Finally, a scholarly article on interrogations and law
My jaw just dropped. I read this very careful and even handed examination by a liberal law professor! Being fair, he will no doubt be called Dershowitz in training...but this is a great piece.
Domestic law is, by its very nature, coercive. Individuals can, by the power of the state, be forced to obey the law at risk of loss of liberty, property, or both. The sacrifice of personal autonomy that allows this is justified by the fidelity of those who make and enforce the rules to principles of limited power, legitimacy in law-creation, predictable and impartial enforcement, and respect for liberty. That is the essence of the rule of law.
This is consent of the governed. Our constitution provides our consent to the government to enforce the law - which necessarily curbs many of our freedoms.
International law isn't intended to have the same consequences and enforcement as national law and cannot be read the same way. For the same reason, accords among nations expected to abide by them cannot be read the same way when applied to relations with regimes - or worse, those operating outside any national office - that can be expected to treat international law with the same disdain they show for human rights and human life.
Of course it's not. International treaties cannot violate our constitutional rights. If the UN wants to ban guns around the world, that doesn't mean that we cannot be members of the UN, it just means that our government can enforce that mandate.
The current debate over treatment of al-Qaeda partisans captured abroad reveals two different visions of the law. The first group (led by President Bush) sees the law as subordinate to a conflict between good and evil. It can set limits to what we'll do to combat evil, but those limits must reflect our own interests. The second group (opposing the President), seeing law in more universal terms, wants to treat the terrorists essentially like citizens charged with crimes - giving them similar protections against government over-reaching, similar presumptions of innocence and fair play.
President Bush's position is easy to state and to understand: We are facing an enemy that has no national government, obeys no rules, and is dedicated to our destruction. They have attacked us repeatedly over more than a decade. We cannot fight al-Qaeda by destroying its homeland. We cannot retaliate against its atrocities by cutting off trade or attacking their cities.
The obvious corollary of this position is that our fight must focus on prevention and disruption. We should do everything we can short of torture to obtain information about how our enemies work and what they are planning. We should reveal as little as possible to them of what we know. We should not tie the hands of those on our front lines with vague instructions backed by potentially severe penalties.
The opposing position is that America should play by the rules of international law, as set forth in the Geneva Conventions. We should behave as if the law is clear and binding, and we should set standards that we want applied to our soldiers by our enemies. This approach has attracted an odd coalition of those concerned about treatment of captured American soldiers, civil libertarians worried about weakening rights for Americans accused of crime, and hug-a-terrorist liberals who think that playing nice brings out the best in everyone.
The difference he describes is striking and important. Every item the left proposes is a remedy for AFTER the attack or attempted attack. What good is radiological detectors in OUR ports? The bomb is sitting in Baltimore Harbor already and can be detonated there. Every item the right proposes is a measure to PREVENT another attack (successful or unsuccessful).
The question becomes this: who do trust with your rights? Do you trust the government, who governs at our consent, with certain aspects of privacy and intrusion, to protect your fundamental rights? Or do you trust the terrorists? How intrusive is beheading?
The whole article is good. Check it out.
Posted by Aaron at 10:51 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
Army Has Best Recuiting Year Since 1999
This really sucks - for Democrats:
The Army is ending its best recruiting year since 1997 and expecting similar success in 2007, despite the weight of grim war news from Iraq, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said Thursday.
In an Associated Press interview, Harvey said the Army will enlist its 80,000th soldier on Friday, reaching its goal for the year with eight days to spare. That is a considerable turnaround from last year when the Army missed its target for the first time since 1999 and by the widest margin in more than two decades.
I cannot find this anywhere on the main Washington Post web page.
But George Allen's Jewry was on the front page again!
Posted by Aaron at 06:48 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Recommendation of Death
The Army investigator into the savage premeditated murder of three Iraqi men recommends a sentence of death.
Now, the question becomes this: will Hollywood hold a vigil for these men in opposition to the death penalty like they did for the blood thirsty killer Tookie Williams?
We shall see.
Posted by Aaron at 05:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Hottie Hero in Haditha
The pieces are not fitting together the way Fat Back Murtha and the Democrats/Media are hoping they would. Sgt. Frank Wuterich (the hottie), who is currently suing Fat Back Murtha for defamation, was actually recommended for a medal only weeks after the Haditha attack. This seems to support the Marines account of events and not what the leftist Democrats and the media wanted it to be:
The platoon commander for the squad of Marines who killed as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians during an attack in Haditha last year recommended later that the sergeant who led the attack receive a medal for his heroism that day, according to military documents.
Lt. William T. Kallop wrote in a praise-filled memo that the incident on Nov. 19, 2005, was part of a complex insurgent ambush that included a powerful roadside bomb followed by a high volume of automatic-weapons fire from several houses in the neighborhood. He lauded Sgt. Frank Wuterich for his leadership in the "counterattack" on three houses while the unit received sporadic enemy fire.
The proposed citation indicates that Kallop -- the only Marine officer at the scene as the incident unfolded -- believed the unit was under a coordinated insurgent attack when Marines stormed civilian homes and opened fire, killing women and children. Whether Marines felt threatened and believed the homes to be hostile is a central element of their defense against potential criminal charges.
It goes on...
Neal A. Puckett, an attorney for Wuterich, provided the documents and the Marine's regular fitness report dated Jan. 19 to The Washington Post, saying they support his client's version of events, and show that officers in the unit believe Wuterich and the other Marines did the right thing in the Haditha attack. Wuterich has since been promoted to staff sergeant. The award was approved by the Kilo Company commander and was sent to battalion and, later, regimental headquarters before being put on hold at the division level, Puckett said.
Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a Marine Corps spokesman, said Marine officials found no record of the award. Fazekas also declined to discuss the Haditha incident.
While residents in the Iraqi neighborhood have said the Marines went from house to house in a rage, killing civilians in cold blood, Kallop complimented Wuterich on his calm demeanor and suggested that the incident led the Marines to valuable intelligence. Kallop arrived on the scene after the initial explosion.
"Sgt. Wuterich ensured that he had 360 degree security and led a counterattack on the buildings to his south where his Marines were still receiving sporadic fire from," Kallop wrote in support of a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a combat distinguishing device for Wuterich. "That counterattack turned the tide of the ambush and killed a number of insurgents still attempting to fight or attempting to flee the area."
Posted by Aaron at 12:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
NYPost: A Speech by Rumsfeld
By DONALD RUMSFELD
August 30, 2006 -- EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is adapted from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's speech yesterday at the American Legion National Convention.
THE American Legion has achieved a great deal for our country since its founding in the months following World War I.
That year, 1919 turned out to be one of those pivotal junctures in modern history - the beginning of a period where, over time, a very different set of views would come to dominate discourse and thinking in the West. A sentiment took root that contended that, if only the growing threats that had begun to emerge in Europe and Asia could be appeased, then the carnage and destruction of World War I might be avoided.
It was, as Churchill observed, a bit like feeding a crocodile, hoping it would eat you last.
There was a strange innocence. Someone recently recalled one U.S. senator's reaction in September 1939, upon hearing that Hitler had invaded Poland to start World War II: "Lord, if only I could have talked with Hitler, all this might have been avoided." Think of that.
Once again we face the same kind of challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism.
Today, another enemy - a different kind of enemy - has also made clear its intentions - in places like New York, Bali, London and Madrid. But many have still not learned history's lessons.
We need to face the following questions:
* With the growing lethality and availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow vicious extremists can be appeased?
* Can we really continue to think that free countries can negotiate a separate peace with terrorists?
* Can we truly afford the luxury of pretending that the threats today are simply "law enforcement" problems, rather than fundamentally different threats, requiring fundamentally different approaches?
* And can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America - not the enemy - is the real source of the world's trouble?
We hear every day of new plans, new efforts, to murder Americans and other free people. Indeed, the plot recently discovered that would have killed hundreds - possibly thousands - of innocents on planes from Britain to the United States should have demonstrated to all that the enemy is serious, lethal and relentless.
But we find ourselves in a strange time:
* When a database search of America's leading newspapers turns up 10 times as many mentions of one soldier at Abu Ghraib who was punished for misconduct than mentions of Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in the War on Terror.
* When a Newsweek senior editor disparagingly refers to the brave volunteers in our Armed Forces as a "mercenary army."
* When the former head of CNN accuses the American military of deliberately targeting journalists and the former CNN Baghdad bureau chief admits he concealed reports of Saddam Hussein's crimes when he was in power so CNN could stay in Iraq.
* And when Amnesty International disgracefully refers to the military facility at Guantanamo Bay - which holds terrorists who have vowed to kill Americans, and is arguably the best run and most scrutinized detention facility in the history of warfare - as "the gulag of our times."
Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and lies and distortions being told about our troops and our country. This watchdog role is even more important today in a war that is to a great extent fought in the global media - to not allow the lies and the myths be repeated without question or challenge, so that at least the second and third draft of history will be more accurate than the quick first allegations.
In this "long war," any kind of moral and intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can severely weaken the ability of free societies to persevere.
Our enemy knows this well. They frequently invoke the names of Beirut and Somalia - places they see as examples of American retreat and weakness. And as we have seen most recently in Lebanon, they design attacks and manipulate the media to try to demoralize public opinion. They doctor photographs of casualties, use civilians as human shields and then provoke an outcry when civilians are accidentally killed in their midst.
The good news is that most of the American people, though understandably influenced by what they read and see in the media, have inner gyroscopes and good centers of gravity.
And I am confident that over time they will evaluate what is happening and come to wise conclusions.
One soldier, who recently volunteered for a second tour in Iraq, likely captured the feelings of many of his peers. In an e-mail to friends, he wrote:
"I ask that you never take advantage of the liberties guaranteed by the shedding of free blood, never take for granted the freedoms granted by our Constitution. For those liberties would be merely ink on paper were it not for the sacrifice of generations of Americans who heard the call of duty and responded heart, mind and soul with 'Yes, I will.' "
I believe the question is not whether we can win. It is whether we have the will to persevere. I believe that Americans do have that steel. And that we have learned the lessons of history, the folly of turning a blind eye to danger, and of ignoring our responsibilities.
Posted by Aaron at 12:00 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Will this woman be interviewed on Larry King or Chrissy Matthews?
What a great woman. God bless her family and I am so grateful for her son's service (like I am so grateful for Casey Sheehan's).
Many in her country had turned against the war. The mayor of her city was organizing a protest against the president. And the insurgents in Iraq, Amy Galvez feared, were growing bolder by the day.
Galvez decided she had heard enough.
Hoping her words might persuade those who support the president, the war and the troops in Iraq to assemble in a great demonstration of patriotism and support, Galvez sat at her computer and began to type.
Galvez sat at her computer and began to type.
"My son, who is a resident of Salt Lake City, is now in Iraq," she wrote in an e-mail to The Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday. "American lives have been lost in this war because the enemy has been emboldened by our own words, actions and lack of support for our own mission."
Galvez was still sitting at her computer when she heard a car door close outside her northwest Salt Lake City home. Peering through the window, she saw two Marines coming up the walk.
Adam Galvez, 21, was killed Sunday in Iraq's volatile Al Anbar province in a roadside bomb attack that claimed the life of two other members of his battalion.
His death, the 2,607th U.S. fatality confirmed by the Department of Defense, comes as his hometown is bracing for the arrival of President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who are scheduled to address the national convention of the American Legion next week at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The city's mayor, Rocky Anderson, has pledged to protest the visit and has invited Cindy Sheehan, a prominent war protester who lost her son in Iraq, to speak at an anti-war demonstration.
Inside her home, now adorned by a flag at half-staff, on Tuesday, Amy Galvez said she was more determined than ever to ensure the mission for which her son fought and died is supported back home.
"I don't want Cindy Sheehan and Rocky Anderson to be the only voices the world hears," Galvez said Tuesday evening from the living room of her home in northwest Salt Lake City, not far from the airport where Air Force One is scheduled to touch down next week. "I want our voices to be heard. I want the world to know that our troops are wonderful."
And, she said, she wants people to know that her son made a choice to serve his country and was proud of his mission in Iraq.
Posted by Aaron at 10:13 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Vets in Congress
I just did a count of the vets in the 108th congress (last year I think) because I ran into the "republicans are all chicken hawks" meme again.
Vets in House: 72 Republicans - 49 Democrats (that was higher than I expected; good for them)
Vets in the Senate: 18 Republicans - 17 Democrats - 1 Independent (jumping Jim Jeffords)
Posted by Aaron at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ex Rummy Aide to Head NATO!
This is great news...the icing to this is that it will drive the left insane.
An Army general who has headed the U.S. military command responsible for the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center for suspected terrorists for the past two years won approval Friday by NATO to be the next military commander of the 26-nation alliance.
Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, whose nomination must also be confirmed by the Senate, would replace Marine Gen. James Jones, who is retiring. Jones was the first Marine to hold the post, which has always been held by an American officer, beginning with Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1951.
Do you think the Dems smell a fight?
Posted by Aaron at 02:19 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
War Porn: Fast Insertion
Ace points to the latest in future technology (I LOVE watching this stuff on the Military Channel and on the Pentagon Channel):
Unlike the Air Force, Navy and Army, all three of which sponsor expensive satellite programs, the cash-strapped Marines are pushing just one space concept. It's called Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion, or SUSTAIN, and it's a reusable spaceplane meant to get a squad of Marines to any hotspot on Earth in two hours -- then get them out.
Ace says, "Marine. Fast-Insertion. Space-Plane."
I am not one for fast insertion, but I dig the SUSTAIN aspect of this adventure ;-)
Posted by Aaron at 11:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hot!
My heart races with pictures like this! I wish I was special forces, too!
War Porn
Elite special forces troops being dropped behind enemy lines on covert missions are to ditch their traditional parachutes in favour of strap-on stealth wings.
The lightweight carbon fibre mono-wings will allow them to jump from high altitudes and then glide 120 miles or more before landing - making them almost impossible to spot, as their aircraft can avoid flying anywhere near the target.
The technology was demonstrated in spectacular fashion three years ago when Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner - a pioneer of freefall gliding - famously 'flew' across the English Channel, leaping out of an aircraft 30,000ft above Dover and landing safely near Calais 12 minutes later.
Posted by Aaron at 12:19 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Killer?
The really hot ones turn out to be the bad guys:
If his story is true (being in a different city when the massacre happened), then I think he should get five minutes alone in a room with Rep. Murtha...you know, to "talk."
Posted by Aaron at 06:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Memorial Day in Pictures
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Stefano Paltera/Associated Press
People walk by nine coffins representing nine U.S. troops who were killed this week in Iraq at the Arlington West Iraq war memorial display on the beach next to the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif., Saturday, May 27, 2006.
President Bush, left, stands after laying a Memorial Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Jane "Zell" Pafenberg mourns her husband at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. (Melina Mara/The Post)
Michael Bloomer visits his wife's gravesite at Quantico cemetary on the 2nd anniversary of her death. He keeps up an online memorial website in part because his wife's job took her all over the county and "she had friends all over the place."
Maria Stokes visits the grave of her husband, Walter Stokes, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, at the Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, N.J.
The Memorial Bridge leading from Washington, D.C., to Virginia is lined with a joint-service cordon as the remains of the Vietnam War Unknown are taken by motor escort to Arlington National Cemetery for interment in the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Posted by Aaron at 05:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Did I mention how much Rumsfeld Rocks?
More of this, please.
Posted by Aaron at 06:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Very Touching
I just received this picture and message from my Protest Warriors group:
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."
Posted by Aaron at 08:23 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Generals by the Numbers
More breathless hysteria by the media and Washington because there are 6 generals (15 stars between them) asking for Sec'y Rumsfeld's resignation:
The widening circle of retired generals who have stepped forward to call for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation is shaping up as an unusual outcry that could pose a significant challenge to Mr. Rumsfeld's leadership, current and former generals said on Thursday.
Currently, the military has a total of 881 generals (or admirals) with 1533 stars between them. So let's do some math:
6 generals represent 0.68% of the current military leadership.
Michael Moore inflates the number by adding up the stars of the generals which is 15.
15 stars represent 0.98% of the current stars on the shoulders of our generals.
And there you have it. Almost 1% of the military leadership and 1% of the rank is asking for Rumsfeld's resignation. How dare he refuse their call?!?
Perhaps some stats on how much money these generals are making from bookings and book deals would shed more light.
Posted by Aaron at 04:37 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Force Multipliers: A Poem
Read this...it appeared on Blogs for Bush yesterday.
Force Multipliers
By Mark Noonan at 07:10 PM
We sometimes get messages that we just have to share with our readers. This is one of them:
Force Multipliers
Wikipedia: force multiplier-a military term referring to a factor that dramatically increases (hence multiplies) the combat-effectiveness of a given military force.
In Iraq an IED explodes,
An American soldier dies,
But that blast will grow as the media blow
It up before our eyes.
And trumpet to the watching world,
These fifth column falsifiers,
Like sheep they bleat we face defeat,
Our foe’s force multipliers.
Osama and his minions know,
In combat they can’t beat us;
So they hope and pray will come a day,
Our own media will defeat us.
Ignoring all the good we’ve done,
Liberals focus on the gore,
On losses mounting and body counting,
To prove we’ve lost this war.
They disgraced us once in Vietnam,
So now these leftists feel,
That again they’ll win with media spin,
And make America kneel.
But defeatists aren’t the only ones,
Learned lessons from the past;
Back then we swore we’d lose no more,
This time we’re standing fast.
The Internet’s exposed them,
As elitist media liars;
They stand unclothed and widely loathed,
Our foe’s force multipliers.
Some day when all our troops return,
With Iraq on freedom’s path,
The liberal elite who sought defeat,
May face some Righteous wrath.
Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
Slam!
h/t: GD
Posted by Pam at 04:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
John Kerry Meet Baby Noor
More American soldiers terrorizing Iraqi women and children:
When troops from the Georgia National Guard raided a Baghdad home in early December, they had no idea that their mission in Iraq would take a different turn.
As the young parents of an infant girl nervously watched the soldiers search their modest home, the baby's unflinching grandmother thrust the little girl at the Americans, showing them the purple pouch protruding from her back.
Little Noor, barely three months old, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column fails to completely close. Iraqi doctors had told her parents she would live only 45 days.
But she was tenaciously clinging to life, and the soldiers in the home--many of them fathers themselves--were moved.
"Well, I saw this child as the firstborn child of the young mother and father and really, all I could think of was my five children back at home and my young daughter," Lt. Jeff Morgan told CNN from Baghdad. . . . So Morgan and his fellow soldiers began working to get Noor the help she needs.
Fox News reports that Baby Noor is headed the United States and will receive treatment free of charge. I hope, when this baby is older, that she will seek out and meet with John Kerry.
Posted by Aaron at 09:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Honor the Fallen
We should take a moment today to honor the sailors that died on December 7, 1941.
Upon such an attack we took the battle not only to those that attacked us, but to the evil spreading through Europe.
Hitler did not attack us on 12/7, but you have to do the heavy lifting to clean house.
In four years and some hundreds of thousands of war dead, we defeated Germany and Japan and built vibrant democracies that helped us defeat the following scourge of communism.
Such will be the case in Iraq and defeat is certain Islamofacists and tyrannical dictators the world over.
God bless America!
Posted by Aaron at 05:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
God Bless Our Troops
Yes, tears are required; this man's video was almost lost, but he called Rush and reminded him that he made the video...
You can now see it and this soldier received a free Rush 24/7 from regular listeners.
Let the wings of freedom carry us all now and forever.
Posted by Aaron at 10:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Choose Five and Pray
I just read a great column by Michelle Malkin called the Thankful Tree. In it she describes five soldiers she wants to honor this Thanksgiving. I am inspired to do the same.
So this Thanksgiving, why don't we all go online and find five brave souls that have given their lives in the war on terror and when you're gathered around the table recite their names and a brief description. Ask the Lord to be with them and comfort them as we thank God for their sacrifice.
Posted by Aaron at 09:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More Troops? Fewer Troops? No Troops?
Mort Kondracke covers John McCain's call for more troops and the disgusting cut and run vote in the Senate last week on the Warner Amendment. Here's one poll result that doesn't get mentioned much by the liberals or the media:
The latest Gallup poll found that only 19 percent of U.S. adults favor immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops. Thirty-five percent favor withdrawal over 12 months, while 38 percent are willing to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until stability is established and 7 percent want troop levels increased.
As I've said several times in the past, I'm not sure what more troops would accomplish. If we were losing battles, I could see it, but the vast majority of the casualties are coming from IEDs in the roadways, which a larger force would not be able to combat as best as I can tell.
Meanwhile, HDS Greenway writes for the Cut and Run crowd:
I used to believe that, no matter what one thought of the war, Americans had to stay to keep Iraq from disintegration and civil war. If I thought the United States could prevent either, I would say stay the course. But I believe now that we no longer control events in Iraq and that in the end we cannot hold the country together.
As it is now, insurgents can make a good case that nationalism and pride demand fighting the foreign occupiers. The hard truth is that more and more Iraqis are joining up with Al Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Take American and other foreign troops out, and the nationalist element to the insurgency sinks.
That may be true, but what happens when the US pulls out? Do we end up with Iran invading? Greenway says not a word about the mullahs and their response to an American withdrawal.
Posted by pat at 04:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Toughest Job in the World
(Crossposted to Brainster's)
About 13 years ago, a very close friend of mine died of a massive heart attack at age 37. His wife came home from work to find him sitting on the couch; he had passed away about four hours earlier.
The ambulance came and whisked him away, and she didn't know how to drive, so she called me and I drove her to the hospital where they told us that he'd died.
We went back to their house and she started making the telephone calls. But of course the moment anybody got on the line she'd start sobbing and hand the phone to me, so I had to tell his parents and his brothers and various other friends and relatives that he'd died.
It was, by a large margin, the worst day of my life.
Major Steve Beck has gone through that five times.
Each door is different. But once they're open, Beck said, some of the scenes inside are inevitably the same.
"The curtains pull away. They come to the door. And they know. They always know," he said.
"You can almost see the blood run out of their body and their heart hit the floor. It's not the blood as much as their soul. Something sinks. I've never seen that except when someone dies. And I've seen a lot of death.
"They're falling - either literally or figuratively - and you have to catch them.
"In this business, I can't save his life. All I can do is catch the family while they're falling."
This is not a fun little story. But it's extremely moving and well-written. Thanks to our buddy Chris from Lucky Dawg for pointing this one out.
Posted by pat at 12:13 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Santorum to Introduce War Bloggers
This won't win votes in PA, but its wonderful that people like Michael Yon will be recognized for doing the work the MSM will not:
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
Senator Santorum to Join Bloggers in Highlighting Efforts of Armed Forces Serving in Iraq
SRC Launches Initiative to Highlight Efforts of U.S. Service Members Serving in Iraq
Washington, D.C. - Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, will hold a press conference to highlight the individual efforts of our men and women in uniform serving in Iraq. Four independent civilian military bloggers will share firsthand accounts of the efforts of our Armed Forces in fighting the Global War on Terror and protecting the homeland.
Senator Santorum will also give a brief presentation of unique Senate features available on the Senate Republican Conference’s website http://src.senate.gov that will highlight stories and narratives of our men and women in uniform serving in Iraq.
WHO: Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Michael Yon, independent civilian military blogger, http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/
Bill Roggio, independent civilian military blogger, http://www.billroggio.com/
Steve Schippert, independent civilian military blogger, http://wordunheard.com
Andi Carol, independent civilian military blogger, http://andisworld.typepad.com/
WHAT: Press Conference
WHERE: SC-4
U.S. Capitol
WHEN: TOMORROW – Wednesday, November 9, 2005 9:45 a.m.
Posted by Aaron at 02:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Sino-Props
China gets props for its manned mission to space.
Bill Clinton gets props for selling them the technology in exchange for campaign contributions.
Posted by Aaron at 04:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
What a Joke
Wesley Clark (aka Ashley Wilkes for Rush Fans) is the biggest joke around. Check out this steaming pile found in WaPo this morning:
In the old, familiar fashion, mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq have mobilized increasing public doubts about the war. More than half the American people now believe that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. They're right. But it would also be a mistake to pull out now, or to start pulling out or to set a date certain for pulling out. Instead we need a strategy to create a stable, democratizing and peaceful state in Iraq -- a strategy the administration has failed to develop and articulate.
Um, what was the strategy in Kosovo? Why are we still there? Why are Wahhabist Mosques popping up there? Why are Serbian Christians still being slaughtered? What is "victory" in Kosovo?
From the outset of the U.S. post-invasion efforts, we needed a three-pronged strategy: diplomatic, political and military. Iraq sits geographically on the fault line between Shiite and Sunni Islam; for the mission to succeed we will have to be the catalyst for regional cooperation, not regional conflict.
Unfortunately, the administration didn't see the need for a diplomatic track, and its scattershot diplomacy in the region -- threats, grandiose pronouncements and truncated communications -- has been ill-advised and counterproductive. The U.S. diplomatic failure has magnified the difficulties facing the political and military elements of strategy by contributing to the increasing infiltration of jihadists and the surprising resiliency of the insurgency.
Tell me about your diplomatic efforts in Kosovo. Kosovo sits geographically on the fault line between Muslims and Christians, Bosnians and Kosovars and Albanians. Describe your brilliant and flawless diplomacy. Has Madeline Albright even been to Kosovo?
On the political track, aiming for a legitimate, democratic Iraqi government was essential, but the United States was far too slow in mobilizing Iraqi political action. A wasted first year encouraged a rise in sectarian militias and the emergence of strong fractionating forces. Months went by without a U.S. ambassador in Iraq, and today political development among the Iraqis is hampered by the lack not only of security but also of a stable infrastructure program that can reliably deliver gas, electricity and jobs.
I am about ready to throw up. I mean you can even turn on MSNBC and see that a constitution is being drafted. Did he not see 8 million people vote 6 months ago? Does he have any historical perspective? Of course he does, but stuff like that goes out the window when you are preening and need attention.
Meanwhile, on the military track, security on the ground remains poor at best. U.S. armed forces still haven't received resources, restructuring and guidance adequate for the magnitude of the task. Only in June, over two years into the mission of training Iraqi forces, did the president announce such "new steps" as partnering with Iraqi units, establishing "transition teams" to work with Iraqi units and training Iraqi ministries to conduct antiterrorist operations. But there is nothing new about any of this; it is the same nation-building doctrine that we used in Vietnam. Where are the thousands of trained linguists? Where are the flexible, well-resourced, military-led infrastructure development programs to win "hearts and minds?" Where are the smart operations and adequate numbers of forces -- U.S., coalition or Iraqi -- to strengthen control over the borders?
Vietnam. This really is pathetic. I cannot believe he went to an Ivy. This is freshman year college writing (at best). Where are these trained linguists indeed. Where were they in Kosovo? Shouldn't our ranks be filled with swaths of arab speaking linguists left over from your triumphant campaign in Kosovo?
With each passing month the difficulties are compounded and the chances for a successful outcome are reduced. Urgent modification of the strategy is required before it is too late to do anything other than simply withdraw our forces.
Adding a diplomatic track to the strategy is a must. The United States should form a standing conference of Iraq's neighbors, complete with committees dealing with all the regional economic and political issues, including trade, travel, cross-border infrastructure projects and, of course, cutting off the infiltration of jihadists. The United States should tone down its raw rhetoric and instead listen more carefully to the many voices within the region. In addition, a public U.S. declaration forswearing permanent bases in Iraq would be a helpful step in engaging both regional and Iraqi support as we implement our plans.
Public declarations. That's the ticket! And we need to "listen." And we need more "allies" to form "committees." We already have this; it's called the United Nations and its worthless. You know, the only thing about this conflict that is like Vietnam is this liberal drivel.
On the political side, the timeline for the agreements on the Constitution is less important than the substance of the document. It is up to American leadership to help engineer, implement and sustain a compromise that will avoid the "red lines" of the respective factions and leave in place a state that both we and Iraq's neighbors can support. So no Kurdish vote on independence, a restricted role for Islam and limited autonomy in the south. And no private militias.
Reading this op/ed, I thank God you are not writing the constitution.
In addition, the United States needs a legal mandate from the government to provide additional civil assistance and advice, along with additional U.S. civilian personnel, to help strengthen the institutions of government. Key ministries must be reinforced, provincial governments made functional, a system of justice established (and its personnel trained) and the rule of law promoted at the local level. There will be a continuing need for assistance in institutional development, leadership training and international monitoring for years to come, and all of this must be made palatable to Iraqis concerned with their nation's sovereignty. Monies promised for reconstruction simply must be committed and projects moved forward, especially in those areas along the border and where the insurgency has the greatest potential.
On the military side, the vast effort underway to train an army must be matched by efforts to train police and local justices. Canada, France and Germany should be engaged to assist. Neighboring states should also provide observers and technical assistance. In military terms, striking at insurgents and terrorists is necessary but insufficient. Military and security operations must return primarily to the tried-and-true methods of counterinsurgency: winning the hearts and minds of the populace through civic action, small-scale economic development and positive daily interactions. Ten thousand Arab Americans with full language proficiency should be recruited to assist as interpreters. A better effort must be made to control jihadist infiltration into the country by a combination of outposts, patrols and reaction forces reinforced by high technology. Over time U.S. forces should be pulled back into reserve roles and phased out.
Canada, France, Germany. The liberals dependency on these nations is bordering on the psychotic. If these nations wanted to help, they would. How about this, why don't you go this weekend and get all this help? You can have 'em. I'll keep Japan, Australia and Brittain.
The growing chorus of voices demanding a pullout should seriously alarm the Bush administration, because President Bush and his team are repeating the failure of Vietnam: failing to craft a realistic and effective policy and instead simply demanding that the American people show resolve. Resolve isn't enough to mend a flawed approach -- or to save the lives of our troops. If the administration won't adopt a winning strategy, then the American people will be justified in demanding that it bring our troops home.
What is new here? Nothing. He was a joke in Europe. He was a joke at the Pentagon. He is a joke in retirement. The gall of a man who's only war-running experience was that of an air traffic controller bombing everything from 15,000 feet to offer advice. Ms. Cleo's advice is more respectable.
Posted by Aaron at 11:42 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Sheehan's Moral Authority Meets Tammy Pruett
Yes. MoDo will do a column on her (yeah, right).
Speaking to hundreds of Idaho National Guardsmen, the president singled out military mom Tammy Pruett of Pocatello, Idaho, whose husband and five sons have all served in Iraq.
"Tammy has four sons serving in Iraq right now with the Idaho National Guard: Eric, Evan, Greg and Jeff. Last year her husband, Leon, and another son, Aaron, returned from Iraq, where they helped train Iraqi firefighters in Mosul.
"Tammy says this -- and I want you to hear this -- 'I know that if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country.'
"And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in. America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts."
The crowd, made up mostly of military family members, broke into cheers and chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!"
I just saw this on the news. Look at this woman. Look closely. This woman. I just don't know what to say. Can you see the weight of a nation on her shoulders? Unlike the left acting like the weight of American imperialism is on Sheehan's shoulders, you see the weight of 25 million people who spent the last three decades under tyranny starving for freedom. Look closer. Does she remind you of someone? I think she does.
Right now, Americans in uniform are serving at posts across the world, often taking great risks on my orders. We have given them training and equipment; and they have given us an example of idealism and character that makes every American proud. The volunteers of our military are unrelenting in battle, unwavering in loyalty, unmatched in honor and decency, and every day they're making our nation more secure. Some of our servicemen and women have survived terrible injuries, and this grateful country will do everything we can to help them recover. And we have said farewell to some very good men and women, who died for our freedom, and whose memory this nation will honor forever.
One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, who was killed during the assault on Fallujah. His mom, Janet, sent me a letter and told me how much Byron loved being a Marine, and how proud he was to be on the front line against terror. She wrote, "When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said, 'You've done your job, Mom. Now it is my turn to protect you.'" Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom's defenders, and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood's mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood. -- President Bush, SOTU Address 2005
And who does she NOT remind you of?
"And the other thing I want him to tell me is ‘just what was the noble cause Casey died for?’ Was it freedom and democracy? Bullsh*t! He died for oil. He died to make your friends richer. He died to expand American imperialism in the Middle East. We’re not freer here, thanks to your PATRIOT Act. Iraq is not free. You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you’ll stop the terrorism." -- Mother Sheehan
" Support Cindy by making a contribution.
Your financial support is needed to make sure that Cindy and other military families and veterans can continue their vigil outside the Presidents, ranch. Please contribute to help cover the costs of assisting others with their travel and their stay in Crawford.
Donate Today" -- MeetWithCindy.org
"MATTHEWS: All right. If your son had been killed in Afghanistan, would you have a different feeling?
SHEEHAN: I don't think so, Chris, because I believe that Afghanistan is almost the same thing. We're fighting terrorism. Or terrorists, we're saying. But they're not contained in a country. This is an ideology and not an enemy. And we know that Iraq, Iraq had no terrorism. They were no threat to the United States of America.
MATTHEWS: But Afghanistan was harboring, the Taliban was harboring al-Qaida which is the group that attacked us on 9/11.
SHEEHAN: Well then we should have gone after al-Qaida and maybe not after the country of Afghanistan.
MATTHEWS: But that's where they were being harbored. That's where they were headquartered. Shouldn't we go after their headquarters? Doesn't that make sense?
SHEEHAN: Well, but there were a lot of innocent people killed in that invasion, too. ... But I'm seeing that we're sending our ground troops in to invade countries where the entire country wasn't the problem. Especially Iraq. Iraq was no problem. And why do we send in invading armies to march into Afghanistan when we're looking for a select group of people in that country?
So I believe that our troops should be brought home out of both places where we're obviously not having any success in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and that's who they told us was responsible for 9/11." -- Sheehan on Hardball
Posted by Aaron at 06:15 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Earth to White House: Hire Scott Ott
Scott Ott is usually known for satire. Here is a fictional letter that really should be signed by President Bush:
Dear Mrs. Sheehan,You have asked me to identify the noble cause for which your son died. I have not answered you personally out of respect for the nobility of your son's sacrifice.
Being president forces me into the spotlight, but I would rather stand in the shadows of men like Casey Sheehan.
Directing national attention on my response to your protest creates a distraction from what matters. The focus of our attention, and our admiration, should rest on people like Casey Sheehan, who stand in the breach when evil threatens to break out and consume a helpless people.
The running story on the news networks should be the valiant efforts of our troops -- the merchants of mercy who export freedom and import honor. They trade their own lives for the sake of others.
As a result, we live in a nation where a woman can camp outside of the president's house and verbally attack the president for weeks on end without fear of prison, torture or death. And the number of nations where such protest is possible has multiplied thanks to the work of our military.
You ask for what noble cause your son died?
In a sense he died so that people like you, who passionately oppose government policies, can freely express that opposition. As you camp in Crawford, you should take off your shoes, for you stand on holy ground. This land was bought with the blood of men like your son.
Now, 25 million Iraqis cry out to enjoy the life you take for granted. Most of them will never use their freedom to denigrate the sacrifice of those who paid for it. But once liberty is enshrined in law, they will be free to do so. And when the Iraqis finally escape their incarceration, hope will spread throughout that enslaved region of the world, eventually making us all safer and more free.
The key is in the lock of the prison door. Bold men risk everything to turn it.
Mrs. Sheehan, everyone dies. But few experience the bittersweet glory of death with a purpose -- death that sets people free and produces ripples of liberty hundreds of years into the future.
Casey Sheehan died that freedom might triumph over bondage, hope over despair, prosperity over misery. He died restoring justice and mercy. He lived and died to help to destroy the last stubborn vestiges of the Dark Ages.
To paraphrase President Lincoln, the world will little note nor long remember what you and I say here. But it can never forget what Casey Sheehan did during his brief turn on earth. If we are wise, we will take increased devotion to that cause for which he gave the last full measure of devotion.
Our brave warriors have blazed a trail. They have enstrusted the completion of the task to those of us they left behind. Let's, you and I, resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.
Let's finish the work that they have thus far so nobly advanced.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Amen.
Posted by Aaron at 02:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Iraq Vet Denied In State Tuition
I swear, how do these things happen? And what idiot is running this Community College? I give it a week and the president of the college will be making a statement that this was some clerical error and the registrar was simply doing his or her job.
Or, better yet, Rice University should offer him a four year free ride. That would be great!
Until then, why don't you good Ole Austin Community College a ring and let them know what you think...
ACC Main Number & Address:
512-223-7000
5930 Middle Fiskville Rd
Austin, TX 78752
Posted by Aaron at 10:42 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Ouch, MoDo, that's gotta hurt!
GREAT piece in the WSJ today. Listen to the logical rebuttal to Maureen Dowd's last screed from a father who lost his son in Iraq:
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a distraught mom standing heroically outside the guarded gates of the most powerful and inhumane man on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is so moved by Mrs. Sheehan's plight that she bestowed upon her and all grieving parents the title of "absolute moral authority." That characterization epitomizes the arrogance and condescension of anyone who would presume to understand and speak for all of us. How can we all possess "absolute moral authority" when we hold so many different perspectives?
I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.
More of the silent majority needs to speak up. But now for the main act, we have Ann Coulter discussing the Commander in Grief:
We're sorry about Ms. Sheehan's son, but the entire nation was attacked on 9-11. This isn't about her personal loss. America has been under relentless attack from Islamic terrorists for 20 years, culminating in a devastating attack on U.S. soil on 9-11. It's not going to stop unless we fight back, annihilate Muslim fanatics, destroy their bases, eliminate their sponsors and end all their hope. A lot more mothers will be grieving if our military policy is: No one gets hurt!
Fortunately, the Constitution vests authority to make foreign policy with the president of the United States, not with this week's sad story. But liberals think that since they have been able to produce a grieving mother, the commander in chief should step aside and let Cindy Sheehan make foreign policy for the nation. As Maureen Dowd said, it's "inhumane" for Bush not "to understand that the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."
I'm not sure what "moral authority" is supposed to mean in that sentence, but if it has anything to do with Cindy Sheehan dictating America's foreign policy, then no, it is not "absolute." It's not even conditional, provisional, fleeting, theoretical or ephemeral.
The logical, intellectual and ethical shortcomings of such a statement are staggering. If one dead son means no one can win an argument with you, how about two dead sons? What if the person arguing with you is a mother who also lost a son in Iraq and she's pro-war? Do we decide the winner with a coin toss? Or do we see if there's a woman out there who lost two children in Iraq and see what she thinks about the war?
Dowd's "absolute" moral authority column demonstrates, once again, what can happen when liberals start tossing around terms they don't understand like "absolute" and "moral." It seems that the inspiration for Dowd's column was also absolute. On the rocks.
WOW.
Posted by Aaron at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Marine Mother Who Lost Son Supports the War
From CNN of all places:
The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.
"Honor me in this way," Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.
At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son's own message: "It has been with the greatest pride I have served ... fighting to preserve freedom."
She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.
God bless her.
Posted by Aaron at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
...and then there's this asshole
What a total jerk. Totally inexcusable behavior from Drudge:
Larry Northern, 59, of McLennan County, was charged Tuesday with Criminal Mischief Over $1,500 and under $20,000 after a pickup truck tore through a row of white crosses erected by anti-war protesters gathered near the President’s ranch in Crawford.
Posted by Aaron at 02:30 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Military Gets Short Shrift in More Ways than One
Our military continues to get pummeled--by Americans. Here are just a couple of examples:
The State of New York wants to take over the Seventh Regiment Armory located on Park Avenue.
Sergeant Peter Wells was quoted as saying, The state says they want to put in a conservancy, that would bring in high-end performing artists here as they take over our memorabilia gathered since before the Civil War.
[...]
Some way to respect the Seventh Regiment, whose casualties over the many wars have been horrific.
Are you going to tell me New York City doesn't have enough performance venues? What a way to respect the Seventh Regiment, indeed.
In other news...or rather non-news, if you're the MSM, military recruitment is up. Oliver North reports,
Through the end of June, the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard all "made their end strength objectives" and the Marine Corps actually went 2 percent over its new "accessions" goal. Enlisted accessions are those who are new additions to the enlisted strength of a military service.
(The Army fell slightly short of its goals.)
Good news, right? Then why aren't we hearing about it in a time of war?
North also had this to pass on in his Town Hall column, discussing his attendence at the Campus Progress National Student Conference. (Remember? Paul Begala was there.)
One [attendee] kindly brought me one of the "publications" handed out to participants -- an anti-military, anti-American screed entitled "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste: A Guide to the Demilitarization of America's Youth and Students."
The editors of this "enlightened" journal claim that the "glorification of the military ignores the fact that most positive change in the United States has come from people standing up to the government, big corporations, and other forms of organized violence and crime." It then offers tips on how to protest all things military.
The highly successful Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program is attacked in a spread entitled, "JROTC: What the Hell Is It? And, What Does It Want?"
[...]
Another article claims that "the $600+ billion the U.S. spends each year on maintaining a huge war-making machine cuts into the things that really matter to young people -- education, the environment, the arts. Our schools are thrown open to military recruiters while the money needed to buy books, maintain buildings, and pay teachers is dwindling."
[...]
A piece extolling an anti-ROTC "sit-in" at the University of Puerto Rico includes praise for Iraqis who are "resisting occupation" and ends with a clarion call from the past: "We must fight the insanity of war from every angle. This requires ending all ROTC programs and their recruitment activities on our college campuses."
It's shameful that men and women in uniform--men and women who are proud to serve their country--are constantly belittled and treated like vermin by some of the very people they swear to protect.
Posted by at 10:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Military Base Closures - Part 2
Chicago Tribune editorial writer Steve Chapman has written a commentary about military base closures that supports a belief that this pundit expressed in an earlier post on the same subject. Please read Mr. Chapman's commentary for details.
Posted by Dodo David at 07:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Military Base Closures
Get out the cheese, because here comes the whine.
The U.S. Defense Department has announced which military facilities that it wishes to close.
FOXNews reports, "Lawmakers' fight to keep their military bases is now on full throttle."
The federal lawmakers who are opposing the recommended base closings are doing so for the wrong reason.
There are situations in which a community or state needs to give up something for the benefit of the entire nation.
The closing of a military base is one such situation.
Federal lawmakers lack the courage to tell voters the truth about the U.S. military:
It is not the mission of the U.S. military to create and sustain civilian jobs.
Granted, nobody likes the loss of jobs, especially when hundreds of jobs are lost.
However, that's life.
The U.S. Constitution doesn't grant people the right to have jobs.
The U.S. Constitution doesn't grant cities the right to have military bases.
Sometimes life hands us a situation that forces us to either adapt or move.
For example, during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, many residents of the South-Central USA moved to the West Coast in order to survive.
During the oil bust of the 1980s, communities in Oklahoma learned how foolish it was to depend on one industry for economic survival. Those communities adapted by diversifying their industries.
During recent years, communities throughout the USA have had to endure layoffs at large corporations.
If a community is unable to endure the closing of a military base, then that community is nothing more than a welfare recipient.
Thus, the fight against the closing of a military base is a fight to keep people on government welfare. Keeping people dependent on government welfare is one way that some politicians guarantee their re-election.
Still, the threat of a job loss is troubling. Thankfully, the Bible addresses the deeper issue - personal survival.
In one of his sermons, Jesus said the following:
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The closing of military bases results in a test of faith.
Are the people affected by the closures placing their faith in God, or are they placing their faith in the federal government?
Personal Note: Earlier this year, this pundit was forced to find a new employer when the job that he had was eliminated. Thus, this pundit is addressing an issue that he has dealt with personally.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Posted by Dodo David at 03:57 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
David Hackworth Dies of Cancer at 74
Famed American warrior for freedom and FOXNews contributor David Hackworth died this evening of cancer. He was 74 and died in Mexico. Hackworth is most notable for his deep, intellectual voice, his love for fellow soldiers and his undying patriotism.
Please pray for his family; our nation will miss him.
He wrote columns for World Net Daily for seven years; his last column was published on May 3, 2005, regarding his previous column addressed to Lt. General John E. Sattler.
He was no turncoat like Anthony Zinni or a milk-toast, media whore like Wesley Clark. He was constructive in his criticism; unwavering in his support; and will be sorely missed.
Posted by Aaron at 11:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sgt. Akbar Sentenced to Death
Sgt. Akbar, convicted of killing fellow soldiers in a grenade and rifle attack while awaiting orders to invade Iraq, was sentenced to death.
Good.
Posted by at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
U.S. Soldiers Followed Procedure
In the NY Post today:
U.S. soldiers reportedly have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of an Italian journalist and an intelligence agent last month in Baghdad.
U.S. military officials told NBC News that a joint American-Italian investigation found the soldiers acted properly in firing on a car bearing a just-freed hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and an intelligence officer, Nicola Calipari.
The car was about 130 yards from a checkpoint when the soldiers flashed their lights to get it to stop. They fired warning shots when the car was within 90 yards of the checkpoint, but at 65 yards, they used deadly force. Calipari was killed and Sgrena wounded.
The incident enraged Italy, whose support for the war in Iraq was already weakening
Will an apology from Commie-loving Sgrena, who blamed our forces for the death of her guard, be coming soon? Don't hold your breath!
Posted by at 11:46 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Let them Serve
A purple heart winner and Iraq veteran is gay and wants to continue to serve. Again, I say if you have family or own property you should be able to defend this country. Even if you don't own property or have a family, you should still be allowed to fight for the rights granted to all citizens.
From the AP by way of Drudge:
An Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq wants a chance to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier, a desire that's bringing him into conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, says he has not encountered trouble from fellow soldiers and would like to stay if not for the policy that permits gay men and women to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.
"I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open," Stout said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But if we have to stay here and hide our lives all the time, it's just not worth it."
Posted by Aaron at 04:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack