A new book has been released about Operation Anaconda, "Not a Good Day to Die" by Sean Naylor. If anyone was interested in the combat action I was a part of, this book handles it very well.
I just attended a lecture by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson ('In the Company of Soldiers", "An Army at Dawn", "The Long Gray Line") which was fantastic. It was about combat leadership in his view but mostly about the mission of embed journalists. He is one of the big writers for the Washington Post. It is always amazing to listen to truly intelligent and successful people. He received massive applause (an audience of only army leaders) for his response to a question about US end-objectives in Iraq, "All you have to do is study 5000 years of Mesopotamian history to know that this isn't going to end well". Depressing and accurate at the same time.
Dad,- although your "segway" into your posting was eye opening, it was mostly the surprise of you actually posting that had me in shock.

Mike