News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Four U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq
Gates plans report to Bush on Iraq

Operation Enduring Freedom
Bomb blast kills 5 Afghan police

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
New York rail tunnels seen as vulnerable: report
Fatah and Hamas members clash in West Bank - Video
Ethiopian tanks roll toward Somali battlefront

Troops on Trial
8 Marines Charged in Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians
Iraq town has little faith in U.S. trial of Marines

Other Military News
2 Dead, 1 Missing in Army Copter Crash
Selective Service Plans Test of Military Draft
U.S. to maintain long presence in Gulf region: Gates
Defense Tech: Radar Still Messed Up
New Uniforms Coming

Worldwide Wackos
Iran's Prez Calls Bush 'Most Hated Person' in the World
Ahmajdinejad continues tirade against West
West wants Friday U.N. Iran vote but Russia says no
North Korea talks end with no deal - Video

Homegrown Moonbats
Donald Trump Tells FNC: 'Rosie O'Donnell's a Loser'

'Tis the Season
A real Christmas story
All at sea for Christmas? Rig workers celebrate early
Their real name is Christmas
Poll: Christmas tradition trumps trendy
Blog: Holiday Wishes From Kosovo
The Right Kind of Presents
Advisors: Flu-Fighting Foods

Politics / Government
Rep. Defends Letter Blasting Muslims
Condi: America Is Ready for a Black President
Top Calif. lawmaker proposes expanding health care
California governor calls for $11 bln prison reform

Immigration / Border Control
U.S. Judge Orders Saudi Princess Deported for Immigration Violations
'Transmigrantes' head home via Mexico

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News
YouTube helps police find murder suspect

Science / Nature
Giant squid caught on video by Japanese scientists
Huge plant-eating dinosaur unearthed in Spain
NASA may face only second N.Mexico shuttle landing
Airport, roads, mail halted in snow-bound Colorado
Fog disrupts London's Heathrow airport again
Small teams look for clues on Mt. Hood
Gorilla on fertility drug gives birth
Travelers still stranded in Denver

Oddities
It's Christmas! Have a little more bat meat!

Other News of Note
Truck Hauling Uranium Overturns in North Carolina
"Stay the course" named top catch phrase of 2006
Police baffled by murder of ex-Russian spy

Fox News
Arizona Becomes Nation's Fastest Growing State
'Ipswich Ripper' Suspect Appears in Court
Miss Nevada Katie Rees Fired Over Raunchy Photos
Study Projects Flu Pandemic Could Kill 81 Million Worldwide

Reuters: Top News
Dragons to disco: Choice of youth video games widens
Internet threatens NY diamond dealers' way of life
"Museum" comedy set to rule Christmas box office
Indexes open little changed on techs, data
Dollar slips on tame U.S. inflation data
Oil steady after tumble from 3-mth high
Benign U.S. inflation dents dollar, boosts bonds
Liberty Media, DirecTV rise
Chance of rate cut rises after data
Toyota set to overtake GM in 2007
Incomes, spending rise in November
Creditor group expects Delta to weigh options
Walgreen quarterly profit jumps
News Corp. reaches deal with Liberty Media
Ford boss plans radical overhaul: WSJ

AP World News
Man won't seek bail in British murders
Jessica Simpson out of Parton tribute
Consumer spending picks up in November
Marlins pitcher arrested on DUI charge
Favre leads Packers past Vikings 9-7
Red Hat 3Q profit drops but beats views
Pfizer's McKinnell to get $180M package
Paternity test ordered for Smith's baby=
Hilary Duff becomes a Barbie doll
Pettitte and Yankees finalize $16M deal
Obituaries in the news
Concord jet moves to temporary NYC home
Ex-cop plans video on how to hide drugs

Military.com
Op-ed: Ollie's War Diary

CENTCOM: News Releases
MAHMUDIYAH IRAQI POLICE DEFUSE CAR BOMB

IRAQI TEENAGER DIES OF WOUNDS FROM IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE IN WESTERN ANBAR PROVINCE

PARATROOPERS UNCOVER EXPLOSIVE CACHE

ONE TERRORIST KILLED, 25 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS DETAINED IN REGIONAL RAIDS

RADIO STATION OPENS IN BALAD RUZ

MND-B SOLDIERS PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR IRAQI ARMY’S MEDICAL MISSION

SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 15

NAJAF TEACHING HOSPITAL NEARS COMPLETION

GOOD PREPARATION, LUCK GETS JOB DONE

FOUR MEN DETAINED ON SUSPICION OF IED MANUFACTURING

IRAQI POLICE RECRUITING DRIVE SIGNS UP 1,115 IN AL ANBAR

IRAQI ARMY, COALITION FORCES DISCOVER CACHE, KILLS SEVEN AIF

‘CACHE HOUSE’ UNCOVERED IN EASTERN BAGHDAD

IRAQI, U.S. FORCES DELIVER TRANSFORMER

AN NAJAF NOW UNDER PROVINCIAL IRAQI CONTROL

IRAQI POLICE FIND IEDS INSIDE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS IN RAMADI

CIVILIANS WOUNDED BY ANTI-IRAQI MORTAR ATTACKS

AN NAJAF PIC CEREMONY ‘B-ROLL’ FOOTAGE AVAILABLE ON DVIDS

CAR BOMB DISCOVERED NEAR MAHMUDIYAH

USJFCOM
USJFCOM gets approval to connect U.S., Australian networks - podcast
USJFCOM’s new super computer to enhance joint experimentation, training - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Gates Assures Iraqis of U.S. Support - Story
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Soldiers, Mayor Discuss Progress of City Cleanup - Story
Iraqi Police, Coalition Forces Deliver Supplies - Story
Afghan Officials, U.S. Troops Open Runway - Story
Najaf Teaching Hospital Nears Completion - Story
Shaw Airmen Return from Iraq, Afghanistan - Story

IN IRAQ
Soldiers Work 24/7 to Keep Supplies Flowing
U.S. Army Engineers Help Ramp Up Oil Production
Iraq Officials Assume Security Control in An Najaf
Moody Welcomes Airmen Home for Holidays
Village Blocks Insurgents; Gains Jobs, Revenue
Iraqis Graduate from Police Academy in Kirkuk
Iraqi Army Assumes Control of Patrol Base Razor

IN AFGHANISTAN
Chief of Chaplains Brings Support to Region
Buccaneers Return from Afghanistan Tour
Patrol Trucks to Increase Security in Afghanistan

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch Garmisch-PartenkirchenGeilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen Hanau Am Main Heidelberg MainzMannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

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

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan MasanMokp'o Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar SiteUlsan Yosu



Today in History
0401 - St Innocent I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0795 - Leo III succeeds pope Adrianus I
1135 - Norman nobles recognize Stefanus van Blois as English king
1216 - Pope Honorius III delegates degree "Religiosam vitam eligentibus"
1465 - Peace of St Truiden: Louis van Bourbon becomes bishop of Luik
1596 - Ferryboat Meuniers crashes in Paris, 150 die
1688 - Pro-James II, Earl of Danby occupies York
1689 - Heavy earthquake strikes Innsbruck
1715 - English "pretender to the throne" James III lands at Peterhead
1731 - Dutch people revolt against meat tax
1775 - Continental navy organized with 7 ships
1783 - Washington resigns his military commission as US Army's commander-in-chief
1790 - Russian troops occupy Ismail on Turks
1807 - Congress passes Embargo Act, to force peace between Britain & France
1810 - British frigate Minotaur sinks killing 480
1815 - Spaniards execute Mexican revolutionary priest José Maria Morelos
1832 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reaches Barnevelts Islands
1862 - Raid on Morgan's: Bardstown to Elizabethtown KY
1870 - Jules Janssen flies in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse
1882 - 1st string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison
1885 - Pope Leo XIII proclaims extraordinary jubilee
1894 - French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggers worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated)
1910 - US postal savings stamps 1st issued
1917 - Flanders declares its independence, under Pieter Tack
1919 - Government of Ireland Act of Power (Home Rule for Ireland); US deports 250 alien radicals, including anarchist Emma Goldman
1930 - 6 West europe lands signs Convention of Oslo
1937 - Lincoln Tunnel (New York NY) opens to traffic
1939 - 125 die in train wreck at Magdeburg Germany; 99 die in 2nd wreck at Friedrichshafen Germany; Finnish counter offensive at Petsamo
1941 - Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington DC for a wartime conference; Japan's invasion leader lands on Luzon, Philippines; Tito establishes 1st Proletarian Brigade in Yugoslavia
1944 - Germans demand surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium; Sub Swordfish departs Pearl Harbor for Japan
1947 - Italian constituent assembly adopts new constitution
1950 - 2 self-propelled trains of Long Island RR collide, killing 77
1952 - French government of Pinay, resigns
1956 - Last British/French troops leave Egypt
1958 - 2nd Dutch Beel government forms
1963 - Official 30-day mourning period for President John F Kennedy ends
1964 - Lockheed SR-71 spy aircraft reaches 3,530 kph (record for a jet)
1970 - SS Commander Franz Stangl of Treblinka, sentenced to life imprisonment
1971 - UN General Assembly ratifies Kurt Waldheim as Secretary-General
1972 - 6.25 earthquake strikes Managua Nicaragua, 12,000+ killed
1974 - Referenda in Comoros-3 islands for independence, 1 stays French; 2nd cease-fire between IRA & British; lasts until approximately April 1975
1977 - 36 die as grain elevator at Continental Grain Company plant explodes
1978 - Thailand adopts constitution
1980 - President-elect Reagan appoints Jean Kirkpatrick (UN delegate) & James Watt (Interior)
1981 - Argentine General Leopoldo Galtieri sworn in as president; Belgium's 5th government of Martens forms
1983 - Egyptian President Mubarak meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat
1984 - Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 black youths (muggers) on a NYC subway train
1988 - 2 robbers wearing police uniforms rob armored truck of $3 million in New Jersey; South Africa signs accord granting independence to South-West Africa; Tug hits oil barge, spreads 231,000 gal on 300 miles of Western Australia & British Columbia coast
1989 - After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Nicolae Ceausescu; Chad adopts its Constitution
1990 - Iraq announces it will never give up Kuwait; Israeli ferry capsizes killing 21 US servicemen; Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's 1st popularly elected president
1992 - Libyan MIG-23UB attacks Boeing 727 at Souk al-Sabt, 158 die
1994 - Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi resigns

Birthdays
1428 - Richard Neville Warwick, 2nd earl of Salisbury
1515 - Mary of Lorraine, France, pro-French Regent of Scotland
1523 - Charles, "Cardinal" of Bourbon archbishop Rouen
1643 - Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle, French explorer (Louisiana)
1727 - William Ellery, signer of the Declaration of Independence
1728 - Charles Frederick Baden, liberal ruler of Baden
1744 - Abigail Adams, 2nd US First Lady (1797-1801)
1767 - Andreas Hofer, military leader (fought Napoleon's France)
1803 - Joseph King Fenno Mansfield, Union Major General
1826 - James Scott Negley, Union Major General
1831 - Robert Ogden Tyler, Union Brevet Major General
1832 - Edward Hatch, Union Brevet Major General
1847 - Heihatjirô Tôjô, Japanese admiral (Russian-Japanese war)
1856 - Frank Kellogg, Secretary of State (1925-29), tried to outlaw war (Nobel1929)
1863 - Jean-Baptiste Marchand, soldier/explorer (Sudan)
1867 - (Karl Eduard) Wilhelm Groener, German general
1868 - John Nance, (Vice-President - 1933-41)
1881 - Enver Pasa , Turkish politician
1883 - Arthur James Cook, English union leader (coal miners)
1888 - Joseph Arthur Rank, English film magnate/baron
1890 - Charles de Gaulle, premier of France
1891 - Edward L. Bernays, 1st public relations agent
1902 - Jacques-Philippe Leclerc, French WWII hero (liberator of Paris)
1903 - Dr. Barbara Moore, walked across US in 86 days in 1960; H. Keffer Hartline, US biophysicist (Nobel 1967)
1911 - Grote Reber, US astronomer (1st parabolic radio telescope)
1912 - Claudia A. "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, US First Lady (1963-1969)
1917 - Andrew Fielding Huxley, English physiologist (Nobel 1963); Gene Rayburn, TV game show host (Match Game)
1922 - James C. Wright, Jr. (Representative-TX), Speaker of the House (1987-89)
1935 - John L. Finley, USAF/astronaut
1937 - Marco J. de Castro, Dutch Antillian politician
1943 - Billie Jean King, tennis pro
1945 - Diane Sawyer, newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC Prime Time); Joris J.C. Voorhoeve, Dutch Defense minister (1994-, VVD)
1949 - Robin Gibb, rocker/twin of Maurice (Bee Gees-Saturday Night Fever)
1954 - Jayaseelan Naidoo, South African worker's union leader
1956 - Cojo, 1st gorilla born in captivity
1961 - Yuri Ivanovich Malinchenko, Russian Lieutenant-Colonel/cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-19)

Passings
1337 - Daito Kokushi, leader of O-To-Kan Rinzai school in Japan, dies at 54
1419 - John XXIII (Baldassare Cossa), Italian Pope (1410-15)
1440 - Bluebeard, pirate, executed
1603 - Mehmed III, sultan of Turkey (1595-1603), dies at 37
1641 - Maximilien de Béthune, duke of Sully PM of France, dies at 81
1815 - José Maria Morelos, Mexican revolutionary priest executed by Spaniards
1828 - Rachel Jackson, wife of 7th US President Andrew Jackson
1863 - Michael Corcoran, Union Brigadier-General, dies at 36
1890 - Harry Pollitt, chairman, British communist (1956-60)
1913 - Menelik II, King of Ethiopia (1896-1913), dies at 69
1917 - Francesca Saveria Cabrini, US saint/patron of immigrant, dies at 67
1937 - Daito Kokushi, Zen founder of Daitokuji, dies in Kyoto at 55
1939 - Ma Rainey, "Mother of the Blues", US blues singer/composer, dies at 53
1989 - Samuel Beckett, Irish/French writer (Waiting for Godot, Nobel 1969), dies at 83
1997 - Hugh Edward Conway Seymour, marquis of Hertford, dies at 67

Reported Missing in Action
1964
Parks, Joe, US Army (TX); DIC December, 1966

1965
Alcorn, Wendell R., USN (PA); A4C shot down, released February, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

Cartwright, Billie J., USN (TX); A6A shot down (w/Gold) - remains ID'd November, 1994

Daigle, Glenn H., USN (LA); RA5C shot down (w/Lukenbach) - released by DRV February, 1973 - retired as a Commander - alive and well as of 1998

Gold, Edward F., USN (CA); A6A shot down (w/Cartwright) - remains ID'd January, 1995

Lukenbach, Max D., USN (AZ); RA5C shot down (w/Daigle) - KIA, buried near crash site

Prudhomme, John D., USN (OH); A4C shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1967
Cook, Wilmer P., USN (MD); A4E shot down, remains returned June, 1988, ID'd September, 1989 - buried at sea from the ship named for him

Fors, Gary H., USMC (WA); F4B shot down

Hickerson, James M., USN (GA); A7A shot down, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Captain - alive and well as of 1998

1969
Burris, Donald D., Jr.,US Army (PA); UH1C crashed after mechanical problems (pilot, w/Kennedy), Killed, body not recovered

Kennedy, James E., US Army (NJ); UH1C crashed after mechanical problems (door gunner, w/Burris), Killed, body not recovered

1972
The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their B52D was shot down:

Alley, Gerald W. (ID); remains returned December, 1988 - ID'd June, 1989

Bennett, Thomas W., Jr. (MS);

Camerota, Peter P., (NJ); bombardier / EWO, released by DRV - retired as a Major - alive and well as of 1998

Copack, Joseph H., Jr. (IL); navigator - remains returned June, 1989

Giroux, Peter J., (NJ); co-pilot, released by DRV February, 1973 (injured) - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

LeBlanc, Louis E., Jr. (RI); tailgunner, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Senior Master Sergeant - deceased

The following USAF personnel reported MIA when their B52D was shot down:
Bernasconi, Louis H. (CA); released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Conlee, William H. (CA); EWO, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Colonel - alive as of 1998

Drummond, David I. (NJ); co-pilot, released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Mayall, William T. (NY); navigator, leased by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive as of 1998

Morgan, Gary L. (TX); gunner, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Senior Master Sergeant - alive as of 1998

Yuill, John H. (IN); pilot, released by DRV March, 1973 - retired as a Lt. Colonel - alive and well as of 1998

Also reported MIA in 1972:
Sponeybarger, Robert C., USAF (PA); F111A shot down (pilot, w/Wilson), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

Wilson, William W., USAF (IA); F111A shot down (w/Sponeybarger), released by DRV March, 1973