At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration estimated that it would cost roughly $50 to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein and set that nation on the road to democracy. Five years later, the price tag is $600 billion and counting. As the economy sours, it becomes clear that one overlooked casualty of this war will be America’s creaking infrastructure.

Free markets may be the only way to save the nation’s roads and highways. They might even be the best way to save them. The Department of Transportation, under this Administration, has made no secret of its desire to lease highways to private companies, to use tolls and congestion pricing, to auction off fast access to those willing to pay and to otherwise let free markets drive transportation. Under this view, breaking up the government monopoly on transportation could lead to innovation and more choices for the public. Let those who use a resource pay for it, without burdening everyone else with the costs. Let the pain of price ease gridlock. It will reduce both fuel consumption and emissions. Heck, it might even drive down your insurance premiums.

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The night before he was to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, Army Pfc. Chris Eckert swallowed a pill prescribed to help him sleep without the nightmares that have tormented him since he left Iraq.

Then, sitting in his barracks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Jan. 17, he counted out seven methadone tablets and popped them into his mouth.

The next morning, his squad leader found him on the floor in a puddle of his own vomit, but still alive.

“They told me, ‘Your son is not going to make it,’ ” said Eckert’s mother, Rose Szymborski. “He was on life support for five days.”

Since June 2007, 11 troops have died in the Army’s Wounded Warrior units, according to Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army’s Surgeon General.

Eckert’s mother blames the Army for not looking out for him, while Army officials say Eckert needed to do more to help himself. But both sides agree his case is an example of the difficulties of treating troops working through substance-abuse issues linked to post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries.

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Rep. John Murtha has been granted an exemption from testifying in the
case of a Marine accused of crimes in the Iraqi town of Haditha.

Isn’t confronting your accuser one of the basic rights we’re fighting for? It is now evident that politicians, of any stripe, are – indeed – above the law and that military officials have taken a "hands off" approach when it comes to people like Murtha.

As our success in Iraq has caused it to fade as a campaign issue, so has the terrorist ambush of a Marine patrol in Haditha in November 2005 faded from public memory. But for the Marines charged with crimes in Haditha, it’s an ongoing nightmare.

After one of their comrades was killed by an IED, the Marines of Kilo Co., 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, took small-arms fire from nearby houses. They returned fire and went house to house searching for their attackers.

For their efforts in responding to a terrorist ambush, four Marines were charged with murder of innocent civilians and engaging in a rampage of revenge for their fallen comrade.

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If you watch nothing more this election season, watch this video. It is approximately 14 minutes long. Click on the link below.

[Blog note:    I do not usually post on matters such as this but...with all this damning "evidence" now...and the Arubian authorities STILL not moving on this punk, I look at our country and 'compare' the military justice system when it comes to the several 'criminal trials' being inflicted on our Soldiers and Marines. It appears to me that, in other nations - like Aruba - one can actually get away with murder even in the light of a video-recorded "confession"...but here, in the USA, the word of unnamed and identified Iraqi/Afghan civilians is enough to convict our men in uniform.  What is wrong with this picture folks?  You tell me] 

Joran van der Sloot says that he has lied once again about the disappearance on the island of Aruba of US high school student Natalee Holloway.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries has video footage in his possession – recorded secretly – on which Joran van der Sloot can be heard telling a friend that he dumped the body of the missing young woman.

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