Ed Stoffel

28 December 2007

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Civilians of Multi-National 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 in 2007. A year ago, Iraq was racked by horrific violence and on the brink of civil war. Now, levels of violence and civilians 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.

Why Spying and Policymaking Don't Mix

The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran? How are we to judge the intelligence community's relationship with the White House and the rest of the government?

Continue Reading: Misreading the Iran Report, Henry A. Kissinger

The citizens of the free world have nothing to worry any more -- America's spy masters have recovered their missing crystal ball. No fewer than 16 U.S. intelligence agencies have just told us that the Iranian nuclear program really is not so dangerous. According to the National Intelligence Estimate, Tehran has, for reasons yet to be explained, supposedly stopped the military plank of its atomic research. Before rolling out the peace banners, though, it's worth looking at the agencies' track record in getting these sorts of "estimates" right...

Continue Reading: American Intelligence, Claude Moniquet, WSJ

Tiffany Johnson and Philip Crouse were among those killed in the attacks at a megachurch in Colorado Springs and at the Youth With a Mission missionary center in the Denver suburb of Arvada, while five others were wounded.

In the first incident, a black-clad young man armed with a handgun opened fire after being turned away from a Christian missionary training centre in Arvada, a Denver suburb in Colorado, around 12.30am. He had knocked at the door asking if he could spend the night. He shot four staff members at the Youth With A Mission Center, killing Tiffany Johnson, 26, and Philip Crouse, 24, and seriously injuring two other men before escaping on foot into the snowy night. Despite a search using dogs, police were unable to find him.

Some 12 hours later and 70 miles away, a gunman wearing a black trench coat and armed with a rifle and at least one handgun opened fire at the New Life Church, a leading evangelical megachurch in Colorado Springs. The gunman was shot dead by a female church security guard. The New Life Church has a congregation of 10,000. Richard Meyers, Colorado Springs police chief, praised the church guard who shot dead the gunman, describing her as "a courageous security staff member who probably saved many lives today." The shooting at the New Life Church occurred at the end of the 11am service as hundreds of people were milling about and parents were collecting their children from nursery. As the shots rang out, church leaders herded those still inside the building into the basement.

Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachel Works, 16, were killed when Murray entered the main foyer of New Life Church and opened fire with a high-powered rifle, police said. Their father, David Works, 51, was in fair condition with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and groin area. Also injured were Judy Purcell, 40, who suffered a gunshot wound to her right shoulder, and Larry Bourbannais, 59, who had a gunshot wound in his left forearm, police said. The deceased gunman has been identified as Matthew J. Murray, 24, of Englewood, Co.

Officers found several smoke-generating devices on the church campus; their intended purpose wasn't clear. Boyd said the security guard rushed the attacker, who didn't get more than 6 feet inside the building, and "took him down in the hallway." About 7,000 people were on the church campus at the time of the shooting, said Boyd. Security had been beefed up after the shootings hours earlier in Arvada, he said.

 Hero guard: 'It was me, the gunman, and God', WorldNetDaily

 Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941, Naval Historical Center

Lots of folks were upset awhile back when it was revealed that tech writers were recommending products to their readers, only to find out they were being paid to do so. It would be just as despicable if they were being forced to make such recommendations.

Such is the state of labor negotiations today when companies coerce union negotiators to recommend contract proposals. Union members should be able to trust the word of their negotiators that a recommendation is genuine, not coerced.

One set of contract talks broke down this week, and amazingly, the company involved admitted it was because the union negotiators refused their requirement to "recommend the proposal." This extra arm-twisting is unnecessary. Some union members are considering what to require company representatives to say back to their people.