Why I quit...

By Findalis

Desert Storm vet explains decision to leave Air Force after 22 years.

By MIKE BANZET

I never expected to write this letter, but my Mom e-mailed me to get information about my career for a writeup on Veterans Day, and as this is the first such holiday in 22 years when I will not be on active duty, I felt compelled to let you know why I decided to quit.

Quit is a strong word, I know. Everyone I’ve talked to has repeated that I’ve had a marvelous career and that I’ve retired with honor. Maybe that’s true on paper; I guess that it’s reflected by the record. But that’s not how I feel. I feel like I’ve quit. And because I’m not a quitter, I feel I have to explain why — not that anyone is asking, but because perhaps they don’t know to ask.

Briefly, my career had been a representation of the promise of this country. Starting out on the lowest rung of the rank ladder as an F-4G Wild Weasel crew chief, continuing on F-16s and the F-117A Stealth fighter in Desert Storm, then a small part of Desert Fox as a nuclear Maintenance Officer and finally a pilot that took part in numerous deployments in Southern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. I finished up an awesome year on the ground in Iraq, and was selected to receive a coveted “Definitely Promote,” assuring me of promotion to lieutenant colonel. They don’t pass out many of those. My dreams were right in front of me. All I had to do was grab them. And then I retired. Why?

Atlas Shrugged.

I had chosen, freely, to place my life between those that would do harm to the U.S. and those whom I would protect: her citizens. I had always believed in the best of America and the people of her lands; that despite occasional missteps there was a general “rightness” to our way. I lived that belief for 22 years, leading and following warriors into combat. I’m certainly no war hero; my brothers in arms have seen far more combat, more intense and personal than I. But I have become acquainted with death in a way that I hope you never do. My last tour, on the ground in Iraq was where my heart started to be hardened towards you, the electorate, and culminated in this letter, written two days before our elections. And here’s why.

You’ve elected officials who, for partisan points, spoke openly that the “…war is lost.” I happened to be in a dining facility in Baghdad that day, filled with the (mostly) young faces of (mostly) Army men and women. CNN was on the TVs, and things got very quiet when this elected official continued on, railing that the mission that some of these very people were here to do, had “…failed.” Yet, they would be donning their body armor, strapping on med kits and weapons, mounting HMMVs or MRAPs and heading outside the wire, ensuring that the newborn democracy in Iraq, purchased with so many lives, would be safe another night. The newly re-invigorated insurgents would be waiting, teeth bared back in a hateful smile, gripping the IED detonator, the RPG launcher, or the AK-47s to ply their trade with new energy, because the Senate Majority Leader had said they were winning.

You elected officials who continually defame and berate military members, whether it is the observation that if you’re not too bright, you’ll get “…stuck in Iraq” (this from a guy who has two Purple Hearts for self-inflicted wounds, and known for throwing someone else’s medals away in protest), or the calling of combat Marines cold-blooded killers (in a war; before trial). You’ve elected officials in the role of commander-in-chief who “loathe” the military, while using ROTC deferments and special treatment to avoid military service that the less “connected” take as a responsibility. On the basis of “change,” you elected someone who had close, ongoing associations with people who were part of an organization that tried to kill us [U.S. military] on our own soil.

You elected officials that promised to take property from some Americans, and give it to you, merely because they had more than you did. Those Americans that these officials have labeled as the “rich” are your neighbors, who provide jobs and pay far more in taxes than you ever will. That means they are already subsidizing your lifestyle choices; you just want more of their property without the responsibility of risking your wealth and labor to get it. You would rather hire someone to take it from them. And you have.

Yet these same officials from this same party are the wealthiest group of people in both the House and Senate. They have offshore accounts, forbid unions in their businesses and use every tax loophole they can find with their armies of accountants. But you keep sending them back to those jobs, because they promise to steal from some Americans and give to you.

You elect officials who openly embrace illegal activity; but they don’t have to live with the consequences. Other Americans pay the price. You support “sanctuary cities” and open defiance of federal law, including supporting administrations who sue our sister states as they desperately try to control a crime epidemic by supporting federal law. You support an administration that leads a party that gives a standing ovation to the leader of a country that exploits our kindness and actively encourages law-breaking in our country while insulting our fellow citizens who dare to try to enforce the law. Check out your elected officials; did they stand and applaud the racist diatribe of the president of Mexico? Did they join the attorney general and the head of Homeland Security in applauding this gaping hole in (homeland) security and law? Do you have locks on your doors? Why?

You elect officials who are openly racist, decrying that “White folks’ greed drives a world in need…” and that their own grandmother was a “…typical white person.” Someone who sits in admiration as their pastor (small p; no capital letters for racists), in a church he attended for 20 years, slanders the United States as the “…U.S. of KKK America” and delights that the 9/11 “…chickens have come home to roost.” Someone who refused to denounce a paramilitary, racist organization that placed its members in front of polling places armed with billy clubs, and yelling racist, threatening epithets. On video. And the Attorney General did nothing.

Oh, wait. The Justice Department is now apparently, under sworn testimony, the Department of Racial Payback. And you continue to support the party that supports this blatantly racist behavior because they say that they will stick it to “the man” on your behalf. A Nation of Cowards? I don’t think so; the courage of this breathtaking racism is without equal in modern times. One would think that you would use your votes to eradicate these racist policies from the U.S. But that assumes eradicating racism is your aim. It’s not, or you would be as incensed at this blatant racism as you would if sheet-covered whites were there. But longtime Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd’s old gang has been rightfully disgraced and shamed into a virtual non-existence. Thank goodness that 52 percent of you discourage that kind of behavior.

But you don’t. You support the tactic of using the epithet of “racist” as the cudgel of choice for racists who don’t like policies that conservatives advocate. Don’t like illegal activity? Racist. Your party insists that to provide a photo ID — proving you are who you say you are — is not only too much of a burden to ask a voter to bear, but it’s racist as well. This not only terribly insulting to all races, but when the burden of proof to rent the DVD “Second Hand Lions” (amazing movie!) is higher than that required to vote for someone who has control of nuclear weapons or deploying men and women into harm’s way, there is something wrong.

It doesn’t end there. Don’t like a particular female’s policies? Sexist. Yet, you support politicians who prey on 20-year old interns, seduce underage male interns, and, as a double bonus, support a person for the Supreme Court who says she is “wiser” than white people because of her race and sex. And any opponent of hers must be sexist and racist. Yet the prevailing double standard makes “bitch” an acceptable term for a conservative grandmother with the temerity to want to stop illegal activity. And “whore” is acceptable terminology for any conservative woman.

Sarah Palin seems to be a nice person, the kind you would love to have as a neighbor, regardless of her policies; but you insist that she is stupid and vile. She is ignorant and inexperienced, clearly not ready for anything, as holding a variety of elected and appointed positions culminating in the governorship of Alaska clearly doesn’t hold up against… an organizer of race-based communities. Sexist, if a conservative said those words about a liberal, but because she is not pro-killing-little-kids, 52 percent of you decided she was worth vicious ad hominem attacks that continue to this day. Not just saying that you disagree, but saying she is evil. You support it all. All because the folks that practice this abhorrent behavior promise to give you free health care stolen from other Americans who haven’t paid their ill-defined “fair share.”

My oath was this: “I, Mike, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I took that oath seriously. But you have responsibilities, too. You should take them seriously.

Mike Banzet, a retired major in the U.S. Air Force, is a 1986 graduate of Flathead High School in Kalispell, Montana.

When I first read this letter I knew I had to post it in its entirety, without any embellishes or comments from me.  Major Banzet's words speak louder, clearer, with an eloquence that stands alone without overt embellishments.

It is a shame that men and women who serve our nation find themselves disillusioned and repelled at the level of revulsion directed at them by many of the esteemed Members of Congress.  Many of which never served a day of their lives in uniform, let alone in a combat zone.  These respected public servants are not fit to lick the shoes of Major Banzet, let alone speak against them.

Let the words of Major Banzet be a wake-up call to us all.  For if the Major Banzet's leave our military disillusioned and disheartened, we will be faced with the reality of a second class military incapable of defeating our weakest foe and unable to defend this nation from those who would destroy it from within.  A military the former Soviet Union wanted us to have and their fellow travelers are trying to turn into the new reality.


In Tribute To The Men And Women Of the US Air Force


Wild Blue Yonder

Obama Cuts C-17 from Budget? Cutting C-17 loses 30,000 Jobs

While all is silent on the serious news of the Obama administration's latest outrages, and while the focus is on Fox News and Shirley Sherrod, Obama is signaling he will cut the budget for purchases of the C-17 used in military operations and humanitarian disasters. Some 30,000 jobs will be lost if the cut is made.

C-17

From The Daily Caller:

There is strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for maintaining and purchasing the widely versatile and highly capable C-17 airlifter. It is the only U.S. made military wide-body airlifter, and it is the most flexible and most capable airlifter in the world. The C-17 can perform strategic and tactical missions, and serve military and humanitarian functions. It can land on standard runways and austere remote dirt airfields anywhere around the world. It can airlift troops, equipment, and supplies on a moment’s notice, as well as perform medical evacuations.

Additionally, the C-17 is also the logistical backbone of emergency relief and humanitarian efforts worldwide. The C-17 was key in delivering timely aid to Haiti and Chile after earthquakes and helping with clean up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Simply stated, whether in time of war or peace, the C-17 is critically needed.

This is good news for our friends, the Russians and the French

...if the administration gets its way and effectively shuts down the C-17 program, just a few short years down the road we taxpayers will have to pay out billions to ramp up a new plane and production line or we’ll be forced to go to the Russians or the French in hopes that they will bail us out by selling us or leasing to us second-rate airlift aircraft.

Obama released details of his $3.5 trillion budget plan, with over $17 billion in proposed cuts. Republican Minority Leader, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) says the cuts "do not go far enough:"

Some of the savings would come from items such as shutting down production of the C-17 aircraft, canceling funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage program, cutting farm subsidies, ending some scholarship programs and reducing federal travel, among many others.

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) said the cuts are "a baby step....It's as if you took a teaspoon of water out of a bathtub while you left the spigot on at full speed...It's as if this were the Gobi Desert or the Sahara Desert, and you came along and you took a few pieces of sand."


George Landrith, the author of The Daily Caller piece linked above, compares the cut of the C-17 to a homeowner refusing to patch a hole in their roof to save $200 this month, and he notes that this move will cost more American jobs, as the C-17 provides 30,000 jobs in 44 states flowing $5.8 billion into the economy. 

Big Mexican Women "BMWs" Help Afghan Military Escape from Lackland AFB

Big Mexican Women, known as BMW's, are credited with helping Afghan military escape from Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas. The men are listed as AWOL, all 46 of them, but American intelligence and Air Force weren't concerned. In fact the early reports were of 17 missing, and many had been gone for months.

Missing Afghan Military from the U.S.

This "loose network" of Mexican women, some who may be American citizens and some who may be illegal "schooled" some of the 46 missing in how to escape to Canada and how to move around the U.S. undetected:

The Afghan military men usually meet the women at three nightclubs in San Antonio, according to the DLI source, who accompanied some of the men to these locations and has been privy to discussions among them about the establishments and the women. The nightclubs include two military hangouts — Tiffany’s Cocktails and Mirage, located outside Lackland's main gate — and Graham Central Station, a massive warehouse-like building in downtown San Antonio that houses "six nightclubs under one roof" that host a variety of theme nights...

In the past eight years, no fewer than 46 members of the Afghan military have gone absent without leave from DLI.  As most Afghans on the base do not have cars, many of them depended on the women to pick them up at Lackland's back gate in the middle of the night and help them vanish.

Many of the men decided to go AWOL just hours before they were scheduled to fly home to Afghanistan, multiple sources told FoxNews.com. 

While we can hardly blame Afghans wanting to stay in the West. We can blame Homeland Security and the Air Force for their apathetic attitude.

Another student, Bahram Mohmand, described by friends as the most unlikely of the 46 to go AWOL, decided at the very last minute not to go home. A pilot with two wives and more than a dozen children, he failed his final exam and felt too humiliated to face his family, the sources said. He vanished in March, and the sources said he could not have gotten away from Lackland without help.

“It must have been a BMW, because he had no money," a source said. "He was not planning this. He made a stupid, stupid decision because he was afraid to go home a failure. He could not do this without help.”

The women are believed to have been responsible for picking up numerous other Afghans — including the most recent deserter, Mirza Gul Neshat, who disappeared on July 1 — and for chauffeuring them on at least the first leg of their journey. In some instances, the women were the Afghans' girlfriends; some of the men moved in with women off base just months before they went AWOL. Sources named one of the deserters, Javed Aryan, as being among the men who had a local girlfriend. According to officials at Lackland, Aryan disappeared in January 2010, though documents obtained by FoxNews.com indicate that he left DLI in October 2009. 

At least one Big Mexican Woman is in custody for helping Javed Aryan. Sources involved say the men at Lackland - pilots learning to speak English "want a better life...," and so they go.

Afghan Military Inside US Goes AWOL: 17 Afghans Somewhere in the U.S.

I found this at Chicago Ray's. What an appalling report. In my first reading, I thought 17 Afghan soldiers attending Lackland Air Force Base's English Language school went AWOL - fleeing into the heart of America. Then I read that the 17 disappeared over a period of two years. but here's the good news: non have disappeared over the last three months. That likely means at least one disappeared four months ago. See an update below.

Lackland AFB - Defense Language Institute

The men were issued a DOD Common Access Card, an identification card used to gain access to secure military installations, with which they "could attempt to enter DOD installations...."

Don't be concerned, though. There's a lot of action behind the scenes, but I note nothing is said about checking strip joints and liquor stores from coast to coast.

Some rabid mosques may have been checked, but that isn't mentioned either. The good news is, the visas for the 17 have been revoked  - or, at least, most of them - they're really not sure about that. The escapees are now entered into a database and a flyer has been sent out to state and local law enforcement with the photos of each man and their birth dates.

A "senior" DOD official said he had no knowledge of the 17 AWOL men (incredible):

...this is not the first time foreign trainees have gone missing, and said some cases in the past have turned out to be more of an immigration concern than a national security threat.

So when did the search for these men begin? Or has it?

Here's how it works: "The FBI and the NCIS did not respond to requests for comment. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman referred FoxNews to the FBI." It's a circus out there. "They" are the clowns and we are assigned to the peanut gallery. Read Chicago Ray's thought on this mess.

Update 6-18-10:
Fox is reporting that 7 of the men are in Canada, and they know of 4 in the U.S. The belief is that there is no terrorism associated with them. See the names of missing men below.

"When a DLI student goes missing," Emery said, "officials report the incident to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the sponsoring service branch. Invitational Travel Orders, passports, driver licenses, and airline tickets are revoked in order to hamper travel opportunities for the missing students." 

We might ask if any children of these men have born in the U.S. And another question: of those in the program and not AWOL - have they fathered any anchor children while here?

The following 17 Afghan military members have gone AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas and are being sought in a nationwide alert in the U.S.

Abdul Ghani Barakzai, born 8/8/1977

Mohd Ali Karimi, born 9/3/1982

Mohammad Nasim Fateh Zada, born 12/4/1966

Aminullah Sangarwal, born 8/27/1982

Mohd Ahmadi, born 5/5/1978

Ahad Abdulahad, born 5/5/1984

Sayed Qadir Shah Habiby, born 5/7/1985

Javed Aryan a.k.a. Aryan Javed, born 1/1/1987

Mirwais Qassmi, born 4/24/1974

Barsat Noorani, born 6/3/1981

Atiqullah Habibi, two dates of birth are listed on the alert: 6/2/1982 and 7/2/1982

Ahmad Sameer Samar, born 5/2/1983

Mohamed Fahim Faqier, born 6/1/1987

Obaiddullah Abrahimy, born 8/1/1979

Sayed Nasir Hashimi, born 4/5/1972

Shawali Kakar, born 12/31/1979

Khan Padshah Amiri, born 4/1/1978

Operation Moshtarak International Defensive: Overwhelming Forces Descend on Taliban

An large defensive of international forces will soon be launched against the Taliban. A British military spokesman says there has been a "conscious decision" to reveal the plan before the "push" begins.

 

USAF Afghanistan Air Drop

The call for Taliban to turn in their weapons and 'join community society' has been going out to insurgent forces for weeks now, but the most brutal of Taliban members will not be accepted.

''And if they choose to fight, as General Nick Carter, the general commanding the operation has said, they will be subjected to overwhelming force and will be defeated.''

Brigadier Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Unit says Marja is "the only place left in the Marine" command area. He doesn't like the idea of announcing Operation Moshtarak, however, he says that some of the people of Marja are seeking out the Marines:

Because of the inevitability of the operation, people have decided that they want to talk. There's a lot of influential people, people of import or businessmen. They don't want to be on the wrong side of this thing when it flips," Nicholson said.

Nicholson says his troops will "dominate" and "overwhelm" the enemy.

SkyNews reports that the town of Marjah is already engaged in the assault and is the "biggest test...for the Afghan forces." The Brits are moving their command headquarters from Khandahar to Lashkar Gar. Fifteen thousand International troops are involved. Marja is big stakes. It must be taken successfully for Moshtarak to meet its end goal.

The town holds about 80,000 people, of whom up to 2,000 are thought to be Taliban, it is their last urban stronghold and said to contain the Quetta Shura Council and bomb making factories..

To get into the centre the attacking forces will have to traverse open ground, then cross irrigation channels and canals, and then go into the urban areas. The US Marines have brought in their Assault Breaching Vehicles to get through the defences, there is likely to be some sort of air drop. The attacking forces will have full control of the skies using helicopter gunships, fighter jets and unmanned drones. The Taliban will have laid IED's, booby trapped houses and have assault rifles, RPG's and machine guns.

The two major target areas for Operation Moshtarak (Together) are located in Central Helmand Province:

The areas will be cleared, military operations will be followed up by what is actually the important bit of this campaign which is the Afghans delivering security for themselves."

The operations you have seen over the last three or four years and the operations you are about to see are about bringing back legitimate Afghan governance to those areas that haven't had it for a while." 

Moshtarak will be carried out by thousands of US Marine and British assault groups, along with Afghan forces. Canadian soldiers are serving with Afghans, and have already moved to positions in the target zone, under the Operation Mentor program. Canadian helicopters are delivering International Forces to the Defensive area. I'll be keeping these men and their families in my prayers.

Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Angelita Lawrence

Barack Obama Extorts Ben Nelson: We fund Abortions You Lose Offutt AFB

The Weekly Standard reports that according to a Senate staffer, Rahm Emanuel and the White House are extorting Senator Ben Nelson's vote for the Senate health care bill. At the top of Nelson's objections to the legislation is abortion funding.

Senator Ben Nelson

Nelson (D-NE) has consistently said that he will not vote for the bill if the provision to fund abortions remains in the legislation. If this report is true, the White House is saying, vote for the bill or we close Offutt Air Force Base.

Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a "naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote." They are "threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?" asked the Senate staffer.

Obama Banishes F-22 from Photo Op: Elemendorf Alaska Hides F-22

One of the pride and joys of the military, the now defunded F-22, was banished from a photo op as Obama gave yet another speech at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Base.

F-22

The F-22 was proudly awaiting the President's arrival, but presidential staff had it rushed out and an F-15 put in its place.

The airmen there took offense to the Obama aides' demand, sources told The Cable, seeing it as a slight to the folks who are operating the F-22 proudly every day. They also expressed bewilderment that the White House staff would even care so much as to make an issue out of the fact that the F-22 was placed in the hangar with the president.

the Air Force personnel thought it odd the White House wanted to display the older plane rather than the more advanced plane that, in the eyes of its supporters, represents the latest and greatest in American aviation.

"It's one thing to be against further production; quite another to slight the folks who are flying them in the operational world," one source said, adding that "the F-15 pictured was put into service roughly around the same period when Obama graduated from college. It's vintage.

The U.S. has 187 F-22s in inventory. The Obama administration cut-off production plans of a remaining 194 planes - in fact, Obama threatened to veto the entire Defense Bill if provisions for the F-22 were left alive. Here's what he said in July 2009:

"At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, (expanding the F-22) would have been an inexcusable waste of money."

There was no comment, however, as Nancy Pelosi tried, but failed, to slip $330 million into the budget for 4 luxury jets for the use of her 'House.'

Parkland Washington: 4 Officers Killed in Ambush outside McChord AFB: Forza Coffee Shop Murders

Four police officers were killed in what is being called an ambush in Parkland, Washington near Tacoma, and about 40 miles from Seattle. The location of the shooting is said to be on the east side of McChord Air Force Base. Roads are closed into the area and air space for the scene has been shut down. Police are calling the murders "a targeted attack." See updated post here.

Forza Coffee at red marker

The killings happened at The Forza Coffee Shop at 11401 Steele St. South in Tacoma (or Parkland???). What is not clear is the connection of Forza to McChord Air Force Base. MSNBC is reporting that Forza is "near" McChord. Okay, just this moment FOX News is showing a graphic of Forza just outside the eastern border of McChord.

Officials at the scene are saying that two men, described and a white male and a black male, burst into Forza and shot "the four uniformed officers." The suspects got away. There is a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of suspects, according to KOMONews.

This from FOX News:

"It was just a flat out ambush," Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer told The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash.

Investigators believe the officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery, Troyer said.
There were other customers in the coffee shop but only the four officers were hit, according to q13Fox.com.

"The four of them are known by everybody here," Troyer said. "We haven't got any information as to why this happened."

The names of the downed officers have not been released. Updates as available.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Not Guilty Plea: Osama bin Laden tried in America?

Scott Fenstermaker, an attorney for one of the five Islamic terrorists involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks, says all five, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will plead "not guilty." See video below.

From left: Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Waleed bin Attash, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ramzi Binalshibh.

Fenstermaker represents Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He says the men will not deny their role in the 9-11-01 attacks, but will "explain what happened and why they did it."

Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain "their assessment of American foreign policy," Fenstermaker said.

"Their assessment is negative," he said.

Fenstermaker met with Ali last week at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He has not spoken with the others but said the men have discussed the trial among themselves.

Scott Fenstermaker seems to have a career-in-the-making defending Gitmo detainees. After President Obama ordered Ahmed Ghaliani, a one-time body-guard for Osama bin Laden, to become the first detainee to be tried in New York City, Fenstermaker entered Ghaliani's "not guilty" pleas. Ahmed Ghaliani is accused of being an al-Qaeda member and complicit in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. Ghaliani first appeared in a New York City courtroom in June 2009. The Republicans got it right:

"This is the first step in the Democrats' plan to import terrorists into America," charged House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Just for fun, here is an unusual quote from judge, Lorretta Preska, at the time of the indictment:

Preska asked if the goateed Ghaliani wanted her to "read this big, fat indictment" [149 pages]

Ghailani's trial is scheduled for September 2010.

Scott Fenstermaker is not without controversy. New York Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy, wanted to know how Fenstermaker "came to be retained by the detainee."

The Ghailani case is not the first time that he [Fenstermaker] has clashed with the authorities over his representation of detainees. In 2007, another federal judge in Manhattan dismissed a petition he filed on behalf of Mr. Ghailani and other detainees. The judge noted that Mr. Fenstermaker had not met with or spoken with the detainees, nor was he “truly dedicated” to their best interests. Mr. Fenstermaker has appealed the ruling.

Last August, a federal judge in Washington removed him from an action he had filed claiming that Mr. Ghailani was being held illegally. That case was dismissed.

That same month, Mr. Fenstermaker was suspended as a member of the pool of civilian lawyers who work with military lawyers in defending detainees at Guantánamo, court records show. The military office that represents detainees wrote that his dealings with some of its lawyers had “been counterproductive” and that he had “not been forthright” about his representation of certain detainees.

In March, his suspension was lifted — but only in Mr. Ghailani’s case.

Scott Fenstermaker is a New York City criminal defense lawyer, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former Manhattan assistant District Attorney. If you google "Scott L. Fenstermaker USAF Academy, you see cache indicating that he graduated the Academy in 1984, but if it was ever on his own websites, it has been scrubbed. Not likely a detainee would find an AF grad appealing for representation.

Attorney General Eric Holder showed just how devious he is, this week when Lindsay Graham asked him how many terrorists, not arrested on U.S. soil, had been tried inside the U.S. Holder punted - Graham interrupted his ummms and uhhhhs, and told Holder that this has never been done, then added that Holder was "making bad history." Holder knew the answer, but didn't dare speak it. Lies, smoke and deception. Many hoped that, whether these men came to the U.S. for trial, or stayed in Guantanamo, they would carry forth with their previously stated wish to plead guilty, receive the death penalty and achieve martyrdom.

PowerLine says Fenstermaker has "represented a number of Guantanamo Bay detainees. As we see now, there is no way terrorists give up the "not guilty" plea, and the American stage. Listen in the video below, as Lindsay Graham quizzes Holder about a theoretical trial for Osama bin Laden - and when Holder's only answer is "it depends," Graham asks why bin Laden might be tried in a place different from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? Perhaps this discussion is more important than the "not guilty" pleas of these five bound for New York City.



Lindsay Graham and Eric Holder (video)