From friends, abroad:

Michael:
Hi
I'm a 20 years old French student and I would like to support American soldiers in Iraq. I would like to say you that you can be proud of being Americans and that I'm ashamed to be European. The US is the only representant of freedom and democracy in today world.

GOD BLESS FREEDOM GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Americans wake up and don't become coward Europeans!

Nicolas:
It's a hard work you are making there, everybody are with u ! i'm french i'm sorry for my bad English, i want say you one word, but i don't know if this word exist in English this word is 'Courage' !

And here at home...
Dana:
I just wanted to thank you all for what you are doing and may you all comehome to your families safely. My stepson, Jeremiah R----, will be joining you soon. He left for Iraq today.You are all in our prayers and thoughts. You are never fogotten! Sincerely, Dana R.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Female troops face hostile fire in Iraq
Iraqi police find eight beheaded bodies
Forces Complete Operation Spear

Operation Enduring Freedom
Troops Rescue Afghans Trapped by Floods

Fallen Heroes
Six U.S. Servicemen Killed in Fallujah Attack

Is Anyone Surprised Here?
Iran plans to resume uranium enrichment

NOT on my Summer Reading List
Novel written by Saddam to be published

Other News of Note
Army National Guard Family Fights War on Terror

Fox News
Hard-Liner Wins Iran's Presidential Election
Bush: 'Critical Moment' in Iraq- Video: Bush, Iraqi PM Meet
Italy Judge Seeks Arrest of CIA Officers

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
USS Lincoln at War (photos and audio, Requires Flash 6)
President-elect wants modern, Islamic Iran
Indonesian radicals cheer hardliner's win
Hardline mayor wins Iran presidential race
Ahmadinejad's rise in Iran spans two years
Correction: UNESCO-Iraq-Museums story
Iraq car bombings kill 586 since April
U.N. approves $200M for Iraq development
Palestinian gunmen kill Israeli hitchhiker
Lebanese anti-Syrian politician mourned
Ex-Soviet dissident loses leadership bid

Reuters: Top News
Iran's Ahmadinejad urges reconciliation after polls
Israeli forces detain West Bank militants
Face of tsunami tragedy now a symbol of pain
S.Korea says biggest threat is North's nuclear aims
Bush says no timetable for U.S. pullout from Iraq
IRS probing possible data security breaches

Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Bush Says No Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal
Eight Iraqi police killed west of Baghdad
Bush vows to defeat Iraqi rebels

Department of Defense
Bush: No Troop Departure Timetable Set — Story
Cheney Discusses Iraqi Progress, Insurgency — Story Transcript
Despite Perception, War in Iraq Going Well — Story
Abizaid Addresses Issue of Public Support
Commentary: Support for the Troops Never Stronger
Rumsfeld: Results Worth Sacrifices in Iraq — Story
U.S. Strategy in Iraq is Correct, Myers Says — Story

ON THE GROUND
Abizaid Visits Afghan National Army Troops — Story
Explosives Disposal Tests Experts in Iraq — Story
Troop K Keeps Routes Safe, Trains Iraqi Army— Story

IN IRAQ
Soldiers Train Iraqi Firefighters to Save Lives
Airmen Add Armor to Convoy Vehicles
Marine Unit Spearheads Operation Spear Photos
Tiger Brigade Honors Chaplain, Fathers
Bagram Airfield Hooks Marine Prowlers

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Crash Site to Become Training Area
Afghan Village Benefits from Students' Efforts

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Camp Supports Military Children — Story
‘Homes’ Program Recognized
Summer Camps Start Second Year
Vietnam Vet Walks for Families
Austin Kids, Art Support Troops

TOP NEWS
IN IRAQ
Car Bomb Strikes Marine Convoy
World Community Pledges Support
Political Process on Schedule
Troop Timetable Would Be Mistake
Success in Iraq - DoD Fact Sheet
Iraq Daily Update
Maps
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Forces Take Pride in Progress
More Election Violence Expected
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Rumsfeld Discusses Guantanamo
Transformation Aids Terror War
Forces Destroy Zarqawi Hideout
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Recruits List Vital to Volunteer Force
Review Looks at Instructor Training
National Guard, Reserve Update

HONORING THE FALLEN
Special Forces Soldiers Honored — Story

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty — Story

Weather
from The Weather Channel

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
1630 - The fork makes its way to American dining tables, courtesy of Governor Winthrop.
1788 - Virginia becomes the 10th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1798 - The U.S. passes the "Alien Act," giving the President the power to deport dangerous non-citizens.
1862 - The Seven Days begin with fighting at Oak Grove.
1864 - Federals begin digging tunnels under Rebel lines at Petersburg.
1868 - Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and the Carolinas are readmitted to the U.S.
1876 - Custer and hsi 7th Cavalry troops are wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors at Little Big Horn.
1929 - Pres Hoover authorizes the building of Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam).
1942 - The British RAF stages a 1,000 bomb raid on Bremen, Germany.
1950 - The Israeli airline El Al begins service; North Korea invades South Korea, beginning the Korean War.
1956 - The Andrea Doria and the Stockholm collide, killing 51.
1961 - Iraq announces that Kuwait is a part of Iraq, a position Kuwait disagrees with.
1962 - The Supreme Court rules school prayer is unconstitutional.
1966 - The first Soviet weather satellite, Kosmos 122, is launched.
1972 - Bernice Gera becomes pro baseball's first female umpire.
1973 - John Dean begins testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee.
1975 - Mozambique gains independence from Portugal.
1977 - Roy C. Sullivan of Virginia is struck by lightning - for the seventh time.
1981 - The Supreme Court upholds male-only draft registration as constitutional.
1982 - Sec of State Alexander Haig, Jr. resigns.
1991 - Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia

Birthdays
1864 - Walther Hermann Nernst, physical chemist, Nobel Prize winner
1886 - General Henry (Hap) Arnold, US Army Air Force commanding general, WW II
1903 - George Orwell, satirist/author (Animal Farm, 1984)
1907 - J. Hans D. Jensen, physicist, Nobel Prize winner

Passings
1212 - Simon de Montfort, Crusade leader
1906 - Architect Stanford White, shot by jealous husband atop Madison Square Garden (which he designed)
1959 - Charles Starkwether, executed

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Mongilardi, Peter, Jr., USN (NJ); A4C shot down, remains returned 1994

1966
Marik, Charles W., USN (MO); A6A shot down, presumed KIA

1972
Shumway, Geofrey Raymond, USN (NY); A7E shot down