Somali troops capture Islamic stronghold  —  KISMAYO, Somalia - Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters — many of them Arabs and South Asians — fled the town.

Islamists quit last bastion in Somalia  —  KISMAYU, Somalia - Islamist fighters abandoned the last major town they held early today and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border while government forces approached slowly because of land mines, residents and a government spokesman said.

Islamists Abandon Final Stronghold in Somalia  —  The Islamist forces in Somalia abandoned their final stronghold this morning, fleeing the port city of Kismayo much like they had fled Mogadishu, the capital, last week.  —  In the face of an intense artillery barrage by Ethiopian-backed forces …

For Sunnis, Dictator's Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq  —  BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 — For Sunni Arabs here, the ugly reality of the new Iraq seemed to crystallize in a two-minute segment of Saddam Hussein's hanging, filmed surreptitiously on a cellphone.

Saddam Hanged but No Let - Up in Iraq Violence  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday for crimes against humanity after Iraq's prime minister rushed through an execution few believed would help stem the sectarian violence tearing the country apart.

A 'Surge' Faces Trouble In the Senate  —  Sen. John McCain, leading a blue-ribbon congressional delegation to Baghdad before Christmas, collected evidence that a "surge" of more U.S. troops is needed in Iraq.  But not all his colleagues who accompanied him were convinced.

"SURGE" QUERY  —  The Keane/Kagan duo write in the Weekly Standard that a meaningful "surge" has to consist of at least 30,000 men and for at least 18 months.  OK, nothing suprising there, this has been a Fred Kagan type outlook for many moons now.  What caught my eye, however, was this snippet at the concluding graf: