Any smart man can catalogue the errors of others.  A wise man can learn from those errors.

It takes a truly brilliant man to overcome those errors.

Dr. Joseph Collins, a retired Army Colonel, former Deputy Ass. Sec. Def. and now professor at the National Defense University has published a paper that many smart men already have published. 

He even looks at ways to possibly learn from those errors.

And for that he will earn much ink and air-time . 

But I am not a pessimist looking backward.  Or an optimist looking forward.

Michael Totten files this excellent report about a town in Iraq that has a special place in my heart--Kharmah.  

I was the first civillian to witness the budding Awakening in Kharmah as the tribes joined with the coalition and made a documentary about it.  I was the first to follow it down the Euphrates river valley through places like Khalidiyah. 

Long War Journal writer Bill Ardolino is headed to Sadr City .

"When have we ever taken a hero on the battlefield and put them up on a pedastal that we would put an athlete?" David Bellavia asked.

For expressing that sentiment, Bellavia has bourne the scorn of lesser and 'accurs'd' men. 

I interviewed Bellavia during the Vets for Freedom National Heroes Tour stop in Kansas City at the World War I Museum. 

A Silver Star recipient, Bellavia has been nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Fallujah in 2004.  Bellavia went into a house full of terrorists.  Bellavia came out alive--the terrorists didn't.

In the stone and glass interior of the WWI museum, it struck me that Bellavia has much in common with WWI's most famous hero--Sgt. Alvin York . 

Then--Sunni vs. Shia civil war that cannot be stopped.

Now--Intra Sectarian Shia on Shia civil war that cannot be stopped.

Then--Shared Sacrifice must be asked of all Americans.

General David Petraeus will be testifying before Congress today about the effects of the troop surge. 

To give the public and interested parties a more tangible view of the effects of the troop surge, I have condensed one of my documentaries, 'Anbar Awakens ' and placed it on YouTube.  You can watch it below in two parts. 

The first steps of the Anbar Awakening preceded the troop surge by several months, but without the surge it is unlikely it would have held firm and expanded. 

More importantly, the success of the Awakening combined with the troop surge to spread concerned citizens groups and neighborhood watch groups through large swaths of Iraq. 

Take look to the right... 

That is where we are in the chase to beat the anti-war movie 'Redacted' in six weeks.  We started out last week at around 9%. 

We are 32% 35% of the way to beating 'Home of the Brave'.

And today I saw that Phil Donahue has produced a documentary--the documentary version of 'Home of the Brave.' 

'Home of the Brave' being the threatrical version of the documentary 'Ground Truth'.

Are you noticing a pattern here?  A pattern that says a Soldier or Marine is only worth filming after their deployment. 

The director of 'Ground Truth' had this to say about her movie: