj. General Qassem Atta said.

Maliki issued an order earlier this month giving occupants of homes owned by refugees one month to vacate them.

About 4.4 million refugees fled their homes after the U.S. led invasion, according to the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, with around 2.2 million fleeing to neighboring countries, primarily Jordan, Syria and Egypt.

The return of Iraqi's home further illustrates the improving situation in Iraq and the steady march toward normalcy.

Liberal arrogance

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Rep. Ben Chandler D-Ky. called for immediate troop withdraws from Iraq after a weekend trip.

Chandler said the pullout should begin right away to force the Iraqi government to stand on its own, according to the story.

"I think we need to leave them with as stable a situation as we can but we need to lift off from the country as soon as possible," the Democratic congressman told the Lexington Herald-Leader in an interview. "I think it's time to start withdrawing," he said.

Leaving immediately will certainly not leave Iraq in a stable situation.

The Iraqi government has made great strides over the last year and have shown themselves increasingly able to take over their own security. But they have not reached the point where they can handle it on their own.

A parent does not expect a child to swim until they have developed the ability to do so. Would any parent throw their child into the pool to force them to swim? Would any parent risk their child's life in such a reckless manner?

As Bush and other leaders have repeatedly said, the U.S. cannot and should not pull out the troops until the situation on the ground warrants a reduction in forces.

Chandler exhibits an arrogance typical of many politicians. He spent less than 24 hours in Iraq. Now wants to use this experience to establish credibility in order to bolster the same wrongheaded policy that the left has advocated for over a year, as if his whirlwind trip makes him better able to determine military strategy than the generals who have spent the last several years fighting the war.

Ironically, if conditions in Iraq continue to improve, the "pull out now" strategy will soon become the right strategy, and I'm sure the liberals will claim they were right it all along.

Why do they attack us?

Michael Medved wrote an interesting column outlining the history of the Barbary Wars, the first foreign conflict involving the United States.

Rulers from the Barbary states in Africa (Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli—today’s Libya) relied on piracy as a way to enrich themselves. European nations paid local leaders in these countries "tributes" to protect their shipping interests. Until America's independence, British money protected American shipping, but afterward, several U.S. vessels were attacked, their crews enslaved.

President Jefferson sent ships from the navy across that Atlantic to deal with the pirates.

Medved draws a number of excellent parallels between the Barbary Wars and todays war on terror. Most notably, the fact that the pirates justified their actions based on their interpretation of their Islamic faith.

Medved writes:

Islamic enmity toward the US is rooted in the Muslim religion, not recent American policy. In 1786, America’s Ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson, joined our Ambassador in London, John Adams, to negotiate with the Ambassador from Tripoli, Sidi Haji Abdrahaman. The Americans asked their counterpart why the North African nations made war against the United States, a power “who had done them no injury", and according the report filed by Jefferson and Adams the Tripolitan diplomat replied: “It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise.”

The rest of the column notes other similarities between that conflict and todays battle against Islamic extremists.

It's well worth a read.

Bush praises military and families

President Bush praised the military and their families yesterday during a visit to Eielson Air Base in Alaska, calling the U.S. military the finest in the world.

Bush thanked the families of U.S. servicemen and women and credited them with helping to make the U.S. military the best.

"I can't thank you enough for all the sacrifices you have given. There is no question we have the finest military in the world, and one reason why is because we've got the finest military families in the world. These have been tough times on our families and I want to thank you for staying in the fight," he said.

Bush also extended thanks to the soldiers of Fort Wainwright, commenting on their toughness for training in temperatures of 50 below and fighting in 120 above.

A Stryker Brigade from Wainwright will soon deploy to Iraq.

Bush praised their sacrifice while placing their efforts within the greater context of the war on terror.

"Deployments are difficult, but they are necessary," he said. "We are a nation at war. Oh, some in America say, this is a simple law enforcement matter -- dealing with these extremists who would do us harm is law enforcement. Well, if it's a law enforcement matter, that means you react after the crime. I think it's important, and I know most of you here think it's important, to stop the crime from happening in the first place."

Bush said the Stryker Brigade heading into Iraq faces a situation much different than the previous Stryker Brigade, due to the successes over the last year.

"About a year ago people thought Iraq was lost and hopeless. People were saying, let's get out of there; it doesn't matter to our national security. Iraq has changed -- a lot -- thanks to the bravery of people in this hangar and the bravery of troops all across our country. The terrorists on the run. The terrorists will be denied a safe haven, and freedom is on the march. And as a result, our children are more likely to grow up in a peaceful world. And I thank you for your service and I thank you for your sacrifice," he said.

Bush said freedom flows from the Almighty and urged American's to remember the power of liberty.

"It is important for the United States of America never to forget the transformative power of liberty. I believe there's an Almighty, and I believe a gift of that Almighty to every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth is freedom. And I know free societies yield the peace we all want. It's in our national interest to keep the pressure on the terrorists, to give them no safe haven, no place to hide, to keep them on the run."

Task Force 49 Stryker Brigade from Fort Wainwright was one of the first units to spend 15 months in Iraq.

Bush announced Sunday that Army will reduce the length of deployments to 12 months.

Army shortens tours in Iraq

The Army will return to 12 month deployments in Iraq beginning today.

The DoD said the continued decrease in violence in Iraq drove the decision to shorten the tours from 15 months to 12.

President Bush announced the change yesterday, noting that July marked the third straight month of decreased violence.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shortened tours will have a positive impact on both the mission and the soldier's families.

“It’s a significant step, because 15-month deployments took an extraordinary toll,” Mullen said. “So to bring that back to 12 months for every active duty Army unit, I think, is a huge step in the right direction.”