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January 8, 2007 [LINK / comment]
Herb Harman: back from Iraq!
Here is some great news: I happened to catch an interview late this afternoon on WHSV TV-3 with Staff Sgt. Herb Harman, who just completed a year-long tour of duty in Iraq. He is an Army reservist who volunteered to serve in Iraq, and was assigned to a military police unit, helping train Iraqi government security forces. Herb is a resident of Augusta County and has been active with the local Republican Party; see last March 8. The strain of serving in a dangerous area (Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle) clearly shows on his face, and he said he learned a lot while he was there, but he still voiced support for carrying on the mission of helping to stabilize Iraq. For the large majority of Americans who are wimpy civilians (myself included), the sacrifices he endured to serve his country cannot even be imagined. "Hero" would be putting it mildly. But for now, the most important is returning to his family.
UPDATE: A video clip of the report on the return of 654th Military Police Company, and the "One on One" interview with Sgt. Harman conducted by anchorman Bob Corso, is now available at the WHSV TV-3 Web site.
Is our military exhausted?
Victor Davis Hanson questions the assumption (which I have expressed) that our military forces are at the brink of exhaustion. He recently paid a visit to Iraq, and found that our troops are being kept as well supplied and as comfortable as possible in a hostile environment such as that. Applying his perspective as a military historian, he recalls the enormous casualties at the Battle of the Bulge, Okinawa, and Korea, and concludes, "To say that the American military is ruined after fighting in Iraq is preposterous by both present and past standards of combat losses." He also downplays the fears of a strategic setback and hand-wringing over previous battlefield mistakes, which happen in every war. It's a good dose of sobriety at a crucial moment as President Bush ponders the surge option.
Are wars winding down?
Strategy Page surveyed the global military situation, and found that "Fighting has died down considerably, or disappeared completely, in places like Nepal, Chechnya, Congo, Indonesia and Burundi." (Hat tip to Barcepundit.)
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 09 Jan 2007, 11: 45 AM
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Category archives:
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 4, 2007 ~ 110th Congress: open for business
January 24, 2007 ~ The State of the Union, 2007
March 28, 2007 ~ Mark Steyn's America Alone
April 19, 2007 ~ Senator Hanger comes to Staunton
April 30, 2007 ~
Sen. Hanger's campaign kick-off
June 1, 2007 ~
Stars shine for Senator Hanger
June 12, 2007 ~
Republicans In Name Only? You be the judge!
June 13, 2007 ~
How sweet: Reason prevails
June 24, 2007 ~
SWAC bloggers air dirty laundry
August 13, 2007 ~ Hasta la vista, Karl Rove
August 21, 2007 ~
Fading dreams of democracy
August 6, 2007 ~
Nats sweep World Champion Cards!
September 23, 2007 ~ Au revoir, RFK Stadium
October 18, 2007 ~ Nationals 2007: Year in review
October 25, 2007 ~
Augusta County Campaign 2007
October 29, 2007 ~ Red Sox sweep Rockies; Dynasty?
November 7, 2007 ~ Democrats win Virginia Senate
December 14, 2007 ~ The Mitchell Report is released
December 29, 2007 ~
The death of Benazir Bhutto
December 31, 2007 ~ Baseball 2007: Year in Review
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
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The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
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