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What did I find fascinating at my "usual haunts" this week:

Iraq

• While I did not support the invasion of Iraq four years ago (and really still do not believe it was just), much of the argument about the war ignores the real history. Joe Carter brings us back to the beginning on this anniversary with "Ten Things We've Forgotten About the Iraq War". Point one of the ten are the official reasons for the war, according to H.J.Res.114:

  Continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability (false); actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability (true); supporting and harboring terrorist organizations (true); continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population (true); refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq (true); failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait (true); demonstrated its capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people (true); attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush (true); firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces (true); harbored members of al-Qaeda (true); continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations (true).

  The rest of Joe's post is important for those who really want to work through an understanding of the war; and while some of the comments to the post show that desire, most do not.

However, I do not think we can leave until there is a stable government, and a capable army - or it is obvious there will not be one. The first part is still more likely, in my opinion, than the last:


• A few places are talking about the al-Qaeda chlorine gas suicide bombing in Anbar province against the Sunni tribal chiefs, and the war that just broke out. One of those is Iraq the Model with
  • "Tribes and police kill 39 terrorists in Anbar"; and
  • "One thing al-Qaeda excels at; making new enemies."


• The "surge" seems to be going well: "Why it's Working ..."

  What tactics are working? "We got down at the people level and are staying," he said flatly. "Once the people know we are going to be around, then all kinds of things start to happen."
  
  More intelligence, for example. Where once tactical units were "scraping" for intelligence information, they now have "information overload," the general said. "After our guys are in the neighborhood for four or five days, the people realize they're not going to just leave them like we did in the past. Then they begin to come in with so much information on the enemy that we can't process it fast enough."

Actually, I will leave it at Iraq. If someone wants to go read three weeks of Christian Carnival links, and some of my stuff from Street Prophets, that should keep folks busy.