Investors Business Daily's editors wonder why Democrats in Congress want to make it easier for terrorists to attack our transportation infrastructure. That's the result of their below-the-radar attack on the John Doe protections that the House passed in the transportation bill in a bipartisan vote, but which Democrats have removed in the conference report: (more)

Rebellion In the Ranks

The London Times reports on defections among Iraqi al Qaeda members in Baghdad:

Fed up with being part of a group that cuts off a person’s face with piano wire to teach others a lesson, dozens of low-level members of al-Qaeda in Iraq are daring to become informants for the US military in a hostile Baghdad neighbourhood.

The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement.

“Al-Qaeda’s days are numbered and right now he is scrambling,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Michael, who commands a battalion of 700 troops in Doura.

A key factor is that local people and members of al-Qaeda itself have become sickened by the violence and are starting to rebel, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael said. “The people have got to deny them sanctuary and that is exactly what is happening.”

Currently, there are two tides running in opposite directions: a trend toward success on the ground in Iraq, and a seemingly inexorable drive toward defeat, or will to lose, in Congress.

Once again, thanks to the ACLU:Alleged Child Rapist Goes Free Because Court Can’t Find Interpreter