U.S. Marines with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division survey the land to get the proper angles and make adjustments for their howitzer outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill


U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joseph Christian, with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, adjusts a howitzer outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill


U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. J.D. Baters, with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, carries howitzer rounds during a mission outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill


U.S. Marines with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division stand by a howitzer outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill


U.S. Marines with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division load a howitzer during a fire mission outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill


U.S. Marines with Lima Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division fire a howitzer outside Camp Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 6, 2007. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler W. Hill



More photo essays at DefendAmerica

FRIENDS — U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Mike Bradbury draws a smiley face on an Iraqi boy's hand during a visit to distribute school supplies at a boy's school in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 17, 2006. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Katherine Tripp

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
U.S., Iraqi Troops Capture High-Ranking Aide to Radical Shiite Leader Al-Sadr in Baghdad
War of words continues over Iraq
Australia joins U.S. call for bigger U.N. role in Iraq
Casey: 'Surge' could go home by summer

Operation Enduring Freedom
Colombia "good model" for Afghan drug war, U.S. says

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Negroponte says domestic spy program was critical - Video
UK poll reveals striking ignorance of Holocaust
Mortars hit Somali presidential palace, Yusuf inside

Fallen Heroes
Navy relieves sub commander after deaths

Other Military News
Ex-POW Jessica Lynch Has Baby Girl
40 Illegals Arrested at U.S. Military Base
V-22 Flaws Called 'Lethal'

Religion of Peace??
Australian Muslim Cleric Sparks Outrage by Calling Jews 'Pigs' and Encouraging Jihad

Worldwide Wackos
Chavez: Castro 'Battling For His Life'
Castro in "slow, progressive" recovery
North Korea agrees to resume talks - Video
U.S. plans envision broad attack on Iran: analyst

Homegrown Moonbats
Redford Says Bush Owes an Apology

Politics / Government
Dems Warn Bush Against Iran Attack
Gov. Bill Richardson Set for White House Bid
Dad Blames Daughter, 13, in Wife's Murder
House OKs Better Protections for Pages
China's 'Satellite-Killer' Missile Sparks Furor
Concern grows over China's satellite-killing missile test
Former lawmaker sentenced to 30 months in prison

Immigration / Border Control
Bush to Consider Pardon for Border Agents Convicted of Shooting Drug Runner

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment
The Great Escape
Oklahoma girl flees abductor, cops hunt suspect
Missing Purdue Student Wasn't Drunk, Father Says - VIDEO
Tax Fugitive in Tense Standoff
VIDEO: Phone Interview With Edward Brown
Police: Sex Offender, 29, Attempted to Enroll in Arizona Elementary School
Owner of ritzy NY shop sues homeless for $1 million
GPS devices lead to suspects' home (Geniuses, they're not)

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
Military.com Blog: Roggio Back in Iraq

Science / Nature
Scientists Race to Smash 'Superbug'
Official faults Bush stem cell funding limits - Video
Killer winds rip into eastern Europe - Video
More Winter Weather to Wallop South

News from My Neck of the Woods
Fatal Stabbing at Boston-Area High School

Oddities
Vet Accused of Injecting Horses With Vodka
Mystery Shrouds Cambodian 'Jungle Woman'
Amsterdam to get statue to honor prostitutes
No Darling, Spain tells aspiring citizen

Other News of Note
Two Serbias fight for nation's soul in key election

Fox News
UK Orders Cell Phone Cancer-Link Study
'Storm Worm' Virus Attacks Computers
Kidnapped Boy Amazed Room Didn't Change
Report: Lindsay Lohan's Infatuation With 'Spider-Man' Star May Have Driven Her to Rehab
From Dishwashing to Donuts, Stars Punched Clocks 'Before They Were Famous'
Rosie O'Donnell Says One 'American Idol' Judge 'Probably Intoxicated'

Reuters: Top News
Turkish-Armenian editor shot dead in Istanbul - Video
Swordfish and jellyfish thrive in warm N. Atlantic
Alaska to get British-style temperatures - study
It's official. Wii use can cause weight loss
Downloads drive Detroit to update audio systems
Texas view on environment is 18 lanes wide-critics
Common cold remedy ingredient raises stroke risk
Obesity may reduce risk of heart failure death
Indian star's tormentor kicked off reality TV show
Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas dead at 66
Nasdaq, S&P end up; energy shares gain
Oil jumps 3 percent on colder U.S. weather
Stock investors to brave earnings storm
Bay Street Week Ahead-Oil profits may not pump up stocks
IBM shares fall after quarterly results
Themes for 2007 and beyond
On the radar: Boomer stocks
Motorola to cut 3,500 jobs
Oil drop provides cushion for earnings slowdown
Companies press Bush, Congress on climate
Krispy Kreme posts narrower loss
Morgan Stanley unit, Ashford to buy CNL hotels
Goldman, Lehman to axe floor trading jobs

AP World News
New winter storm stalks Southern Plains
Antarctic explorer makes final return
Pump prices may inch down more
Jail for teen accused of stalking Duff
Sharapova into 4th round at Aussie Open
Mexican troops target drug trade
Can `Grey's Anatomy' heal cast rift?
Dolphins hire Cam Cameron as head coach
Stocks are mixed on earnings reports
McD's preps for China drive-thru boom
Judge rules in favor of record companies
Motorola to cut 3,500 jobs
Oprah is richest woman in show biz
Task force probes missing child cases
House wraps up legislative marathon
Citigroup 4Q profit falls, beats Street

Military.com
DT: China's Test Pollutes Space
Op-ed: Mom Meets President Bush
One Medic's View of the War
Advisors: Can Drinking Water Kill You?
Military.com's Top "Love and War" Movies
Seeing 'Letters' This Weekend?

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DISCOVER CACHES WITH OVER 250 ARTILLERY ROUNDS
IRAQI ARMY DETAINS TWO WASIT PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS ON SUSPICION OF SMUGGLING IEDS
IP CAPTURES LEADER OF AQI CELL IN SAMARRA

USJFCOM
Training comes to a close in exercise for Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa - podcast
Liveblogging: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1
USJFCOM hosts first-responder focused modeling and simulation demonstration event

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Iraqis on Schedule for Commitments - Story
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
Married Couple Dedicated to Serving in Iraq - Story
Soldiers Visit Iraqi School-aged Children - Story
Flight Surgeon in Iraq Treats Injured Local Child - Story
Marine Trains U.S. Embassy Troops in Djibouti - Story
U.S., Iraqi Medical Experts Meet, Share Ideas - Story

IN IRAQ
U.S. Official Talks Economics with Iraqi Leaders
Iraqi Army Boot Camp Trains New Recruits
Forces Shut Down Known Terrorist Group
Iraqi Army Patrol Turns the Tables on Ambush
Iraqi City Rebuilds Police Force After Uprising
Soldiers Surprise Iraqi Troops With Goodwill Visit

IN AFGHANISTAN
Volunteers Spark Warmth at Burn Center
U.S. Air Assets Support Strike in Afghanistan
U.S. Air Force Engineer Helps Afghans Rebuild
Afghans Graduate From Agricultural Course

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-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim 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 Kut
An 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 Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

* If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me! *

Today in History
0250 - St Fabian ends his reign as Catholic Pope (236-50)
1045 - Giovanni di Sabina elected Pope Sylvester III
1265 - 1st English Parliament called into session by Earl of Leicester
1320 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland
1356 - Scottish king Edward Baliol resigns
1503 - Casa Contratacion (Board of Trade) founded in Spain to deal with American affairs
1513 - Christian II succeeds Johan I as Danish/Norwegian king
1613 - Peace of Knärod ends War of Kalmar between Denmark & Sweden
1667 - Treaty of Andrussovo-ends 13 year war between Poland & Russia
1778 - 1st American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge MA
1783 - Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War
1785 - Samuel Ellis advertises to sell Oyster Island (Ellis Island), no takers
1801 - John Marshall appointed US chief justice
1807 - Napoleon convenes the great Sanhedrin, Paris
1840 - Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica; Dutch King Willem II crowned
1841 - China cedes Hong Kong to the British
1850 - Investigator, 1st ship to effect northwest passage, leaves England
1860 - Dutch troops conquer Watampone in Celebes
1866 - Prim's Insurrection in Spain ends
1868 - Florida constitutional convention meets in Tallahassee
1869 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton becomes 1st woman to testify before Congress
1870 - City of Boston vanishes at sea with all 177 aboard; Hiram R. Revels elected to fill unexpired term of Jefferson Davis
1879 - British troops under Lord Chelmsford set camp at Isandlwana
1887 - US Senate approves the naval base lease of Pearl Harbor
1892 - 1st basketball game played (Massachusetts)
1921 - Mountain Autonomous Republic established in RSFSR; Turkey declared in remnants of the Ottoman Empire; British submarine K5 leaves with man & mouse; Dagestan ASSR forms in RSFSR
1925 - USSR & Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to USSR
1926 - 2nd German government of Luther begins
1929 - 1st feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, "In Old Arizona"
1930 - 1st radio broadcast of "Lone Ranger" (WXYZ-Detroit)
1934 - Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
1936 - Edward VIII succeeds British king George V
1937 - 1st Inauguration day on Jan 20th, (held every 4th years thereafter)
1939 - Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews
1942 - Nazi officials hold notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin deciding on "final solution" calling for extermination of Europe's Jews; Japanese air raid on Rabaul New Britain; Japanese invade Burma
1943 - Operation-Weiss Assault of German, Italian, Bulgarian & Croatian
1944 - RAF drops 2300 ton bombs on Berlin
1945 - FDR sworn-in for an unprecedented 4th term as President
1946 - F. Gouin follows De Gaulle as temporary leader of French government
1947 - Brigadier General Edwin K. Wright becomes deputy director of CIA
1949 - President Truman announces his point 4 program; J. Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
1950 - Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
1952 - British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone
1953 - 1st live coast-to-coast inauguration address (Eisenhower)
1953 - 1st US telecast transmitted to Canada-from Buffalo, NY
1957 - Gomulka wins Poland's parliamentary election
1961 - Arthur M. Ramsay becomes archbishop of Canterbury; Yugoslav ex-Vice-President Milovan Djilas flees
1965 - JPL proposes modified Apollo flight to fly around Mars & return; Generalissimo Francisco Franco meets with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities in Spain
1969 - Richard M. Nixon inaugurated as President
1977 - George Bush ends term as 11th director of CIA; Mr. Knoche takes over, serves as acting director of CIA through March 9
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
1981 - 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed; Admiral Stansfield Turner, USN (Retired), ends term as 12th director of CIA; Ronald Reagan inaugurated as President
1982 - 7 miners killed in an explosion in Craynor, KY; Honduras constitution goes into effect; Piet Dankert elected chairman of European Parliament
1986 - 1st Federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.; Chunnel announced (railroad tunnel under English Channel); Military coup in Lesotho under General-Major Lekhanya & premier Leabua Jonathan; Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon
1988 - Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham
1989 - George H.W. Bush inaugurated as 41st President; Dan Quayle becomes 44th Vice President
1989 - Reagan becomes 1st President elected in a "0" year, since 1840, to leave office alive
1990 - US 64th manned space mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returns from space
1991 - Iraq parades captured Allied airmen on TV; US Patriot missiles begin shooting down Iraqi missiles
1993 - Admiral Studeman begins serving as acting director of CIA; Bill Clinton inaugurated as 42nd President
1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp crosses Mars' orbit

Birthdays
1716 - Carlos III, King of Naples/Spain (1759-88) Pompei/Jesuits
1732 - Richard H. Lee, US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence)
1763 - Theobald Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot
1775 - Andre-Marie Ampere, discovered electromagnetism
1782 - Johan BJFS, Archduke of Austria
1812 - Ralph Pomeroy Buckland, Union Brevet Major General
1813 - Jacon Gartner Lauman, Union Brevet Major General
1831 - Pieter J. Joubert, General (South Africa)
1843 - Pierre-Paul Cambon, French diplomat (Madrid, Constantinople, London)
1865 - Friedrich A.H. von Waldeck brother of queen Emma/last ruler of Waldeck
1883 - Betram Home Ramsay, English Admiral/Commander Allied Naval Forces
1896 - George Burns (Nathan Birnbaum), actor/comedian (Oh God)
1899 - Kenjiro Takayanagi Vice President (JVC)
1907 - Roy Welensky Premier (Rhodesia/Nyasaland 1956-63)
1916 - Jopie (Johan A.) Pengel, premier of Suriname (1963-69)
1920 - DeForest Kelley, actor (Dr McCoy-Star Trek); Federico Fellini, director (8½, Satyricon, La Dolce Vita); Sam M. Gibbons (Representative-FL)
1922 - Lord James Hanson, English industrialist/House of Lords (Conservative)
1925 - Edwin Gordon, VOA correspondent
1928 - Martin Landau, actor (Mission Impossible, Tucker, Space 1999)
1929 - Arte Johnson, comedian (Laugh-in, Don't Call Me Charlie)
1930 - Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr, USAF/astronaut (Gemini 12, Apollo 11)
1936 - Eldred G. Maduro, minister (Netherlands Antilles)
1943 - Roeland H.G. "Roel" van Duyn, Dutch Provo politician
1945 - Peter Beckwith, English real estate developer/multi-millionaire
1948 - Jerry L. Ross, Lieutenant-Colonel USAF/astronaut (STS 61B, 27, 37, 55, 74, 88)
1948 - Anatoly Shcharansky, Soviet human rights activist/émigré
1949 - Ivana Trump, former wife of Donald
1951 - Magomed Omarovich Tolboyev, Russian cosmonaut
1955 - Joe Doherty, IRA activist (jailed in US)
1956 - Bill Maher comedian (Politically Incorrect)

Passings
0250 - Fabianus, Pope (236-50)/saint
0820 - Abu Abdallah M ibn Idris al-Sjafi'i, Islamic (Book of Mother)
0842 - Theophilus, Byzantine kaiser (829-42), dies
0882 - Louis II/III the Younger German king (876-82)
1479 - John II, King of Aragon/Navarra, dies at 81
1612 - Rudolf II von Habsburg, Emperor of Germany (1576-1612), dies at 59
1639 - Mustapha I, sultan of Turkey (1622-23), dies
1666 - Anna of Austria, Queen of France/daughter of Philip III, dies at 64
1745 - Charles VII Albert, German emperor (1742-45), dies at 47
1862 - General Felix Zollicoffer killed after mistakenly riding into Union lines
1891 - David Kalakahua, Emperor of Hawaii
1936 - King George V of Britain dies at 70, succeeded by Edward VIII
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi India's pacifist, assassinated
1959 - Carl Switzer actor (Alfalfa-Our Gang), shot to death at 31
1973 - Amilcar L. Cabral, fought for Guinea Bissau independence, murdered 51
1990 - Barbara Stanwyck (Ruby Stevens), actress (Big Valley), dies at 82; Naruhito Higashi-Kuni, Japanese PM (1945)
1992 - Muhammad Abd al-Khaliq Hassuna, Secretary-General of Arab League (1952-72); Roberto d'Aubuisson, leader of El Salvador
1993 - Audrey Hepburn, actress (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday), dies of colon cancer at 63
1994 - Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenyan Vice-President (1963-66), dies at about 81
1995 - Mehdi Bazargan, director Iranian oil corp/premier (1979), dies at 86
1996 - David Robin Francis Guy Greville 8th Duke of Warwick, dies at 61; Ellis Hillman, politician, dies at 68
1997 - Edith Haisman, the oldest survivor of Titanic, dies at 100
1998 - Zevulun Hammer, Vice PM of Israel

Reported Missing in Action
1968
Holley, Tilden S., USAF (TX); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Ketterer), ejected, KIA in shootout, body not recovered

Ketterer, James A., USAF (WI); F4C shot down (w/Holley), presumed KIA, body not recovered

1972
Berdahl, David D., US Army (ND); UH1H shot down on rescue mission (doorgunner, w/Edwards), KIA, body not recovered

Edwards, Harry J., US Army (SC); UH1H shot down on rescue mission (rifleman, w/Berdahl), remains ID'd July, 1985