Theodore's World

I just wanted to thank you all for your support for this blog, and for being a part of Team Theodore. I look forward to 2008 and you all have a lot to do with that.
Thank you too for your emails, cards, gifts and the tips in the tip jar. The Care packages to the troops from Team Theodore arrived in time for Christmas, and I am hearing back from the soldiers a little at a time. They are very busy and I truly don’t even expect a reply, it is just so wonderful to know the packages got there ok.
I have some idea’s for the New Year of sending more packages to the troops and also to the wounded. I am getting some names a little at a time so the packages can go directly to the soldier right from all of us.
Also and most of all thank you for your friendship, I love you all.
The world has gone mad to a certain degree, there is tremendous hope our country will survive, and we will continue to live in the land of the free. But it once again comes at a cost to our troops and the support they get is so important. Plus having a blog a little home online, a place to come and share, laugh, shed a tear, and talk to one another of the things that tick us off as well as cheer about things has meant more to me then I can say.
NIck doesn’t use a computer although it was his idea that I get one. haha But he does love to read the posts I do and the comments from all of you. He is very supportive and sometimes has even hand written a post he wanted to put here for me to type it and post it for him. I believe he sent one email in his entire life, that he typed and I showed him how to click send. He got up and said ok that is about it for me I am more comfortable having you do it. giggle
But he knows who you all are and asks about how you are doing often. So he is very much a part of this place as well in his own way.
Thank you and a BIG hug for each one of you.
Love
Chrissie

…..Thank you John 5 (VN69/70) for this video.

Following is the year-end letter that David Petraeus, commanding general of coalition forces in Iraq, sent to the men and women under his command.
Petraeus Detects ‘Newfound Sense Of Hope On Which We Can Build’
Investors Business Daily
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Civilians of Multinational Force-Iraq:

“As 2007 draws to a close, you should look back with pride on what you, your fellow troopers, our Iraqi partners and Iraqi coalition civilians have achieved this year.
A year ago, Iraq was racked by horrific violence and on the brink of civil war. Now levels of violence and civilian and military casualties are significantly reduced, and hope has been rekindled in many Iraqi communities.
To be sure, the progress is reversible and there is much more to be done. Nonetheless, the hard-fought accomplishments of 2007 have been substantial, and I want to thank each of you for the contributions you made to them.
In response to the challenges that faced Iraq a year ago, we and our Iraqi partners adopted a new approach. We increased our focus on securing the Iraqi people and, in some cases, delayed transition of tasks to Iraqi forces.
Additional U.S. and Georgian forces were deployed to the theater, the tours of U.S. units were extended and Iraqi forces conducted a surge of their own, generating well over 100,000 more Iraqi police and soldiers during the year so that they, too, had additional forces to execute the new approach.
In places like Ramadi, Baqubah, Arab Jabour and Baghdad, you and our Iraqi brothers fought — often house by house, block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood — to wrest sanctuaries away from al-Qaida-Iraq, to disrupt extremist militia elements and to rid the streets of mafialike criminals.
Having cleared areas, you worked with Iraqis to retain them — establishing outposts in the areas we were securing, developing Iraqi security forces and empowering locals to help our efforts.
This approach has not been easy. It has required steadfastness in the conduct of tough offensive operations, creative solutions to the myriad problems on the ground, and persistence over the course of many months and during countless trying situations.
Through it all, you have proved equal to every task, continually demonstrating an impressive ability to conduct combat and stability operations in an exceedingly complex environment. Your accomplishments have given the Iraqi people new confidence and prompted many citizens to reject terror and confront those who practice it.
As the months passed in 2007, in fact, the tribal awakening that began in Al Anbar Province spread to other parts of the country.
Emboldened by improving security and tired of indiscriminate violence, extremist ideology, oppressive practices and criminal activity, Iraqis increasingly rejected al-Qaida-Iraq and rogue militia elements.
Over time, the desire of Iraqis to contribute to their own security has manifested itself in citizens volunteering for the police, the Army and concerned local citizen programs. It has been reflected in citizens providing information that has helped us find far more than double the number of arms and weapons caches we found last year. And it has been apparent in Iraqi communities supporting their local security forces.
As a result of your hard work and that of our Iraqi comrades in arms — and with the support of the local populace in many areas — we have seen significant improvements in the security situation.
The number of attacks per week is down some 60% from a peak in June of this year to a level last seen consistently in the early summer of 2005. With fewer attacks, we are also seeing significantly reduced loss of life. The number of civilian deaths is down by some 75% since its height a year ago, dropping to a level not seen since the beginning of 2006. And the number of coalition losses is down substantially as well.
We remain mindful that the past year’s progress has been purchased through the sacrifice and selfless service of all those involved and that the new Iraq must still contend with innumerable enemies and obstacles.
Al-Qaida-Iraq has been significantly degraded, but it remains capable of horrific bombings. Militia extremists have been disrupted, but they retain influence in many areas. Criminals have been apprehended, but far too many still roam Iraqi streets and intimidate local citizens and Iraqi officials.
We and our Iraqi partners will have to deal with each of these challenges in the new year to keep the situation headed in the right direction.
While the progress in a number of areas is fragile, the security improvements have significantly changed the situation in many parts of Iraq. It is now imperative that we take advantage of these improvements by looking beyond the security arena and helping Iraqi military and political leaders as they develop solutions in other areas as well, solutions they can sustain over time.
At the tactical level, this means an increasing focus on helping not just Iraqi security forces — with whom we must partner in all that we do — but also helping Iraqi governmental organizations as they endeavor to restore basic services, to create employment opportunities, to revitalize local markets, to refurbish schools, to spur local economic activity and to keep locals involved in contributing to local security.
We will have to do all of this, of course, while continuing to draw down our forces, thinning our presence and gradually handing over responsibilities to our Iraqi partners.
Meanwhile, at the national level, we will focus on helping the Iraqi government integrate local volunteers into the Iraqi security forces and other employment, develop greater ministerial capacity and capability, aid displaced people as they return and take the all-important political and economic actions needed to exploit the opportunity provided by the gains in the security arena.
The pace of progress on crucial political action to this point has been slower than Iraqi leaders had hoped. Still, there have been important steps taken in recent months.
Iraq’s leaders reached agreement on the Declaration of Principles for Friendship and Cooperation with the U.S., which lays the groundwork for an enduring relationship between our nations.
The United Nations Security Council approved Iraq’s request for a final renewal of the resolution that authorizes the coalition to operate in Iraq.
Iraq’s leaders passed an important pension law that not only extends retirement benefits to Iraqis previously left out, but also represents the first of what we hope will be additional measures fostering national reconciliation.
And Iraq’s leaders have debated at length a second reconciliation-related measure, the Accountability and Justice Bill (the de-Baathification Reform Law), as well as the 2008 National Budget, both of which likely will be brought up for a vote in early 2008.
Even so, all Iraqi participants recognize that much more must be done politically to put their country on an irreversible trajectory to national reconciliation and sustainable economic development. We will, needless to say, work closely with our embassy teammates to support the Iraq government as it strives to take advantage of the improved security environment by pursing political and economic progress.
The new year will bring many changes. Substantial force rotations and adjustments already under way will continue. One Army brigade combat team and a Marine expeditionary unit have already redeployed without replacement. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit.
Throughout that time, we will continue to adapt to the security situation as it evolves. And in the midst of all the changes, we and our Iraqi partners will strive to maintain the momentum, to press the fight and to pursue Iraq’s enemies relentlessly.
Solutions to many of the tough problems will continue to be found at your level, together with local Iraqi leaders and with your Iraqi security force partners, in company and battalion areas of operation and in individual neighborhoods and towns.
As you and your Iraqi partners turn concepts into reality, additional progress will emerge slowly and fitfully. Over time, we will gradually see fewer bad days and accumulate more good days, good weeks and good months.
The way ahead will not be easy. Inevitably, there will be more tough days and tough weeks. Unforeseen challenges will emerge. And success will require continued hard work, commitment and initiative from all involved.
As we look to the future, however, we should remember how far we have come in the past year. Thanks to the tireless efforts and courageous actions of the Iraqi people, Iraq’s political and military leaders, the Iraqi security forces and each of you, a great deal has been achieved in 2007.
Thus, as we enter a new year, we and our Iraqi partners will have important accomplishments and a newfound sense of hope on which we can build.
As always, all of your leaders, our fellow citizens back home and I deeply appreciate the dedication, professionalism, commitment and courage you display on a daily basis.
It remains the greatest of honors to serve with each of you in this critical endeavor.
Sincerely,
David H. Petraeus”

Wild Thing’s comment……..
General Patreus is a leader with gravitas. The success of the surge is the most underreported story of 2007. God bless General Petraeus, and our brave troops.

…..
Shah Mansoor Dadullah is the younger brother of the slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah (killed May 13, 2007 by Coalition forces). Shah Mansoor was released from jail by the Afghan government along with 5 other Taliban officials in exchangefor the release of an Italian journalist held captive by Taliban militants back in March.

Taliban kicks out prominent commander
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
A key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan has been dismissed for disobeying the militant group’s rules, a Taliban spokesman said Saturday.

Mansoor Dadullah was “disobeying orders” and conducting activities “against the Taliban’s rules and regulations,” said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He did not provide any details.

“For this reason Mullah Mansoor Dadullah is no longer in the Taliban and no longer a Taliban commander,” Mujahid said in a statement he attributed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Dadullah rose in the militia’s ranks as a key commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during a military operation last May in Helmand province. Mullah Dadullah was the highest-ranking Taliban commander killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Mansoor Dadullah could not be reached for comment.
Mujahid said Taliban sympathizers who had been providing help to Mansoor Dadullah should stop.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
“Mansoor Dadullah could not be reached for comment.”
Now that’s funny!
There once was a man named Dadullah
Who the Taliban said was a fool-ah
They stripped him of his rank
His hopes of glory they sank
If he takes a dirt nap, that would be so cool-ah.

Sweethearts for Soldiers

Dallas Cheerleaders came with Wayne Newton for a concert at Camp Anaconda,
Balad, Iraq, Nov 2003. Neal McCoy is singing for them. Video by Sgt. John Hansen, 109th Med.

NFL POST SEASON STANDINGS – WEEK 17
AFC
#1 – New England Patriots – have clinched #1 seed.
#2 – Indianapolis Colts – have clinched #2 seed.
#3 – San Diego Chargers – can clinch #3 seed with a win or a Steelers loss.
#4 – Pittsburgh Steelers – can clinch #3 seed with a win and a Chargers loss or tie.
#5 – Jacksonville Jaguars – have clinched #5 seed.
#6 – Cleveland Browns – can clinch #6 seed with a Titans loss OR a win and tie and a Titans tie.
#7 – Tennessee Titans – can clinch #6 seed with a win or a tie and a Browns loss.
NFC
#1 – Dallas Cowboys – have clinched #1 seed.
#2 – Green Bay Packers – have clinched #2 seed.
#3 – Seattle Seahawks – have clinched #3 seed.
#4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – have clinched #4 seed.
#5 – New York Giants – have clinched #5 seed.
#6 – Washington Redskins – can clinch #6 seed with a win, a tie and a Vikings loss or tie OR a Vikings loss and a Saints loss or tie.
#7 – Minnesota Vikings – can clinch #6 seed with a win and a Redskins loss or tie OR a tie and a Redskins loss.
#8 – New Orleans Saints – can clinch #6 seed with a win and a Redskins and Vikings loss.

Here are the matchups for Week of Sunday, December 30th Time (EST)
SF @ CLE 1:00 PM
JAC @ HOU 1:00 PM
NO @ CHI 1:00 PM
DET @ GB 1:00 PM
BUF @ PHI 1:00 PM
CIN @ MIA 1:00 PM
SEA @ ATL 1:00 PM
CAR @ TB 1:00 PM
DAL @ WAS 4:15 PM
PIT @ BAL 4:15 PM
STL @ ARI 4:15 PM
MIN @ DEN 4:15 PM
SD @ OAK 4:15 PM
KC @ NYJ 4:15 PM
TEN @ IND 8:15 PM
Byes: None

These are the teams I think everyone is for. I will add to this as you tell me your favorite teams.
(Some names are those deployed in Iraq)
Lynn – Broncos, Bears, Browns
Tom – Cowboys, Broncos
Darth – New York Giants, Tampa Bay Bucs, (ABP – ‘anybody’ but Philly )
Mark – Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Bears
Bob – Buffalo Bills
Billy – Jets, NY Giants, Bears
Nick – Cowboys, Rams and Raiders
Karsten – Tampa Bay Bucs, NY Giants
navycopjoe – Chicago Bears
LindaSOG – Miami Dolphins
Jonathan – Raiders
Dawn – Seahawks, Bronco’s ….(husband USARMY delpoyed, Iraq)
Amber – Green Bay Packers …..(husband USMC delpoyed Iraq)
Cuchieddie – Raiders
Sierrahome – Colts
patrickdaniel – Chargers, Cowboys
Eve – Colts ….(husband USARMY deployed Iraq)
Beth – Bears , Saints
Chief – Seahwaks
Chrissie – Bears, Broncos and Cowboys
Deployed:
Andy ( USMC) – Colts
Mike ( USARMY) – Seattle Seahawks
Sand Man ( (USMC) – Bronco’s
Dave (USARMY) – Patriots
Tim ( USMC) – Bears
Jean ( USARMY) – Atlanta Falcons
Greg (USARMY) – Eagles
Max ( USARMY- Cowboys
Pete ( USMC) – Bronco’s
Steve – (USAF) – Bronco’s
Tony – (USARMY) – Redskins

Sunday FINAL Scores
JAC 28 @ HOU 42 FINAL
CAR 31 @ TB 23 FINAL
BUF 9 @ PHI 17 FINAL
CIN 38 @ MIA 25 FINAL
DET 13 @ GB 34 FINAL
SF 7 @ CLE 20 FINAL
NO 25 @ CHI 33 FINAL
SEA 41 @ ATL 44 FINAL
MIN 19 @ DEN 22 FINAL
STL 19 @ ARI 48 FINAL
SD 30 @ OAK 17 FINAL
DAL 6 @ WAS 27 FINAL
PIT 21 @ BAL 27 FINAL
KC 10 @ NYJ 13 FINAL
TEN 16 @ IND 10 FINAL

Thompson: Too Much Belly Fire Not Good
WASHINGTON, Iowa
AP
Fred Thompson said Saturday he’s not consumed with winning the White House and that a president with too much fire in the belly is not necessarily a good thing in a dangerous world.

“I like to say that I’m only consumed by very, very few things and politics is not one of them,” Thompson said at a town hall meeting in nearby Burlington. “The welfare of my country and my kids and grandkids are one of them. But if people really want in their president a super type-A personality, someone who has gotten up every morning and gone to bed every night thinking about for years how they could achieve the presidency of the United States, someone who could look you straight in the eye and say they enjoy every minute of campaigning — I ain’t that guy.”

Thompson said some candidates have become too absorbed by the process and have lost sight of the ultimate need to serve the country.

“Nowadays, it’s all about fire in the belly,” he said. “I’m not sure in the world we live in today it’s a terribly good thing that a president has too much fire in his belly.”

Burlington attorney Todd Chelf, whose question elicited Thompson’s response, said he appreciated the reply.

“It’s almost refreshing to see that kind of response as opposed to what we get normally,” he said. “I think there’s a passion there. I think that it’s an old-fashioned passion.”

“I am not consumed by personal ambition,” Thompson said. “I will not be devastated if I don’t do it. I’m not particularly interested in running for president.” He said others encouraged him to run and he decided it was the right thing to do.

“I approached it from a standpoint … of kind of a marriage,” he said. “You know if one side of the marriage has to be really talked into the marriage, you know it probably ain’t going to be a good deal for either one of them. But if you mutually think that this is a good thing — in this case you think it’s a good thing for the country — then you have an opportunity to do some wonderful things together. I’m offering myself up. I’m saying that I have the background and capability and the concern to do this.”

However, he said people who question his commitment should realize that he dropped lucrative television and radio contracts to run and no longer accepts paid speaking tours to make the run.

“I and my family have made sacrifices for me to be sitting here today,” he said. “I haven’t had any income for a long time because I’m doing this. I guess a man would have to be a total fool to do all those things and to be leaving his family, which is not a joyful thing at all, if he didn’t want to do it.”

Thompson said he just wants voters to know what to expect from him.

“I go out of my way to be myself cause I don’t want anybody to think they’re getting something they’re not getting,” he said. “I’m not consumed by this process. I’m not consumed with the notion of being president. I’m simply saying I’m willing to do what’s necessary to achieve it if I’m in synch with the people and if the people want me or somebody like me.”

At his stop in the community of Washington, Thompson joked about Democrat John Edwards, who had an event at the same time just a few blocks away.

“I understand my friend John Edwards is in town. He’s over at the library. I hope he learns something while he’s over there,” Thompson said. “I like our bus better. Go out and check them out.”

Wild Thing’s comment……..

“I understand my friend John Edwards is in town. He’s over at the library. I hope he learns something while he’s over there,” Thompson said. LOL!!
“Thompson said some candidates have become too absorbed by the process and have lost sight of the ultimate need to serve the country.”
Absolutely spot on!
I have mentioned on here how I wish Fred Thompson had fire in his belly, I know others on here have said the same thing. This is a two fold feeling I have from this.
One, is how nice it is to have someone running that is not the typical politician, such as a person like Obama that has wanted this since he was a kid ( the power and position), and someone like Hillary that has directed her life and marriage to get herself in a place of power OVER the people and take things away from them for their own good as she has said. Or so many others on both sides of the fence that are obviously eating and sleeping their goal of obtaining the power of being the President of the most powerful country in the world. Willing to sell their soul to the devil to get there, and take us along with them and our country into some nightmare of socialism and or global new world order as BOTH the Bush’s have directed their terms.
It is refreshing like the man with the question said in the article. It feels clean and good and strong and not someone more concerned with the power as much as wanting to do something for his country. That can never be a bad thing.
The other side of the coin is the passion., that fire in the belly that was mentioned. I know about passion I live my life from it and with it 24/7. It uses a lot of energy to have it believe me and I am a B personality not a Type A, but it does keep a person from brining out. It drives ones soul even when exhausted, it stirs the deepest part of ones being to keep on and never give up.
When faced with foe on any topic it sends alarms off inside ones gut, and the backbone to not weaken and stay strong even if it is not popular with those demanding you to go along with the crowd and take the low road on something.
Passion not obsession and there is a difference. Mitt, Huck, Obama, Rudy, Hillary, McCain, and the others have obsession and there is a huge difference. Obsession causes a person to make mistakes, to lower their standards, to lie to try and reach their goals, to deceive at any cost to get the power they crave.
All of this of course is my opinion, but because of having passion I have thought a lot about it, the why, and how it works.
Even this blog is a form of my passion. Passion for our military, for our Veterans wanting to make sure they know how much they mean to me, and to my living in the land of the free.
My passion for politics knowing to stick ones head in the sand IMO is not being a good American, I prefer to be a citizen living on the field when others live in apathy and sit comfortably in the stands of life. They never have the feeling the extreme pride in our Nation, tears in their eyes and their heart swelling with tremendous pride in those that made all this possible, this country America, compared to those not caring as long as it does not effect their drive to work or their getting the morning paper.
Fred mentioned he has not been paid since he started his campaign. OK let me just say this, as an actress( retired) and Nick as a Stuntman and actor ( retired) we receive residuals. Checks that come in the mail from Screen Actors Guild, on a monthly basis. These are paid out to us from former movies, and TV shows we were on. The more they run these things the less the check becomes, but it is still income. And we pay taxes on it which also proves it is income. Fred Thompson, I think he is a good man and I would for him to win. But I just want to clear up his statement as to no income. He has worked a lot in showbiz and therefore when they air let’s say ” Law and Order” for instance he will receive residuals for every show he has done. And that is for life and on as the checks will also be sent to the person that is his beneficiary. I am not saying he lied, I know what he means, he means recent newly made income and yes he is right, he has stopped all his work to run for President.
If I could speak with Fred Thompson I would say everything I have written in this post and only add this.
Mr. Thompson, fire in the belly is not a bad thing, obsession is and totally sick. But fire in ones gut, passion for wanting to give back, passion for loving this country so much, and being concerned and outraged at how it has made a LEFT turn headed for socialism, PC ruling even our military causing more accidents, more injuries that never had to happen. THAT is fire in the belly and THAT is a passion I pray you obtain. Till then you and Duncan Hunter will be my choice for President. If one of these do not make it, America will be in serious trouble I think.
And I would ask he read this…………………..

” It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world.
Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride of slight what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for those others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are.
The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary.
There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their heart and strength.
It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who “but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier.”
Pres. Theodore Roosevelt
CITIZENSHIP IN A REPUBLIC
“The Man In The Arena”
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France ~ April 23, 1910

Gen. Petraeus Positive, Cautious on Iraq Progress
BAGHDAD, Dec. 29
Washington Posthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/29/AR2007122901169.html
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, delivered a positive but cautious assessment Saturday of progress in Iraq over the previous year,citing the drop-off in violence over the latter half of the year but warning that insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq remains the country’s preeminent threat.

Petreaus said the number of weekly attacks in Iraq — such as roadside bombs, mortars and sniper fire — has fallen by about 60 percent since June, down to about 500 a week by late this month. The number of Iraqi civilians killed in December through the 22nd appeared to be about 600, according to a graph over the past two years provided by Petraeus using combined Iraqi and U.S. figures. The highest death toll during this period was last December, when about 3,000 civilians were killed

.

“The positive security trends and the factors that produced them are changing the context in many parts of Iraq. While progress in many areas remains fragile, security has improved,” Petraeus said during a briefing for reporters inside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He added that success “will emerge slowly and fitfully, with reverses as well as advances, accumulating fewer bad days and gradually more good days. There will inevitably be more tough fighting.”

The downturn in violence is generally attributed to three factors that emerged over the year: the arrival of 30,000 additional U.S. soldiers, the emergence of tens of thousands of Sunni militiamen who aligned with American troops against al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the decision by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to call for a six-month cease-fire. Petraeus also cited a drop-off in fighters coming into Iraq from Syria and Saudia Arabia, and a decline in weapons believed to be manufactured in Iran being used in recent months.
For a time this year, U.S. officials in Iraq described Shiite militias as the most damaging and destabilizing force in the country, but Petraeus identified al-Qaeda in Iraq as the top threat.

“We call it sometimes ‘the wolf closest to the sled,’ it is the most significant enemy that Iraq faces precisely because it is the enemy that carries out the most horrific attacks, that causes the greatest damage to infrastructure and that seems most intent on reigniting ethno-sectarian violence,” he said.

He said al-Qaeda in Iraq has been diminished by aggressive military operations and by the rise of the Awakening groups, and the insurgents have responded by attacking these groups.

In an audiotape released Saturday purported to be from Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda warned Iraq’s Sunnis against joining such tribal councils or participating in any unity government. “The most evil traitors are those who trade away their religion for the sake of their mortal life,” bin Laden said, according to a translation by the Associated Press.

Petraeus said the al-Qaeda in Iraq network and its affiliates have moved into northern Iraqi provinces such as Nineveh, Diyala, and Salahuddin, after coming under pressure from U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad and Anbar provinces. The one Iraqi province that has not had a reduction in attacks is Nineveh, where insurgents operate in and around the provincial capital of Mosul.

In recent days there have been two major bombings in northern provinces, one in the oil refinery town of Baiji and another in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, that killed at least 26 people. Contrary to other trends, the number of suicide car bombs and suicide vest attacks have risen for each of the past three months, though the frequency is still below peak levels this year. There have been about 50 “high-profile” explosions in the first three weeks of December, according to U.S. military figures.

“There will be bombs,” Petraeus predicted about the future of Iraq. “If the metric is that there are no car bombs or no suicide vest bombs, I think that would just be an unrealistic metric.”

Also Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was flown to London for medical examination after suffering from what his aides described as fatigue. Reuters quoted an unnamed official saying Maliki, 57, would undergo tests on his heart.
Earlier in the week, Maliki was examined at a U.S. military hospital in the Green Zone, said Col. Steve Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman. His doctors and advisers recommended he go to London for a check-up, said Sami al-Askiri, an adviser to the prime minister. A statement from the Iraqi government described him as “fully healthy,” but suffering exhaustion.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
It must be absolutely killing the media to have to report the good news on Iraq, most especially because the key to the turnaround was the surge — the surge so strongly dismissed and opposed by the left.
But wait…….. the media is not reporting hardly anything about our troops and how they are doing. They only reported when we were being hit by the enemy.
The GOP should be SCREAMING THIS OUT … LOUD for American Ears… The Democrats were WRONG ABOUT THE SURGE!

.

NBC & CBS to Air Patriots-Giants
The networks agree to rare simulcast of professional sports event
Washington, D.C.
And also an article HERE
CBS and NBC have agreed to carry this Saturday’s historic game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants in High-Definition.
The two networks will show a simulcast of the NFL Network’s HDTV broadcast of the game, Seth Palansky, a NFL Network spokesman, told TVPredictions.com this evening.
Standard-def viewers will get the SD broadcast, the spokesman said.
The Patriots are seeking to be the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to go undefeated for an entire season.
Until now, it appeared that millions of cable viewers would miss the game because Time Warner, Charter and Cablevision have refused to carry the NFL Network, which has the rights to the Patriots-Giants broadcast.
The cable operators say the network is demanding unreasonable terms to carry it.
But a league spokesman tells the New York Times that the network, which is owned by the league, approached CBS and NBC to carry the game and they agreed.
It will be the first time that two major broadcast networks will simulcast a NFL game since the 1967 Super Bowl.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.
FINAL
38 New England Patriots
35 New York Giants
AWESOME win! The first undefeated NFL team in 35 years!

And hats off to the Giants, who played a helluva game to the end.
I really thought the Giants were going to win this, but then Brady shows why he is this decade’s Joe Montana. That throw to Moss was something.
Patriots Make History With 16-0 Season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – With one mighty heave, Tom Brady and Randy Moss took care of the record books. Now it’s down to business for the unbeaten New England Patriots: stamping themselves as the greatest team in NFL history.
The Patriots completed a perfect if somewhat joyless journey through the regular season Saturday night, finishing with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants.
New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a comeback from a 12-point deficit engineered by the brilliant Brady, and smashed the Patriots’ league mark for consecutive victories.
Validation of their inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship, their fourth of the decade. Do that and there’ll be no challenge to their spot at the top.

Kabul- Buzkashi game; European Union and UN thrown out.
In Kabul, Buzkashi game December 28, 2007

Both photos of Taliban terrorists in Musa Qala, southern Helmand province, south east of Kabul.

In Kabul, under the burka, a women with explosives under burka
One arrested in eastern Afghanistan.

U.S. Air Force identify ordnance found in a cache in Ruwaydah, Iraq, on Dec. 18, 2007.

Fred Thompson on Federalism
Before anything else, folks in Washington ought to be asking first and foremost, “Should government be doing this? And if so, then at what level of government?” But they don’t.
– Fred Thompson
http://www.fred08.com/Virtual/Federalism.aspx
There is a video at his site and also a lengthy article he wrote on the subject of Federalism. Both are very good.