Photos From Jim Webb's Recent Iraq Tour

We thought we'd share these photos from Senator Jim Webb's recent trip to Iraq, which were contained in a recent mass email from Webb's office.

Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 29, 2007)
Senator Jim Webb (center) and Senator Jon Tester (center left), escorted by Col. John Charlton (left), commander of the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, tour "Hurricane Point" in Ramadi, Iraq, during a visit to Anbar Province.

Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 29, 2007)
During a visit to Ramadi in Iraq's al-Anbar Province Nov. 29, 2007, Senator Jim Webb gained a richer appreciation for his son's combat tour there with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment in 2006 and 2007. Webb is pictured here at "Hurricane Point" in Ramadi, a site along the Euphrates River close to his son's former battalion command post.

Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 29, 2007)
Senator Jim Webb confers with Sgt. Major Scott D. Reeves, USMC, of Petersburg, VA (center), and Capt. Daniel Gaskell, USMC, of Stafford, VA (right), during a Nov. 29, 2007, visit to a joint U.S.-Iraqi security station in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's al-Anbar province. Marines from the battalion jointly man the security station and patrol the city with Iraqi police. Reeves is the command sergeant major of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and Gaskell commands Foxtrot Company in the battalion.
Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 30, 2007)
Senator Jim Webb confers with Brig. Gen. Edward Cardon (center right), deputy commanding general (support) of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, following a Nov. 30, 2007, visit with soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division stationed in Iskandariyah, Iraq. Located 30 miles south of Baghdad near the Euphrates River, the city is largely populated by Shia Muslims. Also pictured are Thomas Timberman (center left), director of an Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team in Iskandariyah, and Lt. Col. Michael Getchell (back to camera), commander of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 29, 2007)
Senator Jim Webb receives a briefing on the security situation in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's al-Anbar province, from Lt. Col. Jay M. Bargeron, commander of the 2nd Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment, during a visit Nov. 29, 2007, to a U.S.-Iraqi joint security station in Ramadi. U.S. Marines from the battalion man the security station and patrol the city with Iraqi police.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Park (Nov. 29, 2007)
Senator Jim Webb and Senator Jon Tester speak with General Petraeus, Commander of Multinational Forces in Iraq on the security situation in Iraq.

Photo Credit: Gordon Peterson (Nov. 30, 2007) Senator Jon Tester and Senator Jim Webb confer with Dr. Barham Salih, Iraq's deputy prime minister, during a meeting in Baghdad Nov. 30, 2007. Senators Webb and Tester visited several U.S. military units in Kuwait and Iraq during a two-day visit to the region.

Photo Credit: Sgt. David Begley (Nov. 30, 2007)
Senator Webb with the Virginia Army National Guard 3rd battalion, 116th brigade at Kuwait Naval Base.

Photo Credit: Sgt. David Begley (Nov. 30, 2007)
Senator Webb with Virginia Army National Guard 3rd battalion, 116th brigade at Kuwait Naval Base.

GQ Profile of Sen. Jim Webb

Here's an in-depth profile of Jim Webb from the June issue of GQ:

"The Honorable, Enraged Gentleman From Virginia"

Webb's Wan Warming Vote

According to a post we just saw over at Raising Kaine, Sen. Jim Webb recently voted against an amendment, sponsored by Sens. Kerry, Feingold and Collins, to require the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the effect of climate change when planning water projects.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Warner voted FOR the Amendment.

We agree with Lowell at RK--what's going on here?

We won't always agree with Webb, but in case he hasn't noticed, Virginia has a long, vulnerable coastline where a goodly portion of its population resides and where a goodly portion of its economy is based. We can't afford to take global climate change lightly.

Webb could have some good reason for voting against this legislation--some technical flaw or whatever--but we want to hear loud and clear from him that he supports aggressive policies to limit global warming.

Webb Iran Bill; Surge Kills U.S. Soldiers; What Does NRLC Have To Hide; Cold Coulter Shoulder; Obesity Surgery For Kids; Callahan Retirement

Today we cover a potpourri of Curmudgeonly short subjects:

Webb Bill Would Limit Authority To Start A War With Iran

Jim Webb has introduced a bill in the Senate that would prevent Bush from using funds to start a war with Iran without Congressional authorization. See here for details.

Bombs Kill U.S. Soldiers In Baghdad

The risks of a troop surge in Iraq were obvious: sending in more U.S. soldiers and placing them in the streets of Baghdad makes them more vulnerable to attack. Today, those risks hit home as bombs killed at least nine U.S. soldiers in Baghdad and maimed many more. Why are we fighting in this civil war?

What Does The National Right To Life Committee Have To Hide?

The National Right To Life Committee has "vowed" to kill legislation that would require executive branch officials to disclose who has been lobbying them. (See story here.) This is pretty reasonable legislation in the wake of the Abramoff scandals and other related examples of insidious political lobbying of the Bush administration. The legislation would obviously apply to future administrations as well, whether Democratic or Republican.

We wonder what the NRLC has to hide.

Let Coulter Run Her Mouth

We really hate to even mention the lady's name in any way because it only gives her the attention she obviously craves. However, we're happy to have AC make public appearances in front of conservative audiences to call people she disagrees with "faggots" and "traitors" because it lets the independent middle of the road citizens see what Brown Shirts these "conservatives" really are.

Obesity Surgery For Children

We haven't said much about obesity for some time--evidently the issue has dropped off the media screen. We did see a report today that the number of children having radical surgery to treat obesity tripled between 2000-2003, and presumably has increased more since then.

That's pretty sad news. While many food marketers have become more responsible in their advertising, we still see plenty of promotions that do little more than encourage overeating. Burger King is a particularly big offender in this category, evidently because it is desperate for business. Wendy's may be worse, because unlike Burger King it pretends to be concerned about obesity and children's diets, yet continues to promote massive triple sized bacon cheese whatever burgers, while also retaining its misleading 20 ounce "small" drinks.

Worse is Quiznos Subs, which has been going after Subway by comparing its meat-filled overstuffed sandwiches with Subway's leaner offering. Maybe the Quiznos person in the ads should weigh 300 pounds, compared to Subway's Jared. (In any event, a regular Subway sandwich costs about half that of a regular Quiznos; for some extra $ you can make your Subway just as fattening.)

At bottom, public health officials have made little headway against obesity in recent years, with most initiatives, such as banning sodas in schools, being minor band-aids.

It's truly sad to see children so large they need life-threatening radical surgery to save themselves.

Fairfax GOP Delegate Vincent Callahan To Retire

The Washington Post reports that Fairfax Republican Delegate Vincent Callahan, who has served a remarkable 40 years in the Virginia House, is retiring at age 75. This presents an excellent opportunity for a Democratic pick-up in the fall election--Callahan was the sole remaining Republican inside the beltway.

Still, it comes at a high cost to Northern Virginia. Callahan was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a perch from which he could steer money to NoVa (from whence the money came, we might add).

It's too bad Democratic gains often come at the cost of more moderate Republicans, but that's the way it will be, both at the state and national levels, in our current political environment.

Webb For President?!

It's a measure of just how wide open the '08 presidential field is that after only a few weeks in his first elected office, as Virginia's junior Senator, Jim Webb's name is being bandied about as a condidate for President or Vice President.

Just look at some of his new admirers: Any More for Any More in the UK Guardian; Hillary Clinton's Mission Unaccomplished (Frank Rich in the NYT yesterday); State of the Union: Jim Webb for Vice President (on Huffington Post); and SOTU: Jim Webb for President.

Readers of the Curmudgeon know we like Webb a lot. But we're not ready to say he should run, much less earn the nomination, for President (although we're happy to see him included on the lists of approximately 1000 potential vice presidential running mates). It says a lot about the already crowded existing field, however, that bloggers and political pundits around the country, and even the world, are floating Webb's name out there after his masterfully succinct response to Bush's state of the union address.

We doubt Webb will be too tempted to throw his hat in the ring. We can't see him schlepping around the country kow-towing to Democratic Party activists, many of whom Webb has no use whatsoever for. Nor do we see him standing on a stage with somewhere between 10-15 other candidates in the inevitable "debates"--more like state fair cattle contests--that soon will get underway. If anything, the nominating process could only serve to sully Webb's growing reputation on the national scene as an independent minded progressive.

Still, you've got to hand it to the guy--he's certainly managed in short order to attain the highest profile of this year's large class of freshman Senators.