What about the Iraqi army? Is it possible for it to get it back into any kind of fighting shape?

It is in fighting shape. The problem was its senior leadership. And again, it’s what happens when the United States disengages. If you look at it from former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s perspective, with Iraq’s history of military coups, his own coming of age as a member of a sectarian and persecuted political party, you are going to see an enemy behind every bush.

When he chose his commanders, he didn’t choose them on the basis of their leadership capability or their battlefield experience. It was loyalty. Could he be absolutely certain that they would never turn against him?

[Maliki] put individuals with no command ability [and who] were not a threat to him into command positions—when you look at what happened in June, it wasn’t the rank and file that broke first, it was the leadership. Division commanders suddenly decided they needed to be in Baghdad before they ever engaged with ISIS.

Iraqis have a strong military tradition. They’ve got good soldiers. They need good leadership. And clearly, the current government is aware of that. We’re in a position to help to get the right commanders in the right places, to serve their troops and their country well.

The Iraqi military is not rotten to the core. It was rotten at the top. - Ryan Croker

(Read More: Fight the Islamic State in Iraq? Sure. In Syria? Not So Much)

ISIS Video in Kobani November 25, 2014

ISIS isid Kobani last operations Video 25.11.2014 ...

The name of this users account? Turksoy TV? And people wonder why Turkey isn’t helping Kobani?
This is a typical propaganda Video by ISIS and it's supporters they love to broadcast. They use to only be only in Arabic or other Middle Eastern languages. So this is the new improved version. English Subtitles!!! They do not quote Quran in this one (well background music maybe is someone singing the Quran sounds like it to me). It starts off they take some small buildings probably in a rural or farming area or a smaller villages (384 villages) that make up Kobani. Then they loot some buildings and burn stacks of tobacco leafs that was laid out in a room to dry, cartons of cigarettes and smashing a couple of alcohol bottles. During this they talk crap on Obama and Bush, then say they are going to make our women into o their slaves and kill all of us. (Wow high hopes indeed - maybe they are reaching a little too high). Then they go back show a little more footage of them with tanks Bazookas and RPGs. There was a LOT of very close calls. The bullets were snapping which means VERY close you could hear a ton of whizzes but still plenty of snaps. It would be interesting to know how many men they lost in this small battle.
In the video they call Kobani ayn al-islam. People who live there call it is ayn al-arab. They most likely have been using ayn al-islam for propaganda reasons. This video may go down in a few days or few months due to YouTube's policies, but they are so flooded with this stuff most people do not report it to Goggle. But this video doesn't have to much violence or gore. So it may actually stay up. I know of web sites and organizations that capture the worst kind of the videos and they translate them to English and Hebrew and probably a lot of other languages. One of the organizations had 3 founders who are ex Mossad. They send out the translated material to many Nations various Government agencies.
    - Ian Bach
This is maybe one of the bad guys accounts that they use. The reason I say that is there is no discussion and no about and no history of them posting comments at other places or this place, this is so they are less likely to get flagged. Here is link to their account
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIFUOw9Uim_vBRIatbSahSw/videos

Be sure not to subscribe to their account, you do not want them to go after you and your friends online. They will but it would most likely be different accounts that they would use ones they don't mind if the get cut off.

9-11Commission Report - Gov. PDF

http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
This is the offical government report in Adobe PDF format.

Here is the main web site for the 9-11 commission
http://www.9-11commission.gov

Middle East peace conference in Annapolis

I am optimistic about this new peace process. I think Condie Rice and Bush can do some great things in this arena, and I am certain that Syria and Palestine are ready and eager. Here is the quick and easy copy paste of the what I found so far (without a lot of my analysis/take) - I will add more in-depth info and insights later in comments. - Ian Bach

The Washington Post reports on its front page that "Russia and the United States are tentatively planning a second Middle East peace conference, in Moscow in early 2008, with major parties hoping to begin a comprehensive peace effort that would include direct talks between Israel and Syria, according to US, Russian, Arab and European officials." The Post adds, "Syria's delegate to this week's talks in Annapolis said yesterday that Damascus wants a Moscow gathering in order to begin negotiations between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights, a border region seized by Israel during the 1967 war."

Rice Links Own Experience To Crisis The Washington Post, in a positive review of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's performance, reports, "When the cameras were turned off at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis on Tuesday and the media were hustled out of the room...Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni provided some of the most arresting moments of the private gathering of top international officials." According to the Post, Livni "opened her speech with a challenge" to her Arab counterparts present, saying, "Why doesn't anyone want to shake my hand? "Why doesn't anyone want to be seen speaking to me?" The Post moves on to Rice, who "brought the meeting to close with highly personal and reflective comments that connected her childhood in the segregated South with the challenges facing Israelis and Palestinians." To the Israelis, Rice spoke of the experience of having local black churches bombed by white separatists, and to the Palestinians, she said "I know what it is like to hear to that you cannot go on a road or through a checkpoint because you are Palestinian. ... I understand the feeling of humiliation and powerlessness."

Palestinian Negotiator Upbeat A number of media reports on the budding Mideast peace process appear to reflect the cautious sense of optimism of the participants in the Annapolis conference. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat, for example, said on PBS's NewsHour, "After seven years of stalemate, seven years of killing fields between Palestinians and Israelis, President Bush managed to provide this opportunity for us, the Palestinians and Israelis. ... The difference between yesterday and Camp David so many years ago was the Arabs were here, all of them, and the Syrian presence was very significant, and the Saudi presence was very significant. ... Nobody could have done what happened in Annapolis but President Bush. Now, people can say, 'Why did he wait seven years? Why did he do this?' But I believe that, in the last two years, Secretary Rice, to her credit, has done a fantastic job, in my opinion. She went all the way. She got the knowledge of all the little issues. She's very, very well aware now."

Democrats dig in for long haul on Iraq

by Stephen Collinson
Wed May 2, 9:09 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democrats in Congress are plotting a new round of political attrition over Iraq, apparently confident their hand will strengthen the longer their clash drags on with President George W. Bush.

A day after Bush vetoed their bid to compel him to start bringing combat troops home within months, his foes vowed to renew their battle.

But signs mounted they were mulling a medium-term strategy, hoping that political ground on the unpopular war would shift in their favor, rather than immediately sending Bush a new timeline for withdrawal he is sure to veto.

Full Article - click here

Bush says al-Qaida is top enemy in Iraq

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 2, 8:14 PM ET

WASHINGTON -

President Bush on Wednesday declared al-Qaida "public enemy No. 1 in

Iraq," placing increasing emphasis on the terror network forever associated with the deadliest attack in U.S. history.

The president also seemed to offer another definition of success in Iraq — not a lack of violence, but a livable level for citizens.

In a speech to construction contractors, Bush put a heavy focus on al-Qaida, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. In doing so, he sought more bluntly to cast the unpopular Iraq war in terms that U.S. citizens could connect to their own lives.

"For America, the decision we face in Iraq is not whether we ought to take sides in a civil war, it's whether we stay in the fight against the same international terrorist network that attacked us on 9/11," Bush said. "I strongly believe it's in our national interest to stay in the fight."

Full Article