9/30/2004
Over all, A good job done by both candidates. However, President Bush wasn’t forceful enough with Kerry. He could have knocked him out of the race tonight, but he didn’t. I personally was frustrated with Kerry for not sticking to foreign policy. At one point he brought up the cops program, education, etc… This has nothing to do with foreign policy.
As Hugh points out in his live blogging, Jim Lehr through Kerry several softballs and hit Bush with some pretty biased questions.
Today was a pretty tough day for me, a lot of residual problems and pain from my illness. I hope to fisk this a little more thoroughly tomorrow.
7:30: Kerry seems to be attacking instead of answering. Note to Kerry… you can’t have it both ways… either your for the war or against it… make up your mind. A whole lot of multilateralist nonsense… ahhh, now the evil Haliburton card is played.
7:32: Bush: Kerry has alienated allies… no allies, what about Tony Blair and PM of Poland… good point…
7:34: Kerry: no grand coalition when we went in…
7:34: Bush: 30 nations…. doesn’t appreciate Kerry running down allies and their sacrifices.
7:35: New question for Bush… missed it… Bush emphasizes realism and optimism… quite a difference from Kerry’s doom and gloom.
7:45: Lehr to Bush: “Is it worth the cost in American lives?”
7:45: Bush: This decision to go to war is the hardest thing I have to do, but yes it’s worth it.
7:46: Kerry: Yes it’s worth it…. doesn’t jive with anti-war stance…. goes into multilateralist diatribe…. I won’t let the troops down… once again, doesn’t jive with stance on war.
7:47: Bush: Kerry isn’t consistent… these guys (both) are having trouble staying on topic, although that seems typical for politicians.
7:53: Lehr to Bush: “Does the Iraq experience make it more or less likely that you will commit troops to another pre-emptive action?”
7:54: Bush: I hope I don’t ever have to do it again…. being consistant with enemies is the best way to make sure we don’t have to.
7:55: Kerry: Going with the “eye of the target” answer… diverted important troops to Iraq…. Iraq was a threat, we had to divert troops.
7:58: Lehr to Kerry: “What is your position on pre-emptive war?”
7:58: Kerry: President always has the right to strike pre-emptively, but it must pass the global test… What does that mean, more multilateralism?… how did Kyoto get into this?
8:01: Bush: didn’t sign Intl criminal court treaty… won’t sign treaties that are bad for America
I have to take a break, fingers are not working well, ahh the joys of Gullain Barre Syndrome. I will have a wrap up of the debate later tonight. Please keep checking back.
6:47 PM MST: Ok here we go. This is what I expect to happen tonight: First of all, Kerry is clearly on the defensive. He has changed his foreign policy positions so many times that I can’t keep up with them. He is down in the polls, and
has to have a come back tonight if he’s going to have any chance on November 2nd.
Bush on the other hand, is up in the polls, has maintained a constant foreign policy. He is vulnerable to an extent on the war in Iraq. Clearly, good things are happening in Iraq, but we are still taking casualties every week. Kerry will emphasize this a lot. He’ll hit Bush on this hard, but I think he will come off petty and disrespectful. To summarize, Bush wins this one hands down.
Look to the column on the left for the Bush campaign’s response to Kerry’s statements.
7:01: Jim Lehr is explaining the “rules of engagement”, how appropriate.
7:03: Candidates come to the floor, handshake, etc… first question to Kerry. “do you believe you could do better than President Bush in preventing another terrorist attack?”
7:05: Kerry: typical multilateralist nonsense… more allies, we’re shouldering to much of the burden.
7:05: Bush: 9/11 changed everything… covered someof th advances we’re making in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world… Over all very positive.
7:07: Lehr to Bush: “Do you believe your decisions have made us more vulnerable to attack?”
7:07: Bush: No I don’t… People know what I believe, they know where I stand… we have to keep fighting… if we lose our will we lose the fight.
7:10: Kerry: must be resolute… we’ve taken our eye’s of the target… so far Bush is the only one who’s answered the question… Kerry attacking Bush
7:11: Lehr to Kerry: “what collosal misjudgements has Bush made?”
7:12: Kerry: Bush rushed to war… pushed alliances to the side (more multilateralist BS)… Iraq is not the center in the war on terror…
7:13: Bush: Highlites Kerry’s flip-flops…. I went to the UN… UN passed another resolution… Saddam ignored it…. Bush is covering what he did pre-war… good response
7:15: dinner break, I will recap what I missed
I plan on live blogging the debate tonight. I’ve never live blogged anything before, so my coverage may be a little off. I plan on also posting a post debate wrap up, or debate summary depending on how tired I am. So, in the mean time, enjoy the day God has given you, and be sure to tune in tonight!
9/29/2004
Students For Kerry Scaring CU Students
It seems that Students for Kerry has decided that their time is best spent spreading urban legends, or so the Denver post says. As I posted earlier this month, Republicans are not instituting a draft. There are two bills in front of the legislature right now, both are sponsored and co-sponsored by Democrats, there is not one single Republican name on those pieces of legislation, and there won’t be.
In general, the post article was fair, quoting from both sides of the isle. They also pointed out that the one bill that they cited was written by Charley Wrangle (D), NY.
However, despite the quotes from both sides of the isle, there seemed to be a general “The sky is falling” tilt to the piece.
The hundreds of tiny placards, attributed to Students for Kerry, scold: “You blew it. You didn’t vote last time. … Now you’re gonna get drafted.”
At the University of Denver, students have been talking about the draft for weeks.
At the Auraria Higher Education Center, home to three colleges, students talk about a potential draft in the food court.
But is the specter of the nation’s first military draft since 1973 an election-season scare tactic targeting college students? Or is it a realistic possibility as the war in Iraq rages on?
It depends on whom you ask. “My students have been talking about it for a long time,” said Arthur Gilbert, professor of American foreign policy in the DU graduate school of international studies. “One thing that always excites students is the draft. A lot of students are registering to vote.”…
Even though their “excited by the students grassroots effort”, the Kerry campaign denies any involvement in the placard effort.
“We’re excited about the students’ grassroots support in Colorado, and while John Kerry does not take the position that George Bush would reinstate the draft, I think it shows students’ anxiety,” said Kerry spokeswoman Laura Capps.
“John Kerry’s position is not to reinstate the draft,” she said.
Colorado Kerry campaign spokesman Steve Haro said that the placards and the event were not funded or supported by the Kerry campaign.
Yeah, right Mr. Haro, we believe you….
Opinionjournal.com has a great op-ed article this morning detailing the efforts that some in the CIA are making to sabotage the Bush war on terror. Here’s the money quote:
Their latest improvised explosive political device blew up yesterday on the front page of the New York Times, in a story proclaiming that the agency had warned back in January 2003 of a possible insurgency in Iraq. This highly selective leak (more on that below) was conveniently timed for two days before the first Presidential debate.
This follows Joe Wilson, whose CIA-employee wife nominated the anti-Bush partisan to assess intelligence on Iraq. Then there’s the book by “Anonymous,” a current CIA employee who has been appearing everywhere to trash U.S. policy, with the approval of agency higher-ups. And now we have one Paul R. Pillar, who has broken his own cover as the author of a classified National Intelligence Estimate this summer outlining pessimistic possibilities for the future of Iraq.
That document was also leaked to the New York Times earlier this month, and on Monday columnist Robert Novak reported that it had been prepared at the direction of Mr. Pillar, the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. Mr. Novak reported that Mr. Pillar identified himself as such during an off-the-record gathering last week and, while denying he leaked the document, accused the Bush Administration of ignoring the CIA’s prewar speculation about the consequences of war with Iraq. Others have since confirmed the thrust of the Novak report.
Keep in mind that none of these CIA officials were ever elected to anything, and that they are employed to provide accurate information to officials who present their policy choices for voter judgment. Yet what the CIA insurgents are essentially doing here, with their leaks and insubordination, is engaging in a policy debate. Given the timing of the latest leaks so close to an election, they are now clearly trying to defeat President Bush and elect John Kerry. Yet somehow the White House stands accused of “politicizing”.
Porter Goss faces enough challenges trying to find Bin Laden, and align the CIA for the new war that we face. He doesn’t need elements within the agency sabotaging everything he and the administration are trying to accomplish.
9/28/2004
America’s First Orange President?
Vote for Oompah Loompah, er - I mean John Kerry for President. He’ll tax and spend this country right into our next recession, that is if he doesn’t get us killed with his brand of diplomacy.
I have discovered a new method of buying and reading my favorite authors. It is both more convienient and less expensive than buying the actual book. Yesterday, I bought my first ebook, “Slander” by Ann Coulter. So far it’s a great way to save book shelf space and still read your favorite authors. You can buy ebooks from both amazon.com and Adobe (as in Adobe pdf reader). Adobe seems to have the most extensive collection. I recommend giving them a try first.
9/24/2004
Kerry Continues To sabotage US Alliances
Yesterday, John Kerry launched his latest attack on one of our allies. After Ayad Allawi made his historic address to a joint session of Congress (which Kerry didn’t attend), Kerry came out and bashed Allawi’s take on the situation in Iraq.
Kerry, who was in Ohio on Thursday, said of Allawi: “I think the prime minister is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago, where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country. The prime minister and the president are here obviously to put their best face on the policy, but the fact is that the CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story.”
First of all, isn’t it better to have terrorists “pouring” into Iraq? Isn’t it better to be fighting them there than here in Denver, or New York, or Washington DC? Yes, some of the things that are happening in Iraq are horrible. I cringe in fury every time I see a report on TV about Abu Musad Zarqawi and his evil followers. But, there are good things going on in Iraq as well. As Allawi noted in his speech yesterday, 15 out of 18 provinces in Iraq are ready and willing to hold free and democratic elections today.
Our independent electoral commission is working with the United Nations, the multinational force and our own Iraqi security forces to make these elections a reality. In 15 out of our 18 Iraqi provinces we could hold elections tomorrow. Although this is not what we see in your media, it is a fact.
There are schools, hospitals, and clinics being rebuilt and renovated, and a national polio vaccine campaign underway. These actions, spearheaded by Iraqi, and coalition forces are healing old wounds caused by Hussein’s regime and educating Iraqi children so that they might have a future as bright as ours.
The fledgling Iraqi military is working hard to build strength in it’s numbers so that one day soon they will be able to police and protect their own country.
The Iraqi government now commands almost 50,000 armed and combat- ready Iraqis.
By January it will be some 145,000. And by the end of next year, some 250,000 Iraqis.
The government has accelerated the development of Iraqi special forces, and the establishment of a counter-terrorist strike force to tackle specific problems caused by insurgencies.
Our intelligence is getting better every day. You have seen that the successful resolution of the Najaf crisis, and then the targeted attacks against insurgents in Fallujah.
These new Iraqi forces are rising to the challenge. They are fighting on behalf of sovereign Iraqi government is a daily progress, too. Oil pipelines are being repaired. Basic services are being improved. The homes are being rebuilt. Schools and hospitals are being rebuilt. The clinics are open and reopened. There are now over 6 million children at school, many of them attending one of the 2,500 schools that have been renovated since liberation.
All of these things are quite encouraging. I don’t understand why John Kerry feels it necessary to call one of our allies in the war on terror a liar. Further more he is calling our President, and a number of our troops liars as well. Hugh recently posted a letter form a Marine officer recently returned from Iraq. In the letter this Marine talks about all the great things going on there that aren’t making it into the news reports here at home. The Green Side has letters from the front talking about the progress and the frustrations in Iraq, infact their are multitudes of milblogs on the internet that contradict Kerry’s doom and gloom view of the war in Iraq. Sarmad at Road of a Nation blogs about the progress being made as well as the challenges in his country. President Bush talks about these things all the time during campaign speeches and press conferences.
As if Kerry’s criticism of Allawi wasn’t ridiculous enough, Joe Lockhart went one step further in the effort to embarrass an humiliate our ally when he said:
“The last thing you want to be seen as is a puppet of the United States, and you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips”
This isn’t their fist attempt to destroy fragile alliances the Bush administration has worked hard to build. I posted earlier this month about the Kerry campaign’s attempt to influence our Australian alliance. And then there was this ‘bute of a tribute to our allies:
Kerry Mocked Coalition As “Coerced” And “Bribed.” “‘If the federal government can find billions of dollars for the “coalition of the coerced and the bribed,” why can’t it provide vital aid for schools, health care and law enforcement?’ asked Kerry.” (Herbert A. Sample, “Kerry Blasts Bush On Iraq Effort,” Sacramento Bee, 3/14/03)
Huh, and this guy claims that he’s going to rebuild international alliances in order to fight the war on terror more effectively. I wonder how?
9/23/2004
Allawi Speaks To A Joint Session Of Congress
Please bear with me, this post will be quite long. This information needs to get out though. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi addressed a joint session of Congress today. In a historical address today, Allawi made the point that (despite Kerry campaign rhetoric) we are succeeding in Iraq, and the press isn’t reporting it. The text of the speech follows:
ALLAWI: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, it’s my distinct honor and great privilege to speak to you today on behalf of Iraq’s interim government and its people.
It’s my honor to come to Congress and to thank this nation and its people for making our cause your cause, our struggle your struggle.
Before I turn to my government’s plan for Iraq, I have three important messages for you today.
First, we are succeeding in Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
It’s a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding.
I have seen some of the images that are being shown here on television. They are disturbing. They focus on the tragedies, such as the brutal and barbaric murder of two American hostages this week.
My thoughts and prayers go out to their families and to all those who lost loved ones.
Yet, as we mourn these losses, we must not forget either the progress we are making or what is at stake in Iraq.
We are fighting for freedom and democracy, ours and yours. Every day, we strengthen the institutions that will protect our new democracy, and every day, we grow in strength and determination to defeat the terrorists and their barbarism.
The second message is quite simple and one that I would like to deliver directly from my people to yours: Thank you, America.
(APPLAUSE)
We Iraqis know that Americans have made and continue to make enormous sacrifices to liberate Iraq, to assure Iraq’s freedom. I have come here to thank you and to promise you that your sacrifices are not in vain.
The overwhelming majority of Iraqis are grateful. They are grateful to be rid of Saddam Hussein and the torture and brutality he forced upon us, grateful for the chance to build a better future for our families, our country and our region.
We Iraqis are grateful to you, America, for your leadership and your sacrifice for our liberation and our opportunity to start anew.
Third, I stand here today as the prime minister of a country emerging finally from dark ages of violence, aggression, corruption and greed. Like almost every Iraqi, I have many friends who were murdered, tortured or raped by the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Well over a million Iraqis were murdered or are missing. We estimate at least 300,000 in mass graves, which stands as monuments to the inhumanity of Saddam’s regime. Thousands of my Kurdish brothers and sisters were gassed to death by Saddam’s chemical weapons.
Millions more like me were driven into exile. Even in exile, as I myself can vouch, we were not safe from Saddam.
And as we lived under tyranny at home, so our neighbors lived in fear of Iraq’s aggression and brutality. Reckless wars, use of weapons of mass destruction, the needless loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and the financing and exporting of terrorism, these were Saddam’s legacy to the world.
My friends, today we are better off, you are better off and the world is better off without Saddam Hussein.
(APPLAUSE)
Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one but it was the right one.
(APPLAUSE)
There are no words that can express the debt of gratitude that future generations of Iraqis will owe to Americans. It would have been easy to have turned your back on our plight, but this is not the tradition of this great country, nor for the first time in history you stood up with your allies for freedom and democracy.
Ladies and gentlemen, I particularly want to thank you in the United States Congress for your brave vote in 2002 to authorize American men and women to go to war to liberate my country, because you realized what was at stake. And I want to thank you for your continued commitment last year when you voted to grant Iraq a generous reconstruction and security funding package.
I have met many of you last year and I have in Iraq. It’s a tribute to your commitment to our country that you have come to see firsthand the challenges and the progress we have and we are making.
Ladies and gentlemen, the costs now have been high. As we have lost our loved ones in this struggle, so have you. As we have mourned, so have you.
This is a bitter price of combating tyranny and terror.
Our hearts go to the families, every American who has given his or her life and every American who has been wounded to help us in our struggle.
Now we are determined to honor your confidence and sacrifice by putting into practice in Iraq the values of liberty and democracy, which are so dear to you and which have triumphed over tyranny across our world.
(APPLAUSE)
Creating a democratic, prosperous and stable nation, where differences are respected, human rights protected, and which lives in peace with itself and its neighbor, is our highest priority, our sternest challenge and our greatest goal. It is a vision, I assure you, shared by the vast majority of the Iraqi people. But there are the tiny minority who despise the very ideas of liberty, of peace, of tolerance, and who will kill anyone, destroy anything, to prevent Iraq and its people from achieving this goal.
Among them are those who nurse fantasies of the former regime returning to power. There are fanatics who seek to impose a perverted vision of Islam in which the face of Allah cannot be seen. And there are terrorists, including many from outside Iraq, who seek to make our country the main battleground against freedom, democracy and civilization.
For the struggle in Iraq today is not about the future of Iraq only. It’s about the worldwide war between those who want to live in peace and freedom, and terrorists. Terrorists strike indiscriminately at soldiers, at civilians, as they did so tragically on 9/11 in America, and as they did in Spain and Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia in my country and many others.
So in Iraq we confront both, insurgency and the global war on terror with their destructive forces sometimes overlapping political program or cause other than push our country back into tyranny. Their agenda is no different than terrorist forces that have struck all over the world, including your own country on September 11th. There lies the fatal weakness: The insurgency in Iraq is destructive but small and it has not and will never resonate with the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi citizens know better than anyone the horrors of dictatorship. This is past we will never revisit.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me turn now to our plan which we have developed to meet the real challenges which Iraq faces today, a plan that we are successfully implementing with your help. The plan has three basic parts: building democracy, defeating the insurgency and improving the quality of ordinary Iraqis.
The political strategy in our plan is to isolate the terrorists from the communities in which they operate. We are working hard to involve as many people as we can in the political process to cut the ground from under the terrorists’ feet.
In troubled areas across the country, government representatives are meeting with local leaders. They are offering amnesty to those who realize the error of their ways. They are making clear that there can be no compromise with terror, that all Iraqis have the opportunity to join the side of order and democracy, and that they should use the political process to address their legitimate concerns and hopes.
I am a realist. I know that terrorism cannot be defeated with political tools only. But we can weaken it, ending local support, help us to tackle the enemy head-on, to identify, isolate and eradicate this cancer.
Let me provide you with a couple of examples of where this political plan already is working.
In Samarra, the Iraqi government has tackled the insurgents who once controlled the city.
Following weeks of discussions between government officials and representatives, coalition forces and local community leaders, regular access to the city has been restored. A new provincial council and governor have been selected, and a new chief of police has been appointed. Hundreds of insurgents have been pushed out of the city by local citizens, eager to get with their lives.
Today in Samarra, Iraqi forces are patrolling the city, in close coordination with their coalition counterparts.
In Talafa (ph), a city northwest of Baghdad, the Iraqi government has reversed an effort by insurgents to arrest, control (inaudible) the proper authorities. Iraqi forces put down the challenge and allowed local citizens to choose a new mayor and police chief. Thousands of civilians have returned to the city. And since their return, we have launched a large program of reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me turn now to our military strategy. We plan to build and maintain security forces across Iraq. Ordinary Iraqis are anxious to take over entirely this role and to shoulder all the security burdens of our country as quickly as possible.
(APPLAUSE)
For now, of course, we need the help of our American and coalition partners. But the training of Iraqi security forces is moving forward briskly and effectively.
The Iraqi government now commands almost 50,000 armed and combat- ready Iraqis.
By January it will be some 145,000. And by the end of next year, some 250,000 Iraqis.
The government has accelerated the development of Iraqi special forces, and the establishment of a counter-terrorist strike force to tackle specific problems caused by insurgencies.
Our intelligence is getting better every day. You have seen that the successful resolution of the Najaf crisis, and then the targeted attacks against insurgents in Fallujah.
These new Iraqi forces are rising to the challenge. They are fighting on behalf of sovereign Iraqi government is a daily progress, too. Oil pipelines are being repaired. Basic services are being improved. The homes are being rebuilt. Schools and hospitals are being rebuilt. The clinics are open and reopened. There are now over 6 million children at school, many of them attending one of the 2,500 schools that have been renovated since liberation.
(APPLAUSE)
Last week, we completed a national polio vaccination campaign, reaching over 90 percent of all Iraqi children.
We’re starting work on 150 new health centers across the country. Millions of dollars in economic aid and humanitarian assistance from this country and others around the world are flowing into Iraq. For this, again, I want to thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
And so today, despite the setbacks and daily outrages, we can and should be hopeful for the future.
In Najaf and Kufa, this plan has already brought success. In those cities a firebrand cleric had taken over Shia Islam’s holiest sites in defiance of the government and the local population. Immediately, the Iraqi government ordered the Iraqi armed forces into action to use military force to create conditions for political success.
Together with the coalition partners, Iraqi forces cleaned out insurgents from everywhere in the city, capturing hundreds and killing many more.
At the same time, the government worked with political leaders and with Ayatollah Sistani to find a peaceful solution to the occupation of the shrine. We were successful. The shrine was preserved. Order was restored. And Najaf and Kufa were returned to their citizens.
Today the foreign media have lost interest and left, but millions of dollars in economic aid and humanitarian assistance are now flowing into the cities. Ordinary citizens are once again free to live and worship at these places.
As we move forward, the next major milestone will be holding of the free and fair national and local elections in January next.
(APPLAUSE)
I know that some have speculated, even doubted, whether this date can be met. So let me be absolutely clear: Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time.
(APPLAUSE)
For the skeptics who do not understand the Iraqi people, they do not realize how decades of torture and repression feed our desire for freedom. At every step of the political process to date the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people has proved the doubters wrong.
(APPLAUSE)
They said we would miss January deadline to pass the interim constitution. We proved them wrong.
They warned that there could be no successful handover of sovereignty by the end of June. We proved them wrong. A sovereign Iraqi government took over control two days early.
They doubted whether a national conference could be staged this August. We proved them wrong.
Despite intimidation and violence, over 1,400 citizens, a quarter of them women, from all regions and from every ethnic, religious and political grouping in Iraq, elected a national council.
And I pledge to you today, we’ll prove them wrong again over the elections.
(APPLAUSE)
Our independent electoral commission is working with the United Nations, the multinational force and our own Iraqi security forces to make these elections a reality. In 15 out of our 18 Iraqi provinces we could hold elections tomorrow. Although this is not what we see in your media, it is a fact.
Your government, our government and the United Nations are all helping us mobilizing the necessary resources to fund voter registration and information programs. We will establish up to 30,000 polling sites, 130,000 election workers, and all other complex aspects mounting a general election in a nation of 27 million before the end of January next.
We already know that terrorists and former regime elements will do all they can to disrupt these elections. There would be no greater success for the terrorists if we delay and no greater blow when the elections take place, as they will, on schedule.
(APPLAUSE)
The Iraqi elections may not be perfect, may not be the best elections that Iraq will ever hold. They will no doubt be an excuse for violence from those that despise liberty, as were the first elections in Sierra Leone, South Africa or Indonesia.
But they will take place, and they will be free and fair. And though they won’t be the end of the journey toward democracy, they will be a giant step forward in Iraq’s political evolution.
(APPLAUSE)
They will pave the way for a government that reflects the world, and has the confidence of the Iraqi people.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is our strategy for moving Iraq steadily toward the security and democracy and prosperity our people crave.
But Iraq cannot accomplish this alone. The resolve and will of the coalition in supporting a free Iraq is vital to our success.
(APPLAUSE)
The Iraqi government needs the help of the international community, the help of countries that not only believe in the Iraqi people but also believe in the fight for freedom and against tyranny and terrorism everywhere.
Already, Iraq has many partners. Not only an Iraqi endeavor, it is an international one. More than 30 countries are represented in Iraq with troops on the ground in harm’s way. We Iraqis are grateful for each and every one of these courageous men and women.
(APPLAUSE)
United Nations Resolution 1546 passed in June 2004, endorsed the Iraqi interim government and pledged international support for Iraq upcoming elections. The G-8, the European Union and NATO have also issued formal statements of support.
NATO is now helping with one of Iraq’s most urgent needs, the training of Iraqi security forces. I am delighted by the new agreement to step up the pace and scope of this training.
The United Nations has reestablished its mission in Iraq, a new United Nations special representative has been appointed and a team of United Nations personnel is now operating in Baghdad.
Many more nations have committed to Iraq’s future in the form of economic aid. We Iraqis are aware how international this effort truly is.
But our opponents, the terrorists, also understand all too well that this is an international effort. And that’s why they have targeted members of the coalition.
I know the pain this causes. I know it is difficult but the coalition must stand firm.
(APPLAUSE)
When governments negotiate with terrorists, everyone in the free world suffers. When political leaders sound the siren of defeatism in the face of terrorism, it only encourage more violence.
(APPLAUSE)
Working together, we will defeat the killers, and we will do this by refusing to bargain about our most fundamental principles.
As Prime Minister Blair said to you last year when he stood here, anywhere, any time ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same: freedom not tyranny, democracy not dictatorship, and the rule of law not the rule of the secret police.
(APPLAUSE)
Do not let them convince others that the values of freedom, of tolerance and democracy are for you in the West but not for us.
For the first time in our history, the Iraqi people can look forward to controlling our own destiny the help and sacrifices of this country and its coalition partners. I thank you again from the bottom of my heart.
And let me tell you that as we meet our greatest challenge by building a democratic future, we the people of the new Iraq will remember those who have stood by us.
As generous as you have been, we will stand with you, too. As stalwart as you have been, we will stand with you, too.
Neither tyranny nor terrorism has a place in our region or our world. And that is why we Iraqis will stand by you, America, in a war larger than either of our nations, the global battle to live in freedom.
God bless you and thank you.
What a refreshing change from the doom and gloom being spewed by the fever swamp, and complicit press.
9/22/2004
Dems Sponsor Reinstatement of Draft
Blogs for Bush writer Aaron Margolis reminds us that, despite the rhetoric coming from the fever swamps of the left, it is the Democrats who are trying to reinstate the draft. Currently there are two pieces of legislation before the House and Senate. These are SB89 and HR163.
First, lets look at who’s behind SB89. If you go to Thomas (a great research tool for checking on the status of legislation) you find that Senator Fritz Hollings (D), SC. has sponsored this one. There are no cosponsors to the bill.
S.89
Title: A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen Hollings, Ernest F. [SC] (introduced 1/7/2003)
Cosponsors: (None)
Related Bills: H.R.163
Latest Major Action: 1/7/2003 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.TITLE(S): POPULAR TITLE(S): Reinstate draft bill (identified by CRS)
SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED: Universal National Service Act of 2003
OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
The second bill in front of our legislators is HR163. Researching this one through Thomas, you find that Charles Rangel (D),NY. has sponsored this bill. There are 14 cosponsors, these are:
Neil Abercrombe (D), HI.
Donna Christensen (D), VI.
John Conyers (D), MI.
Alcee Hastings (D), FL.
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D), TX.
Jim McDermott (D), WA
Pete Fortney Stark (D), CA.
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), DC
Corrine Brown (D), FL.
Wm. Lacy Clay (D), MO.
Elijah E. Cummings (D), MD.
Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D), IL.
John Lewis (D), GA.
James P. Moran (D), VA.
Nydia M. Velazquez (D), NY.
As you can see, both the sponsor, and all 14 cosponsors are Democrats, many of them, such as Sheila Jackson-Lee and Jim McDermott are long time members of the fever swamp left.
H.R.163
Title: To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] (introduced 1/7/2003)
Cosponsors: (14) [listed above]
Related Bills: S.89
Latest Major Action: 2/3/2003 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Executive Comment Requested from DOD.
TITLE(S) POPULAR TITLE(S): Reinstate draft bill (identified by CRS)
SHORT TITLE(S) AS INTRODUCED: Universal National Service Act of 2003
OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: To provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
Both of these pieces of legislation are sponsored and cosponsored by Democrats and Democrats only. Isn’t it a little disingenuous to claim that George Bush and the Republicans are trying to reinstate the draft?
Michelle Malkin posts an email being circulated by Democrats to college students. Here is the text of that email:
Mandatory draft for boys and girls (ages18-26) starting June 15, 2005
There is pending legislation in the House and Senate, S89 and HR 163,to reinstate mandatory draft for boys and girls (ages18-26) starting June 15, 2005. This plan includes women in the draft, eliminates higher education as a shelter, and makes it difficult to cross into Canada.
The Bush administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public’s attention is on the elections. The Bush administration plans to begin mandatory draft in the spring of 2005, just after the 2004 presidential election.
The Congress has added $28 million to the 2004 selective service system budget to prepare for this military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005.
Bush has ordered the Selective Service to report to him by March 31, 2005 on their readiness to implement the draft by June 2005
The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.
Please act on this:
Tell everyone you know - parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents,
godparents, friends, teachersCall and write to your U.S. Senator and your U.S. Representatives and ask them why they aren’t telling their constituents about these bills
Geesh, and they accuse Republicans of using scare tactics. In this one email, not only do the Dems tell outright lies, but they do their best to scare these kids right out of their backpacks.
Update II: Draft scare seems to be an organized Kerry campaign strategy
Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin & Blogs For Bush
9/20/2004
Rather:
[Lame Excuse] Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a “60 Minutes Wednesday” story about President Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard (search), CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question — and their source — vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever the outcome.
Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where — if I knew then what I know now — I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.
But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism.
Please know that nothing is more important to us than people’s trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully. [/Lame Excuse]
What Dan doesn’t seem to understand is; he and his sources tried to influence the outcome of an election, and the American public isn’t satisfied with ‘gee, we were wrong, I’m sorry’. There’s still a lot to answer for, and I think there are still a lot of heads that are going to roll over this one.
To recap what we’re facing:
- Falsified government documents
- Falsified documents used by National news network in a news [sic] story to influence an election
- Source of documents admits talking with Kerry campaign
- Source of documents possibly has ties with the DNC
- There were possibly several election laws broken
So, given all that we know about the CBS/Rather gate situation, why should we settle for a simple lame apology from someone who has a long record of bias in his reporting.
DVD Buy-back To Keep America Safe
I received this today via email.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PUBLISHER SPONSORING DVD BUY-BACK PROGRAM TO KEEP AMERICAN HOMES SAFE FROM MICHAEL MOORE’S DANGEROUS PROPAGANDA
LOS ANGELES, September 17, 2004 - In an effort to ensure the safety of American homes, World Ahead Publishing, publisher of THANK YOU, PRESIDENT BUSH, announces its Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD Buy-Back program for U.S. purchasers of Michael Moore’s documentary. In urban areas, city leaders periodically sponsor gun buy-back programs to help reduce gun violence. Similarly, the Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD Buy-Back program is designed to protect Americans from harm, especially young children who might accidentally slip this dangerous propaganda into the living room DVD player.
Beginning October 5th, the day Moore’s documentary goes on sale, World Ahead Publishing will offer citizens the opportunity to exchange their copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 for THANK YOU PRESIDENT BUSH: REFLECTIONS ON THE WAR ON TERROR, DEFENSE OF THE FAMILY, AND THE REVIVAL OF THE ECONOMY, with no questions asked.
Unlike Moore’s film, which deceptively splices film footage to score its points, Thank You, President Bush discusses the facts. This book’s all-star list of contributors includes Art Laffer, the father of supply-side economics; George Shultz, former Secretary of State; James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; and Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education. Vice President Dick Cheney also contributes a chapter on foreign policy, and the President’s brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, pens a moving and personal introduction. All 29 writers are experts in their topics, addressing such important issues as national security, the economy, and social policy in straightforward language.
Moore’s work isn’t a documentary. it’s a dangerous weapon that shouldn’t be left lying around the house, says Aman Verjee, co-editor of the anthology. Send us Moore’s lies and we’ll give you the truth on President Bush’s record and policies. We want to give people who unsuspectingly buy Moore’s propaganda a chance to trade it in for a book that’s positive and insightful, added Verjee. This book sets the record straight: George W. Bush deserves more than another term in office; he deserves our gratitude.
For the mailing address and the terms and conditions of the buy-back program, go to World Ahead Publishing.
9/19/2004
Kerry ’sis Undermines US-Australia Relationship
Now this story from The Australian News. John Kerry sent his sister Diana to Australia to undermine support for a critical alliance in the war on terror. Her message: the Howard government’s support of the Bush administration makes Australia more vulnerable to terrorist attack.
John Kerry’s campaign has warned Australians that the Howard Government’s support for the US in Iraq has made them a bigger target for international terrorists.
Diana Kerry, younger sister of the Democrat presidential candidate, told The Weekend Australian that the Bali bombing and the recent attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta clearly showed the danger to Australians had increased.
“Australia has kept faith with the US and we are endangering the Australians now by this wanton disregard for international law and multilateral channels,” she said, referring to the invasion of Iraq.
Asked if she believed the terrorist threat to Australians was now greater because of the support for Republican George W. Bush, Ms Kerry said: “The most recent attack was on the Australian embassy in Jakarta — I would have to say that.”
This is a wanton attack on a critical ally in the war on terror. It is inexcusable and disgusting. In a time of war meddling with a vital alliance should be considered treasonous. What’s more Ms. Kerry seems to have the same researchers as CBS’s 60 Minutes. The Bali bombing, which killed 200 people, mostly Australians, happened in October of 2002, long before the invasion of Iraq.
Besides, if Ms. Kerry really believes that Australia and the west weren’t in danger of being attacked before Australia voiced their support, than she (and her brother) clearly do not have a grasp on the threat we face or the history of terrorist attacks on the west by Islamofacists.
Kerry’s criticism of Bush for not building alliances rings hollow in the face of this latest revelation. Let me guess, Mr. Kerry’s new position will be: I was in favor of building international alliances before I was in favor of tearing them apart for political gain?
Hat Tip: Captains Quarters
There is an AP report out today that indicates former Senator, Max Cleland — who works with the Kerry campaign — is the link between the possible source of the memos, and Rather.
AUSTIN, Texas– A retired Texas National Guard official mentioned as a possible source for disputed documents about President Bush’s service in the Guard said he passed along information to a former senator working with John Kerry’s campaign.
Burkett, according to the report, emailed Texas Democrats claiming to have passed information to Cleland.
The retired Guard official, Bill Burkett (search), said in an Aug. 21 e-mail to a list of Texas Democrats that after getting through “seven layers of bureaucratic kids” in the Democrat’s campaign, he talked with former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland (search) about information that would counter criticism of Kerry’s Vietnam War service. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail Saturday.
“I asked if they wanted to counterattack or ride this to ground and outlast it, not spending any money. (Cleland) said counterattack. So I gave them the information to do it with,” Burkett wrote.
Burkett, who lives just outside of Abilene, wrote that no one at the Kerry campaign called him back.
The e-mail was distributed to a Yahoo list of Texas Democrats. The site, which had about 570 members Saturday, is not affiliated with the state party?
Burkett has shown himself in the past to be ‘not exactly truthful’ so it is still in question whether or not the information in the email is correct. But, the ties to the DNC are becoming clearer and clearer every day.
I, and many other conservatives see this as an attempt to influence a Presidential election. If the information in the Burkett email proves to be true, and it can be shown that Cleland did in fact pass the information to the Kerry campaign and CBS, the election is over. In a game where the public’s perception of a candidate (or Party) is key, this newest information about Dem involvement in Rather gate is damning for the Kerry campaign, the DNC, and CBS. The American public has come to expect a certain amount of dirty politics in an election cycle, but clearly the memo scandal has gone too far.
Further hampering any damage the memos might do to Bush is another report released today by ABC. In an interview with the network, former guard commander “Buck” Staudt, the man who reportedly pressured Killian to ’sugar coat’ Bush’s performance review has come out against the information in the memos.
The man cited in media reports as having allegedly pressured others in the Texas Air National Guard to help George W. Bush is speaking out, telling ABC News in an exclusive interview that he never sought special treatment for Bush.
Retired Col. Walter Staudt, who was brigadier general of Bush’s unit in Texas, interviewed Bush for the Guard position and retired in March 1972. He was mentioned in one of the memos allegedly written by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian as having pressured Killian to assist Bush, though Bush supposedly was not meeting Guard standards.
“I never pressured anybody about George Bush because I had no reason to,” Staudt told ABC News in his first interview since the documents were made public.
The memo stated that “Staudt is pushing to sugar coat” a review of Bush’s performance.
Staudt said he decided to come forward because he saw erroneous reports on television. CBS News first reported on the memos, which have come under scrutiny by document experts who question whether they are authentic. Killian, the purported author of the documents, died in 1984.
Staudt insisted Bush did not use connections to avoid being sent to Vietnam.
“He didn’t use political influence to get into the Air National Guard,” Staudt said, adding, “I don’t know how they would know that, because I was the one who did it and I was the one who was there and I didn’t talk to any of them.”…
There are 44 days left until the general election, and it seems clear that the Democrats will do anything to win. Let’s show them they can’t get away with stealing the Presidency. Vote, volunteer, donate.
Hat Tips: Powerline and Thinking Right Reader Don Hagen
9/16/2004
The NY Times raised the issue yesterday that even if the CBS documents are forgeries the real issue is still the story behind the documents. Bill Burkett’s lawyer echoed that sentiment.
Asked what role Mr. Burkett had in raising questions about Mr. Bush’s military service, Mr. Van Os said: “If, hypothetically, Bill Burkett or anyone else, any other individual, had prepared or had typed on a word processor as some of the journalists are presuming, without much evidence, if someone in the year 2004 had prepared on a word processor replicas of documents that they believed had existed in 1972 or 1973 - which Bill Burkett has absolutely not done” - then, he continued, “what difference would it make?”
The Times also mentions the interview with Killian’s secretary. In the interview she follows what appears to be the CBS/DNC talking points: The documents are forgeries but the story is true.
The secretary for the squadron commander purported to be the author of now-disputed memorandums questioning President Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard said Tuesday that she never typed the documents and believed that they are fakes.
But she also said they accurately reflect the thoughts of the commander, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, and other memorandums she typed for him about Mr. Bush. “The information in them is correct,” the woman, Marian Carr Knox, now 86, said in an interview at her home here. “But I doubt,” she said, pausing, “it’s not anything that I wrote because there are terms in there that are not used by Guards, the format wasn’t the way we did it. It looks like someone may have read the originals and put that together.”…
Of course Killian is no longer alive to dispute his former secretary’s statements. His son is though. Gary Killian, the son of Jerry Killian (the purported author of the memos) disputes Mrs. Knox’s claims that his father had trouble with then Lt Bush’s conduct.
Mr. Killian died in 1984; his widow and son have said that they did not find any memorandums among the private effects they cleared from his office after his death. Mr. Killian’s son, Gary, who also served at the squadron and who initially thought that the signatures on the documents matched his father’s, has come to believe they are fakes, and said he doubted Mrs. Knox’s account, though he recalled her fondly.
“She’s a sweet old lady, but she’s wrong and it didn’t happen,” he said. “I always thought well of her, and I know my dad would have also, but she’s a sweet old lady.”
And this from the Drudge Report:
Contacted by the DRUDGE REPORT, Lt. Col. Killian’s son Gary, who also served in the unit during the same period, responded: “I know Marian Carr. I remember her as a sweet lady who reminded me then of a dear aunt.”
“But if Staudt had put pressure on my dad, there would have been a blow-up — instantly. It was one of the reasons they got along so well. They had a mutual respect for one another.”
“As has been pointed out by so many others, then Col Staudt had been out of the unit for 18 months. And I stand by my previous comments regarding my dad’s admiration for Lt. Bush and his regard for him as an officer and pilot — which was exemplary.”
Other family members of the late Jerry Killian have also come out in defense of Bush by saying that Killian wouldn’t have kept or typed memos of that sort. There is also the issue of Mrs. Carr Knox’s political affiliation. There are reports that she is a long time Democrat, I found this from the Drudge Report:
Knox told the DRUDGE REPORT that she did not vote for Bush in 2000 because he is ‘unqualified’ for the job, and does not intend to vote for him in 2004, either.
Granted, this statement does not prove that she is a Democrat activist or anything, but it does speak to her attitude towards Bush.
So, it seems the talking points have been released. And as the noose tightens around CBS and Rather’s collective necks, everyone seems to be forgetting what the real story is: CBS, whether willing accomplice or unwilling dupe, with the help of someone else (possibly with ties to the DNC) tried to, through forged government documents, illegally influence a national election.
9/15/2004
CBS Docs Faxed From Abilene Texas
Blogs For Bush is working a developing story about where the forged CBS came from. It’s looking like they originated in a Kinko’s in Abilene Texas. Now the question becomes, if this is true, who lives in or near Abilene that would have an interest in the Bush ANG story?
Lt Col Bill Burkett lives in Baird Texas which is about 25 minutes from Abilene, the closest Kinko’s location to Baird is Abilene. What interest does Burkett have in the story? Town hall magazine goes into that subject.
Retired Texas National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett has been identified by Newsweek magazine as a “principle source” for the Sept. 8 segment that purportedly showed National Guard records casting a negative light on Bush’s performance with the Guard in the early 1970s…
…Burkett has a long history with Bush, dating back to Bush’s 1998 gubernatorial re-election campaign in Texas. After retiring from the Guard in January 1998 for medical reasons, Burkett accused the governor’s aides of improperly inspecting Bush’s records for anything embarrassing.
Similar charges surfaced in the days before the 2000 presidential election. At the time, Burkett said Bush’s aides had searched military documents to resolve any conflicts between Bush’s service and the account of his National Guard service in his biography…
…Then, this February, after Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe broached the issue of Bush’s record, Burkett reappeared with charges that he had overheard Bush’s former gubernatorial chief of staff Joe Allbaugh in 1997 request that the Texas National Guard scrub Bush’s files.
So, according to the article, we have a former ANG member who has an admitted long standing grudge against the President. The next question is, is there a connection between Burkett and former Lt Gov Barnes? If so, we already know that Barnes is connected to Kerry.
The MSM has joined the fray. Now we have a WaPo article confirming what Blogs For Bush has been working on. Hopefully more will shake loose by morning.
Jobs Numbers Don’t Fit Kerry’s Message
The RMA’s own Joshua and Blogs For Bush have made some very good points about the Bush economy and Kerry’s horrible habit of talking it down. Go, now, read the whole thing.
9/14/2004
I just finished watching the Hannity & Colmes segment about Rather gate. The guys interviewed Rep. Jim Turner (D),Tx. and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R),Ca. Turner was an absolute embarrassment. When Sean asked Turner to give the President the same courtesy the President gave to John Kerry when he said that Kerry served honorably, Turner bucked the question. Yep, he bucked the question. His response was that Bush was honorably discharged and he couldn’t speak to the quality of his service.
Sean rightfully pointed out that Kerry even admitted to committing war crimes, and Bush was willing to put that aside and say Kerry served honorably. Turner still bucked the question. It’s absolutely shameful to sit there on international TV and buck a simple question like that, especially when those criticizing Bush’s guard service are using fraudulent memos to do so. Why is it so difficult to say ‘the President served in the guard honorably’?
In other news, Hugh is asking everyone to contact the relevant subcommittee in congress and ask for hearings into Rather gate. It’s a great idea, so give the Capital switchboard a call at 202-225-3121 and ask for a member of the FCC subcommittee (or ask for Congressman Chris Cox). Let them know we won’t put up with irresponsible reporting, or the media tampering in our election!
9/13/2004
A new blog in the north called the New Patriot. They claim to be the lefty balance to the Northern Alliance or the equivalent to the Fraters gang. I’ve read some of their posts, and I must say, I’m not impressed. Not because they’re not trying mind you, but because it’s the same lefty nonsense you can get from any number of sources. They seem to be styling them selves after Air America (which shall forever be known as radio communista).
I truly wish them the best, but to be honest, to succeed, I think they’re going to have to turn down the hate and start offering some substance. It seems that one thing most quality bloggers have tried to do with their posts is link to a news article or source lest they should be accused of being all spin and no substance. So far it seems the guys and gals at New Patriot haven’t been able to meet that challenge. So, never fear, it seems for now there really is no liberal competition for the guys in the great white north.
Alas, I have been proven wrong. I said earlier that New Patriot was not linking to news articles in their posts. I was DEAD wrong. They do link to news articles. In my rush to poke a little fun, I got carried away and didn’t pay attention to what I was reading. My apologies to the folks at the New Patriot. Apologies also to my readers, I didn’t intend to mislead you, like I said I got carried away.
Fool Me Once Shame On You Fool Me Twice…..
It seems the CBS document fraud scandal known as Rather Gate is not the first time CBS has been burned by fraudulent documents. RMA friend John Fund points out in his Opinionjournal.com piece today that CBS was burned in 1997 by a disgruntled customs worker. So, why should we believe that Rather and his gang paid any closer attention this time?
“60 Minutes” may have a sterling reputation in journalism, but it has been burned before by forged documents. In 1997 it broadcast a report alleging that U.S. Customs Service inspectors looked the other way as drugs crossed the Mexican border at San Diego. The story’s prize exhibit was a memo from Rudy Comacho, head of the San Diego customs office, ordering that vehicles belonging to one trucking company should be given special leniency in crossing the border. The memo was given to “60 Minutes” by Mike Horner, a former customs inspector who had left the service five years earlier. When asked by CBS for additional proof, he sent another copy with an official stamp on it.
CBS did not interview Mr. Camacho for its story. “It was horrible for him,” says Bill Anthony, at the time head of public affairs for the Customs Service. “For 18 months, internal affairs and the Secret Service had him under a cloud while they established that Horner had forged the document out of bitterness over how he’d been treated.” In 2000, Mr. Horner admitted he forged the memo “for media exposure” and was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison. “Mr. Camacho’s reputation was tarnished significantly,” Judge Judith Keep noted.Mr. Camacho sued CBS and eventually settled for an undisclosed sum. In 1999 Leslie Stahl read an apology on the air: “We have concluded we were deceived, and ultimately, so were you, the viewers.”
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
