When it rains, it pours. And information contrary to the White House's point of view on the war has been pouring in from all directions. To help channel the floodwaters (and hopefully to put an end to the rain methaphor), here are some links to some interesting primary sources and news articles.
Declassified Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate "Trends in Global Terrorism:
Implications for the United States" dated April 2006
http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/Declassified_NIE_Key_Judgments.pdf
Here is the declassified portion of the NIE that has raised all the ruckus. This is definitely worth reading for yourself. Not only will it help you sort out the spin surrounding it, but I think (based on everything else I have read) it is a fairly valid assessment of the situation.
Maj Gen Batiste's Testimony before Senate Democratic Committee http://polstate.com/?p=4925 The whole transcript of the testimony. Very critical of Rumsfeld
Most Iraqis Favor Immediate U.S. Pullout, Polls Show Leaders' Views Out of Step With Public
By Amit Paley, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR2006092601721.html
New polls are suggesting that solid majorities of Iraqi want the US to leave sooner rather than later.
Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short by By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-military25sep25,1,1852611.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Apparently, Gen. Schoomaker is drawing a line in the budget and pushing for a 41% increase in the Army's normal budget to cover the costs of the war. Actually, a kind of gutsy move in the bureaucratic battlespace (bureauspace?).
Unit Makes Do as Army Strives to Plug Gaps by David Cloud, NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/us/25infantry.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
This article focuses on the Second Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division which appears to be suffering from a lack of equipment (as in no tanks) and personnel (as in half of the authorized strength). Explains Gen. Schoomachers concerns (see above).
Succeeding in Phase IV: British Perspectives on the U.S. Effort To Stabilize and Reconstruct Iraq By Andrew Garfield, Foreign Policy Research Institue
http://www.fpri.org/enotes/20060908.military.garfield.britishperspectiveiraq.html
This monograph actually came out a couple fo weeks ago but references to it started popping up thsi week. An in depth analysis of US military efforts in Iraq based on interviews with British officers serving in Iraq. Guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of anyone in the US Army, but ,coming from professional British soldiers on the ground in Iraq, it's a point of view worth considering.
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