The Political Conundrum!

Over at Youserved.com.

Read my latest entry on the You Served blog by going to

http://www.vamortgagecenter.com/blog/2009/07/29/7th-logrolling-title-for-j-r-salzman/

Armed with the latest study from the Institute of Medicine, Vietnam Veterans of America is petitioning Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki to add three illnesses -- including high blood pressure -- to the long list of deadly or debilitating ailments that have been linked to Agent Orange exposure.

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a December 13, 2008 Muslim Brotherhood communication that discusses the Brotherhood’s use of cyberspace as a “new and effective means of communication at a time when most attempts to have a media outlet have failed to find their way into official recognition.” The document summarizes the evolution of the Brotherhood’s online efforts and addresses developments dating as far back as 1998. According to the statement, “The Muslim Brotherhood websites were first general then they started to be more specialized”, focusing on specialized topics such as brotherhood youth or brotherhood in the governorates. Blogging also became a very effective communication tool, as “weblogs gave a humane image of the group and its individuals previously seen as blocs of people who robotically move and appear in a demonstration or a funeral. These weblogs anatomized the Muslim Brotherhood individual through showing his ideas, convictions and even sometimes his criticism to the group.”

A copy of the Brotherhood document can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

The Lebanese daily An Nahar reported today that a Government will soon be announced in Beirut. Elections held in early June returned the pro-west March 14th coalition to power, but the Hizballah-led Iranian and Syrian backed opposition has been pressing for a so-called “blocking third” in the cabinet, the ability to stymie major government initiatives.

It’s unclear how the cabinet negotiations will conclude, but it appears that Hizballah may succeed in getting its veto power in the cabinet, a perquisite that will enable the Shiite militia to keep its weapons without Government harassment.

I published two articles this week on developments on Lebanon. The first one describes Hizballah and Syria’s position after the Lebanese elections. The second article talks about the rising tensions in Lebanon during the post-elections cabinet negotiations.

The Lebanese daily An Nahar reported today that a Government will soon be announced in Beirut. Elections held in early June returned the pro-west March 14th coalition to power, but the Hizballah-led Iranian and Syrian backed opposition has been pressing for a so-called “blocking third” in the cabinet, the ability to stymie major government initiatives.

It’s unclear how the cabinet negotiations will conclude, but it appears that Hizballah may succeed in getting its veto power in the cabinet, a perquisite that will enable the Shiite militia to keep its weapons without Government harassment.

I published two articles this week on developments on Lebanon. The first one describes Hizballah and Syria’s position after the Lebanese elections. The second article talks about the rising tensions in Lebanon during the post-elections cabinet negotiations.

There is nobody better at writing accurate and lengthy dispatches from the front lines in Afghanistan than Michael Yon. His pictures are just fabulous too. The guy is a true master of his art.

His latest piece, Night into Day, is an awesome glimpse into the life of a British unit in southern Afghanistan, how they maintain fire discipline, how they can take out tangos with effective sniper shots and how US and British forces work together with technologies like Apache helicopters Medevac helicopters, and UAVs equipped with hellfire missiles to take out a determined and sometimes elusive enemy. This story also highlights that despite the new guidance that has been publically released by Gen McChrystal, the soldiers on ground and our coalition forces in general still use combat multipliers whenever it is deemed necessary.

The pictures are a great compliment to the writing as you see the personal side of the soldiers captured by his camera. It is worth a few minutes of your day to head over and check out, Night into Day.

www.michaelyon-online.com/night-into-day.htm

The U.S. military in Afghanistan has stopped releasing body counts of insurgents believed killed in operations because the tolls distract from the U.S. objective of protecting Afghans, a spokesman said Monday.

The United States may bring 5,000 American troops home early from Iraq if the trend of reduced violence holds, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

Antiterrorism officials are increasingly concerned about American-bred extremists who travel abroad for terror training and then return home, sometimes quietly recruiting followers over the years.

The Army and the parents of a Fort Leonard Wood soldier challenging her enlistment struck a deal to keep Pvt. Hillary J. Poole from being shipped overseas until the issue is resolved.