Some good news for a change

Iraqi Official Offers Terms From Militia to Avoid Fight (NY Times)
Bush Plans New Focus On Afghan Recovery (WaPo)

More of the same

Taliban and Allies Tighten Grip in North of Pakistan (NY Times)

This is bad of course. We don't need Talibanistan.

U.S. Report Rejected By Iraqi President (WaPo)

What can we do if they don't like our plans?

Iraq army weapons wind up on black market (NY Times via Seattle Times)

Not the first time, but it goes to show how hilariously self-destructive our efforts can be. It also makes it clear why we won't give the Iraqis tanks of their own or airplanes.

扁舉家搬到高雄？　卓榮泰：看緣分 (東森)
扁搬家高雄　綠委擬提案遷都公投 (東森)
藍委：中央黨部 搬到南部 (中時)

haha 大家要搬到南部．但是問題在於說民進黨是要把它的北部支持度弄更高一點．遷都南部會被視為輕視北部的作為．

黃俊英：我仍有翻盤的機會(中時)
提選舉訴訟 黃營兩項指證 都是烏龍 (自由)

真是個輸不起的黨．

避免拖到最後翻臉 民進黨決提前合併總統立委初選 (中時)

當然要合併總統立委選舉，又省錢又有更少選舉．

禍不單行! 橘委再爆出走 (民視)
選舉結束 批馬聲浪起 (民視)

親民黨完了，但是我覺得馬短期之內不會出事．

台聯立委：除非解散 沒出走空間 (中時)
5席議員保不成 台聯黨主席蘇進強請辭 (民視)

我希望台聯能夠存在．

Afghanistan training, Iraq uncertainty

Report Faults Training of Afghan Police (NY Times, JAMES GLANZ and DAVID ROHDE)

Five years after the fall of the Taliban, a joint report by the Pentagon and the State Department has found that the American-trained police force in Afghanistan is largely incapable of carrying out routine law enforcement work, and that managers of the $1.1 billion training program cannot say how many officers are actually on duty or where thousands of trucks and other equipment issued to police units have gone.

In fact, most police units had less than 50 percent of their authorized equipment on hand as of June, says the report, which was issued two weeks ago but is only now circulating among members of relevant Congressional committees.

In its most significant finding, the report said that no effective field training program had been established in Afghanistan, at least in part because of a slow, ineffectual start and understaffing.

I think last time I checked, training security forces and getting them equipment would be pretty much the single most important parts of providing security for a large, mountainous country facing prospects of warlordism and resurgent Taleban. Yeah, yeah, after a double check that's still the case.

This just reinforces the case that we would have been a lot better off trying to do Afghanistan right before running nose first into Iraq. What the hell is wrong with the people in charge of planning? Was it really so hard to see that we needed to do a lot more planning, ground work, and then actually improvement in at least one of the two countries we invaded?

Here's the Iraq round up lately:
Rumsfeld Memo Proposed ‘Major Adjustment’ in Iraq (NY Times, MICHAEL R. GORDON and DAVID S. CLOUD)
Memo Text (NY Times)
Annan Calls Iraq Situation 'Dangerous' (AP in WP)
Baathists Demand U.S. Exit From Iraq (AP in Guardian)
Bush Is Weighing Options for New Strategy in Iraq, Aide Says; Hadley Says Previously Rejected Ideas Are on Table, Including Suggestions in Rumsfeld's Memo (WP, Charles Babington)