This blog is no longer active as of October 31, 2011
I received an interesting e-mail this morning. A good long while back, I made a posting on a report that Iraq did, in fact, have WMD’s.
Well, a gent e-mailed me, about a blog posting, that he made, on a new blog that he has created, called Right of a Nation. The posting is about the WMD’s that were in Iraq.
Check out those posts Here and Here.
Interesting indeed.
Cindy Sheehan and her band of code pink thugs attacked a Elderly Decorated Military Vietnam War Veteran!
The Video: (H/T to Gateway Pundit)
Gateway Pundit has more on this, including the parts NOT reported by the media.
CBS 13 in California has more:
An unidentified military veteran was involved in a tense confrontation with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and the group Code Pink at a rally at Travis Air Force Base on Saturday, November 28, 2009.CBSA Saturday rally led by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at Travis Air Force Base nearly ended in a brawl when a military veteran physically confronted the protesters.
Anti-war group Code Pink demonstrated at the military base Saturday morning in the first of six planned protests against unmanned military drones currently in use in overseas war zones.
Sheehan, a well-known anti-war activist whose son was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004, was leading the demonstration with a megaphone when a man dressed in a formal military uniform stepped up to her and berated her.
Videotape of the incident shows that Sheehan yelled “Get out of my face” through the megaphone at the man, who slapped the device away. Other protesters immediately joined Sheehan and traded insults with the man, and a shoving match broke out.
Military police quickly pulled the two sides apart.
What a disgrace to America!
But, that’s Obama’s America….. đ
Home of the sheep and the slaves!
Remember this come 2010 and 2012. We must take our Government back from this America-Hating fascists!
I must say, that this, is SWEET to watch. The footage is from 2004 and was shot in Iraq.
This comes via Apache Clips:
I love posting stuff like this, because makes the Paleo-Conservative cowards and the liberal sissies heads explode! đ
Not to sound like the eternal skeptic here; but something about this story sounds very fishy. I mean, I can understand a death — but a terrorist reporting someone punching him in the mouth strikes me as not being true. Something is fishy here. Not to mention Fox Newsâs god-awful headline on this story; which does, I am afraid show a horrific bias in this story.
Via Fox News:
Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq â the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.
The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment â called an admiral’s mast â and have requested a trial by court-martial.
Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors â and he had the bloody lip to prove it.
Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.
Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.
Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.
Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.
Not to sound overly crass or anything like that, but this idiot terrorist ought to be glad a âFat Lipâ is the only thing he received from these Navy Seals. Please do not misunderstand what I am trying to say here folks—- I know that Military personnel are capable of committing crimes just as well as anyone else. A perfect example would be the oh, so ever convenient CNN special on the Army guys who shot, killed and dumped in a ditched some prisoners in Iraq here a few days ago.
A little comment about that little situation; those people are cooling their heels in an Army Prison —- right where they should be. There is no excuse for what those men did, at all. I am quite sorry, but using the asinine excuse of âThey will be just shooting at us again laterâ is no excuse to kill a prison and try to cover it up. Anyone that thinks that those men are heroes is just plain crazy.
Anyhow, back to the present situation at hand here, this terrorist could have, in fact, punched himself in the face and then just told the Iraqi Authorities that the Americans did it to him. Since when do we take the word of Islamic terrorists that killed contractors in Iraq, over the words of our brave service members? Unless there is more to this story than is being reported in the media, perhaps another service member saw the persons involved in this abusing this guy and they reported it to the higher ups in the Military? We do not know this information, so it is hard to make that sort of a judgment call.
Another thing I will say here is this, I was reading a few other Conservative blogs, and some of the stuff I read, I found to be downright surprising. Let me remind my follow Conservatives that we do believe in the rule of law. In World War II and all subsequent wars, the United States and its Military always heeded the Geneva conventions; now the Japanese and the Vietnamese were another story. They did not always do as such. Nevertheless, American never responded in kind, we always treated our prisoners of war with respect. This is why all of this Presidential and Justice Department mandated so-called âenhanced interrogationâ or as normal, sane, rational people call it — torture; is so troublesome to me. I have to believe that even the feistiest of the old school Democrats of old, which are nowadays mostly New or Neo Conservatives would not have approved of such things.
Anyhow, this story should prove to be quite interesting and here is hoping that someone the media or something in the Blogosphere will continue to follow it.
Last night I wrote, in some not-so politically correct words, that the President is not interested in fighting the war in Afghanistan. It appears that this news article confirms what I have believed all along.
Quote:
WASHINGTON â President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he’s called “a war of necessity” in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.
Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said.
The U.S. officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and because, one official said, the White House is incensed by leaks on its Afghanistan policy that didn’t originate in the White House.
They said the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, could arrive in Washington as early as Sunday to participate in the rollout of the new plan, including testifying before Congress toward the end of next week. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry also are expected to appear before congressional committees.
As it now stands, the plan calls for the deployment over a nine-month period beginning in March of three Army brigades from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., and a Marine brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., for as many as 23,000 additional combat and support troops.
In addition, a 7,000-strong division headquarters would be sent to take command of U.S.-led NATO forces in southern Afghanistan â to which the U.S. has long been committed â and 4,000 U.S. military trainers would be dispatched to help accelerate an expansion of the Afghan army and police.
This all sounds nice and pretty; that is until you read down further…:
A U.S. military official used the term “decisional” to describe Monday evening’s meeting among Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Gates, Clinton, National Security Adviser Jim Jones, Eikenberry and senior U.S. military commanders.
The administration’s plan contains “off-ramps,” points starting next June at which Obama could decide to continue the flow of troops, halt the deployments and adopt a more limited strategy or “begin looking very quickly at exiting” the country, depending on political and military progress, one defense official said.
“We have to start showing progress within six months on the political side or military side or that’s it,” the U.S. defense official said.
It’s “not just how we get people there, but what’s the strategy for getting them out,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.
The approach is driven in part by concerns that Afghan President Hamid Karzai won’t keep his promises to root out corruption and support political reforms, and in part by growing domestic opposition to the war, the U.S. officials said.
HotAir.com’s Ed Morrissey is not impressed at all:
The increase in troops is a good decision, but the off-ramps almost completely undermine it. The point in extending our footprint is to win the trust of the local communities and prove our reliability in providing them security, which is the central thrust of McChrystalâs COIN strategy. By getting them to trust our commitment, we can get them to help fight the Taliban themselves, as we did with the Anbar Awakening in Iraq against al-Qaeda, and greatly improve the intel we get from the locals.  If we send 34,000 more troops but give ourselves a six-month time frame for success or bug-out, the locals will very quickly come to the realization that allying with us will be suicide. The COIN strategy only worked in Iraq because George W. Bush was adamant that we would stay until we won.
A Commander in Chief doesnât need âoff-ramps.â Any President can call an end to a deployment based on his own judgment. Putting these conditions into the American strategy signals weakness â a desire to pull out without getting blamed for the decision.  Obama wants to be off the hook for an eventual withdrawal by claiming that heâs forced to do it because of these benchmark failures. And if Obamaâs that keen to retreat, he should just do it now.
Ed Morrissey hit the nail square on the head. President Barack Obama was never, at any point, interested in fighting the so-called good war in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama knew that he was inheriting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and he knew that if he continued them, that he would also inherit the backlash from the left that goes with them. Therefore, he is devising a way of getting out that region and making himself look like the saint and President George W. Bush look like the bad person. Â This was the plan all along; never at any point was there a plan to fight this war until victory; but rather a plan of stealth defeat.
There are many reasons why the Democrats will not fight the war on terror. Namely, it is because to a certain degree the Democrats actually sympathize with the terrorists. The Democrats have always had a disdain for Israel and its right to exist; many Democrats have always felt that President Harry Truman royally screwed up when he decided to formally recognize Israel as a sovereign Nation. It is due to the frosty relationship towards Israel that sparked the attack of the U.S.S. Liberty by a rogue faction within the Israeli Defense Force. Many people who are of the hatemonger class, like to blame Israel and the Jews for that attack; the problem is, they are blaming the wrong people, they should be blaming the Democrats for it.
Not only this, but you also have about sixty percent of the Democrats who actually blame Bush for the attacks on 9/11. They actually believe that Bush knew the attacks were coming and actually allowed them to happen. This is why Eric Holder and the justice department are having civilian trials for a few of the 9/11 conspirators. They desire to drag out of the stuff that happened in the months after 9/11, as to make a mockery of them. Â The remaining people within the Democratic Party and those who are of the far-leftist mentality actually have the audacity to believe that the United States of America actually deserved the attacks on 9/11, because of our capitalistic society and because of our past treatment of blacks; because we do not give enough hand-outs to poor people and so forth . President Barack Obamaâs former Pastor even said as this very thing, and now President Barack Obama is allowing them to have civilian trials; ponder that scary thought for a moment.
In closing, I simply will offer this sober note. Elections have consequences. The American people elected a man, who was supposed to be a stark contrast to President George W. Bush, someone who could lead. What the American people received was an out of touch, dithering liberal elitist, who in all honesty could not even lead his own household, if the truth were told. President Barack Obama is more interested in shoving his rather idiotic social agenda, of wealth redistribution and outright class warfare onto the American people, than a fighting a war that will ultimately decide Americaâs success or demise. We should remember this come the elections of 2010 and of 2012 and decide wisely our choices for those we plan to put in office.
Oh, this is just wonderful. Sounds like we are gearing up for a big time concession to the enemy.
An Afghan source in Kabul reports that U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry is holding secret talks with Taliban elements headed by the movement’s foreign minister, Ahmad Mutawakil, at a secret location in Kabul. According to the source, the U.S. has offered the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases.
…and they say that this was the “good war” and they wanted us to win it. I call bullshit. The Democrats never gave two shits about this war. In fact; they want us to LOSE this war, Just like they did Iraq, god-damned bastards. Vietnam 2.0 all over again…. đĄ
Others: Nice Deb, The Sundries Shack, Atlas Shrugs, ThreatsWatch, The Anchoress, protein wisdom, BLACKFIVE, Wizbang, American Power, Mudville Gazette, Wake up America and Weasel Zippers
First Crowder goes to Gitmo: (H/T HotAir)
AllahPundit Snarks:
I knew the smart-ass would end up there someday. I just didnât think itâd be as a tourist.
heh. đ
Zo’s Latest:
This comes via BreitBart TV:
Way to go Barry…..
Others: Scared Monkeys, Le¡gal In¡sur¡rec¡ tion, Stop The ACLU, Macsmind, Atlas Shrugs and Redhot
Now this is going to be game changer, if found to be true:
WASHINGTON â Authorities have been examining whether Fort Hood massacre suspect Nidal Malik Hasan wired money to Pakistan in recent months, an action that one senior lawmaker said would raise serious questions about Hasan’s possible connections to militant Islamic groups.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said sources “outside of the [intelligence] community” learned about Hasan’s possible connections to the Asian country, which faces a massive Islamist insurgency and is widely believed to be Osama bin Laden’s hiding place.
Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, would not identify the sources. But he said “they are trying to follow up on it because they recognize that if there are communications â phone or money transfers with somebody in Pakistan â it just raises a whole other level of questions.”
So much for the liberal line of “Oh, he was just psycho, there was no terrorism involved!” But do you think the liberal main stream media will change its narrative on this? Don’t bet on it. They’re still trying to justify his actions. I still say that the perfect solution is to force all Muslims OUT of the United States Military and round them all up and put them on camps, until this war is finally over. But of course, I do not run the country. It is a pity too; I could solve many of the Worlds problems.
Others: NO QUARTER, National Review Online, Hot Air, YID With LID, Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, Flopping Aces, Weasel Zippers and American Power
Yesterday, some moron liberal left this comment in my comment section of a posting that I made about the Ft. Hood Speech that Obama Gave:
Say, Pat, do you happen to know *why* Obama was 40 minutes late to give the speech?
He was talking to wounded survivors of the attack.
Really, though, it was a perfect situation for youâsuppose he had cut short that meeting? Then you could have slagged him for insulting the survivors by running off to the speech.
To Wish I replied back:
Your opinion, of course.
You somehow miss the fuller point. The man is a damned empty suit. He has no true feelings for our Military. He only cares about his political record. I am sorry, I tried giving him the benefit of the doubt. But it is quote obvious, that he just doesnot care. If he did, he would order a congressional investigation into the rampage and call it what it was, A TERRORIST ATTACK! But he does not do that; because he either secretly agrees with this mans actions or is at last sympathetic to the Jihadists cause.
Of course, this doesnât surprise me that you donât get this; most socialists liberals are that dumb.
Now comes the news of the confirmation of what I stated:
President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
That stance comes in the midst of forceful reservations about a possible troop buildup from the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official.
In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy â most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.
But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama’s thinking.
This my friends, is a strategy for failure. This President just does not care about winning the war on terror. All President Obama cares about is passing his rather idiotic social agenda. If President Obama knew that it would not “Deep Six” his poll numbers; he would pull the United States of America out of Iraq and Afghanistan in a New York Minute.
My friends, elections have consequences —- and this is one of them. Keep this in mind, come 2010.
Others Covering this Story: JustOneMinute, Jules Crittenden, The Jawa Report, Outside The Beltway, , BLACKFIVE, Stop The ACLU, Another Black Conservative, JammieWearingFool, Moonbattery, Don Surber, The Foundry,, Below The Beltway, Scared Monkeys,, Le¡gal In¡sur¡rec¡ tion, Townhall.com and Gateway Pundit (Via Memeorandum)
Well, first off, we know that the shooter did try and contact Al-Qaeda. Now there’s this posting on a site that is ran by a fellow who has direct ties to Al-Qaeda. His site is spotty due to all the attention; but here’s a Google cache of this evil bastard’s writings:
Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesnât exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a US soldier. The US is leading the war against terrorism which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges.
Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the US army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.
The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation. Many amongst them are choosing the former. The Muslim organizations in America came out in a pitiful chorus condemning Nidalâs operation.
The fact that fighting against the US army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right -rather the duty- to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.
Allah(swt) says: Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment â
Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor [through power]? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely. (al-Nisa 136-137)
The inconsistency of being a Muslim today and living in America and the West in general reveals the wisdom behind the opinions that call for migration from the West. It is becoming more and more difficult to hold on to Islam in an environment that is becoming more hostile towards Muslims.
May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance and steadfastness and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen
….and you tell me, that not all Muslims are terrorists? I call bullshit. Moderation my ass. They’re all like that! đĄ
There needs to be action; if you are of the Muslim Faith; you should be REMOVED from the United States ARMED FORCES; screw the gott damned Diversity and Politically Correct BULLSHIT; Muslims are our enemies and should be treated as such! One woman, whom I do not always agree with wrote a book that WARNED America about this sort of a thing and everyone; including me, rejected it. Now I see, that she was right on point.
My question is this; when will America pull its head out of its collective ASS and stop looking at these people as common criminals? — they are NOT, they are blood thirsty killers, who are fighting a religious war against our nation. They must be stopped and our President, whom many suspect of being a closet Al-Qeada sympathizer, needs to either step up or resign his office. We just cannot afford to allow this sort of a thing to continue. It needs to stop now!
This is getting downright interesting….:
U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News.
It is not known whether the intelligence agencies informed the Army that one of its officers was seeking to connect with suspected al Qaeda figures, the officials said.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) said the CIA had, so far, refused to brief the intelligence committees on what, if any, knowledge they had about Hasan’s efforts.
CIA director Leon Panetta and the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, have been asked by Congress “to preserve” all documents and intelligence files that relate to Hasan, according to the lawmaker.
via Fort Hood Shooter Tried to Contact al Qaeda Terrorists, Officials Say – ABC News.
I would be willing to bet a old wooden shoe, that before it is over with; that the CIA will come out and say that this guy had direct ties to Al-Qeada. It will also come out that the CIA and the FBI were scared to bother the guy for fear of accusations from him and his family of Anti-Muslim or Arab Bigotry by the Government. This is what happens when you allow your Government offices to become “PC” in nature. People die, just that simple.
It appears that this White House and the Governmental agencies that work under it have no clue the seriousness of the war on terror. Whether it is one person or a legion of them; they are dangerous criminals and should be treated as such. Of course, Obama will not even use the phrase to describe what these murderous thugs are doing; which is the “War on Terror” or “Terrorism.”‘Â Obama, along with his fellow Democrats are basically wanting to treat this like some sort of average criminal activity. Which of course, is not what it is; it is people killing in the name of a religion. A false and quite Satanic Religion; but I digress.
As I have written on this blog many times; Elections have consequences and this is one of them. The American people are watching; all of them, not just the liberals in California, New York and Chicago. But all of America. If President Obama and this congress treats this like some sort of isolated incident and not as a part of the broader war on terror. They will pay the price during the next election in 2010 and in 2012 as well. Because the America people did not elect someone who waffles on leadership and that my friends is exactly what President Obama and this Congress is doing, they are more interested in passing socialist programs that will bankrupt this nation; than they are being diligent on the war on terror. That is not what the American people elected; and the Democrats will find this out come next year and in 2012.
(H/T Wizbang Politics)
The sick part is Democrats are in lock step with these terrorists.
See No Evil?
For more fun visit the website/blog at www.diversitylane.com or go directly to the blog at www.diversitylane.wordpress.com.
Basically, this posting here sums up what I am thinking.
(H/T The Freepers) (Via Twitter)
Just a reminder, these guys need your help.
This comes via From My Position….On the Way!
I have not really promoted it that heavily; mainly because I have not really thought about it.
But your help is requested…
Here’s the e-mail that I received:
Subject: An Affront to All that is Good and Pure in the World
I’m talking about the marines.
Team Marines is leading Team Army by a lousy few thousand dollars. This simply must not stand.
First, let me thank all of you who have posted on behalf of Team Army. Second, I apologize for the lack of commo and cooordination (blame my scout background) as I just received the email list yesterday and am recovering from the flu.
So, here are some assets to use in posting about Valour-IT for Team Army:
Team Army donation page: Click Here
Ballad of Captain Z video: Click Here(you can get the embed codes on that page).
Cox & Forkum Carton: attached to this email (we have permission to use but it would also be nice to link to them – Click here ).
If you have any assets you want to share, email me and I’ll send them to the group.Thanks!Go ARMY!Matt
—
Matthew Burden
“BlackFive”
Yeah, what he said! đ
Seriously folks, it is going for a very good cause… So, if you would, Click here and give what you can.
Normally I take what I read over at WorldNetDaily with a grain of salt; but once and a while, they stumble over something big.
I believe they have done it again:
Already under increased scrutiny after revelations in a new book, the Council on American-Islamic Relations now is defending itself against documented links to a federal case that drew national attention this week when an indicted Detroit imam was killed in an FBI raid.
Internal documents from an undercover investigation by the authors of “Muslim Mafia” show CAIR helped finance the legal appeal of Muslim cop-killer Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, who is named in the Detroit criminal complaint as the spiritual leader of a radical group that calls for violent action to establish a sovereign Islamic state within the U.S.
The federal complaint also states one of the 11 indicted followers of the imam who was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the FBI Wednesday, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, attended a mosque “affiliated with CAIR” in Windsor, Ontario, just across the Canadian border from Detroit.
via ‘Muslim Mafia’ linked to Detroit FBI shootout.- WND.com
I highly suggest that you go read the rest of this as it is quite interesting. Looks like CAIR is involved as well. This is big and could have lasting impact.
Like I wrote before; the idea of “Fight them there, so we don’t have to fight them here” is a bit lame now; because quite frankly, they are already here and this proves that!
I have to give this man credit; he is a man of conviction, for that alone, he is a true patriot.
Via the Washington Times:
When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.
A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed.
But last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency.
“I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan,” he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department’s head of personnel. “I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.”
The reaction to Hoh’s letter was immediate. Senior U.S. officials, concerned that they would lose an outstanding officer and perhaps gain a prominent critic, appealed to him to stay.
U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry brought him to Kabul and offered him a job on his senior embassy staff. Hoh declined. From there, he was flown home for a face-to-face meeting with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“We took his letter very seriously, because he was a good officer,” Holbrooke said in an interview. “We all thought that given how serious his letter was, how much commitment there was, and his prior track record, we should pay close attention to him.”
While he did not share Hoh’s view that the war “wasn’t worth the fight,” Holbrooke said, “I agreed with much of his analysis.” He asked Hoh to join his team in Washington, saying that “if he really wanted to affect policy and help reduce the cost of the war on lives and treasure,” why not be “inside the building, rather than outside, where you can get a lot of attention but you won’t have the same political impact?”
Hoh accepted the argument and the job, but changed his mind a week later. “I recognize the career implications, but it wasn’t the right thing to do,” he said in an interview Friday, two days after his resignation became final.
“I’m not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love,” Hoh said. Although he said his time in Zabul was the “second-best job I’ve ever had,” his dominant experience is from the Marines, where many of his closest friends still serve.
“There are plenty of dudes who need to be killed,” he said of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. “I was never more happy than when our Iraq team whacked a bunch of guys.”
But many Afghans, he wrote in his resignation letter, are fighting the United States largely because its troops are there — a growing military presence in villages and valleys where outsiders, including other Afghans, are not welcome and where the corrupt, U.S.-backed national government is rejected. While the Taliban is a malign presence, and Pakistan-based al-Qaeda needs to be confronted, he said, the United States is asking its troops to die in Afghanistan for what is essentially a far-off civil war.
As the White House deliberates over whether to deploy more troops, Hoh said he decided to speak out publicly because “I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, ‘Listen, I don’t think this is right.’ “
“I realize what I’m getting into . . . what people are going to say about me,” he said. “I never thought I would be doing this.”
The underlined parts up here are the parts that I think are the most inspiring. Some Conservatives and even some MilBloggers might want to slam this guy. Well, I will not be counted among that group. I have said on this blog many times that I felt that Bush basically screwed us in the long run, for trying to fight two wars at the same time. That belief is becoming clearer now, eight years on and we’re still trying to catch Osama Bin Laden —- and that task is becoming more of a difficult task everyday. There is plenty of blame to go around; Bush is not the sole person responsible for this terrible screw up. The whole “We have to fight them there, so, we don’t have to fight them here..” line is a bit worn thin now, seeing that there has been people arrested on terror plotting charges here now.
Again, I applaud this man for having the courage to stand up and dissent. Some may knock him, but not sane thinking Americans, who see things through the long lens; like me.
The Round up for ALL sides of the Political fence: The Washington Independent, The Moderate Voice, Top of the Ticket, Abu Muqawama, Matthew Yglesias, JustOneMinute, New York Times, Neptunus Lex, Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, MoJo Blog Posts, Alan Colmes’ Liberaland, The New Republic, Salon, The Atlanticist, BLACKFIVE, Jules Crittenden, The Daily Dish, Guardian, Mudville Gazette, Rethink Afghanistan, Newshoggers.com, Atlas Shrugs, Chicago Boyz, RedState, Newsweek Blogs, LewRockwell.com Blog, Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh, MyDD and Politics Daily
A sad bit of news: (H/T Gateway Pundit)
KABUL (AP) – A series of helicopter crashes killed 14 Americans in insurgent-wracked Afghanistan on Monday, the U.S. military said. It was one of the deadliest days of the war for U.S. troops.
In the first crash, a chopper went down in the west of the country after leaving the scene of a firefight with insurgents, killing 10 Americansâseven troops and three civilians working for the government. Eleven American troops, one U.S. civilian and 14 Afghans were also injured.
In a separate incident in the south, two other U.S. choppers collided while in flight, killing four American troops and wounding two more, the military said.
U.S. authorities have ruled out hostile fire in the collision but have not given a cause for the other fatal crash in the west. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmedi claimed Taliban fighters shot down a helicopter in northwest Badghis province’s Darabam district. It was impossible to verify the claim and unclear if he was referring to the same incident.
via BreitBart:Â US: 14 Americans killed in 2 helicopter crashes.
I think it would be a good thing to remember all of our service men in our Prayers this day.
I just hope this is all worth it.
I do not always agree with Jack Hunter; however I do on this video here. Especially on his views of the Main Stream Media in the lead up to the Iraq War. Whether it is his anti-Military bias or an honest disgust with the Bush Administration; that Jack can only answer. But he is right, and very sadly so. The media was laying down on the job during that time period.
Having said all that, let me be absolutely clear; while I am quite happy that Bush’s surge worked and that Iraq, outside of the occasional car bomb, is much more stable than it was in 2006. But that does not take away from the fact that Bush’s invasion of Iraq and occupation of it was not justified. I believe that this will be a black mark on America for a long time to come.
Enjoy the Video:
First CNN Video:
and from the AP:
The Story via CNN:
At least 132 people were killed and 520 wounded in twin suicide car bombings in central Baghdad Sunday, officials said — the deadliest attack on civilians in Iraq this year.
Two car bombs detonated in quick succession near Iraqi government buildings about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, as the Iraqi work week began, an Interior Ministry official said.
Among the wounded were three American security contractors, the U.S. Embassy told CNN. The embassy would not give any more details.
One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad’s governorate building. The second was outside the Justice Ministry, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away. The Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, which is about 50 meters from the Justice Ministry, also sustained severe damage.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki surveyed the carnage shortly after the explosions.
“The cowardly attack that took place today should not affect the determination of the Iraqi people from continuing their battle against the deposed regime and the gangs of criminal Baath party and the terrorist al Qaeda organization, who have committed the most heinous crimes against the civilians,'” al-Maliki said in a statement.
Countdown to the Liberal Democrats and Lefty Blogs saying “See? We need to leave, right now!” in 5…4…3..2…
This is what will happen, if we leave, before Iraq is ready to stand on its own. But multiply that by 1000%.
This is why I really like good ol’ Jack Tapper. The man is just not drinking the Kool-Aid. I got to give the man props for that:
Tapper: Itâs escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations ânot a news organizationâ and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why itâs appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one â
(Crosstalk)
Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.
Tapper: But thatâs a pretty sweeping declaration that they are ânot a news organization.â How are they any different from, say â
Gibbs: ABC –
Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?
Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 oâclock tonight. Or 5 oâclock this afternoon.
Tapper: Iâm not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. Iâm talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a ânews organizationâ — why is that appropriate for the White House to say?
Gibbs: Thatâs our opinion.
via Todayâs Qs for Oâs WH â 10/20/2009 – Political Punch.
That is their opinion; the problem with that is this, that is the White House, not a campaign office; what the White House says affects many things. Besides all that, this is still the United States of America; and we still have a two party system. Just because Fox News is not getting in lockstep with the President’s stupid socialism does not give them the right to fling around extremely stupid statements like this.
Folks, if I have told you this here once; I have told you a million times. This President Administration is totally overextending itself and it is totally gone of the rails with arrogance. Possibly as bad as, if not, worse than the George W. Bush Administration. There are some that read this blog, that might think that I am Bush fan. I am not, nor was I ever. I believe that his War in Iraq was wrong. Having said that, I am glad that he sent the surge in there and won the damn war. I just hope like hell that THIS President does the same thing in Afghanistan; as I would like to see some justice to those Al-Qaeda terrorists for what they did to those 2,996 people that died on 9/11. This is what separates me from the idiotic libertarians; they believe that 9/11 was a false flag operation carried out by the evil JEWS Neo-Conservatives to cause an excuse to go to war. Which is, of course, a bunch of bunk. I do not believe that our Government is smart enough to do something like that —- much less cover it up.
I know, that the rest of sane America know that 9/11 was carried out, by a group of criminal thugs, who hate our Country and everything that she stands for. These thugs hijacked a Religion as a recruitment tool. But yet, Obama wants to extend his hand these blood thirsty killers and give them a “Place at the table” as it were. George W. Bush called it correctly at the U.N.; that is nothing more than appeasement and it results in nothing more than dead people. Just ask Neville Chamberlain. He tried that with Hitler, and you see what that got him.
It is a pity that this White House has no grasp on history and the lesson that Neville Chamberlain learned.
Update: Fixed my rather humorous name error in the posting. Ooops! đ I have zero idea why I called him Wilt.
These are the people that Obama refuses to help….
(H/T Apache Clips)
Oh, this is too rich…..
Seems that socialist Liberal Blogger Arianna Huffington; the marble mouthed, little miss “unicorns and rainbows” of the progressive Blogosphere, thinks that Gaffe Master Joe Biden should resign as Vice President if President Obama decides to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
From the Article:
I have no doubt that Joe Biden is a loyal guy — the question is who deserves his loyalty most? His “team” isn’t the White House, but the whole country. And if it becomes clear in the coming days that his loyalty to these two teams is in conflict, he should do the right thing. And quit.
Obama may be no drama, but Biden loves drama. And what could more dramatic than resigning the vice presidency on principle? And what principle could be more honorable than refusing to go along with a policy of unnecessarily risking American blood and treasure — and America’s national security? Now that would be a Whisky Tango Foxtrot moment for the McChrystal crowd — one that would be a lot more significant than some lame, after-the-fact apology delivered in a too-late-to-matter book.
I have a better idea; although it involves stuffing a sock in that feckless bitch’s mouth and duct tape. I mean, is not this is same group of people that declared the Iraq War to the unjust war and the Afghanistan war the good war? But yet now, they want to stop fighting in Afghanistan too? What more living proof that we need that Progressive Blogosphere is siding with the terrorist? I mean, Republicans and Conservatives said that about them during the Iraq War and they were Poo-Poo’ed by the media and the Progressive Blogosphere for saying it. Well, guess what kids? It looks like that it is absolutely true.
However, I will give here one little once of credit for writing this:
This is indeed very tragic, and I share her concern. But missing from the discussion was the fact that “Sharia law with all of its violence” has just been made the law of the land by President Karzai — you know, our man in Kabul. The Sharia Personal Status Law, signed by Karzai, became operational in July. Among its provisions: custody rights are granted to fathers and grandfathers, women can work only with the permission of their husbands, and husbands can withhold food from wives who don’t want to have sex with them. On the plus side, if a man rapes a mentally ill woman or child, he must pay a fine.
Of course, even with America standing guard, only 4 percent of girls in Afghanistan make it to the 10th grade, and up to 80 percent of Afghani women are subjected to domestic violence. As one of the Afghan women interviewed in Rethink Afghanistan sums up the current situation: “The cases of violence against women are more now than in the Taliban time.”
So can we please put to rest the nonsensical rationalization that we’re there for women’s rights? And don’t be surprised if that reason is soon replaced by another — those pushing for escalation in Afghanistan seem to have learned the Bush administration’s old tactic of constantly moving the goal posts.
Now this here, I do share her feelings on this. This is where the Bush Administration screwed up. One of the worst things that George W. Bush did was allow that sitting Government in Afghanistan to stay there. What we should have done in Afghanistan was put in someone that was not going to enact the same Islamic sharia law in that country, after the defeat of the Taliban. However, her reasoning on our presence in that Country is flawed; we are supposed to be —- emphasis on the word “supposed” — to catch or kill Osama Bin Ladin and defeat Al-Qaeda. What happened was this; the Bush Administration thought that they could fight two wars, at the same time; with an all voluntary force. This was because the people that planned this war out; were under the impression that Iraq was going to be a cake-walk. Well, needless to say about that little thought, they were horribly wrong.
The same goes for Afghanistan; I believe those who originally planned to go into Afghanistan thought that the conflict was going to be an easy one. That the Taliban was just going to hand over Osama Bin Laden and it would be over. Well, that also proved to be false. So, now, we are stuck in this position that we have to do a little dance over there; because if we move the wrong way, the U.N. would be all over our backs.
Of course, I think Miss. Huffington might not have been informed of this, But there about to be a huge eslation in forces from Pakistan in that tribal region. Pakistan’s Military is planning a major military operation in that tribal region over there. So, we might not have to do anything major at all; except wait for Osama’s body to show up. Which would be a good thing for us, seeing that have already lost a good number of troops already in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
So, while I think Miss. Huffington is noble for trying to challenge her party. I think her reasoning is quite flawed. She has a obvious lack of understand of how Military operations work. Which is quite common amongst the Progressive Community.
