THE BLOGOSPHERE IS MOVING FAST to help the Marines combat Al Jazeera’s propaganda, with the first shipment of television equipment bought with blog-readers’ donations going out just 23 days after it started. It’s enough to outfit eight independent Iraqi television stations. Bravo to the blogosphere!

But the real question is why this is being addressed via private donations a year after Saddam fell?

UPDATE: Reader Joe Zwers offers a positive take:

And the real answer is that central planning always leaves something out. The Soviets five year plans consistently failed. China’s Great Leap Forward was a disaster. North Korea was once the more prosperous and industrialized part of that peninsula. Now it can’t feed its own people, even with massive food aid, while the south prospers.

So, the U.S. did plan many things properly in the Iraq war, but there were clearly some omissions. This is to be expected. In World War II, I believe it was, people were knitting socks for the troops since the Army didn’t have an adequate supply. What this does show, however, is that because this country is not as rigid as other societies, it can quickly respond to needs on a voluntary basis. That is why a free societies triumph over the long run, despite the supposed efficiencies of more structured ones.

Um, okay, but I still think that they should have thought of this sooner.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Gerard van der Leun reports from Camp Pendleton.

And here’s a photo gallery posted by Donovan Janus of Exposure Manager.