If you haven’t read Ben Connable’s op-ed in the Washington Post today, do so now.

When I told people that I was getting ready to head back to Iraq for my third tour, the usual response was a frown, a somber head shake and even the occasional “I’m sorry.” When I told them that I was glad to be going back, the response was awkward disbelief, a fake smile and a change of subject. The common wisdom seems to be that Iraq is an unwinnable war and a quagmire and that the only thing left to decide is how quickly we withdraw.

… he describes what it’s really like on the ground, and then …

It is this false impression that has led us to a moment of national truth. The proponents of the quagmire vision argue that the very presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is the cause of the insurgency and that our withdrawal would give the Iraqis their only true chance for stability. Most military officers and NCOs with ground experience in Iraq know that this vision is patently false. Although the presence of U.S. forces certainly inflames sentiment and provides the insurgents with targets, the anti-coalition insurgency is mostly a symptom of the underlying conditions in Iraq. It may seem paradoxical, but only our presence can buffer the violence enough to allow for eventual stability.

The precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops would almost certainly lead to a violent and destabilizing civil war. The Iraqi military is not ready to assume control and would not miraculously achieve competence in our absence. As we left, the insurgency would turn into internecine violence, and Iraq would collapse into a true failed state. The fires of the Iraqi civil war would spread, and terrorists would find a new safe haven from which to launch attacks against our homeland.

… more …

A fellow Marine and close friend epitomizes this sentiment. Sean has served two tours in Iraq as a reserve officer. During his last tour, he was informed of the birth of his baby girl by e-mail, learned his father was dying of cancer, and was wounded in the same blast of an improvised explosive that killed his first sergeant on a dirt road in the middle of the western desert. Sean loves his family and his job, but he has made it clear that he would rather go back to Iraq than see us withdraw.

Everyone in uniform does not share this sentiment. Thirty-six percent of military officers are less confident in the mission. But these officers will continue to work as hard as the rest of us toward success because they, too, are professionals. With men and women such as this, the United States has an excellent chance of success in Iraq. We can fail only if the false imagery of quagmire takes hold and our national political will is broken. In that event, both the Iraqi people and the American troops will pay a long-term price for our shortsighted delusion.

Thank you Major Connable, not only for serving, but for sharing your perspective.

No surprise really, Governor Mitt Romney is not seeking reelection, presumably to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

The 58-year-old businessman, son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney, has spent less than three years in elective office, but in that time the state has closed a $3 billion budget deficit without raising taxes, schools have scored first in national math and science tests and Romney held out until the Legislature gave him a tough new drunken driving law he demanded

Gov. Romney is a Mormon, which may throw an interesting twist into the mix for ‘08, as we’re already seeing commentary like this from the Globe.

Should he run for president, a decision he is expected to announce closer to the 2008 election, Romney will need to break through a pack of more prominent Republicans, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

There has also been an undercurrent of concern among Christian conservatives, particularly in the vital South, rooted in his Mormon faith.

UPDATE: David Darlington over at ITA thinks he might be able to win over Christian voters.

If Romney decides in favor of a White House run, how will his Mormonism play in Peoria (or, more accurately, Birmingham)? Can a Mormon be the standard-bearer for the Christian Right and the conservative movement against the party’s moderate wing led by John McCain and Rudy Giuliani? My instinct says yes. The political arm of the evangelical movement is more concerned with its candidates having the “right” positions on abortion, gay marriage, public education, and the separation of church and state than they are on whether a person’s personal or theological house is in order. Call me cynical, but I think that explains the movement’s loyalty to some of its morally compromised characters over the years.

The New York Times apparently didn’t fact check this story about [non]forged ballots in Iraq. Ouch. Confederate Yankee is on it.

Via CQ.

UPDATE: James Joyner has more.

Ed Morrissey thinks the fact that the borders are closed makes it a slam dunk that the NYT report is wrong. Of course, the U.S. border with Mexico is technically “closed,” too. Bob Owens likewise takes the denial at face value.

It’s not inconceivable that al-Khafaji is lying. One would think, though, reports of his men doing their job quite superbly would reflect well on him, so his motivation for lying in this case is hard to fathom.

The fact that the NYT based its story on a single, unnamed source is the real problem here. There should certainly be a lot more caveats in the piece if that’s all they had backing it up.

He can now wear his George W. Bush, International Terrorist T-Shirt.

From the USPS:

Mailing Tips:

Santa has offered to share these easy tips with children and their families to help their letters get to him as quickly and safely as possible:

- Children should ask their parents for help addressing and putting stamps on their letters. This can help reduce misspellings - which can slow down letters - or using too much or too little postage.
- Like all mail, it’s important that letters to Santa include a complete return address with ZIP Code.
- Santa enjoys candy canes and cookies, and his reindeer enjoy fresh hay. But because these treats can be damaged or crushed when sent in a regular envelope, Santa says it’s better to leave them out on Christmas Eve than to mail them.
- No extra packaging material, such as string or tape, is needed on a letter to Santa. The glue on the envelope flap does the trick.

This has to be an elaborate marketing hoax.

Weblinkhosting.com, a web hosting company in New York is set to do what no hosting company has done before. That is to legally adopt a child under the name of the company. The child will live at the web hosting data center where he will be provided with food, clothing, shelter and love from the owner and employee’s.

And speaking of marketing gimics, this one is great.

Mayor Roberto Pereira da Silva’s proposal to the Town Council asks residents to “take good care of your health in order not to die” and warns that “infractors will be held responsible for their acts.”

The bill, which sets no penalty for passing away, is meant to protest a federal law that has barred a new or expanded cemetery in Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 people 45 miles east of Sao Paulo.

Why would he do this? To protest the Brazillian equivalent of the EPA:

A 2003 decree by Brazil’s National Environment Council bars new or expanded cemeteries in so-called permanent preservation areas or in areas with high water tables. Environmental protection measures rule out cremation.

I’ve never heard of this before. If it’s really a trend, it’s something parents ought to be aware of. Scary stuff.

An 11-year-old Horsham boy died over the weekend while playing a high-risk game in which children and teenagers cut off the flow of oxygen to the brain as a way to get high.

…

Children, usually between the ages of 9 and 17, cut off oxygen to the brain using a belt, rope, sheet or other item and tying it to a bedpost or doorknob.

People who faint before they release the pressure choke themselves. Those who don’t die can still kill large numbers of brain cells and the variation in blood pressure can cause strokes, seizures and retinal damage.

The game is also known as the Pass-Out Game, Knock Out, Gasp, Space Monkey, Suffocation, Fainting and American Dream.