SAN ANTONIO - An Air Force staff sergeant who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been relieved of her duties while the military investigates, officials said Thursday.

In February's issue, hitting newsstands this week, Michelle Manhart is photographed in uniform yelling and holding weapons under the headline "Tough Love." The following pages show her partially clothed, wearing her dog tags while working out, as well as completely nude.

Do you think this Marine was treated fairly? Did she cross the line? What do you think should happen to a male marine if he posed for a woman's magazine of the same nature as Playboy?

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration and holdout GOP senators expressed confidence on Sunday they could reach a compromise on rules for CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists.

Neither the president's national security aides nor some of the lawmakers who are resisting White House pressure would say how they can reconcile their deep differences after a week of public sparring.

Does Article 3 of the Geneva Convention really keep other countries from torturing our citizens when interrogating them to extract information?


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Even as they serve overseas, America's military men and women face a growing threat at home: Predatory lenders. The problem is so bad the Department of Defense says it's weakening the military.

"We do need legislative assistance to curb this problem," says David Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness at the Pentagon.

Is this industry any different than the Pawn shop industry? The good thing is that there is little leverage in regulating pawn shops but lending is subject to guidelines and laws. Unfortunately, the people who need financial help the most are often taken advantage of because they have little recourse to "fight back," or defend themselves against greed. More attention and regulation probably needs to be directed at this industry.

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The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial said Thursday that he does not believe Hussein was a dictator.

Judge Abdullah al-Amiri made the remark in a friendly exchange with the deposed leader, a day after the prosecution said the judge should step down because he is biased toward the defense. Hussein and his co-defendants are being tried on charges of committing atrocities against Kurds in northern Iraq nearly two decades ago.

Does justice exist in Iraq? Are we letting a Fox guard the hen house? Is the judge more worried about his own skin, afraid, or just part of a new crop of oppressors?

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Four-year-old Gabriel Jacobs inherited his dad's sandy hair, long nose and blue eyes. The day they buried what was left of his father --a piece of rib, part of a thigh bone, a bit of one arm -- the boy released a balloon into the air, then turned that familiar face skyward to make sure his daddy caught it.

In some parts of the world there is a great deal of anti-american sentiment beign expressed. On CNN.com today an article stated,

"Critics say Americans have squandered the goodwill that prompted France's Le Monde newspaper to proclaim "We are all Americans" the day after the attacks, and that the Iraq war and other U.S. policies have made the world less safe in the five years since.
In Europe, where Islamic terror has struck twice since 9/11, in the Madrid train bombings and the London transit attacks, the silent tributes were tinged with doubts and recriminations."

If the rest of the world doesn't like how the United States is handling the "War on Terror,” and make no mistake we are at war, then perhaps they can explain to Gabriel Jacobs why he will never see his father's face, hear his voice, or feel his arms wrapped around him. If they can do a better job, why haven't they? It’s easy to sit back, do little and point fingers.
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It's a numbers game, pure and simple. Recruiters are judged by their superiors primarily upon the number of recruits they get to sign up. Sign up large numbers, and you're judged to be a good recruiter. Fail to sign up the minimum number assigned to you (known as "making mission"), and you can find your career at a dead-end. This policy pressures some recruiters to adopt unethical practices in order to "make mission."

So, you ask, "why don't the services put a stop to this?" Easier said, than done. Each of the services have recruiting regulations which make it a crime for recruiters to lie, cheat, or knowingly process applicants that they know are ineligible for enlistment. Recruiters are punished when they are caught violating the standards. However, the key phrase is "when they are caught." Not that easy to do, as there are usually no witnesses. It becomes a "he said/he said" type of deal.

Recruiters are getting a bad rap these days as pressure to perform pushes some of them to bend or break the rules. Rod has written an excellent article about what recruiters might not have told you. If you are considering joining you might want to give this a close look.

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Hizbullah's bombs: According to a recent Newsweek report, Hizbullah 's chief, Hassan Nasrallah - after two years of bragging about a remote-control aircraft that could carry an explosive device to strike a target anywhere inside Israel - finally put that threat into action a few weeks ago, during the Lebanon war , launching three pilotless planes toward Israeli targets -- including two on the war's last day.

It's just scary that people don't even have to get their hands dirty to send a devastating bomb into enemy territory. At least terrorists have to plant bombs or blow themselves up.

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The U.N. Security Council has set Thursday as a deadline for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment - a process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or material for weapons. Iran has refused any immediate suspension, calling the deadline illegal, and instead this week offered a counterproposal that the United States and some European nations said fell short.

Ahmadinejad's latest show of defiance seemed to solidify the country's determination to snub the Security Council, following a string of war games and uncompromising public statements this month on the nuclear standoff. But whether the U.S. can muster enough support on the 15-nation council to impose economic or political sanctions remains in question.

In his criticism of the Security Council, Ahmadinejad singled out two of its permanent members with veto power - the United States and Britain - for what he called their failure to listen to the needs of other countries.

"The U.S. and Britain are the source of many tensions," he said. "At the Security Council, where they have to protect security, they enjoy the veto right. If anybody confronts them, there is no place to take complaints to."

"This (veto right) is the source of problems of the world," he said. "It is an insult to the dignity, independence, freedom and sovereignty of nations."

As crazy as I think the president of Iran is, is he right about the veto power the U.S. and Britain have? Why does anyone have veto power and what is it for? Still, Iran seems bent on stirring the pot. I'm not sure if they truly want the nuclear power for ... power or for weapons. They are a very dangerous country by all accounts. I wonder if anyone has ever proposed that the U.N. run the nuclear power plant. Staff it with people from outside Iran and their job is to make sure the plant runs smoothly and give the Iranian people the benefit of nuclear power without giving them access to raw nuclear materials that could be used for weapons. If they are just after energy then this seems like a somewhat reasonable way to go. I don't really like the idea of them being that close to the materials in the first place but I guess you have to start somewhere.

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"With tens of thousands of Guard members training at mobilization stations, the military does not have the resources available to pick them up and take them home," Horton adds. "That's why here in Alabama, we have deployment ceremonies before units leave the state to report to mobilization stations."

The policy has inspired a minor furor in Birmingham, according to one resident with no direct ties to the military.

"Our young people [are] willing to lay down their lives for our country, but we cannot (or will not) bring them home for one last visit with their family before they ship out?" schoolteacher Jessie Peeples wrote in an email to Military.com.

She heard about the policy on a local radio program last week.

"The people who listen to the talk show are very upset about this situation. The callers to the show were of all ages," Peeples recalls. "Any state should be much more grateful to their military. Or is it much easier just to say we are grateful for what our young people do in the defense of this country, rather than to dip into our pocketbooks and show we are thankful?"

I'm all for the military helping our soldiers get home to see their families. However, it doesn't seem realistic with the sheer volume of soldiers. I'm not sure what the solution would be, but families could come see their soldiers or they could have parties before they go off to training. Maybe some sort of travel allowance could be arranged or a deal with Greyhound or other transportation companies. There has to be a reasonable way to get this done.

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First, the plan calls for maintaining a unified Iraq by decentralizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions. The central government would be left in charge of common interests, such as border security and the distribution of oil revenue.

Second, it would bind the Sunnis to the deal by guaranteeing them a proportionate share of oil revenue. Each group would have an incentive to maximize oil production, making oil the glue that binds the country together.

Third, the plan would create a massive jobs program while increasing reconstruction aid %u2014 especially from the oil-rich Gulf states %u2014 but tying it to the protection of minority rights.

Fourth, it would convene an international conference that would produce a regional nonaggression pact and create a Contact Group to enforce regional commitments.

Fifth, it would begin the phased redeployment of U.S. forces this year and withdraw most of them by the end of 2007, while maintaining a small follow-on force to keep the neighbors honest and to strike any concentration of terrorists.

Now this sounds like an interesting plan. I haven't seen this laid out like this before and it sound like it could possibly work. I'm sure there would be problems, especially at first, but the general idea sounds better than most I've heard. Other countries are split (N. Korea, S. Korea etc.) and so the idea is sound. Do you think this will work, or happen at all?


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Abu Ghraib prison, whose name became synonymous with abuse, has been emptied of detainees, a senior Iraqi justice ministry official said Sunday.

"There's not a single prisoner left there," Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim told The Associated Press.

The facility has been turned over to Iraqi authorities since it was emptied on Aug. 15, he said.

Iraqi authorities have not decided what they will do with the empty facility, Ibrahim said.

This prison has been plagued with controversy. Moving away from it was a logical choice and probably more a matter of public opinion than any other reason.

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A new report from Chatham House, a leading London think-tank, argues that the strength and complexity of Iran%u2019s links with Russia and its neighbours underpin its new confidence. Its most striking observation grabbed headlines yesterday, because of the embarrassment it implies for Tony Blair and President Bush. Iran, it says, has been the %u201Cmain beneficiary%u201D of the Iraq war. But that is mainly because there is little competition for that title; few have done well in any sense.

Iran has benefited, the authors argue, because the US removed Saddam Hussein and the Taleban, both hostile to Iran, and nothing much has filled the gap. Iran is now more influential in Iraq than the US.

The authors warn the US from conflict with Iran, lest it force the coalition to quit Iraq abruptly, which they argue it could do. The US%u2019s predicament in Iraq is, they say, a key reason why Iran seems so surefooted in spinning out the nuclear saga to its advantage.

Iran is very much a political nightmare. They have ties to so many places and that is making it very difficult to negotiate with them. Russia, for one, has ties with Iran but they are also against Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. I can't even imagine how complex this situation is and I don't envy those who have to somehow find a way to resolve this issue.

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Come to Iraq, and it's handy to know a second language.

Arabic? Oh no, dear readers. The language of "Acronym." As in:

"There's been a SitRep of SIGACT near the LZ. You may need CAS or an ASR. Go with the IA or a PSD because the AIF are everywhere. Check with the LMCC first, and don't use LECs. Don't forget your LRCT and PMR, and touch base with RSO when you get there."

It's a running joke here at the office about the way the military talks. Check out this article for a fun like at "military-ese".
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The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed back to 138,000, driven up in part by the need to control the escalating violence in Baghdad and the decision to delay the departure of an Alaska-based Army brigade.

The increase comes as the U.S. Marine Corps is preparing to order thousands of its troops to active duty in the first involuntary recall since the early days of the war.

No more than 2,500 Marines will be recalled at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number who may be forced back into service in the coming years as the military helps fight the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next few months, and most of the Marines are expected to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Troop levels in Iraq had been declining, from about 138,000 for much of last year to a low of about 127,000 earlier this summer, amid growing calls from Congress and the public for a phased withdrawal. Part of the latest increase is due to the overlap of units that are currently moving in and out of Iraq. But much of it comes from the decision late last month to delay the departure of the 172nd Stryker Brigade for four months. The brigade had served its one-year deployment and was beginning to head home to Alaska, but was instead ordered into Baghdad.

Just when troop levels were starting to drop it looks like they'll be reaching record levels. Hopefully we have enough troops coming in to give those who've been in it for the longest a chance to come home and be with their families. All branches have been hitting their recruiting goals so we should have enough troops to rotate them without taking away all the soldiers with experience in this conflict. The rising numbers don't look good though. Violence is at an all time high and the death toll is rising. I keep wondering what's going to happen next? Where is this thing headed?


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More than 90 percent of the world's illegal opium comes from Afghanistan and drug lords thrive on political instability to protect their illicit trade.

Afghan authorities say these drug lords provide the Taleban with hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to buy people and weapons, and access to valuable smuggling routes across the border with Pakistan.

This alliance has forced the Taleban to literally sell out a core principle that drug use and cultivation is unIslamic. The hard-line Islamists are now forcing local farmers to grow the illegal opium poppy on behalf of their drug lord bankers.

How does a country end up in this kind of shape? Their chief crop and export is Opium. The majority of the jobs in this country are related to the opium trade. Without it their economy would be in trouble. How does that happen? An entire economy based around drugs? That alone is reason enough to invade that country. To free these people from drug lords. Assuming they want to be saved.

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