Since my blog has moved, I can no longer use Bloggers "Follower" gadget. If you are a part of NetWorked blogs, which includes a Facebook page, you can follow through NetworkedBlogs, and I can follow you back. Please come to my new blog - MaggiesNotebook.com, see the NetworkedBlogs widget in the right sidebar and click follow. I will follow back.
"I learned that in extreme situations when human lives and dignity are at state, neutrality is a sin. It helps the killers, not the victims." Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor who lost his family in the Holocaust - Nobel Prize Author
Socialism - Liberalism Quotation
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." – Norman Thomas
Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said Wednesday former President George W. Bush "should get a medal" for waterboarding Khalid Sheik Mohammed (KSM). Comforting words for conservatives coming from the man who may be the next Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is calling for further investigations into treatment of terrorists during the GWB administration. Consider this: if we did not have KSM in custody, and did not know what we know today about his part in the September 11, 2001 attacks, where would we be today? What would Americans feel about knowing practically nothing about the day that changed this country forever? I can't imagine being completely in the dark about our attackers. Bring out the medal for George W. Bush.
Peter King
Bush said in his new book, Decision Points, that he ordered the waterboarding of terrorists, including that of KSM. While the news is old now, remember this:
KSM, as intelligence agencies call him, directed the September 11 attacks, which killed 2,978 people and injured at least 7,356. “I am the head of the al-Qaeda military committee,” he told Al Jazeera in April 2002. “And yes, we did it.” KSM wired money to his nephew, Ramzi Yousef, who masterminded the February 1993 World Trade Center blast that killed six and wounded 1,040. KSM and Yousef planned Operation Bojinka, a foiled 1995 scheme to explode 12 American jetliners above the Pacific. While some doubt his claim, KSM reportedly said, “I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl in the City of Karachi, Pakistan.”
U.S. and Pakistani authorities captured KSM on March 1, 2003 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. KSM stayed mum for months, often answering questions with Koranic chants. Interrogators eventually waterboarded him — for just 90 seconds.
KSM “didn’t resist,” one CIA veteran said in the August 13 issue of The New Yorker. “He sang right away. He cracked real quick.” Another CIA official told ABC News: “KSM lasted the longest under water-boarding, about a minute and a half, but once he broke, it never had to be used again.”
KSM’s revelations helped authorities identify and incarcerate at least six major terrorists: Read more.
A total of 90 seconds of terror for KSM. Years and years of grief that never goes away for the families and loved ones of those who died when the Towers fell. The site of the World Trade Towers 9/11 attack is in Congressman Nadler's congressional district, but he is not appreciative of the methods used to bring the attackers to justice. King, however, said Bush's actions "saved many, many lives," and he should receive "a medal," for doing what was necessary. If Nadler's loved ones had been in the Towers, would he still be pushing for an investigation of George Bush? There is one thing here that is true: waterboarding is scary - no doubt terrible for the one being waterboarded, but...let's face it, no one dies from waterboarding. Thanks to Weazel Zippers.
Our Lady of Deliverance church in Baghdad, Iraq was the seen of many deaths yesterdays. Estimates are that 120 Christians were inside the church when gunmen stormed into the "prayer hall." The priest was shot dead immediately.
Our Lady of Deliverance, Baghdad, Iraq
The militants then detonated their suicide vests and threw grenades when security forces stormed the building.
The Daily Mail says at least 52 people were killed (MSNBC reports 58 deaths), including the priest, nine Iraqi security forces and five of the attackers - "some wearing suicide explosive vests and armed with grenades." A car bomb explosion happened just previous to the bombers entering the church, and it is expected that the car bomb was a diversion.
That leaves the assumption that at least 37 of the dead were parishioners. It takes a lot of courage and faith to attend a Christian church in Islamic countries, and Iraq is no exception. This is the deadliest attack on Christians in Iraq ever recorded.
Content Scrapers: Until I can figure out what to do about your confiscation of my work for your own website, please be sure to give a link back as shown above.
Barbara Boxer is the most bitterly partisan, most anti-defense Senator in the U.S. Senate today. How does John McCain know this? He tells you in the video.
Former President George W. Bush spoke at the University of Alabama this week and talked about his new book, Decision Points. The video below points out that G.W. has never spoken-out about his "decisions," and has been loathe to speak out against the ugly dialog coming from Barack Obama and the years of pummeling from the mainstream media.
George W. Bush
He apparently does speak candidly in the book. There will be revelations, and I believe this book will be a huge seller - but we will not hear him bash the Obama administration. We have long-waited to hear the stories of the decisions this principled, good-hearted man faced.
"It's about the decisions I made as president, and it's very anecdotal. Here are the stories, and you can decide what you would have done," he was quoted as saying in the the Press-Register of Mobile. The 64-year-old said the tome gives some understanding to the decisions he made on tough issues like the handling of 9/11 and the Iraq war. The president, who has become a target of both Democrats and President Obama since he left office, refused to comment on the current state of political affairs. "You're not going to see me out opining or offering my critique. Frankly, I don't think it's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor," Bush said.
In keeping with G.W.'s non-confrontational manner, the book will not be released until after the mid-term elections, with a Decision Points release date of November 9th, 2010.
This is the Col-bair Repoir! Celebrating the troops who "won the Iraq war!" Even without Biden admitting that Bush handled the Iraq war well (was that a gaffe?), seeing the troops with Col-bair is FABULOUS!
See the troop segment in the first video. See the Biden statement in the second video. See the General Odierno segment in the third video
Among many incongruities in this video, Fox News' Gretchen Carlson questions Obama's Press Secretary, whose spin leads Carlson to ask "Candidate Obama said that? Carlson had two things on her mind, both of which Robert Gibbs tried to ignore: (1) the surge worked, but Obama said it would not, and (2) will the President give President George W. Bush credit for the surge in his speech tonight.
Gretchen Carlson
Gibbs insists Obama actually said the surge would work. Gretchen questions that statement and asks if Gibbs' spin is how Obama will address his own flip-flop tonight.
Gretchen asks over and over if Obama will thank President Bush tonight for the success of the surge, and gets no answer. Watch at 4:42 in. Carlson is not amused.
Then in the second video listen to Obama's comments on the surge, where Obama says that Bush was wrong on the surge.
OBAMA: I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse. I think it takes pressure off the Iraqis to try to arrive at the political accommodation that every observer believes is the ultimate solution to the problems we face there. So I am going to actively oppose the president’s proposal. I don't doubt his sincerity when he says he thinks this is the best approach, but I think he is wrong. And I think the American people believe he is wrong. (NBC News)
The third video has clips of Obama saying none of the experts believe the surge will work, but then experts tell the real story. Obama began the flip-flop in July 2008 when he scrubbed his campaign website of all criticism of the massive effort that would allow troops to come home within two years.
Gretchen Carlson and Robert Gibbs: Candidate Obama said that?
Experts Weigh-in on Obama's Opposition to the Surge (video)
Linked by:
Ran at Si Vis Pacem who has a great pic of Baghdad Bobby Gibbs
Mark Tapscott at the Washington Examiner quotes an American Thinker article by Randall Hoven. Obama's failed Stimulus spending cost more than the Iraq war. I was amazed at this for a couple of reasons - one being that I thought the Iraq war was the biggest expenditure known in the history of the modern world, but apparently not.
Stimulus Costs More than Iraq War
Hoven quotes elitists saying the Iraq War cost $3 trillion. The CBO tells Hoven the entire cost is $709 billion. I don't about you, but I feel much better now. I can think of several who are near and dear to me whom I will assault with these figures - gleefully, and often.
Here's a handy stat: the stimulus bill passed in Obama's first month in office costs 15% more than the entire Iraq War. Repeating, 15% MORE THAN THE ENTIRE IRAQ WAR.
* Obama's stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War -- more than $100 billion (15%) more.
* Just the first two years of Obama's stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.
* Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.
* Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.
* Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.
* The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).
* During Bush's Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.)
As ALL combat brigades left Iraq and moved into Kuwait this week, the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division stays in Iraq - with a newly named Brigade - now known as the Advise and Assist Brigade. Their mission: to conduct security force assistance.
Speaking to a group of Veterans this week, Obama said there were patriots for the war, and patriots against the war, but there has been no daylight between either side on the support of the troops. Limbaugh sets the record straight.
"Watch Rush on video-cam as he goes back in time and exposes Obama's hypocrisy. Read more at The Daily Caller.
Julian Assange, the Wikileaks editor-in-chief, says he has been warned by sources inside the U.S. government that he may be detained or arrested if he returns to the U.S. The Drudge Report headline saying the source is from the White House is taken from a Telegraph headline - but there is nothing in the Telegraph article claiming the White House is involved. PFC Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, is under arrest for funneling the classified information to Wikileaks. Assange also says the U.S. is trying to "hide" Manning from effective civil representation in a secret Kuwait jail which is "a second Guantanamo Bay."
Julian Assange - Wikileaks
Assange says his government sources say he will be charged as a co-conspirator to espionage if he returns to the U.S. Wikileaks leaked 92,000 pages of classified military document about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with more to come. He claims he gave the information to the White House weeks before he posted the documents online, and he asked if there was anything the White House wanted redacted, but received no response. The White House basically said Assange was lying and they knew nothing about the documents.
The 39 year-old told journalists at the Frontline Club last night that USgovernment insiders had informed him about discussions to charge him as a co-conspirator to espionage.
An Australian, Julian Assange, takes classified intelligence documents from a disgruntled member of the U.S. Military and is warned by our own government that he should not enter the U.S. I have to ask what is happening to our Military? They can't keep a PFC in line? Why did a PFC have access to classified documents, or at least the ability to retrieve them? And what is the real story? Are White House sources in touch with Assange or the State Department...what's up the Telegraph's headline?
Al Qaeda leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masiri and Abu Omar al Baghdadi are reportedly confirmed dead in Iraq according to that country's prime minister, Nouri al Maliki. I'll have continuing updates as information is available. See update below.
Abu Ayyub al Masri
Abu Omar al Baghdadi
Maliki says the men were killed this past weekend, and offered photos of two bodies to reporters. Al Masri and al Baghdadi were allegedly hiding in a home in or near Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi government has claimed multiple times over that it had either captured or killed al Bafhdadi, most recently a year ago.
Update 4-20-10, 7:40 p.m. EST:
Iraq says they have confirmed the deaths of both men through DNA, but some analysts are still not completely convinced about the death of al Baghdadi. Some of the problems in identifying Abu Omar al Baghdadi stem from believing the al Baghdadi name was used for numerous Iraqi terrorists. In fact, they are not completely certain there is actually a man named Abu Omar al Baghdadi.
Well, this is certainly a development. What a reprehensible event it is that now puts our sailors serving aboard a warship named after deceased Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).
USS John Murtha
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is responsible for choosing Murtha's name to grace a mighty defender of America. Does Mabus know anything about what is going on the real world? Obviously not, because if some pressure was being applied by some influential person...like...maybe Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi or President Barack Obama, Mabus apparently had a very convenient out, according to this: previous San Antonio class ships have been named for American cities -but didn't take it.
For those of you reminding me that Murtha is a decorated Vietnam Marine...let me save you the trouble. I appreciate his service then. I don't appreciate his service in the House. What we once were, doesn't mean we die that way. Between Vietnam and today, a person can do a boatload of damage. (let us just sweep Murtha's various ethics violations under the rug of journalism).
After 19 terms in The People's House, without proof, Murtha told TIME magazine:
"It's much worse than reported. There was no fire fight. There was no
IED that killed thse innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of
the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.
And that's what the report is going to tell."
TIME claimed they had seen video taken by Human Rights Watch at the scene. That was not true. They issued a correction and then claimed the video came from Hammurabi and a
Haditha journalism student," working with Human Rights Watch. TIME also "regretted" reporting the specific content of a photograph that apparently didn't exist. Sweetness and Light has the story.
Murtha's accusations were a Liberal battlecry. We didn't hear any Democrat come out and savage Murtha for providing aid and comfort to Islamic terrorists and their
sympathizers everywhere, and leaving a wake of destruction to swamp the
lives of 8 Marines and all who loved them and cared for them.
Here's the message from the U.S. Marine Corp to the Congressman:
Eight Marines were charged. Six have had charges dropped and a seventh was acquitted. Hopefully, the same will happen for the eighth.
In the first video you will hear Murtha claim a Marine commandant told him personally that murder was being covered up. When Charlie Gibson asked him specifically about the commandant claiming murder, Murtha walked it back a bit, but got angrier by the second. He tells Gibson not to make excuses for the Military. Of the guilt of the as-yet-uncharged Marines, Murtha said there is "no doubt in my mind."
The USS John Murtha is "designed to support embarking, transporting, and
landing elements of a Marine landing force in an assault by
helicopters, landing craft, amphibious vehicles, and by a combination of
these methods to conduct primary amphibious warfare mission."
Congressman John Murtha left this world at age 77 in February 2010
due to gall bladder surgery complications.
Charles Gibson and John Murtha: Haditha Marines (video)
John Murtha: ...and they killed innocent citizens in cold blood (video)
Things became even more complicated today for imprisoned Americans in Iran Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal. Iran's Intelligence Minister, Heidar Moslehi told Iranian television that Tehran has "credible evidence" the three young people have links to US intelligence services. See a video below.
Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer were living in Damascus, Syria and were on vaction. Both of them are Arab speakers. Josh Fattal came from the States to visit them. The three friends were hiking in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq near the resort town of Ahmed Awa. They unknowingly wondered across the Iranian border where they were taken into custody on July 31st, 2009.
Ahmed Awa police spotted the hikers at one point on Friday, Ahmed said, and warned them that they were near the Iranian border - which is not marked in the area - and that they should be careful...
Mudhafer Mohammed, owner of the Nirwan Hotel, told CNN that the hikeers said they had come to the area because they heard it was safe...But, he said, he advised them against it.
"I warned them many times," Mohammed told CNN.
"When they told me that they are planning to go to Ahmed Awa, I told them, 'Don't go there because it is unsafe for you because you're American and Ahmed Awa is very close tot he Iranian border," he said.
A fourth American, Shon Meckfessel from Seattle, was ill that day and stayed behind in the Nirwan Hotel in Sulaimaniya. Some reports say the trio was able to reach Meckfessel by phone to tell him about the arrest. Reportedly, he left the hotel unannounced, leaving luggage behind and made it safely to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Shane Bauer is from the San Francisco area. He is a contributor to New American Media, is an accomplished writer and photographer. His work has appeared in The Nation and Pacific News Service.
Sarah Shourd is a writer and contributor to New America
Media, and Matador Pulse, and is believed to be from the San Francisco area. According to a Facebook profile, she is a volunteer English teacher for the Iraqi Students Project Connections - a program for Iraqi student refugees in Syria. At the time of her arrest, the profile said was "currently based in the Middle East.
As of February 2010, none of the parents have had any contact with their children. This from Sarah's mother:
Nora Shourd: Well, you know, Sarah was over there looking for a way to kind of give back. Part of, you know, what they talked about when they went to the Middle East was, you know, what can we do for this part of the world?
Joshua Fattal is from near Cottage Grove, Oregon. He was the internship coordinator at Aprovecho Research Center, a nonprofit research and education center.
The video below are the mothers of Shane Bauer's, Cindy Hickey, Nora Shourd, Sarah's mother and Laura Fattal, Josh's Mother.
Mothers of Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer
Colonel Allen B. West (R-FL) is running for a seat in the People's House from Florida's 22nd district which includes Palm Beach. West has announced that he has received the endorsement of former Governor Sarah Palin. See a video below.
Allen B. West
Col. West's opponent in the November 2010 election is incumbent Ron Klein. Klein and West ran against each other in 2008. Klein won with 54% of the vote. He is in his second term and his seat is considered safe. What they don't know won't hurt them.
The uber-Liberal Americans for Democratic Action ranked Ron Klein as 95 on a scale of 100 - meaning Klein is almost perfectly Liberal. We have the opportunity to seat a true America hero in the People's House. Let's get 'er done!
Allen B. West background:
Allen West was born in Atlana, Georgia on February 7, 1961 to parents Herman West, Sr. and Elizabeth West. He is 49 years old. He is married to Dr. Angela M. Graham-West of Kingston Jamaica. Mrs. West holds an MBA and Ph.D. She is a financial planner. The West's have two daughters: Aubrey, 15, and Austen, 11.
West holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, a Masters in Political Science from Kansas State University, and Master of Military Arts and Science degree from the US Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as Commander of the 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry.
He joined the Army on November 1, 1983, attending the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He completed the Basic Airborne and Jumpmaster courses at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Read more on Col. West's military service here.
Col. West retired from the U.S. Army as a Lt. Colonel. He served in Operation Desert Storm, and the Iraq War. He has been an adviser to the Afghan Army through Military Professional Resources, Inc. He is the third of four generations of family to serve in the military. His military awards include:
The Bronze Star
The Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters
The Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and Combat V-Device for Valor
Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal with Palm Tree
Kuwait Liberation Medal
The Army Valorous Unit Award
Army Master Parachutist Badge
Army Air Assault Badge
Navy marine Corps Parachute Insignia
Italian Parachutist Badge
German Proficiency Badge Bronze Award
The Army Achievement Medal
In 2004, FrontPageMag names Colonel Allen B. West their Man of the Year:
FrontPage Magazine’s Man of the Year has shown true courage, compassion and heroism in the face of battle – and unlike the worthies named above, he has suffered for his good deeds rather than received commendation. He has been on the frontlines of the War on Terror in the heart of the Iraqi resistance. He undertook extraordinary measures to safeguard the lives of his men, to protect Americans under attack by bloodthirsty Islamist gangleaders. Yet instead of reward he has been tested by fire, having been dishonored by the very military he served so effectively for the last 20 years of his life. This irresponsible punishing of someone who should be awarded for his bravery and patriotism endangers the American people. For that reason, we seek to honor Col. Allen B. West.
Colonel West earned the disdain of leftist intellectuals and the rebuke of the United States armed forces for protecting the lives of his troops. West commanded the 4th Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, near Tikrit. In the days following the toppling of Saddam’s regime and preceding the dictator’s capture in a filthy desert hole, West was responsible for the lives and safety of 700 men and women who had spent a cautious summer sweltering in the crosshairs of Sunni Triangle terrorists.
As we near the elections, we are certain to hear the Left attack Col. West for protecting his own men in Iraq. What happened to the Colonel is unthinkable, yet it happened. This is the real story:
In late August, Colonel West received news that his men had been targeted by a group of thugs associated with an Iraqi policeman named Yahya Jhodri Hamoodi. Allied forces quickly apprehended Hamoodi in Saba al Boor, a tiny town near Tikrit. Four interrogation specialists worked late into the evening of August 20, desperately trying to pry the attack plans out of him. Growing frustrated, the interrogators resorted to physical force, punching Hamoodi – without success. (Hamoodi was not seriously injured at any point during the interrogation.) It was then that Col. Allen West intervened.
Seeing that even physical violence had proven ineffective, Colonel West took the next logical step: He took the intransigent suspect outside, shoved Hamoodi’s head into a sandbox and threatened to kill him. The Colonel then pulled out his sidearm and fired a warning shot into the sky. Then West carefully held Hamoodi’s head aside as he fired a shot over Hamoodi’s shoulder, into the warm Iraqi sand burying his visage.
That near-scrape with death did the trick. Hamoodi began singing, telling West the identities of two men planning the attacks and revealing their attack plans, including the site of the intended ambush. The two men were arrested, and Colonel West ordered his men away from the site as they continued to serve the liberated Iraqi people. Upon turning Hamoodi over, he admitted his unorthodox tactics. For protecting the 700 soldiers in his care and cracking Hamoodi where professional interrogators had failed, Colonel West was immediately stripped of his command and threatened with jail time.
In October, the armed forces offered Colonel West an ultimatum: resign the military and lose his pension and benefits, or face trial for violating standard interrogation procedure. If convicted, West could have received up to eight years in jail – for saving his men’s lives. On the other hand, West, who had just qualified to retire with 20 years service, needed his benefits to care for his wife, Angela, a cancer victim.
West chose to make his case to his military colleagues. Publicly choking back tears, West acknowledged his actions in interrogating Hamoodi; he merely denied that what he had done was criminal, knowing his troops had been targeted for extermination in the midst of a war. His great heart showed during his trial, as he said, "If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through Hell with a gasoline can . . . There is not a person in this room I would not sacrifice my life for."
On December 11, West escaped court martial. Major General Raymond Odierno ordered West to pay a $5,000 fine and allowed him to retire as a Lieutenant Colonel. The ordeal caused by his desire to save his troops a violent death in a desert land had finally ended. He was free to return to Ft. Hood, Texas, to his wife Angela, with his reputation essentially cleared.
I hope you will read the FrontPageMag article linked above. There is much about the Colonel that we need to know as the election nears.
Understanding the Surge is the story of how our Military changed Iraq, including the hearts and minds of Iraqis. It tells us what we have not understood - how very difficult this operation was to complete.
In 2006, Baghdad had no power. Trash was in the street. Baghdad was a grey, dark scary place, and Iraqi's were terrified. Before the surge, neither the U.S. Army or the Iraqi government could protect the people. You will see scenes of the cities, villages and the people, that you will never forget. Watch the miracle that our men and women brought to the people, under the direction Gen. David Petraeus, Gen. Ray Odierno and President George W. Bush.
See the schools. Hear the children and the mothers. This 34 minute video is stunning.
As thousands of troops launched a huge offensive in Helmand Province, Afghanistan today, Vice President Joe Biden wanted to talk about our enemies, but not those in Afghanistan. He wanted to talk about Pakistan.
U.S. Marine affixes a mortar round
during a helicopter-borne assault
near Marja, Afghanistan
Photo credit: Sgt. Brian Tuthill
I understand that Pakistan is a nuclear country, but really, on the day that Operation Moshtarak descends on Majah, Afghanistan, he should have kept quiet...saved it for a few more days, or...at least acknowledged that at the minute he is once again gaffing, our finest are doing the job that few want to do.
Biden and Obama sat in the Senate and voted against everything that would have helped President Bush end Iraq quicker, perhaps make greater strides in Afghanistan and take care of Iran. Perhaps had he taken the Taliban more seriously, Pakistan would not on the burner at this moment.
Marines identifying targets as Taliban fighters approach from Marja
Photo credit Sgt. Brian Tuthill
Democrat resistance is the reason this country did not fight a full-out war with gusto. They sniped and threatened and called Bush a war monger. It is amazing he was able to accomplish what he did. Bush walked on eggshells after Liberals deserted the ship and cried "Bush lied."
Just a mention, was all Biden had to do, before he flipped off Afghanistan. This foolish Vice President, supposedly a foreign policy expert, is wrong all the time
As Michael Rubin shows, Biden has fared no better when it comes to Iran. According to Rubin:
Biden's unyielding pursuit of "engagement" with Iran for
more than a decade has made it easier for Tehran to pursue its nuclear
program, while his partisan obsession with thwarting the Bush
administration has led him to oppose tough sanctions against
hard-liners in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. (more excellent commentary at PowerLineBlog)
...Biden's words should be assessed in the context of his "long track
record of appeasement and double talk on the Iran nuclear risk."
"The mullahs have known that Biden is their No. 1 go-to guy in
the Senate whenever they want their bidding done to fool the American
people," Corsi charges.
In his book, Corsi names Biden, along with Democratic Sens. John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton as recipients of funds from the "pro-mullah lobby" in the U.S.
While there always has been debate over whether to engage or
isolate rogue regimes, Biden's concilatory approach to Tehran is
especially dangerous, asserts Corsi.
"He's being played for a fool and doesn't recognize that that
strategy failed in North Korea, and it's going to fail here again," he
said. "What's he going to do, act surprised when the mullahs make a
bomb?"
He once referred to Afghanistan and Pakistan as the "superhighway of terror"...where his helicopter was "forced down" "with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains." Sounds like the then Senator saw some action from the Taliban, doesn't it? Maybe the aircraft was underfire, but...no. There was snowstorm. The helicopter landed safely. No one was hurt. The enemy was huddled in some cave and likely didn't know these big bad boys of the US Senate (Sens. Hagel and Kerry) were in their area.
National Review has a good article summing up Every-Which-Way Joe and his exercises in "folly and self-contradiction."
As Biden so frequently pointed out on the campaign trail, a powerful
vice president can be “very dangerous.” This is especially the case
when a vice president has a track record like Joe Biden’s.
I can't top that.
Linked by Storm'n Norm'n - Biden the Iranian Medal of Honor Winner - Thank You!
The Brit leadership was determined to bring former Prime Minister Tony Blair to his knees for his alliance with President G. W. Bush and the Iraq War. The Chilocot Inquiry failed to nail. See a video below.
I think you'll enjoy the following commentary from two British journalists. While you are reading, keep the Oil for Food scandal in the back of your mind, which would have strengthened the alliance against Iraq, gotten us out quicker and easier - had we had the help and willingness of world leaders involved in the scandal - especially France.
Remember the ignored, and worthless UN sanctions against Saddam Hussein.
As time passes, we forget the intense belief that Saddam has WMD. Remember the words of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senators Harry Reid, John Kerry, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and others, as well as Bill Clinton - in full support of entering Iraq because of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Remember John McCain saying "Every intelligence agency in the world believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction...." To this day, we do not know the truth about WMD.
The body language said it all. Tony Blair began his day at the Chilcot inquiry
visibly strained, even shaking, according to one television channel,
which focused on his hands. There was none of the easy charm that we
remember from his days as prime minister and he meekly accepted the
constant interruptions from the panel, who started off determined not
let him drone on for too long.
But by the afternoon, the old
Blair had resurfaced. His answers became longer, his head was held
higher, and he appeared in control of the situation. The reason was
simple: the inquiry members had failed to nail him on the central issue
of their quest – why had he taken the country to war when the attorney
general's advice had been lukewarm at least, on the legality of such
action?
The key point came early in the afternoon. The former attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, had told the inquiry that he believed individual states, not just the United Nations, could declare Iraq to be in breach of Resolution 1441. So Lord Goldsmith has asked Tony
Blair if he considered this were the case, and only after getting an
answer in the affirmative did he change his legal advice. To an extent,
Goldsmith was laying responsibility for the legal decision with Blair,
while Blair claimed it lay with Goldsmith. Yet the inquiry failed to
follow up this line of questioning.
By mid-afternoon the former prime minister knew he had escaped. The
remaining questions about post-invasion planning were never going to
trouble him. It was just like watching Blair at prime minister's
questions, swatting away his inquisitors, absolutely certain he was
right. He may have had some sleepless nights ahead of today's
appearance but he didn't need to lose a wink.
This was the big one. Yet as we sat down to the climax of the
Chilcot inquiry, in walked a ghost. Its muscles were taut, its eyes
bloodshot, its tan implausible, its mouth unsmiling. The hand visibly
shook when pouring water. Tony Blair looked awful.
Outside
they were chanting war criminal and liar. Blair had been smuggled in
through the Queen Elizabeth II centre's "prisoner's entrance". The man
who once "stopped the traffic" dared not try again. Sir John Chilcot
might incant "this is not a trial," but you could have fooled us.
Then
the extraordinary happened. Sir Roderic Lyne mumbled an interminable
opening question about sanctions and containment. The face relaxed. The
body did not squirm. The hands moved and the room was treated to the
spectacle of Blair's ghost coming to life.
Slowly he established
dominance and it was Chilcot and his colleagues who took on a hunted
look. Within an hour they were listening mute to a seminar on
neoconservatism for slow learners.
The former prime minister's
case had already been stated by his two trusted aides, Alastair
Campbell and Lord Goldsmith. This was that the pre-war evidence on
Saddam and his weapons was compelling at the time. The dodgy dossiers
were not sexed up. The case in international law would have been
strengthened "politically" by a second UN resolution, but was legally
robust....
Blair's self-assurance was extraordinary. He deployed sincerity and
sweet reason. None of the bullet questions touched him. When asked to
comment on the "beyond doubt" foreword to the dodgy September dossier,
he confided with a smile: "I did believe it – frankly beyond doubt."...
Then came the sting in the tail. Chilcot repeated his opening question: why really did we invade Iraq
and why in March 2003? The honest answer was that Bush was going and
Blair wanted to come along too. But his egoism got the better of him.
It was all his decision.
"I never regarded September 11 as an
attack on America. I regarded it as an attack on us, and I had said we
stand shoulder to shoulder with them [Americans]. We did in Afghanistan
and I was determined to do that again."
Congress and Tony Blair Supports Invading Iraq (video)
The U.S. Marines are preparing their exit from Iraq. Col. Scott Aiken will be the last combat Marine in Iraq, as they "hand over" responsibility to the U.S. Army today.
So much about the Iraq war is historic, including the fact that for the Marines, their push from "Kuwait northward to Baghdad and eventually west to Anbar, was the most ground Marines have covered since their 1805 desert march across Egypt to what is today the republic of Libya - a feat recovnized in the reference to "the shores of Tripoli" in the Marines Corps anthem."
In 2008, the Marines reach their peak with 25,000 troops inside Iraq. Now they will be the first to leave, with remaining US Military leaving Iraq by the end of 2011, according to Obama.
Iraqi leaders want the Marines to go, but that's not all they want. They want the Marines to finish arming the Iraqi army:
I am happy that the Americans will leave, but they still have to
complete arming the Iraqi army," Anbar tribal chief Sheik Hameed
al-Ghadhban said. "They have some unfinished jobs to do, and the Iraqi
army needs arms and equipment - they must supply us with them.
Now we'll see if these people can take care of themselves, boastful and arrogrant, as they are. Throughout the war, it has been apparent that from the leaders down to the people on the street, they are a demanding bunch, but they easily absolve themselves for never demanding peace and security from their oppressors.
American officers are more gracious than Sheik Hameed al-Ghadhban. General Rick Tryon, the commander in Iraq said:
The security and stability that exists here is well within the
means of the Iraqi security forces to maintain...You don't
need United States Marines to do this at this point. So it's time, and
it's timely. Besides, he added: "Afghanistan is calling."
Much of Tryon’s mission since taking over last February has focused on
helping Anbar officials attract foreign investors and build up city
services such as schools, hospitals and new roads and bridges.
Of the approximately 3,500 U.S. troops killed in action in Iraq, at least 851 were Marines. Among the first troops in the country, they arrived to invade in March 2003. They saw duty in the most violent battles of the war: Fallujah and Ramadi. Marines remembered being awakened by a loud speaker calling for blood donations:
As a severely wounded Marine was flown in by helicopter, "We'd go down
there and stand in line, waiting to give blood," said Sewell, 26, of N.
Ft. Myers, Florida. "You'd see 200 people standing in line. We'd all
stand there until the guy was stabilized or we gave blood.
The battle for Anbar Province, located in a vast desert area, stretching from the western outskirts of the city of Baghdad, to the borders of Syria, Saudia Arabia and Jordan, is where 40 percent of all coalition deaths occurred.
Col. Scott Aiken will remain to see the last of the combat units packed and shipped. God Bless our Marines, always.
An undercover child sex sting allegedly caught Scott Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector, and columnist for al-Jazeera, conversing in an Internet chat room, and masturbating on camera for someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl.
This report says
Ritter was also charged in June 2001 in a NY sex sting but the case was
dismissed. That case involved child endangerment and attempting to meet
a 16-year-old girl at a restaurant. The New York post reported that
there was yet another incident in April 2001 involving a 14-year-old
but charges were not filed. Nothing but a child predator here if these charges are true. Think of those who never received justice for the crimes of Scott Ritter.
Ritter, 48, lives in Delmar, NY. He was a UN weapons inspector in Iraq until he quit under protest of the lack of U.N. action when Saddam Hussein threw the weapons inspectors out of the country. Ritter claimed Iraq had obstructed the UN work, and hid the necessary documentation and equipment to restart the program. He was outraged that the CIA may have tried to infiltrate the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), under which he worked, and use inspectors to gather intelligence.
Ritter outraged Americans when he joined al-Jazeera as a columnist, praised the Iraqi resistance, and suggested the only way out for America was to fail. As of December 2009 he was still writing for al-Jazeera, and in fact titled his article about Afghanistan, Our Murderers in the Sky.
According to Mr. Ritter, “The highly vaunted U.S. military machine, laurelled and praised for its historic march on Baghdad (search)
in March and April of 2003, today finds itself a broken force, on the
defensive in a land that it may occupy in part, but does not control.”
Offering no proof whatsoever, Mr. Ritter accuses the U.S. of conspiring with Iraqi assassination squads (search),
and that, not foreign terrorists or former Saddam officials, is what
started the post-war violence in Iraq: “Having started the game of
politically motivated assassination, the U.S. has once again found
itself trumped by forces inside Iraq it does not understand, and as
such will never be able to defeat.”
As for the enemy, which he calls a “genuine
grassroots national liberation movement,” Ritter is generous: “History
will eventually depict as legitimate the efforts of the Iraqi
resistance to destabilise and defeat the American occupation forces and
their imposed Iraqi collaborationist government.”
At that time, BlackFive wrote "he's a lying disgrace and his column could incite violence against Americans. So this al-Jazeera columnist, Ritter, reportedly used the web I.D. "delmarm4fun," and at least the first contact with the girl (cop) was in February 2009. The policeman told Ritter he was a 14 year old girl from the Poconos in Pennsylvania. He asked for a photo of the girl, known as "Emily."
Ritter then sent a link to his Web camera and
began to masturbate while it was focused on his genitals, according to
the affidavit. The former U.N. official then allegedly provided his
cell phone number.
"He then continued to
masturbate on web cam and he again asked how old I was," the affidavit
continued. "He was advised again that I was 15 years old. He said he
didn't realize that I was 15 years old and turned off his web camera.
He stated that he didn't want to get in trouble."
Ritter
then allegedly told the "girl" that he fantasized about having sex with
her, to which the officer replied, "guess u turned it off [no problem]."
Ritter
then asked the girl if she "want[ed] to see it finish" before
reactivating his Web camera and ejaculating, the affidavit read.
Assuming Scott Ritter spends a good, longtime behind bars for attempting to corrupt, perhaps rape, at least molest a minor, it couldn't happen to a more deserving UN worker, former employee or not. The culture of corruption within the U.N. is flagrant, and after raping, abusing and torturing children in vulnerable countries, while getting paid to be a peacekeeper, losing a job is usually the only punishment. Let's hope Ritter's outcome keeps him away from children for a very long time.
In case you missed them, here are a few articles I've enjoyed over the last day or so.
Planck's Constant shows us how Muslims are taking over France. "...it is not the extremist who we have to fear, but the moderate Muslim
who through no fault of his own, by merely being Muslim, will destroy
the very fabric of western culture." Take a look at Bernie's video of the streets of Paris. We need to know these things.
Pundit and Pundette
showcases Maureen Dowd's elitist ignorance, even though today she
laments "our president came down from the mountaintop," and contrasts
Jennifer Rubin's assessment that Obama's "preference for government by
seminar made for an excruciating war-planning process." I love that
"government by seminar."
American Power tells us Democrats in the Senate are readying to change the rule on filibusters.
Ruby Slippers takes a look at Massachusetts Democrat Senate contender Martha Coakley, and wonders "what if Sarah Palin said that?"
Dolley Madison at Abigail and Dolley has A Tale of Two Mothers. She takes a look at the sacrifices for "Cadillac healthcare" and how the choices we make affect our lives.
Ol' Broad talks about the "uneducated" tea-party goers, as described by NYT's David Brooks.
Ryan Maro at PajamasMedia sees improvement in the world's oil supply, and benefits to the U.S. with Russia's new Iraqi oil operation - and he says, Iran should worried.
[the contract with Russia puts] to rest allegations that the Bush administration launched the
war to seize the fields for its buddies in the oil business, a
laughable accusation of Satan-level evil that has had a disappointingly
long shelf life.
The Lonely Conservative gets into "Oliver Stone's Secret History of America" and his much-expected, revisionist history of Stalin, Hitler and Mao. Oh come on Karen. You know Stone will be completely unbiased, as always.
Sultan Knish informs on Israel's Arab settlements. You need to know about this, and there is no one better to tell it than the Sultan.
Dr. Sanity tells us how California became a failed state.
Jim Simpson at The Examiner is spilling a little known secret about Universal Voter Fraud Registration. The implications of this legislation, which should get under way, and under stealth cover, should begin this month. Read it here.
Moose and Squirrel points out the absurdity of the "Goracle's" flawed propaganda, and that of his followers, and the money behind all warmists.
William Teach at Pirate's Cove asks "Who's a Climate Scientist?" and questions Al Gore's credentials.
Blackfive looks at the White House distress over troops not "magically" arriving in Afghanistan and explains the post-dithering logistics needed to get them there.
BigJournalism shines the big spotlight on Media Matter in Dumbing Down the War on Terror.
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