Kamis, 30 Desember 2004
Senin, 27 Desember 2004
In Iraq for 365: Two Iraqis
In Iraq for 365: Two Iraqis
Two Iraqis
Both of them were blown from their seats by the blast, which they described as, “very powerful, lots of noise and heat.” The two Iraqi soldiers were both dazed. One of them could only hear a loud ringing sound in his ears. The other couldn’t believe his eyes: Every where he looked people were gasping for air or bleeding profusely. Before the two Iraqis lay a helpless American soldier, who staggered across the smoke-filled mess hall at first only to fall on the ground. They couldn’t understand a word coming out of the American’s mouth. They only saw the blood spewing from his leg.
These two men, both in their 20s, saw carnage caused by the very people they took an oath to defend Iraq against. These two men were proud Iraqis who were trained by U.S. Army Special Forces. These two men had seen enough people die at the hands of terrorists, and on December 21, 2004, they would do everything in their power to save every person they could.
The human body has several vital points. A sharp piece of metal to the jugular and a person is gone within seconds. A shot to the temple, a person will never even know what hit him. A slug to the heart or spleen and the person’s collection of memories will flash before his or her eyes in an instant. A hit to the femoral artery leaves a person minutes, maybe hours, but their final moments will be agonizing.
The suicide bomb sprayed bb-like fragments throughout the Marez dining facility. One piece of shrapnel sliced through the femoral artery of a U.S. soldier and his only chance for survival was in the hands of these two Iraqis.
Recalling the medical classes they’d received from the special forces, the Iraqis reacted calmly, fastening a belt above the wound, creating a tourniquet, which stopped the gushing stream of red. They moved the soldier to a MEDVAC vehicle via two-man litter carry. After they hoisted the soldier in the truck, the two Iraqis – one an officer, the other an NCO – ran back to the facility and began treating the other wounded without regard for their safety.
When the dust settled and the mess tent had been evacuated, everybody who could talk was questioned about their health. When the medics came to the two Iraqis, the ING soldiers only wanted to know how everybody else was. When asked why did they do it, they simply stated, “this was our duty; we are a team, and we take care of each other.” Even the Americans.
This country needs more people like these two Iraqi soldiers. If more shared their passion and determination, the terrorist’s fear tactics of beheadings, public killings and kidnappings would not work. If more believed in their vision of Iraq, there would be no fighting; there would only be encouragement for their fellow man and peace. If more people understood their sacrifices and followed their lead, this country would not be as dependent upon others. But they can’t single handily change their country, so they decisively lead by example without trepidation.
Rather than running, they stood strong and saved a man’s life. Because of them, somebody’s son is still breathing. Right now, the U.S. Army is trying to give these two Iraqis prestigious awards. But all the Iraqis want to do is check on the soldier they saved. “I just want to make sure he is OK.”
By now, the American, who is still in the hospital recovering, knows the story of the two Iraqis. And I’m sure he looks forward to the day he can look his Iraqi brother-at-arms in the eye and say, "Thanks for saving my life."
Two Iraqis
Both of them were blown from their seats by the blast, which they described as, “very powerful, lots of noise and heat.” The two Iraqi soldiers were both dazed. One of them could only hear a loud ringing sound in his ears. The other couldn’t believe his eyes: Every where he looked people were gasping for air or bleeding profusely. Before the two Iraqis lay a helpless American soldier, who staggered across the smoke-filled mess hall at first only to fall on the ground. They couldn’t understand a word coming out of the American’s mouth. They only saw the blood spewing from his leg.
These two men, both in their 20s, saw carnage caused by the very people they took an oath to defend Iraq against. These two men were proud Iraqis who were trained by U.S. Army Special Forces. These two men had seen enough people die at the hands of terrorists, and on December 21, 2004, they would do everything in their power to save every person they could.
The human body has several vital points. A sharp piece of metal to the jugular and a person is gone within seconds. A shot to the temple, a person will never even know what hit him. A slug to the heart or spleen and the person’s collection of memories will flash before his or her eyes in an instant. A hit to the femoral artery leaves a person minutes, maybe hours, but their final moments will be agonizing.
The suicide bomb sprayed bb-like fragments throughout the Marez dining facility. One piece of shrapnel sliced through the femoral artery of a U.S. soldier and his only chance for survival was in the hands of these two Iraqis.
Recalling the medical classes they’d received from the special forces, the Iraqis reacted calmly, fastening a belt above the wound, creating a tourniquet, which stopped the gushing stream of red. They moved the soldier to a MEDVAC vehicle via two-man litter carry. After they hoisted the soldier in the truck, the two Iraqis – one an officer, the other an NCO – ran back to the facility and began treating the other wounded without regard for their safety.
When the dust settled and the mess tent had been evacuated, everybody who could talk was questioned about their health. When the medics came to the two Iraqis, the ING soldiers only wanted to know how everybody else was. When asked why did they do it, they simply stated, “this was our duty; we are a team, and we take care of each other.” Even the Americans.
This country needs more people like these two Iraqi soldiers. If more shared their passion and determination, the terrorist’s fear tactics of beheadings, public killings and kidnappings would not work. If more believed in their vision of Iraq, there would be no fighting; there would only be encouragement for their fellow man and peace. If more people understood their sacrifices and followed their lead, this country would not be as dependent upon others. But they can’t single handily change their country, so they decisively lead by example without trepidation.
Rather than running, they stood strong and saved a man’s life. Because of them, somebody’s son is still breathing. Right now, the U.S. Army is trying to give these two Iraqis prestigious awards. But all the Iraqis want to do is check on the soldier they saved. “I just want to make sure he is OK.”
By now, the American, who is still in the hospital recovering, knows the story of the two Iraqis. And I’m sure he looks forward to the day he can look his Iraqi brother-at-arms in the eye and say, "Thanks for saving my life."
Power Line: They stopped thinking about tomorrow
Power Line: They stopped thinking about tomorrow: "They JUST DON'T GET IT!
Michael Barone looks back on the 2004 election and is 'struck by how many of the constituencies supporting Democratic candidates oppose, rather than seek, change -- how they are motivated not by ideas about how to change the future, but by something like nostalgia for the past.' The Democratic party, he argues, is defined by 1930 era views on social security, 60s views on the state of race relations and the use of military force, and 70s views on feminism. Cosmetically at least, this state of affairs constitutes a reversal of roles from 1996 when the Democrats claimed they couldn't 'stop thinking about tomorrow,' while Bob Dole promised to be 'a bridge to the past.'
Ironically, John Kerry, the icon of 1971, outpolled President Bush among young voters. The Democrats take heart from this, and reasonably so, although one wonders how much of a role Kerry's scare talk about reinstating the draft played. In any case, it is doubtful that the Democrats can sustain any edge they might have with younger voters unless they adopt a less backward looking approach to the issues. "
Michael Barone looks back on the 2004 election and is 'struck by how many of the constituencies supporting Democratic candidates oppose, rather than seek, change -- how they are motivated not by ideas about how to change the future, but by something like nostalgia for the past.' The Democratic party, he argues, is defined by 1930 era views on social security, 60s views on the state of race relations and the use of military force, and 70s views on feminism. Cosmetically at least, this state of affairs constitutes a reversal of roles from 1996 when the Democrats claimed they couldn't 'stop thinking about tomorrow,' while Bob Dole promised to be 'a bridge to the past.'
Ironically, John Kerry, the icon of 1971, outpolled President Bush among young voters. The Democrats take heart from this, and reasonably so, although one wonders how much of a role Kerry's scare talk about reinstating the draft played. In any case, it is doubtful that the Democrats can sustain any edge they might have with younger voters unless they adopt a less backward looking approach to the issues. "
OpinionJournal - John Fund on the Trail
OpinionJournal - John Fund on the Trail: "From America With Love
Ukraine's new first lady knows what freedom really means.
Monday, December 27, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST
In the most peaceful revolution since South Africa ended its apartheid regime by electing Nelson Mandela president in 1994, Ukraine has just elected opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko president of the former Soviet satellite republic. The victory comes for the pro-Western leader after a dirty campaign that saw him poisoned and only after hundreds of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets to protest voter-fraud. 'We peacefully, beautifully, elegantly and without any drops of blood changed Ukraine,' Mr. Yushchenko told cheering supporters.
What many Westerners do not realize, however, is when Mr. Yushchenko takes the seat of power, at his side will be a tough minded, savvy American-raised businesswoman. His wife, Kateryna Chumachenko Yushchenko, is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who grew up steeped in the traditions of her ancestral homeland.
Mrs. Yushchenko was raised in suburban Chicago as the daughter of an electrician and seamstress. During World War II, her parents were forced to immigrate to Germany and work as slave labor. They came to the U.S. in 1956 at the invitation of a Ukrainian Orthodox church. She grew up speaking Ukrainian at home, learning the national dances and attending a Ukrainian school and Orthodox church. 'My parents felt they had to keep alive the culture and traditions they thought were being suppressed by the Soviet Union,' she told me.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s she worked in the human rights office of the U.S. State Department. She also worked for the first President Bush in the Treasury Department. But her dream was always to help Ukraine become independent. So after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 she moved to Kiev. Her business degree from the University of Chicago helped her land a job with KPMG, the U.S. international auditing company, and she prospered training the country's economists in Western practices. She met Viktor Yushchenko when he was part of a delegation of central bankers she brought to Chicago. 'He understood free markets, had a firm faith in God and knew what the right path for the country should be,' she told me. The two married in 1998, and they now have three children.
"
Ukraine's new first lady knows what freedom really means.
Monday, December 27, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST
In the most peaceful revolution since South Africa ended its apartheid regime by electing Nelson Mandela president in 1994, Ukraine has just elected opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko president of the former Soviet satellite republic. The victory comes for the pro-Western leader after a dirty campaign that saw him poisoned and only after hundreds of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets to protest voter-fraud. 'We peacefully, beautifully, elegantly and without any drops of blood changed Ukraine,' Mr. Yushchenko told cheering supporters.
What many Westerners do not realize, however, is when Mr. Yushchenko takes the seat of power, at his side will be a tough minded, savvy American-raised businesswoman. His wife, Kateryna Chumachenko Yushchenko, is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who grew up steeped in the traditions of her ancestral homeland.
Mrs. Yushchenko was raised in suburban Chicago as the daughter of an electrician and seamstress. During World War II, her parents were forced to immigrate to Germany and work as slave labor. They came to the U.S. in 1956 at the invitation of a Ukrainian Orthodox church. She grew up speaking Ukrainian at home, learning the national dances and attending a Ukrainian school and Orthodox church. 'My parents felt they had to keep alive the culture and traditions they thought were being suppressed by the Soviet Union,' she told me.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s she worked in the human rights office of the U.S. State Department. She also worked for the first President Bush in the Treasury Department. But her dream was always to help Ukraine become independent. So after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 she moved to Kiev. Her business degree from the University of Chicago helped her land a job with KPMG, the U.S. international auditing company, and she prospered training the country's economists in Western practices. She met Viktor Yushchenko when he was part of a delegation of central bankers she brought to Chicago. 'He understood free markets, had a firm faith in God and knew what the right path for the country should be,' she told me. The two married in 1998, and they now have three children.
"
Sabtu, 25 Desember 2004
Right Wing Spic: I'm totally gay.
Right Wing Spic: I'm totally gay.: "adj. Showing or characterized by cheerfulness and lighthearted excitement; merry.
I am 100%, completely over-the-top gay right now. Why? Here are the reasons:
* John Kerry will not be moving into the White House in January.
* I live in the greatest nation on the face of the planet, in spite of the efforts of a liberal minority bent on making America 'just like Europe'.
* As aggressive and powerful as the ACLU seems to be, God is in control, and will ultimately prevail.
* The cost of my sins, death, was paid for in full by Jesus Christ.
* I have a beautiful family.
* Although Americans have suffered over 1,000 deaths in Iraq, that number pales in comparison to those lost in previous conflicts. In just one WWII battle, the Battle of the Bulge, 19,000 American lives were lost - in just one battle. Almost 800 lives were lost during the rehersal for the D-Day invasion. 29,000 dead soldiers were recovered from the beach after the actual invasion. Iraq is difficult right now, but it could be much, much worse. And we will prevail.
* Michael Moore's relevance has deteriorated to the point where he is now forced to produce sequels. His post-election behavior is indicative of an injured animal that's just waiting to expire. He has become such 'yesterdays news' that we may soon see him appearing at local night clubs with Pat Travers and Grand Funk Railroad.
* I have a cabinet full of semi-auto 'assault weapons', dozens of clips, and a load of ammo. And it sure feels good!
* The liberal Hollywood elitists are starting to realize that Americans as a whole really do not like them.
* Those nit-witted has-been musicians who toured to raise money for the failed Kerry campaign are back where they belong - in obscurity.
Yes, I'm just about as gay as it gets right now. I'm flaming gay. Don't get too close.... 'cause I'm on fire!"
I am 100%, completely over-the-top gay right now. Why? Here are the reasons:
* John Kerry will not be moving into the White House in January.
* I live in the greatest nation on the face of the planet, in spite of the efforts of a liberal minority bent on making America 'just like Europe'.
* As aggressive and powerful as the ACLU seems to be, God is in control, and will ultimately prevail.
* The cost of my sins, death, was paid for in full by Jesus Christ.
* I have a beautiful family.
* Although Americans have suffered over 1,000 deaths in Iraq, that number pales in comparison to those lost in previous conflicts. In just one WWII battle, the Battle of the Bulge, 19,000 American lives were lost - in just one battle. Almost 800 lives were lost during the rehersal for the D-Day invasion. 29,000 dead soldiers were recovered from the beach after the actual invasion. Iraq is difficult right now, but it could be much, much worse. And we will prevail.
* Michael Moore's relevance has deteriorated to the point where he is now forced to produce sequels. His post-election behavior is indicative of an injured animal that's just waiting to expire. He has become such 'yesterdays news' that we may soon see him appearing at local night clubs with Pat Travers and Grand Funk Railroad.
* I have a cabinet full of semi-auto 'assault weapons', dozens of clips, and a load of ammo. And it sure feels good!
* The liberal Hollywood elitists are starting to realize that Americans as a whole really do not like them.
* Those nit-witted has-been musicians who toured to raise money for the failed Kerry campaign are back where they belong - in obscurity.
Yes, I'm just about as gay as it gets right now. I'm flaming gay. Don't get too close.... 'cause I'm on fire!"
Power Line: A soldier endorses Rumsfeld
Power Line: A soldier endorses RumsfeldIt's Christmas Eve, though it didn't feel like it. There are some good decorations in the hospital, but we had no Christmas music in the OR today, and no snow on the ground. No nativity scenes or festive cheer in this part of the world. Then, after a routine for here but hardly routine day in the OR, my day was made. I'm referring to the interaction I witnessed and helped facilitate between a young injured soldier and a high ranking official. Here is how it happened:
I was reading foxnews.com at around noon when I told the anesthesiologist that "the Donald" was in town on a surprise visit. No, not Donald Trump, but Donald Rumsfeld. He laughed cynically and said no way would he come here. Well, at around 1600 I was in the OR and I was told that Rumsfeld was downstairs, and we could go down there if we wanted to. I was not in a position to leave, obviously.
Well, the timing worked out well, because I was taking my patient to the recovery room when we wheeled the stretcher through a mob of dignitaries, to include 3 and 4 star generals. I knew the Secretary was nearby, and it turns out he was in the ICU. The patient drew enough attention because of his bruised, banged up face that the 4 star came over to get his story from the surgeon. I was doing some charting by the bedside when Mr. Rumsfeld came over and heard the kid's story from the 4-star. Rumsfeld looked concerned and kind of kept his distance from the gruesome site. He said something like "bless his heart", as if talking around him.
That is when I, without any thought, piped in with "Sir, you can talk to him, he's awake." He told the soldier, named Rob, how proud he was of his service. The soldier was in a bit of disbelief, because he couldn't see with one eye patched and the other swollen shut. He said he wanted to talk to Rumsfeld. That's when I said "He's standing right to your left, Rob, that's his voice you hear. You can talk to him." The kid was nervous at that point, but sputtered out how honored he was to talk to him. Mr. Rumsfeld replied, "No, it's an honor for me to talk to you."
Then remarkably, the young soldier, who had just lost his left hand and right eye from an explosion, came to the defense of the Secretary of Defense, stating "Mr. Rumsfeld, I want you to know, that you are doing a fantastic job. I know that you are taking a lot of heat for the problems with getting armor for vehicles. I want you to know that things are vastly improved. Our vehicles are great, and I have never searched through junk piles for scrap metal."
At this point, Rumsfeld looked choked up, and I had a lump in my throat and and watery eyes. It was moving. What makes a man who has been so close to death, and maimed for life, come to the defense of the Army's highest ranking official? Loyalty, I dare say. Did Rob think Mr. Rumsfeld was having a self-esteem problem? In his greatest hour of need, his thoughts went to the emotional needs of another. I found it quite amazing, and moving. The Secretary took out a coin and gave it to a bystander for him, as if he didn't know he could touch him. Finally, the soldier said, "Man, Donald Rumsfeld, I wish I could shake his hand."
Even at that, I felt Mr. Rumsfeld needed some prompting, so I picked up the kid's arm and looked at the Secretary, and he reached out and took the kid's hand. After the entourage left, I took the coin and placed it in the soldiers hand, for him to feel and hold. I said, "that's not one you'll get every day." He was happy. I told the person caring for him to make certain that coin went with him to his room. I was assured that he would. I told Rob it was an honor to care for him, and then went on to do my next case. I'd like to see him tomorrow, but I heard he is flying out tonight.
I was reading foxnews.com at around noon when I told the anesthesiologist that "the Donald" was in town on a surprise visit. No, not Donald Trump, but Donald Rumsfeld. He laughed cynically and said no way would he come here. Well, at around 1600 I was in the OR and I was told that Rumsfeld was downstairs, and we could go down there if we wanted to. I was not in a position to leave, obviously.
Well, the timing worked out well, because I was taking my patient to the recovery room when we wheeled the stretcher through a mob of dignitaries, to include 3 and 4 star generals. I knew the Secretary was nearby, and it turns out he was in the ICU. The patient drew enough attention because of his bruised, banged up face that the 4 star came over to get his story from the surgeon. I was doing some charting by the bedside when Mr. Rumsfeld came over and heard the kid's story from the 4-star. Rumsfeld looked concerned and kind of kept his distance from the gruesome site. He said something like "bless his heart", as if talking around him.
That is when I, without any thought, piped in with "Sir, you can talk to him, he's awake." He told the soldier, named Rob, how proud he was of his service. The soldier was in a bit of disbelief, because he couldn't see with one eye patched and the other swollen shut. He said he wanted to talk to Rumsfeld. That's when I said "He's standing right to your left, Rob, that's his voice you hear. You can talk to him." The kid was nervous at that point, but sputtered out how honored he was to talk to him. Mr. Rumsfeld replied, "No, it's an honor for me to talk to you."
Then remarkably, the young soldier, who had just lost his left hand and right eye from an explosion, came to the defense of the Secretary of Defense, stating "Mr. Rumsfeld, I want you to know, that you are doing a fantastic job. I know that you are taking a lot of heat for the problems with getting armor for vehicles. I want you to know that things are vastly improved. Our vehicles are great, and I have never searched through junk piles for scrap metal."
At this point, Rumsfeld looked choked up, and I had a lump in my throat and and watery eyes. It was moving. What makes a man who has been so close to death, and maimed for life, come to the defense of the Army's highest ranking official? Loyalty, I dare say. Did Rob think Mr. Rumsfeld was having a self-esteem problem? In his greatest hour of need, his thoughts went to the emotional needs of another. I found it quite amazing, and moving. The Secretary took out a coin and gave it to a bystander for him, as if he didn't know he could touch him. Finally, the soldier said, "Man, Donald Rumsfeld, I wish I could shake his hand."
Even at that, I felt Mr. Rumsfeld needed some prompting, so I picked up the kid's arm and looked at the Secretary, and he reached out and took the kid's hand. After the entourage left, I took the coin and placed it in the soldiers hand, for him to feel and hold. I said, "that's not one you'll get every day." He was happy. I told the person caring for him to make certain that coin went with him to his room. I was assured that he would. I told Rob it was an honor to care for him, and then went on to do my next case. I'd like to see him tomorrow, but I heard he is flying out tonight.
Kamis, 23 Desember 2004
Ugly Reporting Wrongs Rumsfeld
Itzaz� Around Here!
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Ugly Reporting Wrongs Rumsfeld
by Allan H. Ryskind
Posted Dec 17, 2004
It may not have been conscious sabotage of the defense secretary, but it's hard to believe otherwise.Nowhere was the media's irresponsibility on the Iraq conflict more acutely demonstrated than in the barrage of ugly news reports on Donald Rumsfeld's exchange in Kuwait with Spc. Thomas Wilson, an exchange that is still reverberating across the country.
Those who pay close attention to the news are almost certainly familiar with the reported encounter. Spc. Wilson, an airplane mechanic with the Tennessee Army National Guard, asked the secretary an important question: ". . . A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already been shot up . . . to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament [sic] vehicles to carry with us north."
Out of Context
Virtually all the newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV accounts wildly misrepresented what happened next. As the Washington Post's Thomas Ricks "reported"--and his piece was wholly representative of the media in general--"Rumsfeld replied: 'As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Rumsfeld, as the media would have it, was blowing off the deepest concerns of our men and women about to be placed in a deadly situation.
This observer--along with a number of other pro-Bush, but not necessarily pro-war or pro-Rumsfeld conservatives I talked with--was also initially outraged upon first hearing the exchange endlessly repeated on radio and TV, and then reading the account in cold print. How could the secretary have been so callous? Why hadn't he told these soldiers what the Defense Department was doing to improve matters?
Any parent with a kid at risk in Iraq would have been fully justified in demanding Rumsfeld's head for such cold-blooded remarks. Rumsfeld, according to the media's portrayal, was telling the troops to "suck it up" and casualties be damned. No wonder his reported remarks caused such a furor.
But the official transcript of the Kuwaiti townhall meeting with the troops, as last week's HUMAN EVENTS reported, reveals an entirely different story.
The first words out of Rumsfeld's mouth in response to Wilson were not what the media either said or implied or disclosed in film clips. They were, instead, words of encouragement. Rumsfeld dwelt at length on how much progress the military was making in solving the problem that began materializing a year ago August when the enemy started using explosives to blow up thin-skinned Army vehicles normally used in the rear of the combat zone. Nor was the secretary caught off guard by the question, as the media has suggested. Here, in fact, is how Rumsfeld immediately responded--all 94 words worth--to Spc. Wilson's now famous query:
"I talked to the general coming out here about the pace at which the vehicles are being armored. They have been brought from all over the world, wherever they're not needed, to a place here where they are needed. I'm told that they are being--the Army is--I think it's something like 400 a month are being done. And it's essentially a matter of physics. It isn't a matter of money. It isn't a matter on the part of the Army of desire. It's a matter of production and capability of doing it." Then Rumsfeld launched into an explanation of why there weren't as many armored vehicles as the conflict now warranted. "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate they believe--it's a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously--but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment," said Rumsfeld.
"I can assure you," he continued, "that General Schoolmaker and the leadership in the Army and certainly General Whitcomb are sensitive to the fact that not every vehicle has the degree of armor that would be desirable for it to have, but they're working at a good clip. . . . [T]he goal we have is to have as many of those vehicles as is humanly possible with the appropriate level of armor available for the troops. And that is what the Army has been working on."
Does this sound like the media's grotesque portrait of Rumsfeld?
Those friends of mine who had been furious with the defense secretary for his apparent indifference to the soldiers' life and death concerns were stunned as to how they had been misled when I read them the transcript. They were not upset that the question had been prompted by an embedded reporter, Edward Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, for the query, judging from the positive reaction of some of the troops, was clearly a legitimate one.But they were hot under the collar--and still are--at having been hoodwinked by the Washington Post, the New York Times, and radio and TV networks as to Rumsfeld's response.
The Post, in fact, repeated the distortion two days in a row--December 9 and 10--when it had to know better. Even NBC's Tim Russert--the toughest, but fairest news moderator in TV--showed the distorted film clip of Rumsfeld's answer four day's after his town hall meeting.
The issues of Time and Newsweek that hit the newsstands this past week were still misreporting the Rumsfeld-Wilson exchange. Time: "It was Rumsfeld's response though, that instantly ignited a firestorm. 'You go to war with the Army you have,' Rumsfeld told Wilson, 'not the Army you might want . . .'"
Newsweek: "Rumsfeld's initial response [to Wilson's question] was testy: 'You go to war with the Army you have,' he barked." On December 15, Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol--nearly a week after the print media had twisted Rumsfeld's reply--unleashed a jeremiad against the Defense secretary, using the essentially false quote as his launching pad.
Doesn't anyone look at original transcripts anymore?
Rumsfeld talked to about 2,300 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilian laborers at Camp Buehring in northern Kuwait. Contrary to media suggestions, the troops were warm and receptive. The gathering frequently cheered and applauded the defense secretary, as he praised the troops and informed them how important their mission was. They cheered and applauded his remarks in response to their questions, gave him standing ovations and crowded around him for 45 minutes shaking his hand and snapping his picture after he had briefed them. His appearance was also broken up with good-natured laughter. These soldiers were clearly not acting bitterly or ready to mutiny. Those who read the complete transcript of Rumsfeld's appearance as well as the briefing for reporters by Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb will have a far different understanding of what occurred than if they choose to rely on the news accounts.
Gen. Whitcomb, commander of the Third Army and Coalition Forces Land Component Command, has major responsibility for ground operations in Iraq. He explained to reporters the day after Rumsfeld's meeting with the troops that the U.S. was in the process of mass-producing armored Humvees, from 30 per month last August to "over 400 per month" currently. He described how the military, in 10 sites in both Kuwait and Iraq, has been systematically adding armor "to existing unarmored vehicles" and using other measures to make the vehicles safer. Of some 30,000 "wheeled vehicles" in the area, Whitcomb allowed, fewer than 8,000 are not armored currently, but many of those are not being deployed in dangerous areas and there is an effort to fix them as well.
None of this is essentially disputed.
Fog of JournalismWhitcomb then boasted: "I can tell you that the last full brigade that deployed into Iraq about six weeks ago, the 256th Infantry, almost a thousand wheeled vehicles . . . had some level of armor protection on it. . . . Our goal in what we're working towards is that no wheeled vehicle that leaves Kuwait going into Iraq is driven by a soldier that does not have some level of armor protection on it."
Why aren't they armored in the first place? In former wars, these vehicles were normally deployed in the rear areas. The Humvee, as Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf notes, "was never considered an armored vehicle to begin with," but the insurgents have unleashed a new tactic that the Pentagon has clearly been grappling with in a serious way.
Americans know the Iraqi situation is dicey. The military is conflicted as to how many troops are needed and whether the situation is worsening or, as some believe, is essentially contained in the Sunni triangle. Our knowledge of what's happening is certainly clouded by the fog of war.
But what about the fog of journalism? How can Americans--especially decision-making Americans in Congress and elsewhere--comprehend what's happening when the journalistic community relentlessly spreads what amounts to a wretched lie about what our government is doing?
Mr. Ryskind, HUMAN EVENTS Editor at large, is writing a book on Communism in Hollywood.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Ugly Reporting Wrongs Rumsfeld
by Allan H. Ryskind
Posted Dec 17, 2004
It may not have been conscious sabotage of the defense secretary, but it's hard to believe otherwise.Nowhere was the media's irresponsibility on the Iraq conflict more acutely demonstrated than in the barrage of ugly news reports on Donald Rumsfeld's exchange in Kuwait with Spc. Thomas Wilson, an exchange that is still reverberating across the country.
Those who pay close attention to the news are almost certainly familiar with the reported encounter. Spc. Wilson, an airplane mechanic with the Tennessee Army National Guard, asked the secretary an important question: ". . . A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already been shot up . . . to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament [sic] vehicles to carry with us north."
Out of Context
Virtually all the newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV accounts wildly misrepresented what happened next. As the Washington Post's Thomas Ricks "reported"--and his piece was wholly representative of the media in general--"Rumsfeld replied: 'As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Rumsfeld, as the media would have it, was blowing off the deepest concerns of our men and women about to be placed in a deadly situation.
This observer--along with a number of other pro-Bush, but not necessarily pro-war or pro-Rumsfeld conservatives I talked with--was also initially outraged upon first hearing the exchange endlessly repeated on radio and TV, and then reading the account in cold print. How could the secretary have been so callous? Why hadn't he told these soldiers what the Defense Department was doing to improve matters?
Any parent with a kid at risk in Iraq would have been fully justified in demanding Rumsfeld's head for such cold-blooded remarks. Rumsfeld, according to the media's portrayal, was telling the troops to "suck it up" and casualties be damned. No wonder his reported remarks caused such a furor.
But the official transcript of the Kuwaiti townhall meeting with the troops, as last week's HUMAN EVENTS reported, reveals an entirely different story.
The first words out of Rumsfeld's mouth in response to Wilson were not what the media either said or implied or disclosed in film clips. They were, instead, words of encouragement. Rumsfeld dwelt at length on how much progress the military was making in solving the problem that began materializing a year ago August when the enemy started using explosives to blow up thin-skinned Army vehicles normally used in the rear of the combat zone. Nor was the secretary caught off guard by the question, as the media has suggested. Here, in fact, is how Rumsfeld immediately responded--all 94 words worth--to Spc. Wilson's now famous query:
"I talked to the general coming out here about the pace at which the vehicles are being armored. They have been brought from all over the world, wherever they're not needed, to a place here where they are needed. I'm told that they are being--the Army is--I think it's something like 400 a month are being done. And it's essentially a matter of physics. It isn't a matter of money. It isn't a matter on the part of the Army of desire. It's a matter of production and capability of doing it." Then Rumsfeld launched into an explanation of why there weren't as many armored vehicles as the conflict now warranted. "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate they believe--it's a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously--but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment," said Rumsfeld.
"I can assure you," he continued, "that General Schoolmaker and the leadership in the Army and certainly General Whitcomb are sensitive to the fact that not every vehicle has the degree of armor that would be desirable for it to have, but they're working at a good clip. . . . [T]he goal we have is to have as many of those vehicles as is humanly possible with the appropriate level of armor available for the troops. And that is what the Army has been working on."
Does this sound like the media's grotesque portrait of Rumsfeld?
Those friends of mine who had been furious with the defense secretary for his apparent indifference to the soldiers' life and death concerns were stunned as to how they had been misled when I read them the transcript. They were not upset that the question had been prompted by an embedded reporter, Edward Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, for the query, judging from the positive reaction of some of the troops, was clearly a legitimate one.But they were hot under the collar--and still are--at having been hoodwinked by the Washington Post, the New York Times, and radio and TV networks as to Rumsfeld's response.
The Post, in fact, repeated the distortion two days in a row--December 9 and 10--when it had to know better. Even NBC's Tim Russert--the toughest, but fairest news moderator in TV--showed the distorted film clip of Rumsfeld's answer four day's after his town hall meeting.
The issues of Time and Newsweek that hit the newsstands this past week were still misreporting the Rumsfeld-Wilson exchange. Time: "It was Rumsfeld's response though, that instantly ignited a firestorm. 'You go to war with the Army you have,' Rumsfeld told Wilson, 'not the Army you might want . . .'"
Newsweek: "Rumsfeld's initial response [to Wilson's question] was testy: 'You go to war with the Army you have,' he barked." On December 15, Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol--nearly a week after the print media had twisted Rumsfeld's reply--unleashed a jeremiad against the Defense secretary, using the essentially false quote as his launching pad.
Doesn't anyone look at original transcripts anymore?
Rumsfeld talked to about 2,300 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilian laborers at Camp Buehring in northern Kuwait. Contrary to media suggestions, the troops were warm and receptive. The gathering frequently cheered and applauded the defense secretary, as he praised the troops and informed them how important their mission was. They cheered and applauded his remarks in response to their questions, gave him standing ovations and crowded around him for 45 minutes shaking his hand and snapping his picture after he had briefed them. His appearance was also broken up with good-natured laughter. These soldiers were clearly not acting bitterly or ready to mutiny. Those who read the complete transcript of Rumsfeld's appearance as well as the briefing for reporters by Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb will have a far different understanding of what occurred than if they choose to rely on the news accounts.
Gen. Whitcomb, commander of the Third Army and Coalition Forces Land Component Command, has major responsibility for ground operations in Iraq. He explained to reporters the day after Rumsfeld's meeting with the troops that the U.S. was in the process of mass-producing armored Humvees, from 30 per month last August to "over 400 per month" currently. He described how the military, in 10 sites in both Kuwait and Iraq, has been systematically adding armor "to existing unarmored vehicles" and using other measures to make the vehicles safer. Of some 30,000 "wheeled vehicles" in the area, Whitcomb allowed, fewer than 8,000 are not armored currently, but many of those are not being deployed in dangerous areas and there is an effort to fix them as well.
None of this is essentially disputed.
Fog of JournalismWhitcomb then boasted: "I can tell you that the last full brigade that deployed into Iraq about six weeks ago, the 256th Infantry, almost a thousand wheeled vehicles . . . had some level of armor protection on it. . . . Our goal in what we're working towards is that no wheeled vehicle that leaves Kuwait going into Iraq is driven by a soldier that does not have some level of armor protection on it."
Why aren't they armored in the first place? In former wars, these vehicles were normally deployed in the rear areas. The Humvee, as Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf notes, "was never considered an armored vehicle to begin with," but the insurgents have unleashed a new tactic that the Pentagon has clearly been grappling with in a serious way.
Americans know the Iraqi situation is dicey. The military is conflicted as to how many troops are needed and whether the situation is worsening or, as some believe, is essentially contained in the Sunni triangle. Our knowledge of what's happening is certainly clouded by the fog of war.
But what about the fog of journalism? How can Americans--especially decision-making Americans in Congress and elsewhere--comprehend what's happening when the journalistic community relentlessly spreads what amounts to a wretched lie about what our government is doing?
Mr. Ryskind, HUMAN EVENTS Editor at large, is writing a book on Communism in Hollywood.
Rabu, 22 Desember 2004
BeldarBlog: Ma-ia-hii
BeldarBlog: Ma-ia-hii: "Ma-ia-hii
Things you find on the internet can make you want to sing and dance. My dog now thinks I'm nuts, and so would anyone else watching me at the moment.
Hat-tip and good-natured curses to John Derbyshire (who in turn blamed Jonah Goldberg, but then provided a link for for the lyrics) on NRO's The Corner."
Humor
Things you find on the internet can make you want to sing and dance. My dog now thinks I'm nuts, and so would anyone else watching me at the moment.
Hat-tip and good-natured curses to John Derbyshire (who in turn blamed Jonah Goldberg, but then provided a link for for the lyrics) on NRO's The Corner."
Humor
Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen
Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen: "# This past weekend we celebrated the 60th anniversary marking the start of the Battle of the Bulge.
# Imagine if that six-week battle, which resulted in two hundred thousand - TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND - men dead and wounded on both sides, were being covered the way Iraq is being covered today.
# There would be a public outcry demanding the instantaneous and simultaneous resignations of George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley.
# Military 'analysts' would be all over the cable nets demanding to know 'How did the American military command miss the fact that the Germans had moved more than two full Armies into the Ardennes?'
# Franklin Delano Roosevelt's political opponents - and many of his friends - would be demanding that he change the military leadership which had been faithful to FDR, which was now in danger of losing the war, and which refused to change tactics in the face of a resurgent enemy.
# How the path of history would have altered course if those three men had been forced off the field of battle.
# Thus is the danger of measuring war a battle at a time, and measuring a battle a day at a time.
# The President has set the course. Don Rumsfeld will continue direct the forces necessary to achieve it.
# Kerikterizing Rumsfeld will be a wasted effort and a distraction from the task at hand."
# Imagine if that six-week battle, which resulted in two hundred thousand - TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND - men dead and wounded on both sides, were being covered the way Iraq is being covered today.
# There would be a public outcry demanding the instantaneous and simultaneous resignations of George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley.
# Military 'analysts' would be all over the cable nets demanding to know 'How did the American military command miss the fact that the Germans had moved more than two full Armies into the Ardennes?'
# Franklin Delano Roosevelt's political opponents - and many of his friends - would be demanding that he change the military leadership which had been faithful to FDR, which was now in danger of losing the war, and which refused to change tactics in the face of a resurgent enemy.
# How the path of history would have altered course if those three men had been forced off the field of battle.
# Thus is the danger of measuring war a battle at a time, and measuring a battle a day at a time.
# The President has set the course. Don Rumsfeld will continue direct the forces necessary to achieve it.
# Kerikterizing Rumsfeld will be a wasted effort and a distraction from the task at hand."
Power Line: The Margin of Victory in Washington Sate Governor's Race
Power Line: The Margin of Victory
This will amaze you. It looks like the Democrats are going to steal this one. I lifted this info off the internet, but if you want to go to the source, go to powerline and follow the links._Joe
____________________________________________
A few days ago we linked to Stefan Sharkansky's blog Sound Politics, which is covering the recount in the Washington governor's race. Reader Mike Barton pointed out that Sharkansky has been investigating, with rather astonishing results:
Crunching the data in the King [Ukraine] County voter registration file, I came across precinct SEA 37-1823, or simply Precinct 1823, located in downtown Seattle between Elliot Bay and I-5 near the James St. exit.
Precinct 1823 has 763 registered "Active" voters. 527 of them list as their residence address 500 4th Ave -- the King County Administration Building. 241 of these voters specifically note their apartment number as #553, which is the room number of the ... King [Ukraine] County Records and Elections office.
Over 300 of these alleged "voters" give 500 4th Ave. (with or without the Elections office room number) as both their residence and mailing addresses. Several of the other Elections Office residents give overseas mailing addresses, such as Anuj Rathi of Mumbai, India, Rayko Suzuki of Tokyo, Japan, and Pascal Engi of Bern, Switzerland.
Another 48 of the Precinct 1823 "voters" give as their residence address 511 3rd Ave, which appears to be some sort of private mailbox service.
And then there are the two Messrs. Harder -- Mike Harder of 509 3rd Ave. Apt. 507, who registered to vote on April 28, 2004 and Michael D. Harder of 509 3rd Ave. Apt. 507, who registered to vote on July 20, 2004. Both Messrs. Harder are flagged as permanent absentee voters.
465 (61%) of the Precinct 1823 voters registered during 2004 and nearly all of them "live" at 500 4th Ave. By contrast, only 13% of all of King County voters registered in 2004.
3 members of the List of 573 Magical Mystery Voters are from Precinct 1823, 2 of whom "live" at the Elections Office.
In the machine recount, Precinct 1823 gave 203 votes to Gregoire[Democrat] and 87 votes to Rossi[Republican], for a net Gregoire lead of 116 votes. The only way for Christine Gregoire to win the governor's race is to carry Precinct 1823 in a landslide.
UPDATE: Elections Superintendent Bill Huennekens explained that the residents of the Elections office are "homeless individuals", and that there is a special section of the administrative code which allows for that. He sees nothing unusual in the fact that some of these so-called homeless individuals also give mailing addresses elsewhere. I asked him what the county did to verify the identities of individuals who list the elections office as their residence and he said that they can't be treated any differently from anybody else. I take that to mean, that anybody on the planet who wants to vote (or vote again) can simply claim to be a resident of the King County Elections office.
Count every vote!
UPDATE: The Washington Supreme Court has ruled in the Democrats' favor on the 573 ballots that were mysteriously found in a warehouse some weeks after the election.
Count every vote!
This will amaze you. It looks like the Democrats are going to steal this one. I lifted this info off the internet, but if you want to go to the source, go to powerline and follow the links._Joe
____________________________________________
A few days ago we linked to Stefan Sharkansky's blog Sound Politics, which is covering the recount in the Washington governor's race. Reader Mike Barton pointed out that Sharkansky has been investigating, with rather astonishing results:
Crunching the data in the King [Ukraine] County voter registration file, I came across precinct SEA 37-1823, or simply Precinct 1823, located in downtown Seattle between Elliot Bay and I-5 near the James St. exit.
Precinct 1823 has 763 registered "Active" voters. 527 of them list as their residence address 500 4th Ave -- the King County Administration Building. 241 of these voters specifically note their apartment number as #553, which is the room number of the ... King [Ukraine] County Records and Elections office.
Over 300 of these alleged "voters" give 500 4th Ave. (with or without the Elections office room number) as both their residence and mailing addresses. Several of the other Elections Office residents give overseas mailing addresses, such as Anuj Rathi of Mumbai, India, Rayko Suzuki of Tokyo, Japan, and Pascal Engi of Bern, Switzerland.
Another 48 of the Precinct 1823 "voters" give as their residence address 511 3rd Ave, which appears to be some sort of private mailbox service.
And then there are the two Messrs. Harder -- Mike Harder of 509 3rd Ave. Apt. 507, who registered to vote on April 28, 2004 and Michael D. Harder of 509 3rd Ave. Apt. 507, who registered to vote on July 20, 2004. Both Messrs. Harder are flagged as permanent absentee voters.
465 (61%) of the Precinct 1823 voters registered during 2004 and nearly all of them "live" at 500 4th Ave. By contrast, only 13% of all of King County voters registered in 2004.
3 members of the List of 573 Magical Mystery Voters are from Precinct 1823, 2 of whom "live" at the Elections Office.
In the machine recount, Precinct 1823 gave 203 votes to Gregoire[Democrat] and 87 votes to Rossi[Republican], for a net Gregoire lead of 116 votes. The only way for Christine Gregoire to win the governor's race is to carry Precinct 1823 in a landslide.
UPDATE: Elections Superintendent Bill Huennekens explained that the residents of the Elections office are "homeless individuals", and that there is a special section of the administrative code which allows for that. He sees nothing unusual in the fact that some of these so-called homeless individuals also give mailing addresses elsewhere. I asked him what the county did to verify the identities of individuals who list the elections office as their residence and he said that they can't be treated any differently from anybody else. I take that to mean, that anybody on the planet who wants to vote (or vote again) can simply claim to be a resident of the King County Elections office.
Count every vote!
UPDATE: The Washington Supreme Court has ruled in the Democrats' favor on the 573 ballots that were mysteriously found in a warehouse some weeks after the election.
Count every vote!
Selasa, 21 Desember 2004
BLACKFIVE: Want to Send a Marine A Letter?
BLACKFIVE: Want to Send a Marine A Letter?I went to a brief for a new system HQMC has instituted for sending mail to Marines and Sailors attached to Marine Units in Iraq today. The system is for Marines/Sailors, their families and friends who want to send fast correspondence. It is called MotoMail. The site address is: www.motomail.us. The system works as follows:
1. Sender logs onto www.motomail.us to create the letter.
2. The letter is sent to the MotoMail server.
3. The designated USMC post office downloads the letter to a special machine which prints, folds, and seals the
letter.
4. The letter is delivered through unit mail call.
5. Unlike e-mail, it allows a Marine/Sailor to keep a physical reminder of their loved ones with them at all times
and can be read and re-read.
Motomail is a unique Marine Corps system. Delivery transit time is usually within 24 hours. It is free. Senders are required only to know unit addresses, not location. The MotoMail Printer, Folder, and Sealer ensures complete privacy and that contents remain confidential (I had a demonstration and it really does!).
Senders can track letters from submission, download and when it is printed. You cannot send pictures or graphics in your letter (jpegs/gif files).
For people who don't know Marines personally in theatre, but would like to send a note, there is a tab for Support the Troops where people can send messages. These messages are reviewed by the Marine Corp prior to being posted. No individual information can be submitted (troop locations, etc). After they are reviewed, they will be printed out in the mail room and posted in the Chow Halls and Post Offices for everyone to see. Individual emails are NOT posted unless the sender writes their email address in their note.
Currently there are 4 locations that can receive Motomail. Once it is printed, it is distributed accordingly to the various camps.
1. Sender logs onto www.motomail.us to create the letter.
2. The letter is sent to the MotoMail server.
3. The designated USMC post office downloads the letter to a special machine which prints, folds, and seals the
letter.
4. The letter is delivered through unit mail call.
5. Unlike e-mail, it allows a Marine/Sailor to keep a physical reminder of their loved ones with them at all times
and can be read and re-read.
Motomail is a unique Marine Corps system. Delivery transit time is usually within 24 hours. It is free. Senders are required only to know unit addresses, not location. The MotoMail Printer, Folder, and Sealer ensures complete privacy and that contents remain confidential (I had a demonstration and it really does!).
Senders can track letters from submission, download and when it is printed. You cannot send pictures or graphics in your letter (jpegs/gif files).
For people who don't know Marines personally in theatre, but would like to send a note, there is a tab for Support the Troops where people can send messages. These messages are reviewed by the Marine Corp prior to being posted. No individual information can be submitted (troop locations, etc). After they are reviewed, they will be printed out in the mail room and posted in the Chow Halls and Post Offices for everyone to see. Individual emails are NOT posted unless the sender writes their email address in their note.
Currently there are 4 locations that can receive Motomail. Once it is printed, it is distributed accordingly to the various camps.
CBS News | JonBenet: DNA Rules Out Parents | December 20, 2004�09:16:52
CBS News | JonBenet: DNA Rules Out Parents | December 20, 2004�09:16:52: . . . "One of those suspects came to light in a most dramatic way. It was early in 1997, when Alex Hunter, then Boulder district attorney, made a startling announcement: 'I want to say something to the person or persons that took this baby from us. The list of suspects narrows. Soon, there will be no one on the list but you.' ' ' ' '
Those words were written by the FBI as part of a strategy to put the killer and any accomplices under pressure. That strategy may have worked. But just two days later, the Boulder Sheriff's Department discovered a man by the name of Michael Helgoth, dead in his home, an apparent suicide. "
Those words were written by the FBI as part of a strategy to put the killer and any accomplices under pressure. That strategy may have worked. But just two days later, the Boulder Sheriff's Department discovered a man by the name of Michael Helgoth, dead in his home, an apparent suicide. "
Power Line: A Marine's Father Speaks
Here's what the father of a Marine thinks about the latest Rumsfeld criticizm.
Power Line: A Marine's Father Speaks: "December 21, 2004
A Marine's Father Speaks
People sometimes tell us in emails that we don't know much about military matters. That's true. But we have readers who do. This morning, the father of a Marine who is a special operations team leader wrote to offer his thoughts on the 'autopen' controversy:
If [our son] had been killed, we would have been first informed by a visit - in dress blues - from a condolence team typically consisting of two Marines and one Navy Chaplain. We know many families who've received that knock on the door. No letter is required. No words are required. A simple peek thru the view hole in the door and the sight of dress blue blouses, white covers and white gloves tells you all you ever need to know. A letter of condolence from the SecDef is, honestly, not even worth opening. Families are much more interested in hearing from the men who served with their son and from their families. We share the constant knowledge and fear that it could be our door bell being rung. Sec. Rumsfeld doesn't know our son. He's a Lance Corporal. He directs a machine gun team. He is a vital link in the line that protects our way of life. He doesn't fight for his country, he doesn't fight for the SecDef, he doesn't even fight for his mom and dad. He fights for the guys on either side of him and for his team. He fights to secure his objective of the moment, which he may or may not understand or agree with. Sec Rumsfeld doesn't need to take time from his day to sign a form letter of condolence and he certainly doesn't need to take time to figure out what the LCpl was doing when he was killed or what kind of a man he was. His job is to make sure the LCpl didn't die in vain and that only as few LCpl's as possible will have to die to end this war in a successful manner.
Don't get me wrong, we would appreciate the condolence letter from the SecDef, as well as one from the White House and from our Senator and Representative, from the Mayor and Governor. But none would bring back our son. And they are all form letters, signatures be damned. A letter from his 1stSgt, from the men we know in his unit would be a treasure and a comfort.
I don't know what happens in other branches, or even other units. But in 2/4, I know the 1stSgt's personally contact the surviving family with letters, emails and phone calls of condolence.
By the way, we know families of fallen Marines who've been flown to sites where President Bush was speaking. He met with them privately after his event, never any press coverage, and the families have said that - after being given an agenda for their time with the President and being told that he's on a very tight schedule - Mr. Bush talked to every family member as long as they wanted to talk, never hurried anyone, cried with family, hugged everyone and they all felt like he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day but bring comfort to them. For that, George W. Bush has my eternal respect and gratitude. And there was NEVER one word of publicity surrounding any of these meetings with families. (I have pictures to dissuade doubters.)
Bottom line, we support Sec Rumsfeld. The people who are making a big deal about this have their heads up their collective a****. They need to have a serious priority check on what people in positions of responsibility should be doing with their time. They should also chat with some military families if they could figure out how to contact them.
Posted by Hindrocket"
Power Line: A Marine's Father Speaks: "December 21, 2004
A Marine's Father Speaks
People sometimes tell us in emails that we don't know much about military matters. That's true. But we have readers who do. This morning, the father of a Marine who is a special operations team leader wrote to offer his thoughts on the 'autopen' controversy:
If [our son] had been killed, we would have been first informed by a visit - in dress blues - from a condolence team typically consisting of two Marines and one Navy Chaplain. We know many families who've received that knock on the door. No letter is required. No words are required. A simple peek thru the view hole in the door and the sight of dress blue blouses, white covers and white gloves tells you all you ever need to know. A letter of condolence from the SecDef is, honestly, not even worth opening. Families are much more interested in hearing from the men who served with their son and from their families. We share the constant knowledge and fear that it could be our door bell being rung. Sec. Rumsfeld doesn't know our son. He's a Lance Corporal. He directs a machine gun team. He is a vital link in the line that protects our way of life. He doesn't fight for his country, he doesn't fight for the SecDef, he doesn't even fight for his mom and dad. He fights for the guys on either side of him and for his team. He fights to secure his objective of the moment, which he may or may not understand or agree with. Sec Rumsfeld doesn't need to take time from his day to sign a form letter of condolence and he certainly doesn't need to take time to figure out what the LCpl was doing when he was killed or what kind of a man he was. His job is to make sure the LCpl didn't die in vain and that only as few LCpl's as possible will have to die to end this war in a successful manner.
Don't get me wrong, we would appreciate the condolence letter from the SecDef, as well as one from the White House and from our Senator and Representative, from the Mayor and Governor. But none would bring back our son. And they are all form letters, signatures be damned. A letter from his 1stSgt, from the men we know in his unit would be a treasure and a comfort.
I don't know what happens in other branches, or even other units. But in 2/4, I know the 1stSgt's personally contact the surviving family with letters, emails and phone calls of condolence.
By the way, we know families of fallen Marines who've been flown to sites where President Bush was speaking. He met with them privately after his event, never any press coverage, and the families have said that - after being given an agenda for their time with the President and being told that he's on a very tight schedule - Mr. Bush talked to every family member as long as they wanted to talk, never hurried anyone, cried with family, hugged everyone and they all felt like he had nothing else to do for the rest of the day but bring comfort to them. For that, George W. Bush has my eternal respect and gratitude. And there was NEVER one word of publicity surrounding any of these meetings with families. (I have pictures to dissuade doubters.)
Bottom line, we support Sec Rumsfeld. The people who are making a big deal about this have their heads up their collective a****. They need to have a serious priority check on what people in positions of responsibility should be doing with their time. They should also chat with some military families if they could figure out how to contact them.
Posted by Hindrocket"
Minggu, 19 Desember 2004
MY WAR: In The Service Of The Queen
MY WAR: In The Service Of The Queen Great analysis by a soldier.
Belmont Club
Belmont Club
Currently, humanity is fueled by 1000 1 gigawatt coal-fired power plants, 400 1 gigawatt oil-fired plants, 250 gas-fired plants, 350 nuclear power stations, 500 gigawatts of hydropower, 750 million fossil fueled vehicles, 130 exajoules for heating and cooling, 50 exajoules from the burning of traditional biomass.
Doing the math, in order to double the world's energy supplies over the next 50 years, the world will need to build, among other things, the equivalent of 2750 new 1 gigawatt natural gas-fired power stations, 1000 new coal-fired 1 gigawatt power plants with carbon capture, 1.5 million windmills deployed over a bit less than 300,000 square miles, 2150 new nuclear plants, 1500 new 1 gigawatt hydropower stations, not to mention new solar and biofuel technologies.
Recall that (Tony) Blair and others are calling for emission reductions of 60% by 2050.
YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE!!!!!
Currently, humanity is fueled by 1000 1 gigawatt coal-fired power plants, 400 1 gigawatt oil-fired plants, 250 gas-fired plants, 350 nuclear power stations, 500 gigawatts of hydropower, 750 million fossil fueled vehicles, 130 exajoules for heating and cooling, 50 exajoules from the burning of traditional biomass.
Doing the math, in order to double the world's energy supplies over the next 50 years, the world will need to build, among other things, the equivalent of 2750 new 1 gigawatt natural gas-fired power stations, 1000 new coal-fired 1 gigawatt power plants with carbon capture, 1.5 million windmills deployed over a bit less than 300,000 square miles, 2150 new nuclear plants, 1500 new 1 gigawatt hydropower stations, not to mention new solar and biofuel technologies.
Recall that (Tony) Blair and others are calling for emission reductions of 60% by 2050.
YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE!!!!!
BLACKFIVE: The Heart of America
BLACKFIVE: The Heart of America: "December 16, 2004
The Heart of America
Via Seamus, this email is a thank you from a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in Iraq. It was sent two days ago:
Just wanted to write to you and tell you another story about an experience we had over here.
As you know, I asked for toys for the Iraqi children over here and several people (Americans that support us) sent them over by the box. On each patrol we take through the city, we take as many toys as will fit in our pockets and hand them out as we can. The kids take the toys and run to show them off as if they were worth a million bucks. We are as friendly as we can be to everyone we see, but especially so with the kids. Most of them don't have any idea what is going on and are completely innocent in all of this.
On one such patrol, our lead security vehicle stopped in the middle of the street. This is not normal and is very unsafe, so the following vehicles began to inquire over the radio. The lead vehicle reported a little girl sitting in the road and said she just would not budge. The command vehicle told the lead to simply go around her and to be kind as they did. The street was wide enough to allow this maneuver and so they waved to her as they drove around.
As the vehicles went around her, I soon saw her sitting there and in her arms she was clutching a little bear that we had handed her a few patrols back. Feeling an immediate connection to the girl, I radioed that we were going to stop. The rest of the convoy paused and I got out the make sure she was OK. The little girl looked scared and concerned, but there was a warmth in her eyes toward me. As I knelt down to talk to her, she moved over and pointed to a mine in the road.
Immediately a cordon was set as the Marine convoy assumed a defensive posture around the site. The mine was destroyed in place.
It was the heart of an American that sent that toy. It was the heart of an American that gave that toy to that little girl. It was the heart of an American that protected that convoy from that mine. Sure, she was a little Iraqi girl and she had no knowledge of purple mountain's majesty or fruited plains. It was a heart of acceptance, of tolerance, of peace and grace, even through the inconveniences of conflict that saved that convoy from hitting that mine. Those attributes are what keep Americans hearts beating. She may have no affiliation at all with the United States, but she knows what it is to be brave and if we can continue to support her and her new government, she will know what it is to be free. Isn't that what Americans are, the free and the brave?
If you sent over a toy or a Marine (US Service member) you took part in this. You are a reason that Iraq has to believe in a better future. Thank you so much for supporting us and for supporting our cause over here.
Semper Fi,
Mark
GySgt / USMC
The Heart of America
Via Seamus, this email is a thank you from a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in Iraq. It was sent two days ago:
Just wanted to write to you and tell you another story about an experience we had over here.
As you know, I asked for toys for the Iraqi children over here and several people (Americans that support us) sent them over by the box. On each patrol we take through the city, we take as many toys as will fit in our pockets and hand them out as we can. The kids take the toys and run to show them off as if they were worth a million bucks. We are as friendly as we can be to everyone we see, but especially so with the kids. Most of them don't have any idea what is going on and are completely innocent in all of this.
On one such patrol, our lead security vehicle stopped in the middle of the street. This is not normal and is very unsafe, so the following vehicles began to inquire over the radio. The lead vehicle reported a little girl sitting in the road and said she just would not budge. The command vehicle told the lead to simply go around her and to be kind as they did. The street was wide enough to allow this maneuver and so they waved to her as they drove around.
As the vehicles went around her, I soon saw her sitting there and in her arms she was clutching a little bear that we had handed her a few patrols back. Feeling an immediate connection to the girl, I radioed that we were going to stop. The rest of the convoy paused and I got out the make sure she was OK. The little girl looked scared and concerned, but there was a warmth in her eyes toward me. As I knelt down to talk to her, she moved over and pointed to a mine in the road.
Immediately a cordon was set as the Marine convoy assumed a defensive posture around the site. The mine was destroyed in place.
It was the heart of an American that sent that toy. It was the heart of an American that gave that toy to that little girl. It was the heart of an American that protected that convoy from that mine. Sure, she was a little Iraqi girl and she had no knowledge of purple mountain's majesty or fruited plains. It was a heart of acceptance, of tolerance, of peace and grace, even through the inconveniences of conflict that saved that convoy from hitting that mine. Those attributes are what keep Americans hearts beating. She may have no affiliation at all with the United States, but she knows what it is to be brave and if we can continue to support her and her new government, she will know what it is to be free. Isn't that what Americans are, the free and the brave?
If you sent over a toy or a Marine (US Service member) you took part in this. You are a reason that Iraq has to believe in a better future. Thank you so much for supporting us and for supporting our cause over here.
Semper Fi,
Mark
GySgt / USMC
Sabtu, 18 Desember 2004
HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: HERO IN FALLUJAH: Marine Laid Himself on Top of Grenade to Save Rest of Squad by Oliver North
Posted Dec 16, 2004
Compare these two soldiers, one a REAL hero, the other a deserter and then look at the way the MSM (main stream media) looks at them. I can't hardly believe it!_Joe
"It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor," Lance Corporal Rob Rogers of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment told the Army Times. Corporal Rogers was describing the actions of his fellow Marine, Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a Mexican immigrant who enlisted in the Marine Corps the day he received his green card.
Most readers of this column probably haven't heard about Rafael Peralta. With the exception of the Los Angeles Times, most of our mainstream media haven't bothered to write about him. The next time you log onto the Internet, do a Google search on Rafael Peralta. As of this writing, the Internet's most used search engine will provide you with only 26 citations from news sources that have bothered to write about this heroic young man. Then, just for giggles, do a Google search on Pablo Paredes. Hundreds of media outlets have written about him. The wire services have blasted his story to thousands of newspapers. Television and radio debate programs gladly provide the public with talking heads that can speak eloquently on the actions of Pablo Paredes.
You see, Pablo Paredes, a Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class, did something the liberal elites consider "heroic" and the media consider "newsworthy" - he defied an order. Last week, Paredes refused to board his ship bound for Iraq along with 5,000 other sailors and Marines. He showed up on the pier wearing a black tee shirt that read, ``Like a Cabinet member, I resign.''
We know this because Petty Officer Pablo Paredes had the courtesy and forethought to notify the local media that he would commit an act of cowardice the following day. Perhaps he hoped to follow the lead of another famous war protestor who went on to become a U.S. Senator and his party's presidential nominee by throwing away his military medals. Petty Officer Paredes stopped short of trashing his military I.D. in front of the cameras because he said he didn't want to be charged with the destruction of government property. The media, we are promised, will continue to follow this story intently.
It is a shame that the media focus on such acts when they could tell stories about real heroes like Rafael Peralta who "saved the life of my son and every Marine in that room," according to Garry Morrison the father of a Marine in Peralta's unit - Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison.
On the morning of November 15, 2004, the men of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines awoke before sunrise and continued what they had been doing for seven days previously - cleansing the city of Fallujah of terrorists house by house.
At the fourth house they encountered that morning the Marines kicked in the door and "cleared" the front rooms, but then noticed a locked door off to the side that required inspection. Sgt. Rafael Peralta threw open the closed door, but behind it were three terrorists with AK-47s. Peralta was hit in the head and chest with multiple shots at close range.
Peralta's fellow Marines had to step over his body to continue the shootout with the terrorists. As the firefight raged on, a "yellow, foreign-made, oval-shaped grenade," as Lance Corporal Travis Kaemmerer described it, rolled into the room where they were all standing and came to a stop near Peralta's body.
But Sgt. Rafael Peralta wasn't dead - yet. This young immigrant of 25 years, who enlisted in the Marines when he received his green card, who volunteered for the front line duty in Fallujah, had one last act of heroism in him.
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was the polar opposite of Pablo Paredes, the Petty Officer who turned his back on his shipmates and mocked his commander in chief. Peralta was proud to serve his adopted country. In his parent's home, on his bedroom walls hung only three items - a copy of the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot camp graduation certificate. Before he set out for Fallujah, he wrote to his 14-year old brother, "be proud of me, bro...and be proud of being an American."
Not only can Rafael's family be proud of him, but his fellow Marines are alive because of him. As Sgt. Rafael Peralta lay near death on the floor of a Fallujah terrorist hideout, he spotted the yellow grenade that had rolled next to his near-lifeless body. Once detonated, it would take out the rest of Peralta's squad. To save his fellow Marines, Peralta reached out, grabbed the grenade, and tucked it under his abdomen where it exploded.
"Most of the Marines in the house were in the immediate area of the grenade," Cpl. Kaemmerer said. "We will never forget the second chance at life that Sgt. Peralta gave us."
Unfortunately, unlike Pablo Paredes, Sgt. Rafael Peralta will get little media coverage. He is unlikely to have books written about him or movies made about his extraordinarily selfless sacrifice. But he is likely to receive the Medal of Honor. And that Medal of Honor is likely to be displayed next to the only items that hung on his bedroom wall - the Constitution, Bill of Rights and his Boot Camp graduation certificate.
Yes, Virginia, there are still heroes in America, and Sgt. Rafael Peralta was one of them. It's just too bad the media can't recognize them.
Lt. Col. North (Ret.) is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of the new FOX News/Regnery book, War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Compare these two soldiers, one a REAL hero, the other a deserter and then look at the way the MSM (main stream media) looks at them. I can't hardly believe it!_Joe
"It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor," Lance Corporal Rob Rogers of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment told the Army Times. Corporal Rogers was describing the actions of his fellow Marine, Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a Mexican immigrant who enlisted in the Marine Corps the day he received his green card.
Most readers of this column probably haven't heard about Rafael Peralta. With the exception of the Los Angeles Times, most of our mainstream media haven't bothered to write about him. The next time you log onto the Internet, do a Google search on Rafael Peralta. As of this writing, the Internet's most used search engine will provide you with only 26 citations from news sources that have bothered to write about this heroic young man. Then, just for giggles, do a Google search on Pablo Paredes. Hundreds of media outlets have written about him. The wire services have blasted his story to thousands of newspapers. Television and radio debate programs gladly provide the public with talking heads that can speak eloquently on the actions of Pablo Paredes.
You see, Pablo Paredes, a Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class, did something the liberal elites consider "heroic" and the media consider "newsworthy" - he defied an order. Last week, Paredes refused to board his ship bound for Iraq along with 5,000 other sailors and Marines. He showed up on the pier wearing a black tee shirt that read, ``Like a Cabinet member, I resign.''
We know this because Petty Officer Pablo Paredes had the courtesy and forethought to notify the local media that he would commit an act of cowardice the following day. Perhaps he hoped to follow the lead of another famous war protestor who went on to become a U.S. Senator and his party's presidential nominee by throwing away his military medals. Petty Officer Paredes stopped short of trashing his military I.D. in front of the cameras because he said he didn't want to be charged with the destruction of government property. The media, we are promised, will continue to follow this story intently.
It is a shame that the media focus on such acts when they could tell stories about real heroes like Rafael Peralta who "saved the life of my son and every Marine in that room," according to Garry Morrison the father of a Marine in Peralta's unit - Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison.
On the morning of November 15, 2004, the men of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines awoke before sunrise and continued what they had been doing for seven days previously - cleansing the city of Fallujah of terrorists house by house.
At the fourth house they encountered that morning the Marines kicked in the door and "cleared" the front rooms, but then noticed a locked door off to the side that required inspection. Sgt. Rafael Peralta threw open the closed door, but behind it were three terrorists with AK-47s. Peralta was hit in the head and chest with multiple shots at close range.
Peralta's fellow Marines had to step over his body to continue the shootout with the terrorists. As the firefight raged on, a "yellow, foreign-made, oval-shaped grenade," as Lance Corporal Travis Kaemmerer described it, rolled into the room where they were all standing and came to a stop near Peralta's body.
But Sgt. Rafael Peralta wasn't dead - yet. This young immigrant of 25 years, who enlisted in the Marines when he received his green card, who volunteered for the front line duty in Fallujah, had one last act of heroism in him.
Sgt. Rafael Peralta was the polar opposite of Pablo Paredes, the Petty Officer who turned his back on his shipmates and mocked his commander in chief. Peralta was proud to serve his adopted country. In his parent's home, on his bedroom walls hung only three items - a copy of the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot camp graduation certificate. Before he set out for Fallujah, he wrote to his 14-year old brother, "be proud of me, bro...and be proud of being an American."
Not only can Rafael's family be proud of him, but his fellow Marines are alive because of him. As Sgt. Rafael Peralta lay near death on the floor of a Fallujah terrorist hideout, he spotted the yellow grenade that had rolled next to his near-lifeless body. Once detonated, it would take out the rest of Peralta's squad. To save his fellow Marines, Peralta reached out, grabbed the grenade, and tucked it under his abdomen where it exploded.
"Most of the Marines in the house were in the immediate area of the grenade," Cpl. Kaemmerer said. "We will never forget the second chance at life that Sgt. Peralta gave us."
Unfortunately, unlike Pablo Paredes, Sgt. Rafael Peralta will get little media coverage. He is unlikely to have books written about him or movies made about his extraordinarily selfless sacrifice. But he is likely to receive the Medal of Honor. And that Medal of Honor is likely to be displayed next to the only items that hung on his bedroom wall - the Constitution, Bill of Rights and his Boot Camp graduation certificate.
Yes, Virginia, there are still heroes in America, and Sgt. Rafael Peralta was one of them. It's just too bad the media can't recognize them.
Lt. Col. North (Ret.) is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of the new FOX News/Regnery book, War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Mudville Gazette
Mudville Gazette
December 17, 2004
That's the Spirit!
From the Orlando Sentinal, a story headlined American Spirit Takes Root In Iraq:
'Tis the season, and Americans deserve some holiday cheer. Herewith some of the good things happening in Iraq, beginning with Omar and Mohammed.
Regular travelers of the blogosphere, that rare and wonderful new universe where bloggers post news, commentary and other ruminations on the Web, may be familiar with the names Omar and Mohammed.
They, too, are bloggers. In Iraq with brother Ali, they created a blog called Iraq The Model, through which they've kept the blogosphere abreast of events from their native, on-the-ground perspective.
Last week, Omar, 24, and Mohammed, 35, both dentists, came to the United States to meet their American blogging counterparts and to shake hands with someone they hold in high esteem -- President George W. Bush. They wanted to thank him.
The two Iraqi brothers, who are Sunni, came to the United States under the sponsorship of Spirit of America, a nonprofit organization founded by technology entrepreneur Jim Hake that helps Americans serving abroad improve the lives of others.
A great article, and appearing in several sources, including the Chicago Tribune, where the headline has been altered to read "Freedom's spirit takes root in Iraq".
We'll assume they think that means the same thing.
Meanwhile, Jim Hake emails:
BLOGGER CHALLENGE
Our Blogger Challenge ended at midnight on Wednesday. Nearly 200 bloggers joined the effort and, as I type, raised $90,247. Incredible!!! There was a great flurry of activity in the final hours and, in amazing come-from-behind effort, Iraq the Model, jumped into the lead. Iraq the Model has raised $17,140 . The leading team is the Northern Alliance of Blogs. The Alliance has raised $12,135. Thanks to the bloggers we now have more than 11,000 contributors. A 10% increase in 2 weeks.
We are still accepting checks and will have a final total and rankings next week. Thank you to all the bloggers that participated. It is an enormous contribution. Woooohoooooo!! We even had two foreign teams (that I know of) - from Canada and Spain. Please click here to see all the bloggers that joined the effort and thank them, too:
PRESIDENT BUSH
Last Thursday, I met with President Bush for 1/2 hour in the Oval Office along with SoA's Kerry Dupont, Omar and Mohammed from Iraq the Model and Friends of Democracy. The meeting came as a surprise. We received a call in our taxi while we were headed back to our hotel asking if we could be at the White House in 25 minutes. I'm told those close to the President thought it would be good for him to hear from "ordinary" Iraqis and to hear about Spirit of America. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secy of Defense, and a staff member from the National Security Council were also there.
I found the President to be focused, interested, intelligent and committed. He also has a good sense of humor, which he employed liberally. Let me assure you, Spirit is not, and never will be, a political or policy organization. We view the work we are doing as something that people of every political persuasion should support. We're not going to blow it by playing politics. Nonetheless, we have one President. He is the Commander in Chief of the servicemen and women we are helping in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should want his support and now I'm glad we now have it.
The first part of the meeting focused on Omar and Mohammed's views of Iraq. Then we talked about Spirit of America. After hearing about what we are doing, the President turned to Omar and Mohammed and said, "You see gentlemen, that is the beauty of America. I never met this man before but he's out there helping to win this war on terror just as much as 'Wolfie' here." I would have expected President Bush to have kind words for what we are doing. I wasn't sure if he would see the strategic importance of what we are doing but I'm very happy he does. He went on to talk about the importance of private-sector, grass roots activities - people helping people, saying "that's what I believe in." Of course, that's what Spirit of America is about.
For you dog lovers, as we left, we met Barney - the President's dog - and learned that Barney is getting a sister named Beasley.
GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS
Unlike the serendipitous meeting with Pres. Bush, the meeting with Tommy Franks had been in the works for a while. I'm happy to say that he also understands the value of what we're doing. This is best relayed by paraphrasing what he said. Gen Franks makes an important distinction between terrorists and terrorism. He said the military can deal with terrorists pretty well with a 9mm bullet. But terrorism was a whole different, more complex thing. He said he thought that Spirit of America and the America people had a better opportunity to deal with/reduce/defeat (I forget the exact word) terrorism than the U.S. Government bureaucracy. Of course, the commitment of the U.S. Government is essential. His point, I believe, was to highlight the importance of the American people and the particular approach of Spirit of America.
I hope General Franks will be able to be involved in some of our activities moving forward. Either way, we have a great new friend.
Here in Mudville it was Mrs G who led the charge, and though we joined rather late in the effort I'm amazed and grateful to the readers who contributed. Thanks to you all! If you requested pogs and Dinar, they'll get to you. The Mrs has her work cut out for her, and holiday mail being what it is (from around the world, no less), your patience is appreciated.
December 17, 2004
That's the Spirit!
From the Orlando Sentinal, a story headlined American Spirit Takes Root In Iraq:
'Tis the season, and Americans deserve some holiday cheer. Herewith some of the good things happening in Iraq, beginning with Omar and Mohammed.
Regular travelers of the blogosphere, that rare and wonderful new universe where bloggers post news, commentary and other ruminations on the Web, may be familiar with the names Omar and Mohammed.
They, too, are bloggers. In Iraq with brother Ali, they created a blog called Iraq The Model, through which they've kept the blogosphere abreast of events from their native, on-the-ground perspective.
Last week, Omar, 24, and Mohammed, 35, both dentists, came to the United States to meet their American blogging counterparts and to shake hands with someone they hold in high esteem -- President George W. Bush. They wanted to thank him.
The two Iraqi brothers, who are Sunni, came to the United States under the sponsorship of Spirit of America, a nonprofit organization founded by technology entrepreneur Jim Hake that helps Americans serving abroad improve the lives of others.
A great article, and appearing in several sources, including the Chicago Tribune, where the headline has been altered to read "Freedom's spirit takes root in Iraq".
We'll assume they think that means the same thing.
Meanwhile, Jim Hake emails:
BLOGGER CHALLENGE
Our Blogger Challenge ended at midnight on Wednesday. Nearly 200 bloggers joined the effort and, as I type, raised $90,247. Incredible!!! There was a great flurry of activity in the final hours and, in amazing come-from-behind effort, Iraq the Model, jumped into the lead. Iraq the Model has raised $17,140 . The leading team is the Northern Alliance of Blogs. The Alliance has raised $12,135. Thanks to the bloggers we now have more than 11,000 contributors. A 10% increase in 2 weeks.
We are still accepting checks and will have a final total and rankings next week. Thank you to all the bloggers that participated. It is an enormous contribution. Woooohoooooo!! We even had two foreign teams (that I know of) - from Canada and Spain. Please click here to see all the bloggers that joined the effort and thank them, too:
PRESIDENT BUSH
Last Thursday, I met with President Bush for 1/2 hour in the Oval Office along with SoA's Kerry Dupont, Omar and Mohammed from Iraq the Model and Friends of Democracy. The meeting came as a surprise. We received a call in our taxi while we were headed back to our hotel asking if we could be at the White House in 25 minutes. I'm told those close to the President thought it would be good for him to hear from "ordinary" Iraqis and to hear about Spirit of America. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secy of Defense, and a staff member from the National Security Council were also there.
I found the President to be focused, interested, intelligent and committed. He also has a good sense of humor, which he employed liberally. Let me assure you, Spirit is not, and never will be, a political or policy organization. We view the work we are doing as something that people of every political persuasion should support. We're not going to blow it by playing politics. Nonetheless, we have one President. He is the Commander in Chief of the servicemen and women we are helping in Iraq and Afghanistan. We should want his support and now I'm glad we now have it.
The first part of the meeting focused on Omar and Mohammed's views of Iraq. Then we talked about Spirit of America. After hearing about what we are doing, the President turned to Omar and Mohammed and said, "You see gentlemen, that is the beauty of America. I never met this man before but he's out there helping to win this war on terror just as much as 'Wolfie' here." I would have expected President Bush to have kind words for what we are doing. I wasn't sure if he would see the strategic importance of what we are doing but I'm very happy he does. He went on to talk about the importance of private-sector, grass roots activities - people helping people, saying "that's what I believe in." Of course, that's what Spirit of America is about.
For you dog lovers, as we left, we met Barney - the President's dog - and learned that Barney is getting a sister named Beasley.
GENERAL TOMMY FRANKS
Unlike the serendipitous meeting with Pres. Bush, the meeting with Tommy Franks had been in the works for a while. I'm happy to say that he also understands the value of what we're doing. This is best relayed by paraphrasing what he said. Gen Franks makes an important distinction between terrorists and terrorism. He said the military can deal with terrorists pretty well with a 9mm bullet. But terrorism was a whole different, more complex thing. He said he thought that Spirit of America and the America people had a better opportunity to deal with/reduce/defeat (I forget the exact word) terrorism than the U.S. Government bureaucracy. Of course, the commitment of the U.S. Government is essential. His point, I believe, was to highlight the importance of the American people and the particular approach of Spirit of America.
I hope General Franks will be able to be involved in some of our activities moving forward. Either way, we have a great new friend.
Here in Mudville it was Mrs G who led the charge, and though we joined rather late in the effort I'm amazed and grateful to the readers who contributed. Thanks to you all! If you requested pogs and Dinar, they'll get to you. The Mrs has her work cut out for her, and holiday mail being what it is (from around the world, no less), your patience is appreciated.
Kamis, 16 Desember 2004
Power Line: Iraqis Eagerly Await Election
Power Line: Iraqis Eagerly Await Election: "Iraqis Eagerly Await Election
Last night, the Trunk and I (authors of the Powerline Blog) taped a television show. We waited for the taping to start in a green room that included a couple of liberals who derided the 'disaster' in Iraq and sneered at next month's elections. Why? Beats me. Arabs are about to vote in an election, I believe, for the first time in world history (except in Israel, of course). Why isn't that worth celebrating?
Haider Ajani has translated the results of a poll of 5,000 Iraqis, taken in and around Baghdad, that appeared yesterday in the Arabic newspaper Alsabah:
What will you base your vote on?
Political agenda----------------------------65%
Factional origin----------------------------14%
Party Affiliation---------------------------- 4%
National Background----------------------12%
Other reasons--------------------------------5%
Do you support dialog with the deposed Baathists?
Yes-------------------------------------------15%
No--------------------------------------------84%
Do not know----------------------------------1%
Do you support the postponing the election?
Yes-------------------------------------------18%
No--------------------------------------------80%
Do not know---------------------------------2%
Do you think the elections will take place as scheduled?
Yes-------------------------------------------83%
No--------------------------------------------13%
Do not know---------------------------------4%
As we've said before, the only people who want the elections postponed are the ones who want them never to take place. The vast majority of Iraqis can't wait to begin exercising their privileges as free citizens. And it's good to see that an overwhelming majority expect the U.S. to stand by its commitment to January elections, rather than giving in to the terrorists and Democrats. They have learned, I guess, that President Bush is a man who says what he means and means what he says. As, thankfully, have we."
Last night, the Trunk and I (authors of the Powerline Blog) taped a television show. We waited for the taping to start in a green room that included a couple of liberals who derided the 'disaster' in Iraq and sneered at next month's elections. Why? Beats me. Arabs are about to vote in an election, I believe, for the first time in world history (except in Israel, of course). Why isn't that worth celebrating?
Haider Ajani has translated the results of a poll of 5,000 Iraqis, taken in and around Baghdad, that appeared yesterday in the Arabic newspaper Alsabah:
What will you base your vote on?
Political agenda----------------------------65%
Factional origin----------------------------14%
Party Affiliation---------------------------- 4%
National Background----------------------12%
Other reasons--------------------------------5%
Do you support dialog with the deposed Baathists?
Yes-------------------------------------------15%
No--------------------------------------------84%
Do not know----------------------------------1%
Do you support the postponing the election?
Yes-------------------------------------------18%
No--------------------------------------------80%
Do not know---------------------------------2%
Do you think the elections will take place as scheduled?
Yes-------------------------------------------83%
No--------------------------------------------13%
Do not know---------------------------------4%
As we've said before, the only people who want the elections postponed are the ones who want them never to take place. The vast majority of Iraqis can't wait to begin exercising their privileges as free citizens. And it's good to see that an overwhelming majority expect the U.S. to stand by its commitment to January elections, rather than giving in to the terrorists and Democrats. They have learned, I guess, that President Bush is a man who says what he means and means what he says. As, thankfully, have we."
Rabu, 15 Desember 2004
Belmont Club
Belmont Club
Austin Bay, returned from Iraq begins with this provocative leader:
Mark it on your calendar: Next month, the Arab Middle East will revolt. ...
Put a circle around Jan. 9. That's the day Palestinians go to the polls to elect a president. ... Draw another circle around Jan. 30. That's Iraq's first election day. Underline the two weeks prior to Jan. 30. That will be a savage fortnight in which terror campaigns and political campaigns collide. Democratic candidates will be assassinated and polling stations will be blown to bits, as Saddamite and Al Qaeda reactionaries -- the Middle East's ancien regime of tyrant and terrorist -- attempt to force an oppressed people to submit one more time to the yoke of fear.
But they are going to fail.
And earlier Belmont Club post linked to a Marc Ruel Gerecht article which argues much the same thing in principle: that a new Iraqi state represents a real threat to the Mullahs in Iran. He explains why.
Which brings us to the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq. Clerical Iran's primary objective is to ensure that Iraq remains destabilized, incapable of coalescing around a democratically elected government. Such a government supported by Iraq's Shiite establishment is a dagger aimed at Tehran's clerical dictatorship. ... What clerical Iran ideally wants to see next door is strife that can produce an Iraqi Hezbollah. ... The birth of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which Iran's ruling mullahs view as their greatest--only--foreign success, required a civil war and an Israeli invasion. In Iraq, Iran's ruling clerics have an American invasion. What they lack is civil war. ...
If the neighboring one-man, one-vote clerics can be downed and America can be physically and spiritually drained in Iraq, then the two most feared, disruptive forces in Iranian politics--Western-oriented Iranian youth and pro-democracy dissident clerics--can be further weakened. ... In Iraq, the U.S. ought to have two obvious goals. To crush the Sunni insurgency before it can provoke the birth of an exclusive, angry Shiite political identity willing to do to the Arab Sunnis what the Baath once did to the Shia. If such an identity is born, it is most unlikely democracy can prevail. Washington must thus ensure that the democratic process in Iraq, regardless of the violence, keeps on rolling. As long as it does, clerical Iran will not be able to gain much traction inside the country.
The really fascinating aspect of both men's analysis is the idea that freedom and politics are really going to be the agents of destruction for the "ancien regime of tyrant and terrorist", not as a figure of speech but as literal truth. The role of the US military would be strategically indirect and subtle: to ensure that the old regimes cannot contain the forces that would naturally spring up against them.
In this view, victory against terror need not take the form of the 101st Airborne marching into Teheran. It would be enough to merely hold the ring in Iraq to win over the Mullahs. Nations often return to strategies which they are most familiar with. Iran instinctively turned to the Lebanese experience to model its confrontation with America. It was natural that the United States might remember Europe and Korea when at war again. In both cases America won a decisive victory not by marching into Moscow or Pyongyang, but by merely ensuring that Western Europe and South Korea developed separately. In Iraq the old was new again.
John Burns of the New York Times describes the potential of the Iraqi election to rock Damascus, Teheran and even Washington.
On a list of 228 candidates submitted by a powerful Shiite-led political alliance to Iraq's electoral commission last week, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's name was entered as No. 1. It was the clearest indication yet that in the Jan. 30 election, with Iraq's Shiite majority likely to heavily outnumber Sunni voters, Mr. Hakim may emerge as the country's most powerful political figure.
Mr. Hakim, in his early 50's, is a pre-eminent example of a class of Iraqi Shiite leaders with close ties to Iran's ruling ayatollahs. He spent nearly a quarter of a century in exile in Iran. His political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was founded in Tehran, and its military wing fought alongside Iranian troops during the Iran-Iraq war. American intelligence officials say he had close ties with Iran's secret services.
For the United States, and for Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which have Sunni Muslim majorities, the prospect of Mr. Hakim and his associates coming to power raises in stark form the brooding issue of Iran's future influence in Iraq.
It was the Americans who seem most confident about the possible outcomes. "They say Iraqi clerics are generally wary of the idea of religious government, partly because of an entrenched doctrinal opposition among Iraq's Shiite religious leaders to direct rule by clerics, and partly because they recognize that Iraq's Sunni Muslims would fiercely resist it." Hakim himself has publicly said that clerics should keep out of politics and remain in the mosques.
In addition, Iraqi and American officials say, the ethnic and cultural divisions that have carved deep historical fissures between Iran and Iraq militate against Iraq becoming a client state of Iran. ... American and Iraqi officials said polls commissioned by the American occupation authority, and more recently by the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, have shown that ordinary Iraqis, including Shiites, are deeply suspicious of Iran's religious leadership and strongly averse to a government dominated by religious figures. ...
Many American and Iraqi officials say the talk of Iranian influence here reflects what they call a more plausible fear: that Shiite dominance in Iraq, coupled with Shiite rule in Iran, would reshape the geopolitical map of the Middle East. The development would be particularly threatening to Sunni-ruled states that border Iraq and run down the Persian Gulf, the officials say, carrying as it would the threat of increasing unrest among long-suppressed Shiite populations.
The outcome is far from foregone. The great likelihood is that the Palestinian and Iraqi elections, far from pouring oil to calm the waters, is likely to ignite them. While there may be a reduction in physical violence, the elections herald a shift in the ethnic balance of power and inaugurate a new standard for a political change in the Middle East. The US is calculating that its armed forces and political process will give it the edge in the tectonic upheavals that it will itself provoke.
Austin Bay, returned from Iraq begins with this provocative leader:
Mark it on your calendar: Next month, the Arab Middle East will revolt. ...
Put a circle around Jan. 9. That's the day Palestinians go to the polls to elect a president. ... Draw another circle around Jan. 30. That's Iraq's first election day. Underline the two weeks prior to Jan. 30. That will be a savage fortnight in which terror campaigns and political campaigns collide. Democratic candidates will be assassinated and polling stations will be blown to bits, as Saddamite and Al Qaeda reactionaries -- the Middle East's ancien regime of tyrant and terrorist -- attempt to force an oppressed people to submit one more time to the yoke of fear.
But they are going to fail.
And earlier Belmont Club post linked to a Marc Ruel Gerecht article which argues much the same thing in principle: that a new Iraqi state represents a real threat to the Mullahs in Iran. He explains why.
Which brings us to the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq. Clerical Iran's primary objective is to ensure that Iraq remains destabilized, incapable of coalescing around a democratically elected government. Such a government supported by Iraq's Shiite establishment is a dagger aimed at Tehran's clerical dictatorship. ... What clerical Iran ideally wants to see next door is strife that can produce an Iraqi Hezbollah. ... The birth of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which Iran's ruling mullahs view as their greatest--only--foreign success, required a civil war and an Israeli invasion. In Iraq, Iran's ruling clerics have an American invasion. What they lack is civil war. ...
If the neighboring one-man, one-vote clerics can be downed and America can be physically and spiritually drained in Iraq, then the two most feared, disruptive forces in Iranian politics--Western-oriented Iranian youth and pro-democracy dissident clerics--can be further weakened. ... In Iraq, the U.S. ought to have two obvious goals. To crush the Sunni insurgency before it can provoke the birth of an exclusive, angry Shiite political identity willing to do to the Arab Sunnis what the Baath once did to the Shia. If such an identity is born, it is most unlikely democracy can prevail. Washington must thus ensure that the democratic process in Iraq, regardless of the violence, keeps on rolling. As long as it does, clerical Iran will not be able to gain much traction inside the country.
The really fascinating aspect of both men's analysis is the idea that freedom and politics are really going to be the agents of destruction for the "ancien regime of tyrant and terrorist", not as a figure of speech but as literal truth. The role of the US military would be strategically indirect and subtle: to ensure that the old regimes cannot contain the forces that would naturally spring up against them.
In this view, victory against terror need not take the form of the 101st Airborne marching into Teheran. It would be enough to merely hold the ring in Iraq to win over the Mullahs. Nations often return to strategies which they are most familiar with. Iran instinctively turned to the Lebanese experience to model its confrontation with America. It was natural that the United States might remember Europe and Korea when at war again. In both cases America won a decisive victory not by marching into Moscow or Pyongyang, but by merely ensuring that Western Europe and South Korea developed separately. In Iraq the old was new again.
John Burns of the New York Times describes the potential of the Iraqi election to rock Damascus, Teheran and even Washington.
On a list of 228 candidates submitted by a powerful Shiite-led political alliance to Iraq's electoral commission last week, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's name was entered as No. 1. It was the clearest indication yet that in the Jan. 30 election, with Iraq's Shiite majority likely to heavily outnumber Sunni voters, Mr. Hakim may emerge as the country's most powerful political figure.
Mr. Hakim, in his early 50's, is a pre-eminent example of a class of Iraqi Shiite leaders with close ties to Iran's ruling ayatollahs. He spent nearly a quarter of a century in exile in Iran. His political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was founded in Tehran, and its military wing fought alongside Iranian troops during the Iran-Iraq war. American intelligence officials say he had close ties with Iran's secret services.
For the United States, and for Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which have Sunni Muslim majorities, the prospect of Mr. Hakim and his associates coming to power raises in stark form the brooding issue of Iran's future influence in Iraq.
It was the Americans who seem most confident about the possible outcomes. "They say Iraqi clerics are generally wary of the idea of religious government, partly because of an entrenched doctrinal opposition among Iraq's Shiite religious leaders to direct rule by clerics, and partly because they recognize that Iraq's Sunni Muslims would fiercely resist it." Hakim himself has publicly said that clerics should keep out of politics and remain in the mosques.
In addition, Iraqi and American officials say, the ethnic and cultural divisions that have carved deep historical fissures between Iran and Iraq militate against Iraq becoming a client state of Iran. ... American and Iraqi officials said polls commissioned by the American occupation authority, and more recently by the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, have shown that ordinary Iraqis, including Shiites, are deeply suspicious of Iran's religious leadership and strongly averse to a government dominated by religious figures. ...
Many American and Iraqi officials say the talk of Iranian influence here reflects what they call a more plausible fear: that Shiite dominance in Iraq, coupled with Shiite rule in Iran, would reshape the geopolitical map of the Middle East. The development would be particularly threatening to Sunni-ruled states that border Iraq and run down the Persian Gulf, the officials say, carrying as it would the threat of increasing unrest among long-suppressed Shiite populations.
The outcome is far from foregone. The great likelihood is that the Palestinian and Iraqi elections, far from pouring oil to calm the waters, is likely to ignite them. While there may be a reduction in physical violence, the elections herald a shift in the ethnic balance of power and inaugurate a new standard for a political change in the Middle East. The US is calculating that its armed forces and political process will give it the edge in the tectonic upheavals that it will itself provoke.
Power Line: Missile Defense "Failure"? MSM Exageration!
Power Line: Missile Defense "Failure"?
The MSM will continue to denounce missile defense as impossible--I think they've given up on the argument that it would be "destabilizing"--right up to the moment when it is successfully deployed.
The MSM will continue to denounce missile defense as impossible--I think they've given up on the argument that it would be "destabilizing"--right up to the moment when it is successfully deployed.
Andrew Olmsted dot com: There Is Just One More Thing...
Andrew Olmsted dot com: There Is Just One More Thing...: "Over at the Angry Bear you can see a graph displaying the projected surpluses and deficits in Social Security and the General Fund (i.e., the rest of the federal budget) through 2012. The Bear's point is well taken: for the next fifteen years, at least, the bigger problem we're facing is the fact our government is spending a lot more every year than it takes in in taxes, a spending plan that seems a bit more urgent to address.
On the one hand, this can be construed as another example of the you're f'd up syndrome I discussed the other day. The fact that we've got a serious problem living within our means doesn't mean we can't also address the question of how to deal with Social Security's problems.
On the other hand, if we don't get federal spending under control, we're probably going to run off the rails well before 2017. In this instance, I think the Bear wins on points. I'd prefer to fix both problems, but we don't live in a perfect world, and the budget problem is more significant than the Social Security problem.
Posted at 07:14 AM | Politics | TrackBack (0)
"
On the one hand, this can be construed as another example of the you're f'd up syndrome I discussed the other day. The fact that we've got a serious problem living within our means doesn't mean we can't also address the question of how to deal with Social Security's problems.
On the other hand, if we don't get federal spending under control, we're probably going to run off the rails well before 2017. In this instance, I think the Bear wins on points. I'd prefer to fix both problems, but we don't live in a perfect world, and the budget problem is more significant than the Social Security problem.
Posted at 07:14 AM | Politics | TrackBack (0)
"
Selasa, 14 Desember 2004
Minggu, 12 Desember 2004
Right Wing Spic: Please don't ridicule Kwanzaa, the made-up holiday.
Right Wing Spic: Please don't ridicule Kwanzaa, the made-up holiday.: "A Brief History of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana 'Ron' Karenga, a former black militant, Marxist and convicted felon. Claiming to have the unity of black people in mind, Karenga committed most of his crimes against blacks (click the headline above). Approximately five years after Karenga invented Kwanzaa, he was convicted of torturing two black women by stripping them naked, beating them with electrical cords, placing a hot iron into the mouth of one and mangling the toe of the other in a vice. During the ordeal, he forced them to drink detergent.
For some reason, most Kwanzaa greeting cards don't mention this information. I assure you they would if I were designing them.
According to Karenga, Christianity is a myth: 'Belief in spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives must be categorized as spookism and condemned.' Now he claims that the purpose of Kwanzaa is to give 'reverence to the Creator.' That's interesting - is he referring to the same creator whose existence he flat-out denied just a few years earlier? I'm confused.
According to the article linked above, Karenga has concocted some bits of lore, lingo, and mumbo-jumbo that are intended to make Kwanzaa look like something out of Africa instead of something from Los Angeles County (its true origins), but his efforts have been feeble. If you scan The Official Kwanzaa Web Site you'll read that the origins of Kwanzaa lie in 'the first harvest celebrations of Africa,' which allegedly 'are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia' -- but there is no explanation of why any ancient Egyptians or Nubians might have held harvest festivals around the time of the winter solstice, and there is no identification of the crops that they harvested. Karenga's formula for celebrating Kwanzaa requires the use of two ears of maize -- but maize is a New World plant, and it wasn't known at all in ancient Africa. Whoops.
Again, I urge you not to make fun of this spiritual, deeply serious holiday. Stop laughing, I'm trying to be multicultural."
Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Dr. Maulana 'Ron' Karenga, a former black militant, Marxist and convicted felon. Claiming to have the unity of black people in mind, Karenga committed most of his crimes against blacks (click the headline above). Approximately five years after Karenga invented Kwanzaa, he was convicted of torturing two black women by stripping them naked, beating them with electrical cords, placing a hot iron into the mouth of one and mangling the toe of the other in a vice. During the ordeal, he forced them to drink detergent.
For some reason, most Kwanzaa greeting cards don't mention this information. I assure you they would if I were designing them.
According to Karenga, Christianity is a myth: 'Belief in spooks who threaten us if we don't worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives must be categorized as spookism and condemned.' Now he claims that the purpose of Kwanzaa is to give 'reverence to the Creator.' That's interesting - is he referring to the same creator whose existence he flat-out denied just a few years earlier? I'm confused.
According to the article linked above, Karenga has concocted some bits of lore, lingo, and mumbo-jumbo that are intended to make Kwanzaa look like something out of Africa instead of something from Los Angeles County (its true origins), but his efforts have been feeble. If you scan The Official Kwanzaa Web Site you'll read that the origins of Kwanzaa lie in 'the first harvest celebrations of Africa,' which allegedly 'are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia' -- but there is no explanation of why any ancient Egyptians or Nubians might have held harvest festivals around the time of the winter solstice, and there is no identification of the crops that they harvested. Karenga's formula for celebrating Kwanzaa requires the use of two ears of maize -- but maize is a New World plant, and it wasn't known at all in ancient Africa. Whoops.
Again, I urge you not to make fun of this spiritual, deeply serious holiday. Stop laughing, I'm trying to be multicultural."
Andrew Olmsted dot com: Politics and War
Andrew Olmsted dot com: Politics and War: "Would it be better to make sure that every soldier we send into battle is equipped with the latest and greatest equipment available? Absolutely. But we're not willing to pay that price, and with good reason. One uparmored HMMWV runs $155,000, and the military needs close to 10,000 for operations in Iraq. That would mean we would have needed a stockpile of $1,550,000,000 worth of HMMWVs alone standing by for the operation (and probably more, but call it $1.5 billion for argument's sake). Add to that the costs of maintaining a fleet of uparmored HMMWVs (since they require additional maintenance and training to operate), and you're talking a nontrivial addition to the defense budget. In retrospect it seems cheap, a few billion dollars, but in peacetime any expenditure on the military frequently is seen as expendable when balanced against more constituent-pleasing expenditures like, well, take your pick."
Kamis, 09 Desember 2004
BLACKFIVE: The President That You Never Hear About
BLACKFIVE: The President That You Never Hear About: "Here is a report about the President's recent visit to Camp Pendleton on Tuesday to speak to the Marines and their families. It is certainly worth the read.
(From the San Diego Union Tribune)
In all of the stories about the President's visit, there are many soundbites and a lot of quotes of the President praising Marines for a job well done in Iraq.
But what you may not know from the MSM is that he was at Camp Pendleton for another reason. Some of the articles touch briefly on that reason, but they don't (or won't) do it justice. This is from a Marine Colonel at Pendleton who writes of the President's visit:
...we had the lead for the POTUS visit and I was privileged to spend much of the day with him. Let me tell you something that was, very deliberately, not in the news. President Bush came here for two reasons. To thank the Marines and sailors of Camp Pendleton for all they do, and to meet with the families of our fallen warriors. The first part was public. The second - and I believe far more important - was to meet privately with 170 family members who had lost a loved one. He forbade the press corps from viewing or photographing any of it.
The Plt Sgt Mitchell Paige Fieldhouse (a brand new $12.5m facility) has two basketball courts. One was curtained off and decks covered where he met with them together. Then, he met with the family members of each fallen Marine in the other gym individually. Having had the duty of a Casualty Assistance and Notification Officer many times in the past, I know how emotionally draining it is to talk to even one family at a time. When we put the President back on Marine One some three hours later, he was as somber and drained as I've ever seen him. It took an emotional toll on everyone involved.
Obviously, he did not have to make this visit. He could have delegated that task to anyone to do it for him. I have great respect for ones that will do the 'right' thing, regardless of how tough it is.
Just thought you would like to hear a bit of the background."
(From the San Diego Union Tribune)
In all of the stories about the President's visit, there are many soundbites and a lot of quotes of the President praising Marines for a job well done in Iraq.
But what you may not know from the MSM is that he was at Camp Pendleton for another reason. Some of the articles touch briefly on that reason, but they don't (or won't) do it justice. This is from a Marine Colonel at Pendleton who writes of the President's visit:
...we had the lead for the POTUS visit and I was privileged to spend much of the day with him. Let me tell you something that was, very deliberately, not in the news. President Bush came here for two reasons. To thank the Marines and sailors of Camp Pendleton for all they do, and to meet with the families of our fallen warriors. The first part was public. The second - and I believe far more important - was to meet privately with 170 family members who had lost a loved one. He forbade the press corps from viewing or photographing any of it.
The Plt Sgt Mitchell Paige Fieldhouse (a brand new $12.5m facility) has two basketball courts. One was curtained off and decks covered where he met with them together. Then, he met with the family members of each fallen Marine in the other gym individually. Having had the duty of a Casualty Assistance and Notification Officer many times in the past, I know how emotionally draining it is to talk to even one family at a time. When we put the President back on Marine One some three hours later, he was as somber and drained as I've ever seen him. It took an emotional toll on everyone involved.
Obviously, he did not have to make this visit. He could have delegated that task to anyone to do it for him. I have great respect for ones that will do the 'right' thing, regardless of how tough it is.
Just thought you would like to hear a bit of the background."
BLACKFIVE: Warrior's Last Request - We Need Your Help! WOW!
BLACKFIVE: Warrior's Last Request - We Need Your Help!Please help with this one.
Damn, just damn. Specialist David Mahlenbrock was killed by an IED on December 3rd in Kirkuk, Iraq.
I received this email via Soldier's Angels. It's from David's Squad in Bravo, 65th Engineers and they are forwarding a request from David. It appears that David had a special letter sent to his squad in the event of his death. Hold on to your seats, folks:
Dear 1st Squad,
If you’re reading this, then I’ve died for our country. I just hope it wasn’t for nothing.
After the IED went off yesterday, I wanted to write this in case something happens to me. There are a few more letters that I’d like you to give my wife and family.
I’d like to have a military funeral, but, if you can work please make sure that Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” is played at the ceremony in addition to the bagpipes. If they won’t let it happen, that’s ok, thanks for trying…...
I know that all the belongings I have here will go to Melissa, but there are a few more things I’d like for you guys to make sure she gets. I have a dog tag w/ our picture on it along w/ some pictures and an American flag in my left breast pocket. There is also a can that says “Son” on it that Melissa’s parents gave me that I’d like for them to have, and that angel stone should go to her grandma and grandpa Snow.
Now if I died w/ blue eyes (one blew that way and one blew the other way) and there’s nothing really left of me, that’s ok, I know you meant well.
Alright, enough with the dead guy’s last request, there’s a lot of thank you’s I wanna say to you fellas……
Specialist David Mahlenbrock will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary on Wednesday, December 15th at 10AM EST. David's family and friends are asking radio stations to play Toby Keith's "American Soldier" on the 15th at 1pm EST with a dedication to Specialist David Mahlenbrock.
Let's see what we can do. Email or call the radio stations in your area and ask them to play this dedication to David. Feel free to copy this post to send to them.
The biggest and best country music station in the world is here in Chicago (US 99). I'm calling them and others right now.
Damn, just damn. Specialist David Mahlenbrock was killed by an IED on December 3rd in Kirkuk, Iraq.
I received this email via Soldier's Angels. It's from David's Squad in Bravo, 65th Engineers and they are forwarding a request from David. It appears that David had a special letter sent to his squad in the event of his death. Hold on to your seats, folks:
Dear 1st Squad,
If you’re reading this, then I’ve died for our country. I just hope it wasn’t for nothing.
After the IED went off yesterday, I wanted to write this in case something happens to me. There are a few more letters that I’d like you to give my wife and family.
I’d like to have a military funeral, but, if you can work please make sure that Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” is played at the ceremony in addition to the bagpipes. If they won’t let it happen, that’s ok, thanks for trying…...
I know that all the belongings I have here will go to Melissa, but there are a few more things I’d like for you guys to make sure she gets. I have a dog tag w/ our picture on it along w/ some pictures and an American flag in my left breast pocket. There is also a can that says “Son” on it that Melissa’s parents gave me that I’d like for them to have, and that angel stone should go to her grandma and grandpa Snow.
Now if I died w/ blue eyes (one blew that way and one blew the other way) and there’s nothing really left of me, that’s ok, I know you meant well.
Alright, enough with the dead guy’s last request, there’s a lot of thank you’s I wanna say to you fellas……
Specialist David Mahlenbrock will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary on Wednesday, December 15th at 10AM EST. David's family and friends are asking radio stations to play Toby Keith's "American Soldier" on the 15th at 1pm EST with a dedication to Specialist David Mahlenbrock.
Let's see what we can do. Email or call the radio stations in your area and ask them to play this dedication to David. Feel free to copy this post to send to them.
The biggest and best country music station in the world is here in Chicago (US 99). I'm calling them and others right now.
Selasa, 07 Desember 2004
2Slick's Forum: Let's Remember Pearl Harbor
2Slick's Forum: Let's Remember Pearl Harbor: "Why did the United States go to war with Germany in WWII? Those certainly weren't German Stukas and NAZI pilots over Pearl Harbor on December 7th. It was because Hitler supported Japan-not because they ever attacked us or had plans to do so. Pearl Harbor was specifically the result of a US oil embargo placed upon Japan as a result of the Japanese occupation of formerly French Indochina�an occupation permitted by the Germans who had recently conquered France and controlled its holdings-but the embargo was place upon Japan-not Germany. So, how did the United States interpret the 12/7 attacks as a final step into war with both Japan AND with Germany if Germany had nothing to do with 12/7?"
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | This is their civil war
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | This is their civil war: "In 1864, 11 of the 36 states did not participate in the American presidential election. Was Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate?
In 1868, three years after the security situation had, shall we say, stabilised, three states (and not insignificant ones: Texas, Virginia and Mississippi) did not participate in the election. Was Grant's election illegitimate?
There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide that they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, which ended with 30 years of Saddam Hussein's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and to participate in the new Iraq.
Americans are dying right now to give them that very chance. The US is making a costly last-ditch effort to midwife a new, unitary Iraq. The Falluja offensive and related actions are designed to reduce the brutal intimidation of the Sunni population by the dead-end Ba'athists and others seeking to retake the power that they enjoyed under Saddam. But when those offensives are over, the Sunnis themselves - ordinary people who, out of either fear or sympathy, have been giving refuge and support to the terrorist insurgents - will have to make a choice. Either they join the new Iraq by participating in the coming election, or they institutionalise the civil war that their side has already begun.
Advertiser links
Shop for Desktops at inStore
Visit inStore by AOL�, the new quick and simple way of...
instore.com
Compare Desktops Prices & Buy Onli"
In 1868, three years after the security situation had, shall we say, stabilised, three states (and not insignificant ones: Texas, Virginia and Mississippi) did not participate in the election. Was Grant's election illegitimate?
There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide that they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, which ended with 30 years of Saddam Hussein's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and to participate in the new Iraq.
Americans are dying right now to give them that very chance. The US is making a costly last-ditch effort to midwife a new, unitary Iraq. The Falluja offensive and related actions are designed to reduce the brutal intimidation of the Sunni population by the dead-end Ba'athists and others seeking to retake the power that they enjoyed under Saddam. But when those offensives are over, the Sunnis themselves - ordinary people who, out of either fear or sympathy, have been giving refuge and support to the terrorist insurgents - will have to make a choice. Either they join the new Iraq by participating in the coming election, or they institutionalise the civil war that their side has already begun.
Advertiser links
Shop for Desktops at inStore
Visit inStore by AOL�, the new quick and simple way of...
instore.com
Compare Desktops Prices & Buy Onli"
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: "
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: "
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: " > > >
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Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: " > > >
* * *
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Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: " > > >
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Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004
Power Line: Pearl Harbor Day 2004: "The day after the devastating Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Congress with his eloquent speech requesting a declaration of war. The clarity of his words remains bracing, even 63 years after the horrible day: " > > >
Senin, 06 Desember 2004
Small Town Veteran: It's still Sept. 12, and it will be for quite a while.
Small Town Veteran: It's still Sept. 12, and it will be for quite a while.: "It's September 12th. For some of us, it will be for a long time to come. For other's, it was September 10th again before the WTC even quit smoking. If you're back in that September 10th world, here are some links I hope you'll click to refresh your memory.
Read how Lila remembers that day.
Read how Greyhawk remembers it.
Read about young Sara's grasp of the situation.
Did you see the poster Michele and Lisa put together? Look at it again.
Maybe Charles Johnson's slideshow will refresh your memory.
Or how about a short movie?
Didn't enjoy that one? How about this one?"
Read how Lila remembers that day.
Read how Greyhawk remembers it.
Read about young Sara's grasp of the situation.
Did you see the poster Michele and Lisa put together? Look at it again.
Maybe Charles Johnson's slideshow will refresh your memory.
Or how about a short movie?
Didn't enjoy that one? How about this one?"
Sabtu, 04 Desember 2004
WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE"
Itzaz� Around Here!Thursday, December 02, 2004
WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE"
Let me explain what a conservative is.
A conservative believes that not only should the Supreme Court strictly construe the Constitution, but so should the president, the House, the Senate, governors, mayors and everybody else. . . . To strictly construe the Constitution is to recognize that it is not a ‘living document’ to be amended by interpretation, but rather is a contract between the states and the federal government. To be properly construed, it must be read in the context of the times in which it was written and adopted.
A conservative is against foreign aid. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to tax the American people and then hand their money to a foreign government as either a gift or a loan. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to provide welfare, health care, housing or education. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention abortion or gay marriage. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize either individuals or corporations.
Philosophical and moral issues are to be decided by the legislatures of the states, not by federal courts or even by Congress, whose duties and powers are strictly limited by the Constitution. Whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry or form civil unions and whether abortion should be legal or illegal are both questions to be decided by the state legislatures. No state or federal judge should have a say in the matter, and Congress likewise has no authority to intervene one way or the other.
A conservative Christian believes that his own soul is not imperiled if other people down the street decide to do some sinning. A conservative Christian recognizes that he is commanded to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the sick and dying. He is not commanded to shift this responsibility to government. He is not commanded to judge other people's lives and to regulate their behavior. A conservative Christian recognizes that something does not have to be illegal in order for him to refrain from doing it.
A conservative believes in the real, traditional values of this country: courage, hard work, self-reliance, frugality, chastity before marriage, faithfulness after marriage, loyalty to family and loyalty to the Constitution. Loyalty to a political party or to a politician is profoundly un-American.
- Columnist Charley Reese
WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE"
Let me explain what a conservative is.
A conservative believes that not only should the Supreme Court strictly construe the Constitution, but so should the president, the House, the Senate, governors, mayors and everybody else. . . . To strictly construe the Constitution is to recognize that it is not a ‘living document’ to be amended by interpretation, but rather is a contract between the states and the federal government. To be properly construed, it must be read in the context of the times in which it was written and adopted.
A conservative is against foreign aid. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to tax the American people and then hand their money to a foreign government as either a gift or a loan. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to provide welfare, health care, housing or education. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention abortion or gay marriage. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize either individuals or corporations.
Philosophical and moral issues are to be decided by the legislatures of the states, not by federal courts or even by Congress, whose duties and powers are strictly limited by the Constitution. Whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry or form civil unions and whether abortion should be legal or illegal are both questions to be decided by the state legislatures. No state or federal judge should have a say in the matter, and Congress likewise has no authority to intervene one way or the other.
A conservative Christian believes that his own soul is not imperiled if other people down the street decide to do some sinning. A conservative Christian recognizes that he is commanded to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the sick and dying. He is not commanded to shift this responsibility to government. He is not commanded to judge other people's lives and to regulate their behavior. A conservative Christian recognizes that something does not have to be illegal in order for him to refrain from doing it.
A conservative believes in the real, traditional values of this country: courage, hard work, self-reliance, frugality, chastity before marriage, faithfulness after marriage, loyalty to family and loyalty to the Constitution. Loyalty to a political party or to a politician is profoundly un-American.
- Columnist Charley Reese
Itzaz� Around Here!
Itzaz� Around Here!WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE" Thursday, December 02, 2004
WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE"
Let me explain what a conservative is.
A conservative believes that not only should the Supreme Court strictly construe the Constitution, but so should the president, the House, the Senate, governors, mayors and everybody else. . . . To strictly construe the Constitution is to recognize that it is not a ‘living document’ to be amended by interpretation, but rather is a contract between the states and the federal government. To be properly construed, it must be read in the context of the times in which it was written and adopted.
A conservative is against foreign aid. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to tax the American people and then hand their money to a foreign government as either a gift or a loan. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to provide welfare, health care, housing or education. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention abortion or gay marriage. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize either individuals or corporations.
Philosophical and moral issues are to be decided by the legislatures of the states, not by federal courts or even by Congress, whose duties and powers are strictly limited by the Constitution. Whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry or form civil unions and whether abortion should be legal or illegal are both questions to be decided by the state legislatures. No state or federal judge should have a say in the matter, and Congress likewise has no authority to intervene one way or the other.
A conservative Christian believes that his own soul is not imperiled if other people down the street decide to do some sinning. A conservative Christian recognizes that he is commanded to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the sick and dying. He is not commanded to shift this responsibility to government. He is not commanded to judge other people's lives and to regulate their behavior. A conservative Christian recognizes that something does not have to be illegal in order for him to refrain from doing it.
A conservative believes in the real, traditional values of this country: courage, hard work, self-reliance, frugality, chastity before marriage, faithfulness after marriage, loyalty to family and loyalty to the Constitution. Loyalty to a political party or to a politician is profoundly un-American.
- Columnist Charley Reese
WHAT IS A "CONSERVATIVE"
Let me explain what a conservative is.
A conservative believes that not only should the Supreme Court strictly construe the Constitution, but so should the president, the House, the Senate, governors, mayors and everybody else. . . . To strictly construe the Constitution is to recognize that it is not a ‘living document’ to be amended by interpretation, but rather is a contract between the states and the federal government. To be properly construed, it must be read in the context of the times in which it was written and adopted.
A conservative is against foreign aid. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to tax the American people and then hand their money to a foreign government as either a gift or a loan. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to provide welfare, health care, housing or education. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention abortion or gay marriage. Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize either individuals or corporations.
Philosophical and moral issues are to be decided by the legislatures of the states, not by federal courts or even by Congress, whose duties and powers are strictly limited by the Constitution. Whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry or form civil unions and whether abortion should be legal or illegal are both questions to be decided by the state legislatures. No state or federal judge should have a say in the matter, and Congress likewise has no authority to intervene one way or the other.
A conservative Christian believes that his own soul is not imperiled if other people down the street decide to do some sinning. A conservative Christian recognizes that he is commanded to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and comfort the sick and dying. He is not commanded to shift this responsibility to government. He is not commanded to judge other people's lives and to regulate their behavior. A conservative Christian recognizes that something does not have to be illegal in order for him to refrain from doing it.
A conservative believes in the real, traditional values of this country: courage, hard work, self-reliance, frugality, chastity before marriage, faithfulness after marriage, loyalty to family and loyalty to the Constitution. Loyalty to a political party or to a politician is profoundly un-American.
- Columnist Charley Reese
Kamis, 02 Desember 2004
WorldNetDaily: The Age of Immorality Hal Lindsey
WorldNetDaily: The Age of Immorality: "In 1980, Air Canada flight attendant Gaetan Dugas was diagnosed with the first North American case of AIDS. Dugas was a notoriously promiscuous homosexual who reputedly had sex with as many as 250 partners a year in gay 'bathhouses.'
By the end of that year, there were 31 deaths in the United States, confined within the homosexual community. (Dugas himself survived until 1984, by which time AIDS had begun reaching epidemic proportions.)
Currently, it is estimated that almost 1 million Americans are now infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. And women account for almost half of all HIV victims."
By the end of that year, there were 31 deaths in the United States, confined within the homosexual community. (Dugas himself survived until 1984, by which time AIDS had begun reaching epidemic proportions.)
Currently, it is estimated that almost 1 million Americans are now infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. And women account for almost half of all HIV victims."
The Seattle Times: Opinion: Think Canada's the place to be? Think again
The Seattle Times: Opinion: Think Canada's the place to be? Think again: "Think Canada's the place to be? Think again"
Kinsey was without a doubt one of the most vile Researchers!!!
The American Thinker
Kinsey is without a doubt one of the most vile, destructive and perverted individuals I have ever had the displeasure of studying. It’s quite obvious to me that his misbegotten pseudo-scientific endeavors were simply a vehicle through which he could indulge his perversion, make money, and work to destroy the traditional standard of morality that condemned the dark sins for which he had developed such an affinity. And to buttress this point I’ll quote the Intercollegiate Review one last time: “[this was] a pervert's attempt to demonstrate that perversion is statistically ‘normal.’”
Kinsey is without a doubt one of the most vile, destructive and perverted individuals I have ever had the displeasure of studying. It’s quite obvious to me that his misbegotten pseudo-scientific endeavors were simply a vehicle through which he could indulge his perversion, make money, and work to destroy the traditional standard of morality that condemned the dark sins for which he had developed such an affinity. And to buttress this point I’ll quote the Intercollegiate Review one last time: “[this was] a pervert's attempt to demonstrate that perversion is statistically ‘normal.’”
The Adventures of Chester!!!!!
The Adventures of Chester: "Former Marine officer who participated in the Iraqi campaign."
Selasa, 30 November 2004
Senin, 29 November 2004
Yahoo! News - U.S. General Warns Iran Against Exploiting U.S.
Yahoo! News - U.S. General Warns Iran Against Exploiting U.S.: "U.S. General Warns Iran Against Exploiting U.S.
Mon Nov 29, 7:20 AM ET
Add to My Yahoo! Top Stories - Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq (news - web sites) warned Iran and others in comments published on Monday to think twice before trying to take advantage of the U.S. military at a time when it is fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Photo
Reuters Photo
Special Coverages
Latest headlines:
� Saddam Aides to Appear Before Tribunal Next Month
Reuters - 18 minutes ago
� Powell Confident Iraq Elections Will Go Ahead
Reuters - 25 minutes ago
� 'No reason' Iraqi polls should be delayed, Powell says
AFP - 48 minutes ago
Special Coverage
'Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me,' Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with USA Today.
Abizaid, who was speaking in Qatar, was asked about concerns in Congress that a shortage of U.S. troops might tempt nations such as Iran or North Korea (news - web sites), both accused by Washington of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Abizaid, the top U.S. military commander for Iraq and Afghanistan, said the armed forces were not overextended.
The United States has 138,000 troops in Iraq and more than 18,000 in Afghanistan, with others deployed in Kuwait, Japan, Germany, Africa, South Korea (news - web sites) and Bosnia.
'We can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on Earth, and everybody knows it,' Abizaid said. 'If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power that can match the United States militarily.'
Washington and some Iraqi officials have accused Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with money, arms and militants, but on Sunday Tehran said it was ready to co-operate with Iraq to stop militants crossing their mountainous 1,000-mile border.
'We have no intention of interfering in Iraq's state matters. Iraq's stability is necessary for Iran's security,' Iran's deputy interior minister for security affairs, Ali Asghar Ahmadi, said in Tehran.
He told a news conference Iran was ready to help train Iraqi security forces."
Mon Nov 29, 7:20 AM ET
Add to My Yahoo! Top Stories - Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq (news - web sites) warned Iran and others in comments published on Monday to think twice before trying to take advantage of the U.S. military at a time when it is fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites).
Photo
Reuters Photo
Special Coverages
Latest headlines:
� Saddam Aides to Appear Before Tribunal Next Month
Reuters - 18 minutes ago
� Powell Confident Iraq Elections Will Go Ahead
Reuters - 25 minutes ago
� 'No reason' Iraqi polls should be delayed, Powell says
AFP - 48 minutes ago
Special Coverage
'Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me,' Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with USA Today.
Abizaid, who was speaking in Qatar, was asked about concerns in Congress that a shortage of U.S. troops might tempt nations such as Iran or North Korea (news - web sites), both accused by Washington of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
Abizaid, the top U.S. military commander for Iraq and Afghanistan, said the armed forces were not overextended.
The United States has 138,000 troops in Iraq and more than 18,000 in Afghanistan, with others deployed in Kuwait, Japan, Germany, Africa, South Korea (news - web sites) and Bosnia.
'We can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on Earth, and everybody knows it,' Abizaid said. 'If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power that can match the United States militarily.'
Washington and some Iraqi officials have accused Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with money, arms and militants, but on Sunday Tehran said it was ready to co-operate with Iraq to stop militants crossing their mountainous 1,000-mile border.
'We have no intention of interfering in Iraq's state matters. Iraq's stability is necessary for Iran's security,' Iran's deputy interior minister for security affairs, Ali Asghar Ahmadi, said in Tehran.
He told a news conference Iran was ready to help train Iraqi security forces."
NewsMax.com: Inside Cover Story
NewsMax.com: Inside Cover Story: "Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004 12:53 p.m. EST
Zarqawi: U.S. 'Infidels' Have Us on the Ropes
The world's most dangerous terrorist, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, announced on Wednesday that the battle of Fallujah was a massive defeat for the Iraqi insurgency, blaming the debacle on Sunni Muslim clerics who failed to support his reign of terror.
'Hundreds of thousands of the nation's sons are being slaughtered at the hands of the infidels because of your silence,' Zarqawi said in an audiotape posted on an Islamic Web site known as al-Qala'a, which has been a mailbox for Islamic militant groups.
Story Continues Below
'You have let us down in the darkest circumstances and handed us over to the enemy,' the notorious mass murderer complained. 'You have stopped supporting the holy warriors.'
The finger-pointing tape from Zarqawi is the clearest indication yet that the U.S. offensive in Fallujah has been a massive success and could be the beginning of a rout for terrorist forces in Iraq.
The tape reveals the Jordanian-born terrorist sounding desperate as he admits that his forces are 'surrounded' by U.S. troops, who are 'cutting the throats of the holy warriors.'
'Are your hearts not shaken by the scenes of your brothers being surrounded and hurt by your enemy?' he asks plaintively.
'How long will you continue to abandon the nation to the tyrants of the east and of the west, who are inflicting the worst suffering, cutting the throats of the holy warriors, the best children of the nation, and taking its riches? ...
'You made peace with the tyranny and handed over the country and its people to the Jews and Crusaders by resorting to silence on their crimes and preventing our youth from heading to the battlefields in order to defend our religion,' he complained.
Though the Zarqawi tape is the best news to come out of Iraq since Saddam Hussein's capture last year, the American press has downplayed the story.
The New York Times, for instance, covered the top terrorist's stunning admission on page A22 of its little-read Thanksgiving Day edition.
The Washington Post buried the bombshell news in a Thanksgiving Day report headlined 'American Envoy Killed in Baghdad,' where quotes from the Zarqawi tape weren't even mentioned until the 17th paragraph."
Zarqawi: U.S. 'Infidels' Have Us on the Ropes
The world's most dangerous terrorist, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, announced on Wednesday that the battle of Fallujah was a massive defeat for the Iraqi insurgency, blaming the debacle on Sunni Muslim clerics who failed to support his reign of terror.
'Hundreds of thousands of the nation's sons are being slaughtered at the hands of the infidels because of your silence,' Zarqawi said in an audiotape posted on an Islamic Web site known as al-Qala'a, which has been a mailbox for Islamic militant groups.
Story Continues Below
'You have let us down in the darkest circumstances and handed us over to the enemy,' the notorious mass murderer complained. 'You have stopped supporting the holy warriors.'
The finger-pointing tape from Zarqawi is the clearest indication yet that the U.S. offensive in Fallujah has been a massive success and could be the beginning of a rout for terrorist forces in Iraq.
The tape reveals the Jordanian-born terrorist sounding desperate as he admits that his forces are 'surrounded' by U.S. troops, who are 'cutting the throats of the holy warriors.'
'Are your hearts not shaken by the scenes of your brothers being surrounded and hurt by your enemy?' he asks plaintively.
'How long will you continue to abandon the nation to the tyrants of the east and of the west, who are inflicting the worst suffering, cutting the throats of the holy warriors, the best children of the nation, and taking its riches? ...
'You made peace with the tyranny and handed over the country and its people to the Jews and Crusaders by resorting to silence on their crimes and preventing our youth from heading to the battlefields in order to defend our religion,' he complained.
Though the Zarqawi tape is the best news to come out of Iraq since Saddam Hussein's capture last year, the American press has downplayed the story.
The New York Times, for instance, covered the top terrorist's stunning admission on page A22 of its little-read Thanksgiving Day edition.
The Washington Post buried the bombshell news in a Thanksgiving Day report headlined 'American Envoy Killed in Baghdad,' where quotes from the Zarqawi tape weren't even mentioned until the 17th paragraph."
Yahoo! News - U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
Yahoo! News - U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
Sat Nov 27, 2:12 PM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Twenty months after toppling Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), U.S. troops still battling his followers in the heartland of Iraq (news - web sites)'s old arms industry are hitting back with a new weapon -- ex-members of Saddam's special forces.
For five months, Iraqi police commandos calling themselves the Black Scorpions have been based with U.S. Marines in the region along the Euphrates south of Baghdad, which roadside bombs, ambushes and kidnaps have turned into a no-go areas and earned it the melodramatic description "triangle of death."
"All of them were previously officers in the Iraqi army or special forces," the Scorpions' commander, Colonel Salaam Trad, said at the Marines' Kalsu base near Iskandariya on Saturday.
"But Saddam was dirty and no good for Iraq."
The performance of this SWAT team, as the Americans call it, could be a critical test of how U.S. forces can hand over to Iraqis to meet their goal of withdrawing from a stable Iraq. U. S. officers in the area say they are increasingly optimistic.
"The hardest fighters we have are the former special forces from Saddam's days," Colonel Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told reporters.
Praising their local knowledge and fighting skills, Johnson singled out one man who fought against him at Nassiriya, the hardest battle of last year's brief war against Saddam's army.
"If I could have an Iraqi security force guy who's honest, reliable and dependable, it's worth five Marines," he added.
Captain Tad Douglas, who leads almost daily raids with the Scorpions, said he believed it was a unique experiment that made use of the Iraqis' feel for their home province of Babylon.
"Ninety-five percent of our intelligence is from the SWAT," he said. "They can put a guy in a cafe in the way we never could ... They have a good finger on the pulse."
NO HARD FEELINGS
U.S. officers are reluctant to discuss how big the SWAT team is and Trad and Douglas brush off questions on what they may or not have done to each other in last year's war.
"It doesn't matter to me what they did. They're staunchly anti-insurgent," said Douglas, who dismissed suggestions their training under Saddam might have made them too violent.
"We just had to polish them up a bit," he said. This week, Johnson has stepped up raids against insurgents in an operation code-named Plymouth Rock, hoping to keep pressure on Sunni rebels after their rout at Falluja to the northwest.
Of Johnson's 5,000-strong force in the region, which was once the heart of Saddam's arms industry and base of the Medina armored division of the elite Republican Guard, more than 2,000 are Marines, 850 British soldiers and the rest Iraqi.
At the camp 30 miles south of Baghdad, the Scorpions are very visible, wearing the khaki jumpsuits of Marine special forces and black mustaches traditional in the Iraqi military.
Occupying powers have a long and patchy history of creating local units and Iraqi forces in other regions have had mixed success. This month, thousands of police in the northern city of Mosul fled or changed sides when Sunni insurgents took charge.
Johnson acknowledges the loyalties of some Iraqis in his force may be divided but says they "want to be on the winning side" and is confident that U.S.-led troops can end what he sees as limited and decentralized violence by at most a few thousand disgruntled Saddam supporters and local bandits.
Iraqi police here have stuck to their posts despite killings of comrades in bomb attacks and murders of off-duty officers: " They don't cut and run, despite their losses," Johnson said.
Clearly exasperated by the "triangle of death" tag, he said: "I'm getting more optimistic every day."
As for Colonel Salaam, a small, wiry man of 32, he shrugs off insurgent threats to himself and his family and says what he wants is: "Freedom, a new Iraq, peace."
U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
Sat Nov 27, 2:12 PM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Twenty months after toppling Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), U.S. troops still battling his followers in the heartland of Iraq (news - web sites)'s old arms industry are hitting back with a new weapon -- ex-members of Saddam's special forces.
For five months, Iraqi police commandos calling themselves the Black Scorpions have been based with U.S. Marines in the region along the Euphrates south of Baghdad, which roadside bombs, ambushes and kidnaps have turned into a no-go areas and earned it the melodramatic description "triangle of death."
"All of them were previously officers in the Iraqi army or special forces," the Scorpions' commander, Colonel Salaam Trad, said at the Marines' Kalsu base near Iskandariya on Saturday.
"But Saddam was dirty and no good for Iraq."
The performance of this SWAT team, as the Americans call it, could be a critical test of how U.S. forces can hand over to Iraqis to meet their goal of withdrawing from a stable Iraq. U. S. officers in the area say they are increasingly optimistic.
"The hardest fighters we have are the former special forces from Saddam's days," Colonel Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told reporters.
Praising their local knowledge and fighting skills, Johnson singled out one man who fought against him at Nassiriya, the hardest battle of last year's brief war against Saddam's army.
"If I could have an Iraqi security force guy who's honest, reliable and dependable, it's worth five Marines," he added.
Captain Tad Douglas, who leads almost daily raids with the Scorpions, said he believed it was a unique experiment that made use of the Iraqis' feel for their home province of Babylon.
"Ninety-five percent of our intelligence is from the SWAT," he said. "They can put a guy in a cafe in the way we never could ... They have a good finger on the pulse."
NO HARD FEELINGS
U.S. officers are reluctant to discuss how big the SWAT team is and Trad and Douglas brush off questions on what they may or not have done to each other in last year's war.
"It doesn't matter to me what they did. They're staunchly anti-insurgent," said Douglas, who dismissed suggestions their training under Saddam might have made them too violent.
"We just had to polish them up a bit," he said. This week, Johnson has stepped up raids against insurgents in an operation code-named Plymouth Rock, hoping to keep pressure on Sunni rebels after their rout at Falluja to the northwest.
Of Johnson's 5,000-strong force in the region, which was once the heart of Saddam's arms industry and base of the Medina armored division of the elite Republican Guard, more than 2,000 are Marines, 850 British soldiers and the rest Iraqi.
At the camp 30 miles south of Baghdad, the Scorpions are very visible, wearing the khaki jumpsuits of Marine special forces and black mustaches traditional in the Iraqi military.
Occupying powers have a long and patchy history of creating local units and Iraqi forces in other regions have had mixed success. This month, thousands of police in the northern city of Mosul fled or changed sides when Sunni insurgents took charge.
Johnson acknowledges the loyalties of some Iraqis in his force may be divided but says they "want to be on the winning side" and is confident that U.S.-led troops can end what he sees as limited and decentralized violence by at most a few thousand disgruntled Saddam supporters and local bandits.
Iraqi police here have stuck to their posts despite killings of comrades in bomb attacks and murders of off-duty officers: " They don't cut and run, despite their losses," Johnson said.
Clearly exasperated by the "triangle of death" tag, he said: "I'm getting more optimistic every day."
As for Colonel Salaam, a small, wiry man of 32, he shrugs off insurgent threats to himself and his family and says what he wants is: "Freedom, a new Iraq, peace."
Yahoo! News - U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
Yahoo! News - U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old CommandosU.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddam's Old Commandos
Sat Nov 27, 2:12 PM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Twenty months after toppling Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), U.S. troops still battling his followers in the heartland of Iraq (news - web sites)'s old arms industry are hitting back with a new weapon -- ex-members of Saddam's special forces.
For five months, Iraqi police commandos calling themselves the Black Scorpions have been based with U.S. Marines in the region along the Euphrates south of Baghdad, which roadside bombs, ambushes and kidnaps have turned into a no-go areas and earned it the melodramatic description "triangle of death."
"All of them were previously officers in the Iraqi army or special forces," the Scorpions' commander, Colonel Salaam Trad, said at the Marines' Kalsu base near Iskandariya on Saturday.
"But Saddam was dirty and no good for Iraq."
The performance of this SWAT team, as the Americans call it, could be a critical test of how U.S. forces can hand over to Iraqis to meet their goal of withdrawing from a stable Iraq. U. S. officers in the area say they are increasingly optimistic.
"The hardest fighters we have are the former special forces from Saddam's days," Colonel Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told reporters.
Praising their local knowledge and fighting skills, Johnson singled out one man who fought against him at Nassiriya, the hardest battle of last year's brief war against Saddam's army.
"If I could have an Iraqi security force guy who's honest, reliable and dependable, it's worth five Marines," he added.
Captain Tad Douglas, who leads almost daily raids with the Scorpions, said he believed it was a unique experiment that made use of the Iraqis' feel for their home province of Babylon.
"Ninety-five percent of our intelligence is from the SWAT," he said. "They can put a guy in a cafe in the way we never could ... They have a good finger on the pulse."
NO HARD FEELINGS
U.S. officers are reluctant to discuss how big the SWAT team is and Trad and Douglas brush off questions on what they may or not have done to each other in last year's war.
"It doesn't matter to me what they did. They're staunchly anti-insurgent," said Douglas, who dismissed suggestions their training under Saddam might have made them too violent.
"We just had to polish them up a bit," he said. This week, Johnson has stepped up raids against insurgents in an operation code-named Plymouth Rock, hoping to keep pressure on Sunni rebels after their rout at Falluja to the northwest.
Of Johnson's 5,000-strong force in the region, which was once the heart of Saddam's arms industry and base of the Medina armored division of the elite Republican Guard, more than 2,000 are Marines, 850 British soldiers and the rest Iraqi.
At the camp 30 miles south of Baghdad, the Scorpions are very visible, wearing the khaki jumpsuits of Marine special forces and black mustaches traditional in the Iraqi military.
Occupying powers have a long and patchy history of creating local units and Iraqi forces in other regions have had mixed success. This month, thousands of police in the northern city of Mosul fled or changed sides when Sunni insurgents took charge.
Johnson acknowledges the loyalties of some Iraqis in his force may be divided but says they "want to be on the winning side" and is confident that U.S.-led troops can end what he sees as limited and decentralized violence by at most a few thousand disgruntled Saddam supporters and local bandits.
Iraqi police here have stuck to their posts despite killings of comrades in bomb attacks and murders of off-duty officers: " They don't cut and run, despite their losses," Johnson said.
Clearly exasperated by the "triangle of death" tag, he said: "I'm getting more optimistic every day."
As for Colonel Salaam, a small, wiry man of 32, he shrugs off insurgent threats to himself and his family and says what he wants is: "Freedom, a new Iraq, peace."
Sat Nov 27, 2:12 PM ET
By Alastair Macdonald
NEAR ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Twenty months after toppling Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), U.S. troops still battling his followers in the heartland of Iraq (news - web sites)'s old arms industry are hitting back with a new weapon -- ex-members of Saddam's special forces.
For five months, Iraqi police commandos calling themselves the Black Scorpions have been based with U.S. Marines in the region along the Euphrates south of Baghdad, which roadside bombs, ambushes and kidnaps have turned into a no-go areas and earned it the melodramatic description "triangle of death."
"All of them were previously officers in the Iraqi army or special forces," the Scorpions' commander, Colonel Salaam Trad, said at the Marines' Kalsu base near Iskandariya on Saturday.
"But Saddam was dirty and no good for Iraq."
The performance of this SWAT team, as the Americans call it, could be a critical test of how U.S. forces can hand over to Iraqis to meet their goal of withdrawing from a stable Iraq. U. S. officers in the area say they are increasingly optimistic.
"The hardest fighters we have are the former special forces from Saddam's days," Colonel Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, told reporters.
Praising their local knowledge and fighting skills, Johnson singled out one man who fought against him at Nassiriya, the hardest battle of last year's brief war against Saddam's army.
"If I could have an Iraqi security force guy who's honest, reliable and dependable, it's worth five Marines," he added.
Captain Tad Douglas, who leads almost daily raids with the Scorpions, said he believed it was a unique experiment that made use of the Iraqis' feel for their home province of Babylon.
"Ninety-five percent of our intelligence is from the SWAT," he said. "They can put a guy in a cafe in the way we never could ... They have a good finger on the pulse."
NO HARD FEELINGS
U.S. officers are reluctant to discuss how big the SWAT team is and Trad and Douglas brush off questions on what they may or not have done to each other in last year's war.
"It doesn't matter to me what they did. They're staunchly anti-insurgent," said Douglas, who dismissed suggestions their training under Saddam might have made them too violent.
"We just had to polish them up a bit," he said. This week, Johnson has stepped up raids against insurgents in an operation code-named Plymouth Rock, hoping to keep pressure on Sunni rebels after their rout at Falluja to the northwest.
Of Johnson's 5,000-strong force in the region, which was once the heart of Saddam's arms industry and base of the Medina armored division of the elite Republican Guard, more than 2,000 are Marines, 850 British soldiers and the rest Iraqi.
At the camp 30 miles south of Baghdad, the Scorpions are very visible, wearing the khaki jumpsuits of Marine special forces and black mustaches traditional in the Iraqi military.
Occupying powers have a long and patchy history of creating local units and Iraqi forces in other regions have had mixed success. This month, thousands of police in the northern city of Mosul fled or changed sides when Sunni insurgents took charge.
Johnson acknowledges the loyalties of some Iraqis in his force may be divided but says they "want to be on the winning side" and is confident that U.S.-led troops can end what he sees as limited and decentralized violence by at most a few thousand disgruntled Saddam supporters and local bandits.
Iraqi police here have stuck to their posts despite killings of comrades in bomb attacks and murders of off-duty officers: " They don't cut and run, despite their losses," Johnson said.
Clearly exasperated by the "triangle of death" tag, he said: "I'm getting more optimistic every day."
As for Colonel Salaam, a small, wiry man of 32, he shrugs off insurgent threats to himself and his family and says what he wants is: "Freedom, a new Iraq, peace."
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