memeorandum: Bush to Name a New General to Oversee Iraq (New York Times)

4:40 PM ET, January 5, 2007

Top Items:

Bush to Name a New General to Oversee Iraq — President Bush has decided to name Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top American military commander in Iraq, part of a broad revamping of the military team that will carry out the administration's new Iraq strategy, administration officials said Thursday.

Juan / Informed Comment:

The Adults take Charge — The Reality Based Community Strikes Back in Iraq — The professionals take charge. Bush is bringing in Ryan Crocker, a distinguished career foreign service officer, as the new US ambassador to Iraq. And Gen. David Petraeus will replace Gen. Casey as top ground commander in Iraq.

Discussion: Defense Tech, No More Mister Nice Blog, TAPPED, Liberty Street, Political Animal, State of the Day and Outside The Beltway

Ralph Peters / New York Post:
KING DAVID RETURNS

Discussion: Thomas P.M. Barnett, The Corner and PrairiePundit

Reuters:
Bush plans changes in key advisers for Iraq fresh start

Discussion: AMERICAblog and The Debate Link

New York Times: Deadly Blasts in Baghdad Leave Gruesome Traces

speaker.gov:

Congressional Leaders Call on President to Reject Flawed Iraq Troop Surge — Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi today sent the following letter to President Bush urging him to reject his reported plan to escalate the war in Iraq by increasing troop levels …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, BobGeiger.com, AMERICAblog and Wizbang

President George W. Bush / Huffington Post:

DEM LETTER TO BUSH: "WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO REJECT ANY PLANS THAT CALL FOR OUR GETTING OUR TROOPS ANY DEEPER INTO IRAQ".... Dear Mr. President: — The start of the new Congress brings us opportunities to work together on the critical issues confronting our country.

Discussion: Hot Air and Wonkette

Brent Budowsky / The Huffington Post: Democratic Leaders Take Charge, Joe Biden Stands Tall, The Surge Battle Is Joined

United States Central Command:

Jihadist Website: Al-Zawahiri Urges Somalis, Muslims To Fight Ethiopian Forces — A jihadist website is observed on 5 January to post several links to 5-minute and 30-second audio message by Al-Qa'ida's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri entitled "Rise up and Support Your Brothers in Somalia."

Discussion: Hot Air, PrairiePundit and Secular Blasphemy

Howie / The Jawa Report:

Zawahiri Whines, Begs For Help in Somalia — Zawahiri, ashamed of the terrible cowardice of the ICU fighters, begs and pleads for them to stand and fight. as-Sahab has again used a still image of Zawahiri. I wonder why ;) — Click the pic for Video(no subtitles) — Partial Transcript Via Centcom:

Discussion: Flopping Aces and Counterterrorism Blog

Alexis Debat Reports / The Blotter:

American Passports Found on Bodies of Al Qaeda Fighters in Somalia — Alexis Debat Reports: — A senior official in the Somali government's new Ministry of the Interior told ABC News government forces had recovered "dozens of foreign passports," including several American passports …

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Times of London:
Islamists dig in by the sea as Somalia requests world's help

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs

Bryan / Hot Air:

Barney Frank accuses Bush of genocide "ethnic cleansing" Major Update — There's no other way around it: When you accuse someone of perpetrating "ethnic cleansing" in any way, shape or form, you are accusing them of genocide. — Genocide. Let that word work its way around your mind for an moment.

Discussion: JunkYardBlog, WILLisms.com, SevenStripes.com, The Jawa Report, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang, Townhall.com Blog's …, The Moderate Voice, Cold Fury, Ace of Spades HQ and jules crittenden

Judd / Think Progress:

Lott: I May Oppose Troop Escalation — Yesterday on MSNBC, Trent Lott (R-MS), the second ranking Republican in the Senate, said that he may oppose troop escalation in Iraq. Watch it: — Lott's comments are particularly significant because, as the Minority Whip, he's responsible for bringing …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and IntoxiNation

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Lott: Administration "Pushed" Intel on Iraq

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Eschaton

Bill Ardolino / Examiner:

Grit and guts for Navy corpsmen in a Fallujah police station — WASHINGTON - Editor's note: Blogger Bill Ardolino is embedded with a U.S. Marine unit in Iraq. He's there to find out the truth about the U.S. war effort on the ground in Iraq. Unlike the vast majority of mainstream media journalists …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Bill / INDCJournal:
First Examiner Piece/Hangin' with the IPLOS

Discussion: Bill's Bites, Balloon Juice and Captain's Quarters

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

White House Postponing Loss of Iraq, Biden Says — Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said yesterday that he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone disaster …

Discussion: Political Animal, NewsMax.com, Dr. Sanity, Think Progress, Blogs for Bush, rubber hose and Needlenose

Michael J. Totten:

"It's Like a Phish Concert for Terrorists" — BEIRUT - While Hezbollah occupied the Beirut city center in an attempt to bring down the government, I teamed up with my American friend Noah Pollak, who works as assistant editor at Azure Magazine in Jerusalem, and took a trip to Hezbollah's stronghold in South Lebanon.

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

The Hanging: Beyond Travesty — Of the 6 billion people on this Earth, not one killed more people than Saddam Hussein. And not just killed but tortured and mutilated — doing so often with his own hands and for pleasure. It is quite a distinction to be the preeminent monster on the planet.

Discussion: Andrew Sullivan and Daily Pundit

Thomas Harding / Telegraph:

Navy to cut its fleet by half — Royal Navy commanders were in uproar yesterday after it was revealed that almost half of the Fleet's 44 warships are to be mothballed as part of a Ministry of Defence cost-cutting measure. — Senior officers have said the plans will turn Britain's once-proud Navy …

Discussion: EU Referendum, Blue Crab Boulevard and The Corner