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The Under Secretary's rebuttal of the IG's report is withering. It takes the IG's report apart, brick by brick, and shows it to be false in every material respect. Much of the Under Secretary's response is devoted to bureaucratic matters; e.g., the Inspector General was simply wrong in asserting that the work in question was carried out by the Under Secretary for Policy's office. On the merits, the Under Secretary points out that the IG has no expertise to determine that the effort to re-evaluate the intelligence gathered by the CIA and other agencies was "improper," even though it was both legal and directed by the Secretary of Defense: The work found "inappropriate" was an exercise in alternative thinking that the second most senior civilian in this Department directed his subordinates to prepare and brief to the most senior official of this Department. The latter, after receiving the draft briefing, directed that it be shared with the [Director of Central Intelligence]. When the Deputy National Security Advisor requested the briefing, the Deputy Secretary's office directed that it be given to him. These are the activities that the Draft Report characterizes as "inappropriate," because it considers them to be "production" and "dissemination" of an "alternative intelligence assessment" contradicting assessments of the "chartered-intelligence community." If the OIG actually believes that it was inappropriate for the Deputy Secretary of Defense to have some non-[intelligence community] staff members do a critical assessment of some [intelligence community] work on a subject of major significance for national security, inappropriate for the Secretary of Defense to share the OSD work with the [Director of Central Intelligence], and inappropriate for the Deputy Secretary to share the work with the Deputy National Security Advisor when requested by the latter, the OIG should say so directly instead of finding fault with subordinate OSD offices and staff members who did as they were instructed to do.

For some time, there have been claims of Iran's direct involvement in attacks against Iraqi and U.S. troops, but without the presentation of sufficient actual evidence to persuade Congress or the American public at large. Congress - Members of both parties and key staff - have been very reluctant to trust any such claims ever since the Iraqi WMD intelligence debacle. That might change after today, when U.S. officials on the ground in Iraq - not just at the CIA or the Pentagon in Washington - revealed reliable evidence of Iran's direct involvement, from the highest levels in the government, in the attacks.

Basically, the "materials" for this project are going to be things that help you to remember specials events in your life. Photographs, journals, and letters are a few good ideas. As you leaf through a photo album or an old journal, chances are that you'll find yourself thinking, "Now that's a story I've got to put in!"

To help you get over that first horrible case of writer's block, here are some places you might start: What is the story of your birth? Remember how your mother used to tell you about the seventy-two hours she spent in labor to bring you into the world? Or maybe your father once told you what he thought the first time he saw you. These can turn into attention-grabbing beginnings. What is your earliest memory? Rather than starting with your birth, you might want to start with the first face, house, toy, or song that you remember. Why did you decide to write your personal history? Maybe you decided to start this project after reading your grandmother's journal or after spending an exhausting decade trying to find out exactly who your great-great grandfather was. That story could make an interesting introduction. What was the most important, happiest, or best day of your life? Think over your life and pick one particular day that stands out to you.

You might also consider having family members or friends contribute some memories of their own. For example, when writing about your childhood, you might want to ask your siblings to write down what they remember about growing up in your home. Maybe they remember things you've forgotten-like that unfortunate incident with the grape juice and Mom's favorite shirt-or simply remember things differently. While this is first and foremost your history, it can be interesting to share a story from someone else's viewpoint. When talking about your wedding day, it would be fun to have your spouse's version of the story as well as your own.