Rambama Will Take Musharraf Down!

Al Qaeda drew "first blood," they don't know who they were messin' with...

Yesterday, we all got a good laugh when it was revealed that Democrat Presidential aspirant Barack Obama announced he would “invade Pakistan,” if necessary. My post with limited comments didn’t add much as what is there to add to the already ludicrous?

This morning, James S. Robbins has a great take over at NRO on Obama and acting on “actionable intelligence.”

“So President Obama would invade Pakistan? Who would have thought? “It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005,” Obama said at a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.” Obama was pinging off a recent New York Times report of an early 2005 mission to apprehend al Qaeda leadership figures in Pakistan, including second banana Ayman al-Zawahiri. The mission was aborted by then-Defense Secretary Rumsfeld because the operation had grown too large. This alone makes it a good case-study in the failings of bureaucracy; too many components looking to get involved, not enough risk being accepted, not a shining moment for the partisans of Defense Transformation.”

If anyone wants, link back with an image of "Rambama" let's see what we can put together.

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Did the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Get it Right?

Being no lawyer one has to take it from the experience of those that are or from those with a certain legal knowledge. The first reaction to yesterdays news of the 4th Circuits ruling that Ali Saleh Kalah al-Marri, was here in the U.S. legally so cannot be held as an "unlawful enemy combatant" and must either be set free or tried within the U.S. civilian court system with the rights that any American has; leaves one sickened. And makes you wonder about just who is the Commander in Chief in time of war, a war that fails to fit a war definition that people are comfortable with.

Turning to NRO, you can read the Editors take on the decision and Andrew McCarthys reaction.

The editors at NRO:

"Since al-Marri’s efforts were acts of war rather than mere crimes, President Bush ordered him held as an alien unlawful enemy combatant. But now the Fourth Circuit has substituted the commander-in-chief’s wartime judgment with its own. Two judges — Diana Gribbon Motz, a Clinton appointee, and Roger Gregory, an unsuccessful Clinton appointee renominated by President Bush in a good-will gesture to Democrats — ordered that al-Marri be released or referred to the civilian-justice system for a full-fledged criminal trial."

Andrew McCarthy's take on the sad decision:

"Strike another blow for lawfare: The use of the American people’s courts as a weapon against the American people in a war prosecuted by the president — the only public official elected by all Americans — under an authorization for the use of military force overwhelmingly passed by the American people’s representatives in congress. And all for the benefit of an alien sent here to attack us."

There is also one of my favorite fonts of ignorance; the NY Times editorial boards opinion:

"This ruling is another strong argument for bringing Mr. Bush’s detention camps under the rule of law. Congress can do that by repealing the odious Military Commissions Act of 2006, which endorsed Mr. Bush’s twisted system of indefinite detentions, by closing Guantánamo Bay and by allowing the courts to sort out the prisoners — not according to the whims of one president with an obvious disdain for the balance of powers but by the rules of justice that have guided this nation for more than 200 years."

If someone is here lawfully, but with the intention of committing crimes; crimes that are in keeping with, whether The toilet Paper's understanding of the law, laws of war or unlawful acts of war as practiced by al Qaeda we should likely consider the al-Marri decision outside the realm of those that without doubt do not understand.

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Who in the world is Monzer al-Kassar and What does he have to do with Transnational Terrorism – Dumb Looks Still Free

An amazingly thoughtful and intellectual site "Dumb Looks Still Free," posted regarding Monzer al-Kassar, his bio and links to terrorism. It is a long read, however it is also an indicator of the complicated subject we find ourselves faced with.

From Dumb Looks Still Free:

"[The following is a 'rush job', so spelling and syntax are not what I would like them to be]

So, just who *is* Monzer al-Kassar?

We get a look into his life in the larger work done by Antonius Johannes Gerhardus Tijhuis at Leiden University in the Netherlands by way of a paper he did on this subject: Transnational crime and the interface between legal and illegal actors. And in Chapter 3 - Individuals and Legitimate Organizations as Interface, he would examine the business of mixing up legal and illegal activities by a few individuals, and concentrate on Mr. Kassar along with Viktor Bout and Faoud Abbas. These three range from pretty evenly divided between the legal and illegal with Mr. Kassar, to the very little legal, but enough to give cover, in the case of Mr. Abbas.

From that chapter we get a brief overview of Mr. Kassar's life, from his early dealings in the 1970's with the Mafia and Terrorists as he served as intermediary for drugs and guns, using stolen vehicles, which got him pulled over in 1979 in Paris. Over that span he would work his way closer to a drug wholesaler and finally find himself in business in Morocco when the wholesaler was in jail there. The ever enterprising Mr. Kassar then would utilize the kidnap for ransom fever going on in Lebanon to help alleviate his problems by offering the French the opportunity to get some French hostages freed. A lovely snippet on the ability of Mr. Kassar to influence folks that should be arresting him is described with this:

The primary example here is Al Kassar who, for example, closed a deal with the French government. While being sentenced to eight years in Paris, he negotiated without any problem with the French authorities and several opportunities to arrest Al Kassar were ignored.

So much for this 'rule of law' concept! Yes he could, indeed, influence people and he could help the French... if they would just ship some arms to Iran. Such a good deal! How could the CIA pass that up? Well, from what we see in the Iran/Contra business, it didn't.

Thus comes in Ollie North, Richard Secord and a lively crew of folks looking to purloin some weapons, get some cash, free some hostages and get arms to the Contras all in a few easy steps. They would set up a business they called the 'Enterprise' and it would work with an international arms dealer who had a direct line to Iran: Mr. Monzer al-Kassar. Mr. Kassar had moved offices to Poland so as to avail himself of Soviet bloc arms, which were a bit cheaper and easier to sell than Western ones. So the 'Enterprise' would look to get a ship to do the go between work, owned by a Portugese company: Defex.

So now a bit from Chapter 8 of the Walsh Report on Iran/Contra:"

The REST IS HERE at DUMB LOOKS STILL FREE




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Times as National Disgrace, Not Gitmo

The Times Editorial Board calls it “Gitmo: A National Disgrace” and has, as usual a real humdinger of an opening:

“Ever since President Bush rammed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 through Congress to lend a pretense of legality to his detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, we have urged Congress to amend the law to restore basic human rights and judicial process. Rulings by military judges this week suggest that the special detention system is so fundamentally corrupt that the only solution is to tear it down and start again.”

Ever since President Bush rammed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 through Congress The NY Times and other outlets of the msm have been ramming their opinions down our throats, whether this was through “news” articles or opinion pieces mattered not.

For some unknown reason the msm considers itself above it all as though it delivers the news with no bias; most, if not everyone would disagree (although there would be much disagreement as to what side it leans). Some of the news can be described as biased and/or sloppy; in spite of this the editorial board at The Toilet Paper pontificates without doubt that their opinion is the correct opinion.

On Monday, “two military judges dismissed charges Monday against a Guantanamo detainee accused of chauffeuring Osama bin Laden and another who allegedly killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.;” Salim Ahmed Hamdan and Omar Khadr.

Toss it all out and rewrite it all is the basic idea that “would allow Americans to once again hold their heads high when it comes to justice and human rights,” according to The Times. Trapped in a mindset that is fit for an alternate universe, rather than an ever changing situation; everything is simply a George W. Hitler effort at curtailing rights. The entire argument held is in line with a 9/10/01, Hamas, Fatah (separate and very worthy links) and all the other fanatics mean Israel no harm, nukes in Iran is only fair mindset.

Andrew McCarthy at NRO displays if nothing else (and I think it’s a lot more) an analytical grip on the reality of the situation that none of news outlets will ever come close to. Read his article for the full treatment, but in summary (in my poor fashion):

“It is elementary that a court, including a military court, is not competent to entertain a case unless it has jurisdiction. This simply means that the conditions set by congress for the court’s intervention must be met. In this instance, jurisdiction for military commissions is now controlled by the Military Commissions Act (MCA), signed into law by President Bush at the end of 2006”

“Under the MCA, only “[a]lien unlawful enemy combatants, as defined in section 948a of this title, shall be subject to trial by military commissions[.]” So, the question arises, how does section 948a define alien unlawful enemy combatants (AUECs)?”

“the crucial inquiry with a combatant is whether he is properly categorized as unlawful, as the MCA requires.”

“The military’s CSRT procedures are set forth in a memorandum issued by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, which is available on the Defense Department’s website. (See here, last updated May 21, 2007.) The memo was issued on July 14, 2006. Note that that is five months before the MCA. It would be a fair criticism to argue that once the MCA was enacted, the Pentagon’s legal staff should have gone carefully over the memo to ensure symmetry between the MCA’s requirements for military commission jurisdiction and the CSRT findings that would be used to satisfy those requirements. Still, to give the Defense Department its due, it would have been reasonable — notwithstanding Monday’s ruling — to conclude that the CSRT procedures were adequate to the task.”

“The basic problem is some loose language. The CSRT procedures, in shorthand fashion, speak of determining whether a detainee is an enemy combatant, not an unlawful enemy combatant as the MCA requires.”

Where The Times and McCarthy may agree to a point is the need to create a system appropriate to determining the status of combatants; this is point where The Times Editors would be satisfied (not very deep of them is it?), but McCarthy takes it further, as it should be taken.

The Times and others with their proclivity to see things through only their reality, McCarthy says:

“We ought to design a new national-security court, an amalgam of the military and civilian systems, to deal comprehensively with the war’s novel challenges: investigations, detentions, and trials in a war whose end is not only indeterminate but — unlike prior wars — difficult to imagine; a war which involves alleged terrorist operatives whose status will often be ambiguous (because they don’t wear uniforms) but who cannot be given the presumptions that favor ordinary criminal defendants (since it would reward and thus perilously encourage their flouting of the laws of war). That new system should employ civilian judges, who have great expertise in moving terrorism cases and are independent of the executive branch — something important to our allies, whose cooperation is vital if we are to prevail against our enemies. But to combat the proclivity of civilian judges to push the due process envelope, the proceedings should be predominantly military and hew to rules exactingly prescribed by Congress.”

The editors’ opinion for the fix would be in following with bills “sponsored by two California Democrats” (surprise):

“close Gitmo in a year and the detainees would be screened by real courts. Those who are truly illegal combatants would be sent to military or civilian jails in the United States, to be tried under time-tested American rules of justice, or sent to an international tribunal. Some would be returned to their native lands for trial, if warranted. The rest would be set free, as they should have been long ago.”

The Times and msm in general cannot take the time to fully consider a subject prior to forming an opinion meant to sway opinions. Why they or we would consider their words or opinions in words the arguments end is beyond me.

Andrew McCarthy offers an appropriate word of caution to his argument (something The Times would never consider):

“Saying the prosecution’s position should be sustained here is a good distance from saying that, as a matter of policy, the military commission system is the best way to deal with detainees. The war on terror presents unusual issues — issues that can’t be neatly pigeonholed into either the military or civilian court model.”

The Times closes with its own colorful, conspiracy theory filled, the sky is falling take:

“The Guantánamo camp was created on a myth — that the American judicial system could not handle prisoners of “the war against terror.” It was built on a lie — that the hundreds of detainees at Gitmo are all dangerous terrorists. And it was organized around a fiction — that Mr. Bush had the power to create this rogue system in the first place.”

Bottom line is that it is not as simple as we would have it and especially as The Times would have it.

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Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Cindy

Lance Cpl. Steven Chavez
20 years old from Hondo, New Mexico
2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
March 14, 2007


Tears ran down cheeks and strong men choked back emotion as the city of Hondo, NM payed tribute to fallen Marine, Steven Chavez. LCpl. Chavez lost his life on March 14, 2007 in a non-combat incident in which he was accidentally shot.

Chavez enlisted in the Marine Cops. right after he graduated in 2005. "You pray and you pray that the day never comes, and then it does," said Novelda Chavez, Chavez's mother. "Your emotions are mixed — it’s not true, it’s a bad dream, a bad dream you never wake up from."

In a letter Chavez wrote before he was sent to Iraq, he wrote:
"First of all I would like to thank everyone for your support. When I'm home on leave and when I'm away. That is so important to me. Thank you for your kind, supporting words in your letters and for the packages I've received. Those are awesome.

I've been through some pretty hard times, in the short time I've been in the Marine Corp. None harder then what I'm about to face. Yes I'm scared; nothing is scarier than the uncertainty of what your future holds for you. I'm prepared to face whatever lies ahead.

I put my life in the hands of the Lord. And pray that He guides my fellow soldiers and I down a safe path, that He will calm our fears, and give us the strength to do the job we have been trained to do, and to do that job well.

There are many lonely nights, when you're lying in your bunk thinking of family and friends, wondering what they are doing at that very moment. Wondering what mom is cooking for supper. I can almost taste the tortillas on the griddle.

I want to say to all of you tonight, I wouldn't change one thing about my life.

I've never been more proud of the choices I made in my life than the day I graduated from basic drill instructor placed that Anchor, Globe and Eagle Pin in my hand I knew then I was a UNITED STATES MARINE!

I'm Proud to protect and serve My Country

I'm Proud to protect and serve My Community

I'm Proud to protect and serve you

Thank you so much for your Support. Keep those letters coming. Mail is a precious commodity when you're so far from Home.

YOUR U.S. MARINE

LANCE CORPORAL STEVE CHAVEZ"

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Sunny Kay

Col. Cyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla
68 years old from New York City, New York
16th Air Assault Brigade, Parachute Regiment (England)
Platoon Leader of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) (U.S.)
September 11, 2001


Col. Rick Rescorla is a multiple time hero. In 1957 he enlisted in the British Army and began training as a paratrooper with The Parachute Regiment of the 16th Air Assault Brigade. He went on to serve with an intelligence unit in Cyprus, a paramilitary police inspector in the Northern Rhodesia Police (now the Zambia Police Service). When his military career ended in England he joined the Metropolitan Police Service in London. But he found the paperwork too boring and quite at the behest of a friend who encouraged him to join the United State Army. Which he did.

In 1963, Rescorla enlisted, with his friend, in the United States Army. After he completed basic training he attended officer training school and was assigned as a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

He was shipped to Vietnam and participated in the Battle of la Drang. While in Vietnam, he was given the nickname "Hard Core" by his men for his bravery in battle.

In 1968, Resorla became a U.S. citizen and continued his service in the Army Reserves until 1990 when he retired. In 1985 he joined a financial services firm, located in the World Trade Center, as security director.

In 1993, when the WTC was bombed, Rescorla was instrumental in evacuating people from the building. Afterwards, he enacted a policy in which all employees of the firm practiced evacuation drills every three months.

September 11, 2001. Rick Rescorla was supposed to be on vacation getting ready for his daughters wedding. Instead he was at work covering a shift for one of his deputies so that he could go on vacation. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit Tower 1, Rescorla ignored officials advice to stay put and opted instead to put his evacuation drills to use. While evacuating the 3,800 employees of his firm in Towers 2 and 5 he kept reminding them "be proud to be an American ...everyone will be talking about you tomorrow" and sang God Bless America over his bullhorn. When Flight 175 struck Tower 2, Rescorla had already evacuated most of the employees from his firm as well as many others from other floors. He then went back in, despite being told he needed to evacuate himself. The last known words anyone heard him say were, "As soon as I make sure everyone else is out". Tower 2 collapsed with Rick Rescorla last seen heading to the 10th floor looking for more people to help.

As a result of his actions that day, all but six employees of his firm made it out alive. One of those being him and three others being his deputies who followed him into Tower 2, Wesley Mercer, Jorge Velazquez, and Godwin Forde.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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DeMediacratic Nation was not being updated this past week, so weekly posts like Wednesday Hero are going to be posted as I get up and running again.

This Weeks Soldier Was Suggested By Jenn

Capt. Alan B. Rowe
35 years old from Hagerman, Idaho
1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center
September 3, 2004


The Perfect Marine. That's how many describe Capt. Alan B. Rowe. Respected and dedicated to the Corps and still able to be a husband and father.

Rowe, who was on his fourth deployment since joining the Corps in 1985, died with two other Marines, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Wilt, 23, of Tampa, Florida, and 1st Lt. Ronald Winchester, 25, of Rockville Center, N.Y., when a remote-controlled explosive device detonated as they returned to their vehicle after inspecting a bridge in Anbar province, near the Syrian border.

"He was a quiet, humble person and extremely polite," his widow, Dawn, recalled from their early days of dating. "He was a traditional type of gentleman. My mom was surprised to meet such a ... perfect-picture Marine." "He did a great job balancing a pretty intense Marine Corps career with also being a great husband and father. He worked extremely hard to balance it." "He was so dedicated to the Marine Corps. He was really driven and believed in what he did. He was a Marine’s Marine. Tall, blond and fit. Kind of the mental image you think of when you think of the Marine Corps."

A week after his death, Capt. Rowe was posthumously promoted to major. He leaves behind his wife and two children.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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A Professorial attempt at "Putting 9/11 into perspective"

Not to be taken as belittling the loss of 3,000 lives on 9/11/01, Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, David A. Bell asks us to consider that if we had lost 20 million on 9/11 forward that this would be:

"what the Soviet Union suffered during World War II,"

He believes:

"contemplating these numbers may help put in perspective what the United States has so far experienced during the war against terrorism."

It would appear someone from the Left has finally taken a stand regarding the number of deaths that would allow for the prosecution of this "war on terror."

"Even if one counts our dead in Iraq and Afghanistan as casualties of the war against terrorism, which brings us to about 6,500, we should remember that roughly the same number of Americans die every two months in automobile accidents."

"Has the American reaction to the attacks in fact been a massive overreaction? Is the widespread belief that 9/11 plunged us into one of the deadliest struggles of our time simply wrong? If we did overreact, why did we do so? Does history provide any insight?"

Now I understand where the term, "educated guess" comes from....."Putting 9/11 into perspective."

Hey, after thought, perhaps he should write about theories as fact, "Putting global warming into perspective."

Sad Indeed – Only U.S. Hawks Can Save Ahmadinejad Now

From The Guardian, one of England’s many tabloids, we have an article regarding the unpopularity of Mahmoud “Momo” Ahmadinejad.

According to the author, Ali Ansari:

(Ahmadinejad) “seems to be reaping the rewards of unfulfilled promises bestowed with little attention to economic realities.”

The article itself touches on economic realities that Momo ignored, as well as his stance in the face of the “Great Satan’s” bullying. The piece does not say anything of the like, but it may as well.

Bottom line is that the only thing that might save Momo, is the Hawks in the U.S. government:

“There can be little doubt that US hawks will interpret recent events as proof that pressure works, and that any more pressure will encourage the hawks further. Yet the reality is that while Ahmadinejad has been his own worst enemy, the US hawks are his best friends. Ahmadinejad's demise, if it comes, will have less to do with the international environment and more with his own political incompetence. There is little doubt that it will take more than a cosmetic change to get Washington to listen to Iran. But the real question mark, as the Baker-Hamilton commission found to its cost, is whether Washington is inclined to listen at all.”

“Yet the reality…..” It must be so refreshing to recognize reality, when so many others cannot. So, ultimately it is all propaganda on both sides, Iran didn’t really work on “peaceful nukes” in secret (or it doesn’t matter) and the U.S. is the real problem. If we would only play along with the rest of the diplomatic elite and just chat, we can all just forget about it and it will go away."

If only Bush and the American public in general didn’t exist, the EU-3 would surely have gotten it across to the Iranians that going the nuke route is a no no, by giving them the nukes based upon promises from those that don’t keep them.

I love Great Britain, I’m an Anglophile, however, the country that gave the world Neville Chamberlain and the “Peace of Paper,” has chosen to believe that Bush and the U.S. is the enemy, is becoming weaker by the day in it’s recognition of just what it is we are all facing. In ’38 it was Czechoslovakia the British government was willing to sacrifice; today with the big bogeyman being the entirely too powerful U.S., the lamb offered is Israel.

Although the article only turns to the “Hawks” at its end, the comments continue on in that vane (italics mine):

Comment from Instinct

“The bottom line is that those of us who persist in believing in democracy must recognise its limitations. When you have nations like the US and Iran, each of whose populations is willing to believe demonic propaganda about the other, a democratic system will throw up leaders who rightly see their own interest lying in antagonising and even attacking the other country.”

“Unfortunately, the notion that democracy is inextricably bound up with a peaceful form of life is fanciful. As we can see all too clearly in Iraq. It will be peaceful only if the electors are peaceful and the electors in the US appear to be willing to believe in all sorts of warlike action, so they deserve a president like Bush. And may well elect another.”

Comment from Parsian:

"Ahmadinejad and Bush are like two peas in a pod for the following reasons.

1. They are religious fanatics.
2. They do not understand foreign policy.
3. They are very unpopular outside their own country and each has less than 30% support at home.
4. They are arrogant, obstinate and confrontational.
5. They do not listen to reason and make decisions against sound advice. Many a times, their decisions are detrimental to their own country.
6. Only a war between the USA and Iran will help them regain their initial popularity rating of 60% or so.

Therefore, do not be surprised if the US or the US / Israel attack Iran. It would be a ‘blessing” in disguise for Ahmadinejad and Bush."

I wish we could let you all go down on your own, but that wouldn’t serve our interests or the worlds.

Sad indeed, that we are the only ones that believe “demonic propaganda,” unlike our friends with their “sage” advice across the pond, appear to know believe they know better.

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CAIRing about Jack Bauer

One would think American Muslims would jump at the chance to defend their country in helping to defeat extremists. One; to magnify the fact that they, like other Americans just want a good life for themselves and their families and two; to help wipe the extremist scourge from the face of the earth. American Muslims stand to lose just as much freedom as the rest of us from this oddball threat.

For some reason this is not the case. M. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander writing at NRO, sees the same tired American Muslim organizations coming out against the show 24.

According to Jasser:

“It’s time for hundreds of thousands of Muslims to be not only private but public in their outrage — and to commit themselves to specific, verbal engagement of the militants and their Islamism. We, as American Muslims, should be training and encouraging our Muslim-community youth to become the future Jack Bauers of America.”

I cannot fathom that American Muslims do not admire the country in which they live as much as the next American. What stepping up and speaking out would entail for a Muslim American I do not know, but it is the participation of these Americans that could have a profound effect in defeating extremism.

Read “Why Do They CAIR about Jack Bauer?”

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Shades of Vietnam….Which Lessons?

“Those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.” – George Santayana (roughly quoted)

“Words to live by, as long as the lessons learned are the correct ones.” – Blandly Urbane

Senator Warner regrets his support for the Vietnam war:

"I regret that I was not more outspoken. The Army generals would come in, 'Just send in another five or ten thousand.' You know, month after month. Another ten or fifteen thousand. They thought they could win it. We kept surging in those years. It didn't work."

Are we just going to be “surging?” The term surging does not definitively mean just increasing the troop numbers, but as it is being used it does. Senator Warner and others like to simplify arguments.

Just throwing soldiers at the problems will not resolve them, but with a change of tactics it could; tactics that hopefully contain a little less political correctness and more war fighting seriousness. It certainly appears that a more serious tone is being taken considering the latest revelation that Iranian agents are being detained, while turning the fight to them as well.

As the surge has begun, language like this is fairly pointless:

"The Senate disagrees with the plan to augment our forces by 21,500, and urges the President instead to consider all options and alternatives."

Does the Senate have a plan or two they might offer; something other than a spineless and time wasting resolution? Perhaps Senator Warner and those opposed to the Iraq enterprise and “surge” could answer a few questions regarding their plan(s). Playing the role of opposition, should require more than just the negative aspect of non-support or pointing out error; that’s the easy part. The hard part is making the decisions; their decisions consist of only words and talk, something the UN and others in the international community are already good at. They should be required to put a little more on the line in the way of ideas and alternatives.

Of Warner’s participation in a “no confidence” resolution, James Moran, (D VA):

"His support for a redeployment resolution -- and his opposition to the surge policy -- is very important."

Redeployment is a plan, regardless of how weak. A “phased redeployment,” connotes action; hence the oppositions love of it. It is however, a plan/resolution full of holes as it does not address any reality, only “the good old days all over again.” “Phased redeployment,” says ‘we mean business,’ but they don’t.

Taken in “phases,” the “redeployment,” calls for taking soldiers out of Iraq and deploying them elsewhere in the M.E. as more of a reactionary force. A question should be, where in the M.E.? We also might want to check with bin Laden and others as to where exactly in the M.E. is acceptable. If memory serves, which I believe they’re hoping and counting on it not; this one of the leading reasons for 9/11 and previous attacks against our interests according to bin Laden

Redeploy the soldiers to “Betwixt,” which is a sliver of land between nations in the M.E., may very well be the only place available, however, Betwixt is as imaginary a place as “phased redeployment,” is a real plan.

During an Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Senator Joseph Lieberman, (I- CT), and General Petraeus, went back and forth like this:

Lieberman - "A resolution -- a Senate-passed resolution of disapproval for this new strategy in Iraq -- would give the enemy some encouragement, some feeling that, well, some clear expression that the American people are divided?"

Petraeus - "That's correct, sir."

With a hint of opinion, the article notes that Warner was “clearly upset,” by this exchange. Calling the exchange, “personal,” Warner stated to Patraeus and colleagues:

"We're not a division here of patriots who support the troops and those who are making statements and working on resolutions that could be translated as aiding and abetting the enemy. I hope that this colloquy has not trapped you into some responses that you might later regret. (italics mine)"

I’m curious as to whether anyone else holds this battle as personal and whether or not their “personal,” is considered trumped by Warner’s “personal.” After all, Warner appears to be one of those that believes he derived the appropriate and correct lessons of history from Vietnam.

I also sincerely hope history’s lessons were learned by General Patreaus with regard to the blatant threat of being brought down as veiled by the senator. And that the good general does not take the comment too “personally.”

According to the article, a few days after the exchange at the hearing Senator Warner asked:

"Those who say we're not doing the right thing tell me, what is the obligation of the Senate? Do nothing?"

Those who say we are doing the right thing tell me, what is the obligation of the Senate?

No sir, we should expect more than that, more than just the weak words of a resolution. A resolution not unlike the many highly regarded, yet worthless resolutions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. But an action like that would require making tough decisions, rather than “do(ing) nothing.”

Perhaps a tour into alternative lessons of history that might be derived from our Southeast Asian experience.

“What we do about history matters. The often repeated saying that those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them has a lot of truth in it. But what are 'the lessons of history'? The very attempt at definition furnishes ground for new conflicts. History is not a recipe book; past events are never replicated in the present in quite the same way. Historical events are infinitely variable and their interpretations are a constantly shifting process. There are no certainties to be found in the past.” – Gerda Lerner

Robert Kagan has an extremely well written column regarding a "resolution" and Iraq in general. "Politicians in both parties act as if they can make the war go away soon. It won't." - read "Grand Delusion" if you haven't already.

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Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Kathi

Lt. Col. Michael E. McLaughlin
44 years old from Mercer, Pennsylvania
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard
January 4, 2006


Sitting in the car with Lt. Col. Michael E. McLaughlin's 18-year-old daughter, her father's friend of 21 years had just broken the news of his death.

During years of friendship and service in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Lt. Col. McLauglin and retired Capt. Brad Mifsud had a bond so close that they promised each other if something were ever to happen to either one of them, they would be there for the other's family.

Lt. Col. McLaughlin died when a suicide bomber rushed through a crowd of Iraqi police recruits in Ramadi and detonated a bomb that also killed a Marine and nearly 80 Iraqis. The day before the attack, Lt. Col. McLaughlin said he was fully confident that Ramadi had finally turned a corner in the insurgency. As hundreds of local men streamed into the Ramadi Glass Factory on Wednesday to join the city’s long-defunct police force, a wide grin spread over a pinch of tobacco stuffed into the 44-year-old’s lower lip.

"This may not look like much, but it's history," McLaughlin told a reporter. "We're making history right here."

With a significant wound to the back of his head, Lt. Col. McLaughlin turned to his injured personal security detail officers and inquired about their well-being. Waving off medical attention, he asked them to check on the soldiers under his command.

"In an act of extreme selflessness, he stated that he was OK, but to concentrate on saving the lives of his men," said Col. Grey Berrier, a close friend of Lt. Col. McLaughlin.

Lt. Col. McLaughlin died shortly after giving that instruction, according to the Guard.

A long-time artillery officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, McLaughlin was assigned to Task Force 2-222 Field Artillery and was the primary liaison between the 2-28 Brigade Combat Team and local tribal and government leaders in Ramadi. His efforts were instrumental in getting local sheikhs to support the recruitment drive and encourage more than 1,000 area men to volunteer for the force, commanders said.

"Mike is a true hero in every sense of the word, and he died while doing his job the only way he knew how - out front and with great enthusiasm and courage," said Col. John L. Gronski, commander of the 2-28 BCT. "This loss only strengthens our resolve to carry on and complete the mission in order to honor his memory."

A gregarious wisecracker, McLaughlin said his hope was to one day return to a peaceful Iraq, where he planned to walk the streets of Ramadi in a traditional Arab "man dress," or dishdasha, and sip coffee and chai with those sheikhs he had met during the war. McLaughlin said that one particular tribal leader he had developed a close relationship with dubbed him "The Sheikh of Sheikhs" - a nickname that was soon picked up by fellow officers in the brigade.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
It Is Foolish And Wrong To Mourn The Men Who Died. Rather We Should Thank God That Such Men Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by clicking here.

Friday Sermon From Iran

Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani,

“warned against the US and UK attempts to divide Shiites and Sunnis and said the world, including the Middle East and Muslim world, have become growingly aware.”

Saying:

"Unity between Shiites and Sunnis should be real, from bottom of their hearts and for the sake of God; and it should not be geo-politically and economically motivated"

I couldn’t agree more. Amazing that the U.S. says one thing (we want unity, peace), yet practice just the opposite; using the “a page from the Bush Political Playbook.” I guess the evil Bush-devil is only interested in crushing Islam and controlling Middle Eastern oil.

Odd that anything Tehran accuses the West of is something they, themselves are heavily involved in. Kashani calls for non-interference between Shiites and Sunnis, yet Michael Ledeen says:

“We have arrested officers from the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Baghdad and Irbil, apparently with considerable documentation of the mullahs’ support for both Sunni and Shiite terrorists.”

So much for unity….

See Rightwing Guy’s post, “Al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army Are Going Down!” to read how one of Tehran’s beneficiaries may be affected by the surge.

Also visit Regime Change Iran for daily news (posting a little slowly recently), on Momo Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs.

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Heroes Were Suggested By CavMom

This week I have three people to talk about. Roy Velez and his two sons, Jose and Andrew. One who was lost in Iraq and another who lost his life in Afghanistan.

It happens almost daily. A stranger reaches out to comfort Roy Velez, unintended symbol of unspeakable loss and grief.

Today it's a woman who approaches as he's halfway through breakfast at Montelongo's Mexican restaurant.

"My brother told me about you and your sons," she says, extending her hand.

He takes her small hand between his - this sturdy man who has buried two boys who went off to war - and listens gently as her own story of sorrow spills forth. Her 8-year-old daughter, a traffic accident, her son at the wheel.

As waiters bustle about with trays of huevos rancheros and barbacoa plates, Mr. Velez does what he does best: offers up a soft prayer to help this mother endure her emptiness.

Strangers learn about Mr. Velez from newspapers and TV. They come to him to share their gratitude or their grief. They come to thank him and console him, tearfully, for his family's sacrifice.

This is how Mr. Velez chooses to live after losing two sons in two years, not riven with anger or paralyzed with sadness. But as someone ready for those who might slip into the darkness of despair.

For his strength for others, compassion and grace - and for serving as inspiration for anyone who knows his story - Mr. Velez is the 2006 Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year.
Because this story is so long, I've linked to the article which you can read in it's entirety.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by clicking here.

AP "all you need to know before," Bush speech

AP "all you need to know before," Bush speech Wednesday 1/10:

"Unswayed by anti-war passions"

"Additional U.S. forces to Iraq to quell its near-anarchy"

"He had erred by failing to order a troop buildup last year"

"Highest level and put Bush on a collision course with the new Democratic Congress. It also runs counter to advice from some generals."

"Democratic leaders of Congress met with Bush before his speech and complained later that their opposition to a buildup had been ignored."

"This is the third time we are going down this path. Two times this has not worked," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Why are they doing this now? That question remains**."

"After nearly four years of bloody combat, the speech was perhaps Bush's last credible chance to try to present a winning strategy in Iraq and persuade Americans to change their minds about the unpopular war"

"(T)o readily acknowledge making mistakes in previous efforts to stop the relentless violence in Baghdad."

'In a now-familiar refrain, Bush was to portray the war in Iraq as "the decisive ideological struggle of our time."'

"The buildup comes two months after elections that were widely seen as a call for the withdrawal of some or all U.S. forces from Iraq. Polling by AP-Ipsos in December found that only 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of Iraq, his lowest rating yet."

"U.S. troops in Iraq _ now at 132,000 _ to 153,500 at a cost of $5.6 billion."

**"The highest number was 160,000 a year ago in a troop buildup for Iraqi elections."

"Also backing the president's plan were maverick Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn."

"Bush's strategy ignores key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which in December called for a new diplomatic offensive and an outreach to Syria and Iran."

Stop The ACLU Blogburst - New Year Resolution

From Jay at Stop The ACLU:

Judge Roy Moore makes a New Years Resolution that I’m definitely on board with.

Each year the American Civil Liberties Union and other liberal organizations continue their efforts to destroy traditional values that we once assumed were self-evident and beyond question. And each year we sit quietly by doing nothing to stop their relentless assault on our culture and our religious heritage. As our resolution for the New Year, let us join together to defeat the ACLU’s anti-Christian agenda and restore our civil and religious freedom.

Most definitely the ACLU’s attack on religious freedom is one of many good reasons we should resolve to join together and fight back. We have a whole list of other good reasons. The damage the ACLU has done to our National Security, the War on Terror, and our National Soverignty are at the top of my personal list.

There are many reasons to stop the ACLU’s agenda, but what people need to know is how. Everyone needs to get involved. There is a lot that can be done.

Read the rest here.....

FBI Reports Duct-Taping, 'Baptizing' at Guantanamo

According to WaPo:

"The reports released yesterday were the result of an internal survey conducted in 2004 by the FBI, which asked nearly 500 employees who had served at Guantanamo Bay to report possible mistreatment by law enforcement or military personnel. More than two dozen incidents were reported, including some that the government had revealed in earlier document releases."

Some of the abuses mentioned by the Washington Post:

"frequent flyer program," in which detainees who were deemed uncooperative were placed on a list to be subjected to special sleep-deprivation tactics. The prisoners were moved frequently from cellblock to cellblock at intervals of two to four hours to interrupt their sleep."

Previously reported abuses, "wrapping a prisoner in an Israeli flag, subjecting others to extreme heat and cold, and aggressively using strobe lights on others."

Ultimately, investigations are necessary when incidences like these are revealed, however they don't seem to rise to the level that the ACLU apparently feels that they do:

"More comprehensive investigation is needed, not only into the scope of abuses but into the root causes and policies that led to those incidents."

The fact that the ACLU is involved at all, really should make people wonder just who this group actually represents. Perhaps it's time for a new name for the "union."

Visit Stop the ACLU for up to date "abuses," of our system by the ACLU.

Also visit Rightwing Guy for his "The Clinton Mistake," Hillary that is. RWG doesn't have that positive a take on her and I would tend to agree. There is something about this person that has always struck me as completely made up and interested in only one thing, "power." Her power.

More Troops in Iraq Seems to be the Plan

Rightwing Guy has a post up with his reaction to the possible increase in the number of military in Iraq - very worth a read

"More Troops in Iraq Seems to be the Plan"

Will more troops end this conflict in Iraq? Well Presidential hopeful John McCain believes and other key Republicans believe that about 20,000 - 40,000 more troops would help end the violence and take control of the capitol city of Baghdad, which in turn would help ease the violence in other problem providences as well.

While most Democrats are riding high from their election victory and overwhelming numbers of them support a “phased withdrawal” to begin in the next 4-6 months, John McCain has been out calling for more troops, he unlike many Democrats wants to win this war.

Read the rest HERE.............

Mahmoud "Momo" Ahmadinejad Won't Like This...

CNN says, "Ahmadinejad Suffers in Iran Poll"

"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered an embarrassing blow in local council races, according to partial election results Monday, in voting viewed as a sign of public discontent with his hard-line stance.

The balloting represented a partial comeback for opponents of Ahmadinejad, whose Islamic government's policies have fueled fights with the West and brought Iran closer to U.N. sanctions.

Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a relative moderate, polled the most votes of any Tehran candidate to win re-election to a key assembly post."

Highlights:

• Wins for moderates in Iran elections seen as rebuff to President Ahmadinejad
• Results seen as 'partial victory' for moderate conservatives
• Many of winners oppose Ahmadinejad's harsh anti-West rhetoric

A "relative moderate" in Iranian government is far from what we perceive as a "moderate."

Oddly, I am unable to find numbers at IRNA with results for the "Fourth Assembly of Experts" (how does one take a nation seriously with names like that?) election.

However, things are GREAT in Tehran and the goverment is very, very, please with the turn-out. According to Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel:

"Once again the people proved their loyalty to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolution."

I guess that means they have a mandate now. When was the election held for the "Islamic Revolution?" I don't think Jimmy Carter was there to observe and to make sure everything was on the up and up....oh, wait...Jimmy knows all about this; well he knows all about how he remembers it I'm sure.

FYI: According to Regime Change Iran, "Ahmadinjad's Followers Ordered to Falsify Election Results." Say it ain't so!?!?

Friday Sermon From Iran

Oddly, I never get the impression that the Friday Sermons are the type where at some point you turn to those around you and greet each other pleasantly.

From IRNA:

"Substititue Friday prayers Leader of Tehran Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said here that Iranians have proved they never yield to the pressures exerted by the western countries."

A statement/sermon that is akin to what Majlis speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said regarding the big election:

"The vote of anybody who goes to polls today, irrespective of whom they vote for, marks a `no' answer to the US."

Criticism during the sermon was not aimed at the U.S. only; Substititue Friday prayers Leader of Tehran Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami also took a swing at Tony Blair, who recently called Iran a threat in the region.

"If you think Iran will target UK and US interests, you are right and can consider us as a threat but if you mean Iran would threaten countries in the region, the leaders and nations in the region are quite aware that this is an English lie."

"It was UK and US who encouraged Saddam to attack Iran and Kuwait and now you continue your crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. You are such wolves which do not mind setting the whole world on fire to meet your colonial interests."

He also warned/threatened the UN Security Council against, when you get right down to it, anything. Here's to the Iranian definition of "peace" and "peaceful."

Check out the poll results (sorry, not to the election, which will possibly be as late as Sunday), to Rightwing Guys poll, "How long before we take some kind of military action against Iran?"

Also of further interest, might be this morning's post from RG, "Taking out Al-Sadr is in our Future."

Chicago Ray has an extremely interesting post up regarding another poll, this one from Zogby; "Here's One Poll Result I'd Concur With."

Give Regime Change Iran a visit for a more regular and up to date source on Iran.

Any recent visitors from the U.S. to Syria lately? Yep, none other than Democrat Senator Bill Nelson of Florida - Visit Morning Coffee for this one, "Nelson's Syrian Vacation."

Fun comics from NeoCon Command Center, putting Iran and Ahmadinejad in it's place, "Iran and Friends."

Yid With Lid posts regarding an interesting quandary, "Why Pick on Iran?"

Doug over at Political Pistachio has an interview with Conservative Cowboy, Chris Brocious "mastermind" behind "The Cowboy Code Marshalls and the Cowboy Code." I'm a proud member of the Code and am pleased to see Mr. B. getting well deserved attention. Go read it "A Political Pistachio Interview: Conservative Cowboy."