So, what did you do with your day last Friday? Me, I went to the training facility of one of the most famous --- and infamous --- military contractors in the world.

A small group of bloggers, myself included, were invited to Blackwater Worldwide's headquarters down in North Carolina to get a "VIP Tour" of the facility. How could I resist? Even being in California; not exactly a short hop to North Carolina. And so across the country I went.

Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels , is one of the fifteen semi-finalists in NBC’s “America’s Favorite Mom” contest. There are five categories, and she is nominated with two other mom's in the "military mom's" category. The winner receives a $250,000 cash prize, and Patti has said she’d like to use the money to build a ranch for soldiers and their families to vacation at with assistance from Angel families.

Patti will be featured the morning of Monday May 5th on NBC’s Today Show, and all day Monday (but ONLY Monday) folks will have the opportunity to vote at http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Favorite_Mom/ in her category.  All the mom's are deserving, so whether you choose to vote for Patti or not, check it out!

-N.Z.

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.

But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past  read

I'm pleased to be on site at the Gathering of Eagles rally on the mall in DC. Great folks and a great crowd. Here's a few quick photos that I've taken; check back for more throughout the day...

NZ

After-Action Update: See also...

Folks Who Were There 

• Michelle and more Michelle
• Age of Hooper
• A Newt One
• The Redhunter

 Blog Commentary 

• PowerLine
• Free Republic
• Military.com
• Murdoc Online
• The People's Cube
• Gateway Pundit
• Chickenhawk Express 
• Wake up America 
• Atlas Shrugs
  

MSM 

• The New York Times
• The Washington Post 
• The Hill
• USA Today 
• ABC News
  
• CNN
• Associated Press

Obligatory plug: If you haven't already, sign the petition!

(click to enlarge) 

Update: Decided to start adding new photos at the top.

Final Update: OK, I've given up waiting for the "die-in". The anti-war crowd marched to the Capitol and camped on the lawn, but there wasn't any dying, far as I could see, just a lot of standing around. Be sure to also check in with Michelle's coverage .

Look! It isn't just lefties who can be nut jobs:

 Because this message worked out so well the first time:

 Click here to see the full craziness!

• The President told of how his father fought the Japanese, and how he himself had now met with the Japanese Prime Minister in the Oval Office to discuss how Japan and America could work together to help newly forming democracies. He emphasized the need to "transform former enemies into allies."
• On progress in the war: "Wars don't go from Point A to Point Z; democracies don't go from Point A to Point Z."
• On the Taliban's "offensives" in Afghanistan: "When they show up, they are losing."
• On Al Qaeda's leadership: "When you look at the history of the Chief Operating Officer of Al Qaeda [bin Laden's top deputy], you're not alive or you're captured."
• On the need for success in Iraq vs. withdrawal: "If you think it's bad now, imagine what the world would be like if we created a void [by withdrawing]."
• On the challenges of finding democratic leaders to step up in Iraq, he described a conversation including Ambassador Crocker where someone cited the example of South Africa's Nelson Mandela and asked of Iraq, "Where's Mandela?". The President said "Crocker said, 'dead'...[killed by Saddam]...this is a society that's learning how to be a democracy."
• On the new Iraqi government's need to gain the trust of their people: "Does the average cat understand... this is a government for the people?" (yes, the President said "cat". Groovy.)
• Responding to one of the bloggers in Iraq he expressed envy that they could be there, and said he'd like to be there but "One, I'm too old to be out there, and two, they would notice me."

This was a no-press event (although it was not off-the-record, so I'm not telling tales out of school), but there was an official photographer taking pictures that we'll all be getting copies of, so I'll share those when they are ready. And if you're wondering why I haven't named the other bloggers at the meeting, that's on purpose: some of the folks present are even more cautious about their public profile than I am, and until I hear for sure who wants to be mentioned vs. who doesn't, I will err on the side of leaving it to each attendee to post on their participation themselves. But check back; soon as I see other folks posting on the event, I'll link to them here.

Finally, I'd like to publicly thank the President and all the White House staff who worked to make this event happen (they know who they are). It was a great idea, and I hope the White House continues their increasing efforts to reach out to bloggers and new media.

Update - More from the other attendees:

Castle Argghhh!

Bill Roggio (from Iraq)

Bill Ardolino (from Iraq) 

This afternoon I had the pleasure of kicking off the first of what I hope will be many editions of Victory Radio, a new radio show over at BlogTalkRadio.

Today I was honored to have as my guest Orson Swindle, whose distinguished career includes 20 years of service as a Marine aviator (and six years in the Hanoi Hilton), eight years as a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commision, and too many other accomplishments to list here . 

Now, Orson is joining with his comrade and former cellmate in Vietnam, John McCain, on the Senator's "No Surrender Tour ". We talked about the tour, his time in Vietnam, Senator McCain, and most importantly, how critical it is for America to support our troops at this crucial time of war. 

You can listen to the audio by clicking the green arrow next to the show labeled 'Orson Swindle' here .

Thanks to Orson for joining me: it was an honor to speak with such a genuinely great American.

Editor's Note: Richard S. Lowry, author of the award-winning history of the Iraq invasion Marines in the Garden of Eden, returns this week to provide his insights into Operation Marne Torch. If you missed, it, you can read the first part of this series on the Baghdad Security Plan here. 

Last Spring, as General Petraeus was moving Surge forces into Baghdad it became clear that Anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF) were fleeing into the belts around Baghdad. He dubbed these fleeing combatants "squirters." Many squirted south. The squirters needed to be dealt with.

Also, with the arrival of eight new combat brigades, Major General Joseph Fil Jr. and the Multi-National Division-Baghdad command element would be stressed beyond their capability to remain effective. An additional division-level command element would have to be brought into the area of operations. Since all of Ft Stewart's brigades were either currently in, or on their way to Iraq; the 3rd Infantry Division's command element set up shop south of Baghdad in the first week of April. Major General Rich Lynch, 3rd ID's commanding general, assumed the reins of the newly-created Multi-National Division-Center - MND-C.

read more

TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Tuesday that a power vacuum is imminent in Iraq and said that Iran was ready to help fill the gap.

The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran , referring to U.S. troops in Iraq . "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia , and with the help of the Iraqi nation."

Although Ahmadinejad did not elaborate how Iran could fill a power gap, his bold remarks reflected what may be perceived as Iran 's eagerness for an increasing role on its neighbor's political scene.

Earlier this month, during a visit here by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iranian leaders said that only a U.S. pullout would bring peace to Iraq and pledged their government would do its best to help stabilize the country.

Ahmadinejad accused the United States of interfering in Iraq 's internal affairs, and dismissed U.S. criticism of al-Maliki's unsuccessful efforts to reconcile the country's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

"They rudely say (the Iraqi) prime minister and the constitution must change," Ahmadinejad said. "Who are you? Who has given you the right" to ask for such a change, he added, addressing the U.S. critics of al- Maliki, who is also a Shiite.

Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of any U.S. military action against Iran .

"I tell you resolutely that there is no possibility, whatsoever, of such a decision in the U.S. ," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "Even, if they were to decide to do so, they would be unable to carry it out."

U.S. has accused Iran of being behind attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq --a claim the Iraqi government has only partially backed, saying Iran could have a role in the attacks. Iran has denied the accusations