Introducing the Iraq Status Report

As both Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker have been testifying before various Congressional committees this week, the mediots’ focus has been like a laser-beam (as usual) on any bits and pieces of the testimony with which they can use to beat the admin over the head.

With that in mind, it’s important to remind wavering family and friends who may hear, read, and believe the spin coming from The Usual Suspects that there is more to Iraq than just what they see in the news. There are many sites they can visit to get the 411 on Iraq, and many of them are linked in the military/milblog section in the left column of this blog.

I added another one tonight: the just-launched Iraq Status Report. Their “About” page states:

The IraqStatusReport.com Web site provides the only “one-stop-shop” on the Internet for news, commentary and analysis related to the U.S. Mission in Iraq.

IraqStatusReport.com is the result of a collaborative effort by Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Institute for the Study of War, and The Long War Journal.

You can’t go wrong bookmarking/blogrolling them. Make sure to check the site often for updates. Lots of great, insightful voices to be read and heard – voices the mainstream media ignores all too often.

BTW, have you thanked General Petraeus yet?

Photo courtesy DefenseLink.mil. The caption: U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class James Boucher smiles as an Iraqi child enjoys trying on his helmet and sunglasses during a community outreach visit to the Al-Fahdl Clinic in Baghdad, March 21, 2008. Boucher is assigned to the 10th Mountain Division’s Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, attached to Multinational Division – Baghdad. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Grant Okubo.