~Snooper~
The CIC visits Wounded and Recovering Heroes. There are two ways to report on it. The Right way and the Wrong way.
Right: The Raw Story
Wrong: a hate-filled moron
Today is the birthday of The United States Marines. Semper Fi, fellow Warriors. OO-RAH!!
For this "development", I have chosen to take a quote from Chicago Ray's place...
[...]Happy Birthday Marines!!What the Marines do for this country and it's citizens I've always found described well in the words of the fictitious Colonel Jessup from the movie a Few Good Men played by Jack Nicholson.Regardless that the movie was written/directed & produced by the left wing Hollywood liberal & peacenick Rob Reiner, the words ring true in a way I'm sure he didn't intend. It is a wonderful message to all the liberals out there that question and denigrate what it is these great men do day in and out for us and our freedoms here and around the world."You can't handle the truth. Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand at post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."
Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Once again Time Magazine is showing their unbelievable, disgusting liberal/socialism bias. These are their 10 options for person of the year:Guess who Snooper voted for!!1) JK RowlingApparently, Al Gore was winning until the JK Rowlings fans were alerted to the poll. Go vote so that the few decent people who are on this list get voted for.
2) Al Gore
3) Steve Jobs
4) Barack Obama
5) Hillary Clinton
6) General David Petraeus
7) Condoleeza Rice
8) Hu Jintao
9) Vladimir Putin
10) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad aka Hitler Jr.
~Snooper~
Unless I missed it, TNR seems to have gone dark on the Beauchamp affair, again. In any event, I watched Band of Bloggers on the History Channel tonight - they have a website here
The History Channel wants to capture what it's really like to be a soldier. We're launching a new website showcasing first person experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and all other American wars.
and then I remembered reading this once at TNR.
Over the course of the war, we have tried to provide our readers with a sense of Iraq as it is seen by the troops. Usually, these stories have been written by journalists who have traveled to Iraq and interviewed soldiers there, but last January Beauchamp sent us a first-person vignette that seemed a powerful contribution to the genre.
There are any number of milblogs at milblogging dot com, the History Channel had any number of blog excerpts in their segment and many of the bloggers on film, in interviews and on the ground in Iraq. And the best TNR could do was the husband of a staffer with a fabulist streak?
Lastly, did they ever once link to one of the popularly read milbogs in their quest to provide ... readers with a sense of Iraq as it is seen by the troops, particularly since the Beachamp affair? Or have they given up on that mission, as well? Hmm.
Exactly so...
OSLO, Norway: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a government order to expel the founder of Ansar al-Islam, a suspected Islamic terror group in Iraq, as a threat to Norwegian national security. [...]The International Herald Tribune:
[...] In its ruling, the Supreme Court noted that Krekar, in his own book, had written about meeting Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and that the terror network has specifically threatened Norway on several occasions..
It also said Krekar repeatedly returned home to Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, even though he had been granted refugee status in Norway by claiming it was unsafe for him there. [...]
[...] For the first time in a long time, Mrs. Clinton finds herself under intense scrutiny from her opponents and the mainstream media. Are they "piling on"? Of course. Is it fair? This is a query unworthy of an answer; it is merely what it is. Welcome to the race to be president of the United States, Mrs. Clinton.From an outsider looking in, I see the media's "turn" on Hillary as wild animals turning on the wounded member of the pack. Just an observation based upon nearly 53 years on this planet. All in all, most of the Lame Stream sides with Hillary but the occasional barb is indicative of vultures waiting for their prey to actually die off before they dine.
A much more pertinent side question: what took so long for the genuine media scrutiny?
For some reason, Hillary Clinton enjoyed extraordinarily positive press coverage for the last eight years. Why? I have no satisfying explanation. Had the left-leaning mainstream media been cultivating and protecting a favored candidate? Not likely. This hypothesis is deliciously inviting, but it seems far too facile and "breathtakingly" conspiratorial. Perhaps the media felt genuine sympathy for the famously humiliated wife of the most celebrated philandering husband in all of American history? Or perhaps the media believed that they went too far during impeachment, and they owed the Clintons a "pay-back call" or two. Maybe. [...]
[...] Rasmussen again showed that she was hemorrhaging points in NH...in September 18th, she held a 23 point lead, October 27th, that lead dropped to 16 points and November 7th, that lead dropped to 10 points.
That is a 13 point drop since September 18th, 2007.Worse news, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll that heads up against Giuliani, Hillary only enjoys a 1 point lead.Don Surber has a knack for the obvious to those wide awake...unlike the Leftinistra. As our readers should quickly realize, we call out the inconsistencies of the Leftinistra on a regular basis. I dare say that 99.9% of them will NEVER accept responsibility for their own actions if the outcome is a negative. There is always someone else to blame or something else.
USA/Gallup shows married men do not favor Hillary.
Zogby shows trouble for Hillary in Iowa.
This next Rasmussen poll is no big surprise, since it is Texas, but added with everything else, my question yesterday about whether Hillary Clinton is losing that "shoe in" status becomes more relevant. [...]
[...] So the big news from Planet Clinton is that Bill is cavalierly accepting the blame for the failure of Hillarycare in 1994.Case closed. Or, as my partners here at ANO would say, checkmate.
The New York Times quoted him as saying: "You know how much she cares about this. She has taken the rap for some of the problems we had with health care the last time that were far more my fault than hers."
And indeed, the headline on an Oct. 3, 1994, story via NYT News Service said: "First lady takes blame for health care demise."
Except for the part where she did not say that. Mrs. Clinton's construct was that she was to blame for failing to make you people (mouth breathers that you are) understand the genius of her perfect plan.
Reported the Times in 1994: "But the most frustrating failure she acknowledges is not getting the country to understand that the plan the Clintons offered a year ago was an opening offer, 'constructed to be deconstructed.' Instead of being a basis for negotiations, she said, 'it was described as an ultimatum by our opponents and therefore used to undermine the process of reaching agreement.'"
Got that? The VMWC (vast medical wing conspiracy) did her in, preventing her from bestowing upon the dumb masses the wisdom of her perfect plan. [...]
Guess which presidential candidate has the temerity to talk fiscal responsibility while outstripping the other candidates in pork-barrel spending? It turns out the Woodstock museum was only the headline act in a long concert of earmarking for Hillary Clinton. Not only does she lead the Senate delegation in this cycle's presidential race, but despite her junior status, she earmarked more than five times more money than her nearest competitor: [...]Again, we ask, is this what America needs? A spendthrift Socialist? No, Hillary. America cannot afford you and your 1,000,000 "things America cannot afford".
[...] Ahhhhh, the Clintons. You can always count on them for some kind of dishonorable conduct. [...]Exactly so.
Two new reputable polls of New Hampshire Democratic Primary voters will show statistically significant drops in support for frontrtunner Hillary Clinton, Democrats who have seen those polls said today.And, there are reports that Hillary leads Rudy by 1 point now. In cases such as this, I consider Bad News for Hillary to be Good News. I so hope that Hillary is the nominee for the DNC. The GOP may not be able to take back the Senate but the GOP sure does have a good shot at taking back the House and WILL retain the White House.
The polls will be released this weekend and are embargoed; though I'm not privy to the embargo agreement, I'll be a little vague out of respect for the polling organizations.
One of the polls shows that the gap between Clinton and Barack Obama narrowed by more than 10 points. Her biggest decline was seen among older voters.
The other shows Clinton's lead over Obama reduced by approximately 9 points.
John Edwards remains at about 15 percent in both.
Sen. Joe Biden said in an interview at the New Hampshire Union Leader this afternoon that too many Democrats, including the frontrunners for the presidential nomination, do not have faith in the American people. [...]Earth to Joe! Earth to Joe! See if Kucinich can spare a few moments from his UFOers and make room for you. It is "WE THE PEOPLE" that have lost faith in YOUR ilk in DC!
The Senate's only "independent Democrat" is lashing out at the party whose vice presidential nominee he once was, accusing its leaders of betraying the tradition of presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy. [...]Methinks Big Joe is becoming more and more a conservative than even he himself is willing to admit to. Lord knows his once-upon-a-time fellows considered him a Good Guy...now they hate him. Why? Because he stands on principal...something the defunct and passe Democratic Party considers to be an Alien Invasion.
It's safe again for college students in California to protest terrorism. This week, a federal judge ordered San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the California State University system to abolish several speech codes that had been used to drag two SFSU College Republicans before a college tribunal for stomping on makeshift Hamas and Hezbollah flags during an anti-terrorism rally in October 2006. [...]We win...they lose.
Columnist Fares bin Hazam, who specializes in issues relating to Al--Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, published in the Saudi daily Al--Riyadh a personal account by a former Al-Qaeda member of Saudi origin. The article, titled "Iran Recruits Members to Al-Qaeda at Tens of Thousands Dollars a Month," describes the assistance the former fighter and his friends received from Iranian authorities after they fled Afghanistan, as well as Iranian attempts to recruit him as an Iranian agent in Saudi Arabia.Editor of Saudi Liberal Daily Reveals Iranian-Saudi Sparring at the Istanbul Conference
The following are excerpts from the account:
"After the disintegration of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan at the end of 2001 as a result of the American attack and the coming to power of other Afghan forces in the country, instructions were received from our leadership to retreat from Kabul in the direction of Kandahar. In the month of Ramadan, we received instructions from our commander to leave for Iran in order to seek refuge there. We arrived in Iran via Pakistan, where we did not stay very long. Our group consisted of about 30 fighters, among them Faisal Al-Dakhil, 'Amr Al-Shehri [both killed in 2004] and other prominent figures wanted by the Saudi government.
"We were aware that Afghani [Islamist] leader Gulboddin Hekmatyar, who resided in Iran [at that time], was acting as an intermediary and liaison [between us and] Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Hekmatyar promised us accommodation in the border city of Zehdan [in southeastern Iran], where the majority of the residents are Baluchi Sunnis. There we met with Al-Qaeda commander Abu Hafs Al-Mauritani, who had earlier opposed the September 11 attacks. [Al-Mauritani] assured us that we were in a safe place, and that we would be questioned by Iranian intelligence services in Teheran, who would provide for all our needs during our stay in Iran.
"Our numbers dwindled: only 10 of us remained after about two-thirds of our group disappeared , Al-Dakhil and Al-Shehri among them. We moved to Teheran and met with the interrogators. They proposed that I collaborate with them from abroad, [that is] from my country [Saudi Arabia] supplying them with information that they would need in the future. Their offer shocked me. I declined, and then was overcome with fear that the refusal would [harm the chances of] my release and return to my country. The interrogator began enticing me: '[You will receive] a monthly salary of 410,000, an Iranian passport, and military training with Hizbullah in Lebanon.' [...]
In an editorial on November 8, 2007, Jamal Ahmad Khashogji, editor-in-chief of the liberal Saudi daily Al-Watan, reveals the diplomatic sparring that took place at the Istanbul Conference between Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Khashogji wrote that for all Iran's talk about Islamic unity, Iran is in fact contributing to sectarian division. [...]Arab Columnists: The Annapolis Summit Will Serve Arab Interests
The following are excerpts from an interview with Abu Bakr Ba'shir, spiritual leader of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya in Indonesia, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 26, 2007.Did you catch that? "Democracy runs counter to Islam"...ANY QUESTIONS?
"Democracy Runs Counter to Islam, Because it Emphasizes the Sovereignty of the People, Whereas Islam Emphasizes the Sovereignty of Allah" [...]
Muhammad Al-Arifi: "Men beat women more often than women beat men. I said that some women beat their husbands because this happens, but it is rare, and there is no need to hold conferences on wives who beat their husbands. I believe this is less prevalent, because by nature, the body of the man...In most cases, Allah made the body of men stronger than the body of women. Therefore, you and your sister...You may be taller than your mother, right? If your mother is ill, you may be able to carry her, but she cannot carry you. Allah created women with these delicate, fragile, supple, and soft bodies, because they use their emotions more than they use their bodies. Therefore, while the man may use beating to discipline his wife, she sometimes uses her tears to discipline him. He gets what he wants by screaming, while she gets what she wants from him by crying and displaying emotions. For men, women's emotions may be fiercer than the strike of a sword." [... ]These people are not only back asswards, they are really and truly sick between the ears.
On November 3, 2007, Al-Qaeda's media production company Al-Sahab posted on the Islamist website, which is hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc., Tampa, FL, USA,, a video titled "Unity of the Ranks.' In this video, Al-Zawahiri and Sheikh Abu Al-Layth Al-Libi, a prominent Al-Qaeda figure of Libyan origin who is currently in Afghanistan, announce the decision by the Al-Jama'a Al-Salafiyya Al-Muqatila in Libya to join Al-Qaeda. The video appears to be an attempt by Al-Qaeda to demonstrate growth and success in the face of the major setbacks it is experiencing in Iraq and Algeria.Saudi Columnist on MEMRI's Report About Islamophobia on YouTube
al-Zawahiri: "Your Devoted Sons Are Uniting Under the Banner of Islam and Jihad" [...]
~Snooper~
Dear friend,Send what you can.
I am in need of some sponsorship or donations to keep "Facing Reality" on the air. It costs $165.00 an hour to broadcast the show. I believe that the information being presented is very important to our freedom. However, every month it is the same scenario. My sponsorship is hit and miss from month to month. I am not comfortable asking anyone for anything. I believe in working for what I get. And I do work for what I get. But I am not doing this radio program for myself. I am doing it for us. You, me, and our children! Every single dollar that I have received from people has gone directly to the radio station to pay for the air time. I mean EVERY dollar!! And every dollar received for this program will continue to go to pay for this program. If you are able to contribute, I would appreciate it. If you cannot, I understand. Times are hard and they are going to continue to worsen. Our only hope is to educate ourselves as to what our REAL problems are. Then we can develop a truly effective plan to correct the problems. Until we know what the problems are, we will only continue to focus on the symptoms. My efforts are aimed at educating my fellow Americans so we can act together. If you can help, I would appreciate it. I am sorry for having to ask. But I believe in what I am doing.
My mailing address is:
Po Box 262
Slocomb, AL 36375
For the Cause of Freedom,
Ron Arnold
Facing Reality
Thank You
~Snooper~
Washington Times: Change Called Crucial for '08WASHINGTON: The way in which Senate Democrats wavered and then consented to the confirmation of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general reflects the party's broader struggle to make headway on its national-security agenda, despite President Bush's unpopularity. [...]
Newsweek: This Won't Be the Iraq Election - Fareed ZakariaDemocratic strategists are warning their party and its presidential contenders that they have failed to connect with the voters' demands for change. [...]
Financial Times: Democrats Wake Up to Being the Party of the Rich[...] When the president announced the surge last January, I wrote a column arguing that it was likely to succeed militarily (by providing better security) but would probably fail politically (because of a lack of political reconciliation). I was both right and wrong. More U.S. troops have meant better security. But they are not at the heart of current improvements in Iraq. The key is that Petraeus has been willing to do what no American official has until now: accept Iraq for what it is and not what Washington wants it to be. Searching for a stable order, Petraeus has allied himself with whoever, within reason, could produce that order. [...]
[...] The decision by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat, surprised many Washington insiders, who saw the plan as appealing to the spirit of class warfare that infuses the Democratic party. Liberal disappointment in Mr Reid was palpable at media outlets such as USA Today, where an editorial chastised: "The Democrats, who control Congress and claim to represent the middle and lower classes, ought to be embarrassed." [...]Yes, yes, I know. All of this is old news but it doesn't hurt retelling it all. After all, we all know that the elections coming up in 2008 will not be about the Iraq War. It will not be about the impeachment of anyone for uncommitted crimes. Remember, UFO boy's theatrical event to pander and cater to his kook fringe moonbats failed in more ways then one. Knowing he, Dennis Kucinich, was just making noise, he was called on the carpet and his fellow libs quickly shelved the whole quagmire.
Speaker Pelosi today announced:
House Democrats said Thursday they would send President Bush $50 billion for combat operations on the condition that he begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.The proposal, similar to one Bush vetoed earlier this year, would identify a goal of ending combat entirely by December 2008. It would require that troops spend as much time at home as they do in combat, as well as effectively ban harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
In a private caucus meeting, Pelosi told rank-and-file Democrats that the bill was their best shot at challenging Bush on the war. And if Bush rejected it, she said, she did not intend on sending him another war spending bill for the rest of the year.
"This is not a blank check for the president," she said later at a Capitol Hill news conference. "This is providing funding for the troops limited to a particular purpose, for a short time frame.As always, we know Bush will veto.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush would veto any bill that sets an "artificial timeline" for troop withdrawals.As always, I applaud the Speaker's STATED stance today.
As always, the important point here is that the House Dems MUST stick to their guns and tell the President - if he vetoes then he is abandoning the troops in the field. I repeat, the President of the United States will be ABANDONING AMERICAN TROOPS IN THE FIELD!
President Bush is proposing to stab the troops in the back by vetoing funding for them.
A disgraceful man. The worst President in history.
Earth to space aliens at Talk Left...President Jimmy Carter already has that title as the worst President in the history of this nation. Get your heads out of Reid's ass...you could use the oxygen.
And, another thing you liberal morons...
[...] The tidal surge is being caused by 50mph winds in the North Sea, an unusually high tide and an area of low pressure off the East Coast. [...]
[...] During operations in Mosul, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual reported to be a judge in a terrorist illegal court system in the city, who is believed to be involved in ordering and approving abductions and executions, as well as facilitating the transfer of money and weapons to local terrorist leaders. Coalition forces secured the target area without incident. The wanted individual identified himself to the ground force, and he was subsequently detained. [...]Go read the rest...unless of course you might get soiled panties. The short piece describes how we are systematically disassembling the terrorist networks.
[...] Exactly. Steingart gets it. Reid, Pelosi and Obama do not. They are guided by political expediency. History guides Bush.And the beats goes on...
Steingart is hardly a fan of the president. But Germans tend to have this far-left pacifism.
Fortunately, the Germans no longer have far-left leadership. Nor do the French.
In my column this week, I concluded, "As they shop for a presidential candidate, Republicans are looking for the next Reagan, a fellow who suffered a great dip in popularity early in his first term. I suggest they may be better off looking for the next George Walker Bush."
The Iraq war is far from over. But if the next 12 months see a reduction in deaths the way the last 2 months have, then Americans will accept Iraq as a victory.
That pretty much eliminates an Obama or Edwards presidency, and maybe even a Hillary one. [...]
WASHINGTON - Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will vote as early as Friday on legislation that would spend $50 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but require that President Bush start bringing troops home. [...]How many times are they going to pander and cater to the crowds of insignificance?
New Iraq measure would require withdrawalThe new direction? This is The New Direction the American people wanted and still want...VICTORY. Nothing less than VICTORY is acceptable. Then again, PelosiCo and Reidco wouldn't know what that is unless it is to hand defeat to the United States and victory to Al Qaida.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she would bring a new Iraq measure to the House floor shortly to provide $50 billion in funds for the war, while requiring U.S. troops to begin redeploying out of Iraq immediately and conclude by the end of next year.
"In last year's election, the American people called for a new direction; nowhere was that direction more called for than in the war in Iraq," Pelosi told reporters. "And so in the next day or so, we once again bring to the floor legislation that makes a distinction, a clear distinction: choose a new direction from the Bush foreign policy in Iraq."
The California Democrat said the bill would leave a small force in the country to pursue Al Qaeda, protect U.S. interests and train Iraqi security forces. The bill would also require that U.S. interrogators abide by guidelines set forth in the Army field manual and that troops spend more time at home between deployments.
This measure, as with everything House Democrats have proposed to end the war in Iraq, would face significant hurdles in the Senate and would likely face a veto from the president.
The House could vote on the new measure as soon as Friday.
The FBI is warning that al Qaeda may be preparing a series of holiday attacks on U.S. shopping malls in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to an intelligence bulletin distributed to law enforcement authorities across the country this morning.Just as soon as the Leftinistra get their collective heads out of their collective asses, we just might be ready.
The alert said al Qaeda “hoped to disrupt the U.S. economy and has been planning the attack for the past two years.â€
Law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com that the FBI received the information in late September and declassified it yesterday for wide distribution.
Hello there, Ladies and Gentlemen! I, HTML Mencken, welcome you to the Sadly No! Abortion-o-thon!!! [...]Read the rest over there...it cannot be placed here.
BAGHDAD, Nov. 7 - American forces have routed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood of Baghdad, a top American general said today, allowing American troops involved in the "surge" to depart as planned. [...]They are still trying to differentiate and isolate AQI from AQM...they are the same. One day these idiots will actually do something honest (don't hold your breath) and do some honest reporting.
Obviously, this is not Page One material. That space is reserved for running down a full-employment economy (the Dow is apparently down to "only" thirteen thousand three hundred), a big picture of Rudy with that ol' Times fave Pat Robertson, the news that Bernie Kerik is about to be indicted, and cheers over a House vote in favor of "Broad Protections for Gay Workers."Another reason is this. It is a distraction technique utilized by losers, whiners and the insignificant. If the general public actually discovered that America is winning this war, they just might see how ignorant and politically biased the NY Slimes really is AND, they would discover how anti-American, ignorant and truly pathetic the Democratic Party has become. Prove me wrong. I dare you.
Has someone told Pinch that the '08 election is next week?
[...] It really comes down to this: you are determined to see Iraq become a permanent hellhole because you hate Bush. And we are determined to see Iraq become a success, because we want to live.Pretty sad of our national leaders, don't you think? Is it any wonder why the vast majority of Americans laugh scornfully at he idiots of the MoveOn, Sadly, Retarded!, and the Salon Loons?
[...] That story, from a media outlet that usually bashes Bush, is about how Bush is becoming stronger, not weaker and more popular.... guaranteed to make the blood pressure of every Bush hater rise.Recent successes NOT reported on and completely ignored by the Democratic Party Lack of Leadership and the RINOs of the other retarded party leaders:
There is a lot of work to be done in Iraq, and even more work to be done by the Iraqi politicians. A country needs to be rebuilt, reconstruction will be difficult and reconciliation has started but there is a long way to go there too.
Just because hard work is ahead though is no reason to ignore the work that has been done and the success and progress our wonderful troops, coalition and Iraqi Security forces have accomplished.
So, was Iraqi Pundit talking about you when he said:
Is your hatred for George Bush so great that you prefer to see millions of civilians suffer just to prove him wrong? [...]
[...] "Ameriya was a battlefield for most of the summer," Kuehl continued. "At this time, al-Qaida is defeated. We thought it was a good time to recognize that and get together and have a good time."They are playing SOCCER with our troops in the streets, folks. And this isn't Good News? Hello?
With three games in the morning, the soccer tournament was the main activity of the gathering. The 1-5 Cav. team played hard, but ended up being overtaken by both the IA team, 2-1, and the FAR team, 5-1. In the end, the FAR players were able to beat the IA team, 2-0.
While the round-robin tournament did have a competitive edge to it, most participants just seemed to want to have fun. "We came to enjoy ourselves and play a game, not to win," said IA Maj. Emad Kareen, commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and their team coach. "Playing sports helps to build relationships in the field."
After the soccer tournament, trophies were handed out, and the Iraqis were then invited to the East Logistics Support Area mayor cell to join the cavalry troops in a cookout. [...]
Army Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, presents Iraqi Army Lt. Col. Wail Mohamed Hussain, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, with a gift in appreciation of their cooperation in the Ameriya neighborhood of Baghdad's Al Mansour. Photo by PFC April Campbell, Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs.[...] Crime has been slashed by 50 percent in an area just outside Baghdad, thanks to Iraqi citizens partnering with Coalition soldiers who live among them, an American commander said yesterday.I wonder what it would take to get the American crime rate down. Most assuredly, the Bleeding Heart Liberal programs have failed and failed miserably to control crime in the US.
"After seven months in the area of operation, the people know us, and they know who we are, and they know we're here to help," Army Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. told online journalists and "bloggers" during a conference call from Iraq. "We do not drive or commute to work anymore. We live in the towns with the people that we are here to help."
Grigsby commands 3rd Heavy "Sledgehammer" Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, which is on its third deployment to Iraq, this time patrolling the Madain Qada, an agrarian area southeast of Baghdad, as part of Multi-National Division-Center. Since they arrived in March, Hammer Soldiers have killed (113) insurgents and detained (364) others, including (15) "high value" targets, Grigsby said. [...]
The New York Times reports that US forces have "routed" al-Qaeda in Iraq from the Baghdad region. General David Petraeus' new strategies have pushed them out of "every neighborhood", and that only an eighth of the city remains to purge the other militias from control. The new, aggressive tactics of the Americans and the rise of the Iraqi Army have solidified the victory over the terrorists. [...]Others "chatting"
[...] This puts new challenges on the plate. The remaining issues with Shi'ite militias need to be handled, but the momentum continues to stay on the side of the Coalition. Fil has no problem with the natural drawdown that will occur in Baghdad through normal troop rotation schedules in the next few months, confident that Iraqis have turned the corner themselves and want an end to violence in the streets. However, they want immediate improvements in infrastructure and rebuilding, and Fil says that the Coalition will need a new "surge" in these areas to solidify their gains.
We need to concentrate on electricity, water, and sewage systems. People do not like living in the dark, with standing sewage assaulting their nostrils and threatening their health on a constant basis. Now that the violence has mostly disappeared, declining by 80%, we should have more opportunities to boost our standing by providing solutions to these chronic problems, raising the standard of living in Baghdad and allowing its residents to put their efforts into their economy rather than protesting, or worse.
Security, Fil reminded his attendees, represents the beginning and not the end. Perhaps Churchill's words make the most sense here. "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end," Churchill remarked in 1942, after the battle of El Alamein. "But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Given the central place Iraq has in the war on terror, it is a battle to show that free, self-governed people can prosper and flourish without radicalism. In that sense, Baghdad has only reached the end of the beginning, and perhaps not even quite that. But it is welcome news indeed that it has been rid of AQI and that the Shi'ite militias have retreated.
~Snooper~
Hat Tip to Miss Beth
[...] Did you catch that? The man OBL has "lionized" personally condemned OBL.Click the link provided and read that which The Lame Stream will not print...as usual.
So why is there nothing to be found on google? Why has this little tidbit been NON-reported by our own MSM? Isn't it somewhat important that OBL's hero is condemning OBL and OBL's actions?
Sickening how far the MSM will go to keep us in the dark.
[...] We've raised over 100,00 dollars now for Donna Edwards and I want to thank everybody who was able to contribute. We're sending a message to the Bush Dog Democrats and Steny Hoyer. Be true to your party platform and be true to Progressive ideals. We're not going to take it anymore! [...]Simply pathetic.
[...] "For you State Dept wienies out there reading this. This is what happens when you choose which President you will follow and which policy you will support. You don't get to choose. The People of the United States get to choose. You swore an oath. Ignore that at your peril. DoD knows better. Maybe you should all turn your jobs over to our 19 yr old diplomat Corporals who are doing a better job on their worst day than your organization does in a week of good days. Undermining US policy is a dangerous way to keep your country safe, and makes soldiers grow to resent your mealy mouthed platitudes ever more. Don't piss 'em off. They have guns! Next time you want to talk to the press, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" [...]So true.
We signed up to be worldwide available. All of us volunteered for this kind of work and we have enjoyed a pretty sweet lifestyle most of our careers. I will not repeat what the Marines say when I bring up this subject. I tell them that most FSOs are not wimps and weenies. I will not share this article with them and I hope they do not see it. [...]
We all know that few FSOs will REALLY be forced to come to Iraq anyway. Our system really does not work like that. This sound and fury at Foggy Bottom truly signifies nothing. Get over it! I do not think many Americans feel sorry for us and it is embarrassing for people with our privileges to paint ourselves as victims.
The State Department's blog post appears aimed at providing fodder for the right-wing blogosphere, which has been ripping the "diplowimps" who refuse to serve in Iraq.
From DipNotes:[...] I personally dislike the whole idea of forced assignments, but we do have to do our jobs. We signed up to be worldwide available. All of us volunteered for this kind of work and we have enjoyed a pretty sweet lifestyle most of our careers. [...]See the differences? It is all about context, fools.
[...] I will not repeat what the Marines say when I bring up this subject. I tell them that most FSOs are not wimps and weenies. I will not share this article with them and I hope they do not see it. How could I explain this wailing and gnashing of teeth? I just tried to explain it to one of my PRT members, a reserve LtCol called up to serve in Iraq . She asked me if all FSOs would get the R&R, extra pay etc. and if it was our job to do things like this. When I answered in the affirmative, she just rolled her eyes. [...]Why do the Leftinistra always omit items that flay their own arguments? Oh. Wait. Never mind.
[...] But fear is what's called for in the face of an epic uprising of murderous fanatics who want all the planet as their gleaming caliphate. Standing in their way, fortunately, are people sensible enough to be alarmed. Like Evans. And Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. And, for that matter, rock star Bono, who recently startled a Rolling Stone interviewer with his unexpectedly illiberal opinion that jihadists are a real problem. [...]Ask anyone that has ever been in a combat situation...fear can keep you alive or, fear can kill you. It all depends on what one does with or responds with or reacts to that fear.
Osama bin Laden's "Declaration of War Against the Americans," August 1996.
"The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies - civilians and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it..."
Osama bin Laden in a fatwah issued February 23, 1998.
The article above was published 10/01.
Way back in August, I wrote a piece on Moral Paralysis and excerpts of that piece follow:
DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST THE AMERICANS OCCUPYING THE LAND OF THE TWO HOLY PLACES. A Message from Usama bin Muhammad bin Laden unto his Muslim Brethren all over the world generally, and in the Arab Peninsula specifically Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and ask for his pardon. We take refuge in Allah from our wrongs and bad deeds. Who ever been guided by Allah will not be misled, and who ever has been misled, he will never be guided. I bear witness that there is no God except Allah no associates with Him and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.
"Moral paralysis" is a term that has been used to describe the inaction of France, England and other European democracies in the 1930s, as they watched Hitler build up the military forces that he later used to attack them.It is a term that may be painfully relevant to our own times.
Back in the 1930s, the governments of the democratic countries knew what Hitler was doing -- and they knew that they had enough military superiority at that point to stop his military buildup in its tracks. But they did nothing to stop him.
Instead, they turned to what is still the magic mantra today -- "negotiations."
No leader of a democratic nation was ever more popular than British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain -- wildly cheered in the House of Commons by opposition parties as well as his own -- when he returned from negotiations in Munich in 1938, waving an agreement and declaring that it meant "peace in our time."
We know now how short that time was. Less than a year later, World War II began in Europe and spread across the planet, killing tens of millions of people and reducing many cities to rubble in Europe and Asia.
Looking back after that war, Winston Churchill said, "There was never a war in all history easier to prevent by timely action." The earlier it was done, the less it would have cost.
At one point, Hitler could have been stopped in his tracks "without the firing of a single shot," Churchill said.
Click the link to read the rest, please.
President Bush Addresses Coalition Forces
By 1st Sgt. Marvin Baker
U.S. CENTCOM Public Affairs
MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL - President George W. Bush vowed to keep talking and educating Americans about the "consequences of failure" and praised Coalition members for their support during an address Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Central Command Coalition Conference at MacDill Air Force Base.
Bush said he came to Tampa to thank America's partners who continue to stand with the United States on the Global War on Terror. His visit was significant in that it's the first time he has been to the command since Adm. William J. Fallon became commander in March.
Bush admitted the past four years haven't been easy, especially in Iraq, but that they were necessary if that nation and Afghanistan are to emerge as free societies.
"Once again, history has called on great nations to assume great responsibilities," Bush said. "The broad coalition has protected millions of people."
Bush reminded everyone that on Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists went on a rampage that killed more than 3,000 people from 80 countries. Since that time, some 90 nations have worked in some capacity to stop Al Qaida and the Taliban.
The president likened the radical Islamic push for a caliphate to that of Nazi Germany.
"They are determined to bring days of greater destruction" Bush said. "We must go on the offense, stay on the offense, and take the fight to "them."
Since 9/11, America and her allies have shared intelligence that has essentially stopped numerous attacks, terror cells have been broken up and local law enforcement and armies have been trained around the globe.
"We're active," Bush told the Coalition members. "We're working together to make this world a safer place."
According to the president who has been at odds with Congress over the fighting in Iraq, said failure in Iraq should be unacceptable to the civilized world. He said point blank that he fully expected to veto Congress' bill, that calls for pulling troops out of the beleaguered Middle East nation, by the end of the day.
"Our enemies, the enemies of freedom, love chaos and out of that chaos, they can find safe havens," he said. "The Iraqis are suffering a lot, but they're still in this fight and I'm impressed by their courage.
Unfortunately, sectarian violence has increased since democratic elections were held in Iraq in 2005," he added. "A new strategy has emerged to curb the unrest. It's still in its early stages and it could take months to determine the success of it, however, some early successes have already been noted, mainly a decline in sectarian violence."
Once again, Bush thanked the Coalition for their efforts in making that happen. "I want your countries to know that the sacrifices made by your Soldiers are for a noble cause," Bush said. "Our nations are standing together in this fight and I want your citizens to know this nation is grateful."
Bush talked about a number of other items that included education of the American people regarding the war on terror. He called himself the educator in chief, as well as the commander in chief.
"We have got to keep talking about the consequence of failure," Bush said. "Failure will make this world a really dangerous place."
He also talked about opinion polls and that decisions that are in the best interest of the United States can't be based upon opinion polls.
He mentioned Abraham Lincoln, who wasn't popular when he decided to abolish slavery and Franklin D. Roosevelt who shrugged off isolationist opinion polls leading up to U.S. involvement in World War II.
"We can learn a lot from the past and we shouldn't fear the future," Bush said. "I will do my best to convince the American people it's worth it."
