The conference started with a very special surprise guest, none other than the President of the United States. George W. Bush welcomed everyone to the conference via video. Gateway Pundit has posted it. He thanked the milbloggers for what they do, for supporting the troops and their mission and for getting the word out, for communicating with the families of the soldiers. A very nice surprise indeed.

Up next, also via video conference, Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox, live from Iraq. He also made some opening remarks, thanked the milbloggers for what they are doing. He then opened up for the floor for a Q&A session.

Rear Admiral Mark I. Fox is now talking about Gen. Petreaus and his new plan for Iraq. Four of the five brigades are now in country. The final brigade will be there next month. He talked about how brutal this enemy is. He used the word evil to describe their tactics, the indiscriminate slaughter of women, children, the elderly. He talked about the progress they have seen recently, and how they will be able to stabilize the country, if given the time. That is the big question, because the domestic insurgents here at home are already declaring our new strategy a failure. Basically, this summer will be critical to the future of Iraq, and the United States.