Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley, Evan Vela's squad leader...and his men were discovered in their "hide" by an unarmed Iraqi man, whom they captured. As the man failed to stop moving and making noise, Hensley was very properly concerned that the Iraqi would reveal the Americans' position to nearby insurgents....Hensley concocted a politically correct, brass-pleasing cover story over the course of several phone calls to the command post -- something about the approach of an insurgent armed with an AK-47. He then ordered Evan Vela to kill the man. It was Vela's first "kill."...Hensley concocted a politically correct, brass-pleasing cover story over the course of several phone calls to the command post -- something about the approach of an insurgent armed with an AK-47. He then ordered Evan Vela to kill the man. It was Vela's first "kill."...Only Evan Vela, the young Ranger-trained sniper who carried out his superior's battlefield order, was convicted of "murder."

"Pardon Sgt. Evan Vela, Mr. President" (by Diana West)

Who doesn't recognize by now that we live in a time in which there's little, if any, publishing space for positive military stories about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The fact is American coalition forces have reduced the number of al-Qaida fighters in Iraq from roughly 12,000 to 1,200, have cornered them in Mosul, and are successfully gaining the upper hand on their remaining strongholds.

The Most Overlooked News Story of 2008 (by Chuck Norris)

This truly will be an administration that looks like America, or at least that slice of America that got double 800s on their SATs. Even more than past administrations, this will be a valedictocracy — rule by those who graduate first in their high school classes. If a foreign enemy attacks the United States during the Harvard-Yale game any time over the next four years, we’re screwed.

The Insider's Crusade (by David Brooks)

Behavioral profiling has never turned up someone planning harm to aviation security. It has never turned up a person with weapons, guns, bombs, or any other implement that would cause a flight to be delayed, much less brought down. Exhibiting stress in airports—a likely part of behavioral profiling—is consistent with terrorism planning, yes, but it is also consistent with: arriving late, disagreeing with a travel companion, missing a flight, feeling sick, missing loved ones, being disorganized, fearing the security bureaucracy, and so on.

Not Just a Program with Problems, a Program with Constitutional Problems (by Jim Harper)

To invite in the Clintons—and it's always the Clintons, never a Clinton—is to invite in, to summon, drama that will never end. Ever. More important is this: Keep Gates. Mr. Obama said on "60 Minutes" that he means to include Republicans in his cabinet. This is where to start.

Keep Gates: But Mrs. Clinton at Foggy Bottom? Can They be Serious? (by Peggy Noonan)