Cindy Sheehan in Korea

I should specify South Korea, protesting America.

Yes, she should move north and stay there.

Since we've been discussing both of them, it seems like a good day to bring back this seldom-seen video of a Sheehan supporter hurling John Kerry-type quotes at a Sheehan counter-protester, the mother of a fallen Marine.

Whenever Kerry unleashes one of his attacks on the troops, guys like this put off buying a new t-shirt and send him the 5 bucks instead.

Here's a real Secret

Scott Ott points out (as only he can) something most people are overlooking on the Pentagon "Iraq review" story:

The unnamed Pentagon official in charge of leaking national security secrets to the Washington Post said it’s possible that the U.S. could adopt some combination of the three.

His three options are a bit different than the Washington Post report - but I'm talking about the yet another leaked secret study aspect of this. (Of course, some secrets are more secret than others - nudge nudge wink wink.)

But speaking of three, I'm glad to see Scott's cousin is one of the "three high-profile colonels" leading the review group - that's not a joke.

On another note, here's an interesting tidbit from the WaPo original:

The military's study, commissioned by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, comes at a time when escalating violence is causing Iraq policy to be reconsidered by both the White House and the congressionally chartered, bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Interesting how that's become conventional wisdom - but it's also wrong:

Violence in Iraq Drops in Weeks After Ramadan

Nov. 20, 2006
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – As expected, violence in Iraq has dropped following the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a coalition spokesman said in Baghdad today.

Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said civilian and Iraqi security force casualties were at the lowest levels since the government was formed in May.

So far this month, the civilian casualty count is well below the casualty count in October and below the six-month average. The security force casualties reduced 21 percent over the past four weeks, and are at the lowest level in 25 weeks, he said.

“In Baghdad, there was a 22 percentage drop in casualties related to sectarian violence and executions,” Caldwell said during a televised news conference. “Coalition forces will continue to work closely with the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces to control the sectarian violence and terrorist attacks.”

Which comes as no surprise to anyone who was paying attention. But that's from a military public press release - not a leaked secret study - so don't expect to see anything "in the paper" about decreasing violence - apparently it's something they'd prefer you not know.

Update: Via comments, a link to an AP headline that screams: U.N.: Iraqi civilian deaths at new high, and some accusations that this runs counter to Maj. Gen. William Caldwell's report. (In fact, some accusations that the general is in effect lying.

But a read of the story's first paragraph is revealing:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq's sectarian bloodbath.

In short, the UN is releasing a report about the death toll in October - which is news to no one other than the UN. Though not a direct part of this discussion, read deeper into the report and you'll find the AP acknowledges the numbers are disputed: "The U.N. tally was more than three times higher than the total The Associated Press had tabulated for the month" and "Asked about the U.N. report, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called it "inaccurate and exaggerated".

Regardless of the exact number, no one is disputing the October death toll was high - it certainly was one of the highest since the invasion for America troops. While it is more correct to say the Ramadan death toll was high - as the Ramadan death toll typically is - it is certainly not news. Scarcely a day went by when we weren't reminded of the fact when it was news.

So how does the AP cover the post-Ramadan drop in violence? By ignoring it and covering a story that the UN has announced what those of us who have been paying attention to Iraq already knew - and putting a misleading headline on top.