12/31/2005
America is slowly but surely taking out it’s enemies. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, and I’m sure there have been other secret operations in other countries that only a select few know about. It appears now that a confrontation with Iran is in the near future.
The most talked about story is a Dec. 23 piece by the German news agency DDP from journalist and intelligence expert Udo Ulfkotte. The story has generated controversy not only because of its material, but also because of the reporter’s past. Critics allege that Ulfkotte in his previous reporting got too close to sources at Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND. But Ulfkotte has himself noted that he has been under investigation by the government in the past (indeed, his home and offices have been searched multiple times) for allegations that he published state secrets — a charge that he claims would underscore rather than undermine the veracity of his work.
According to Ulfkotte’s report, “western security sources” claim that during CIA Director Porter Goss’ Dec. 12 visit to Ankara, he asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide support for a possible 2006 air strike against Iranian nuclear and military facilities. More specifically, Goss is said to have asked Turkey to provide unfettered exchange of intelligence that could help with a mission.
DDP also reported that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Pakistan have been informed in recent weeks of Washington’s military plans. The countries, apparently, were told that air strikes were a “possible option,” but they were given no specific time frame for the operations.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel also cited NATO intelligence sources claiming that Washington’s western allies had been informed that the United States is currently investigating all possibilities of bringing the mullah-led regime into line, including military options. Of course, Bush has publicly stated for months that he would not take the possibility of a military strike off the table. What’s new here, however, is that Washington appears to be dispatching high-level officials to prepare its allies for a possible attack rather than merely implying the possibility as it has repeatedly done during the past year.
With the new hard-line Iranian President making threatening statements toward Israel by insisting that if Europe wants to save Israel they should move them to Europe and then calling the Holocaust a hoax. Then making threatening gestures in front of the world community by insisting that they have the right to process their own Uranium for “peaceful purposes” it appears that the time has drawn near for military action. I wonder when Iran will realize that it’s President is writing checks that their collective butt can’t cash. Unfortunately, that may not happen until there’s a flight of B-2 bombers overhead.
Hat Tip: Captains Quarters
12/30/2005
Uncle J over at Black Five has a great assessment of the Intel leaks and the spineless wonders perpetrating those leaks. Here’s the key ‘graph:
I don’t know why Dana Priest feels her obligation to cripple our Intel capabilities, but I hope we track down the disloyal worms feeding her classified info. They could use a little Club Leavenworth time to reflect on their actions. It is easy to sit safe and warm here where no terrorists have hit us for four years and indulge your delicate sensibilities. But the jihadis, while severely beaten down by the very programs she helps destroy, are still trying their damndest to punish all of us. Whether she ever shuts her cakehole or not, those of us able to accurately assess the threat and spineful enough to act against it will keep trucking.
12/29/2005
Because There’s Been Another Problem…
I’m going to re-post my comment policy for those wishing to leave comments on my blog.
For the rest of my readers, I’m sorry but I am instituting a comment policy. I pay for this website so the First ammendment protects my right to free speech on this blog, not yours.
I will not tolerate profanity I will not tolerate advertisements I will not tolerate insults directed towards either myself or other commenters I welcome other view points, but only if we can have a reasonable conversation From now on I will require a valid email address and a name from those wishing to comment on this blog. Your email address will not be published. Any comments that violate these simple rules will be deleted, no questions asked.
12/27/2005
I found this story via Gateway Pundit. It seems that a “pastor” from Topeka Kansas has decided to protest at the funerals of our fallen heroes in order to get out his anti-gay message. The interesting thing is that most of his protest signs have nothing to do with the gay lifestyle. They are purely anti-war and anti-soldier signs.
I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle. I believe that those who choose to live that way are living in sin. It’s important to note though that God teaches us in the Bible that we are to love the sinner and hate the sin. However, I would never hijack the funeral of a fallen soldier to get that message out. Protesting against our country, the war, and the gay lifestyle at the funeral of a straight soldier has nothing to do with that.
I tried to call the “Church” that “Pastor” Phelps preaches at — Westboro Baptist Church — for a comment. When the “young lady” answered the phone I asked if this was the same Westboro Baptist Church mentioned in the news story, and her reply was an unending litany of anti-gay anti-American talking points. I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, so I obviously didn’t get to ask my questions. So here they are for you to read:
It’s very unfortunate that this group of people have chosen to hijack Christianity to get out their message of hate for gays, America, and the American Soldier.
Here is the phone number of the Westboro Baptist Church, maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.
Westboro Baptist Church
Topeka, Ks
785-273-0325
Of course, I should have figured this “Church” would sponsor a website with the URL of www.godhatesamerica.com. These slugs give real Christians such a bad name. Sad, very sad.
This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace,
now home to the 4th Infantry division.
It will eventually be shipped home
and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat,
who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country;
he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam
and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers
and their fallen warriors.
Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.
Why haven’t we heard about this from the MSM? Because, it’s praiseworthy and shows the progress we’re making in Iraq.
Hat Tip: Gray Eagle
What’s Good For The Goose isn’t Good For The Gander
Hillary and Chuck — two of the biggest whiners about the ANWAR add on — have apparently added on some of their own Defense pork.
Senators Clinton and Schumer are asking the Pentagon to spend $123 million of its wartime budget for New York projects that the Department of Defense didn’t ask for - but that in many cases are linked to the senators’ campaign contributors. …
Two New York congressmen sit on the House Armed Services Committee: Rep. John McHugh, a Republican of Watertown, and Rep. Steven Israel, a Democrat of Long Island. Many of the companies and executives who won earmarks this year donated money not only to Senator Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and to Mr. Schumer, but also to Mr. Israel. And several of those designated for earmarks gave to members of the Joint Defense Appropriations Conference Committee, which wrote the New York projects into the defense spending bill.Highlights of the earmarks announced by the Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Schumer include:
* $5 million in taxpayer money to STIDD Systems in Greenport, a company whose president and chief executive officer, Walter Gezari, gave $2,500 to the Friends of Hillary political action committee in May. Mr. Gezari, whose company makes seating for military vessels, gave $25,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in March. He has donated $108,350 to federal politicians since 1998. Federal lobbying records show that his company spent $400,000 lobbying Congress this year.
* $1.8 million in taxpayer money to EDO Corporation, an Amityville defense contractor that makes aircraft equipment. The company’s political action committee has given $17,000 to Mr. Israel over the past four years and $15,000 to Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat of Pennsylvania who is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense. EDO’s political action committee also gave $1,000 to Mr. Schumer’s campaign committee and $853.44 to Boulevard Caterers in Farmingdale for food at a fundraiser for Mr. Schumer. The company spent $1,145 on food for one of Mr. Israel’s fund-raisers in April 2001.
* $8 million in taxpayer money to a publicly traded defense contracting firm, DRS Technologies, and its electronic warfare and network systems program in western New York. The firm’s political action committee gave $8,000 to Friends of Schumer and $30,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, of which Mr. Schumer is the chair. DRS, which is based in Parsippany, N.J., gave Mrs. Clinton’s political action committee $2,000 in May through its DRS Technologies, Incorporated Good Government Fund.
* $2 million in taxpayer money to a Buffalo nanotechnology firm, Nano-Dynamics, Incorporated. Its chairman, Allan Rothstein, contributed $4,400 to the Friends of Hillary political action committee over the past year. Its chief executive officer, Keith Blakely, gave $2,000 to Mr. Schumer’s campaign on October 26, 2004, as did the company’s president, Richard Berger, and its vice president, Glenn Spacht. Mr. Spacht’s contribution to Mr. Schumer was the only political donation he made to a federal campaign last year, according to records at the Federal Election Commission.
* $3.5 million in taxpayer money to SuperPower, Incorporated, a Schenectady subsidiary of Latham-based Intermagnetics General Corporation SuperPower’s president, Philip Pellegrino, gave $3,000 last year to a political action committee operated by Intermagnetics that, in turn, gave $2,000 to Mrs. Clinton this year; $1,000 to Mr. Murtha; and $1,000 to Mr. Stevens.
* $2 million in taxpayer money to Plug Power, Incorporated, a Latham developer of fuel cell technology for redundant power supplies. The company’s president, Roger Saillant, has given $2,000 to the Friends of Hillary committee over the past two years, and $3,000 to the Friends of Schumer committee over the past four.
Oh, the hypocrisy of it all.
Hat Tip: Captains Quarters
12/24/2005
The administration has written a detailed memo to it’s critics covering the authority of the President to conduct surveillance on foreign nationals, specifically on members of Al-Qaeda.
Hat Tip: Damascus Road
Eric Lichtblau continues to mischarecterize the NSA wiretap program in another stunningly biased article in this morning’s NYT.
As part of the program approved by President Bush for domestic surveillance without warrants, the N.S.A. has gained the cooperation of American telecommunications companies to obtain backdoor access to streams of domestic and international communications, the officials said.
Okay, problem number one, this wasn’t a domestic wiretap investigation. These were all calls that:
After reading through the article, it seems that Lichtblau’s story comes down to this; we’re analyzing patterns of foreign to foreign calls looking for connections to Osama Bin Laden. Despite what Lichtblau would have you believe, that’s all it is.
Finally, Lichtblau would have us all believe that this program and everything associated with it is illegal. But, as far as the legality of the program, the gents at Powerline have done some great research into this. Here’s the key post.
12/23/2005
Well, I guess the folks at DOE haven’t learned to keep their mouths shut either. More leaks of classified information. The majority of the right — myself included — are still waiting for the folks that cried foul about Plamegate to express the same anger and dismay about the wiretap and radiation monitoring leaks as they did about the leaking of the name of a non-covert CIA operative who was hiding in plain site. Of course, I won’t hold my breath.
12/22/2005
President Bush Visiting Our Heros:
From this WaPo article:
The task at hand is one that requires determination and discipline and great faith in the ideals of human freedom and human liberty. And so coming here today is a chance to not only thank you for being a part of this incredible team of healers, but also being a part of this historic moment.
12/20/2005
It is clear now that there will be hearings over the leak to the New York Times regarding the NSA surveillance program. What is unclear is exactly what the Democrats hope to achieve by calling for this investigation. Obviously they would like nothing more than to bring down the President, but at what cost? Do they intend to take the safety of our nation with them?
Here’s what we know so far about the program and the problems that have risen from the leak to the Times:
Now, regarding the briefing that members of Congress received, Jay Rockefeller wrote a note to the Vice President regarding the NSA program. It is my opinion that this was nothing more than a CYA letter because he knew that details of the program would be leaked to the media. I have never read such a pathetic self serving piece of garbage in my life. Here is the text of the letter sent to the Vice President:
Dear Mr. Vice President,
I am writing you to reiterate my concerns regarding the sensitive intelligence issues we discussed today with the DCI, DIRNSA, chairman Roberts and our house committee counterparts.
Clearly, the activities we discussed are profound oversite [sic] issues. As you know, I am neither a technician nor an attorney. Given the security restrictions associated with this information, and my inability to consult staff or counsel on my own, I feel unable to fully evaluate much less endorse these activities.
As I reflected on the meeting today, and the future we face, John Poindexter’s TIA project sprung to mind, exacerbating my concern regarding the discretion the Administration is moving with regard to security, technology, and surveillance.
Without more information and the ability to draw on any independent legal or technical expertise, I simply cannot satisfy lingering concerns raised by the briefing we received.
I am retaining a copy of this letter in a sealed envelope in the secure spaces of the Senate Intelligence Committee to ensure that I have a record of this communication.
I appreciate you consideration of my views.
Most respectfully,
Jay Rockefeller
The first question that came to mind was doesn’t Mr. Rockefeller have an opinion without consulting a lawyer. Doesn’t he know the difference between right and wrong? The second question that came to mind is doesn’t he trust the President to work within the bounds of the law? If you think about this logically, President Bush has got to understand that if he doesn’t work within the bounds of the law he can be impeached. Does anyone not wearing a tinfoil hat believe he would risk his career or his own freedom to wiretap overseas phone calls? Finally, if he felt that strongly about this program being wrong and illegal does anyone believe he wouldn’t scream this from the mountain tops?
There will inevitably be hearings and an investigation into the legality of the program. If the Democrats somehow seize control of the House or Senate, there may even be impeachment proceedings.
What we need to have, and by all accounts we will have, is an investigation into who leaked the information to the NYT, thus the title of the post; dueling investigations. Whoever leaked the information to the NYT committed a major offense. I am no lawyer, but I believe the case could be made for treason.
On the other side of the issue, the WaPo tried it’s best today to make the program look illegal and further tried to develop the story.
But the 56-minute session became dominated by the four-year-old NSA surveillance program, which was revealed last week by the New York Times. While generally relaxed and sometimes joking, Bush grew testy when asked if he is presiding over the expansion of “unchecked power” by the executive branch. “To say ‘unchecked power’ basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the president, which I strongly reject,” he responded sharply, waving his finger.
Of course he grew testy. The reporter who asked this question essentially accused the President — his President — of being a dictator. I would be testy too. In fact, I’ll give President Bush a lot of credit, he did a lot better than I did at checking his anger than I would have.
Asked what limits he sees on a president’s power in a time of war, Bush said a few key congressional leaders were briefed on the domestic spying program and his administration reviews its own actions periodically. “I just described limits on this particular program,” he said. “That’s what’s important for the American people to understand. I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time safeguarding the civil liberties of the country.”
Bush’s remarks left many critics unassuaged and many questions unanswered. The president offered no details about how many people are under surveillance, what standard must be met to intercept communications or what terrorist plots have been disrupted as a result of the program.
Many critics were unassuaged, but that’s just tough. This is a classified program, and details — including the existence of the program — cannot be released to the public at large or even many of the members of Congress. There’s one thing that cannot be emphasized enough; revealing the methods that we use to find and stop terrorist plots will result in the terrorists changing their methods. Next time, because of this, we may not be able to find them and stop them in time.
At one point in the article the WaPo covers statements made by Democrats that imply that they will use the NSA wiretap kerfluffle to try to keep judge Alito out of the Supreme Court. In fact, they seem to also want to let the Patriot Act expire because of this.
The dispute further fueled the debate over the USA Patriot Act, the measure bolstering the powers of law enforcement agencies that was passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Senate yesterday again failed to muster the votes to end Democrat-led efforts to block legislation renewing the law, which expires Dec. 31. Bush angrily branded the filibuster “inexcusable” three times at his news conference but refused to accept a temporary extension.
“I want senators from New York or Los Angeles or Las Vegas to go home and explain why these cities are safer,” Bush said. “It is inexcusable to say, on the one hand, ‘connect the dots’ and not give us a chance to do so.”
[….] [….] [….] [….] In the wide-ranging news conference, Bush demanded that the Senate confirm Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court by Jan. 20, even as Democrats vowed to question the nominee on his view of the NSA program.
Later in the article….
Several senators pressed the matter further. Specter and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) sent letters to Alito promising to grill the nominee on the issue at confirmation hearings next month.
One last question that should be answered is why did the NYT spike the story for over a year? Was it to hamper the renewal of the Patriot Act, or was it a self serving move to bring attention to a book written by the author of the article?
Politics is a dirty business, it always has been. However, this time the Democrats — most likely — leaked the existence of this program to an adversary (the NYT) of the administration, and are now using it to hamper our efforts in the war on terror. They are also using it to try to bring down an Administration profoundly committed to protecting the citizens of this country. I have never in my life seen a party so hell bent on the destruction of a President. What they don’t realize is that it will surely result in the destruction of their own party, and God forbid the deaths of many of our fellow countrymen.
12/19/2005
Domestic Wiretaps Done Legally
I’ve found a new blog on intelligence matters. This lady is a retired intelligence officer and former professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She has some interesting thoughts on the wiretap controversy.
Whether the President acted under proper executive authority will undoubtedly be determined during hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But he did follow requirements for legal review of his orders by consulting with the NSA Legal Counsel and the U.S. Attorney General.
He also followed congressional oversight requirements by notifying the appropriate congressional committees in a timely manner. And it is customary for more sensitive activities to be briefed only to a limited number of senior oversight committee members to avoid leaks of classified national security information. Our current system of checks & balances does not require congressional oversight committees to approve intelligence activities in advance, only that they be notified of significant activities in a timely manner.
Go read the whole post!
12/18/2005
In less than eleven months the country will get to vote on what it believes about the priority that ought to attach to national security. The past month has revealed the true nature of the Democrats: committed to defeat and retreat in Iraq, open borders, and a crippled intelligence system. The collapse of the Democrats’ credibility on national security is complete. It isn’t a political party anymore. It is a suicide pact.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
12/17/2005
Over the last several weeks there have been several damaging leaks to the press about strategies being used by the administration in the war on terror. For instance, yesterday, a report on the use of wiretaps on overseas phone calls from and to people living in America — most likely on student visas — with links to Al-Qaeda was leaked to the New York Times. Several weeks ago, there was information about secret overseas prisons leaked to the press. None of these activities being used by the administration and defense department officials are illegal.
What is the purpose of leaking this information to the press? Well, I suspect first and most important reason to those leaking the information is to make the administration look bad. The second reason may be more of an un-intended consequence than a reason; harming and hampering our efforts in the GWOT. Today, President Bush spoke out on the harm that reporting the wiretap story has done to the GWOT.
…This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country…
One thing that cannot be emphasized enough is that none of these tactics are illegal. In fact “secret” detention facilities have been used over the course of history, particularly during the cold war. We’ve all heard the unclassified reports of CIA safe houses used to keep Soviet defectors and spies during the cold war, this is the modern day version.
As far as the wiretapping is concerned, the federal government as well as local and state law enforcement agencies have used wiretaps since the technology became available. Of course, the complaint is that they are tapping phones without getting a warrant first. However, the NSA has been authorized to tap foreign phone lines without warrants for a long time. Unfortunately, the NYT article doesn’t specify whether or not the tap was on foreign lines or domestic. Mr. Yoo, a justice department attorney, had authored a classified legal opinion on the program.
One other problem with the wiretapping story is that the New York Times was asked to not publish the story because it would harm efforts to stop terror attacks on our own soil. The NYT apparently didn’t care:
The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted.
“Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted”. A lot of help that was. Notice the word some, why didn’t they omit all information that could be useful to terrorists? This war against the military and military conflicts has been going on since before the Bush administration though. It dates back to the Vietnam war in fact. Here are some statements from, and about media personalities and their thoughts on how to report on war matters:
This one (scroll about halfway down the page) is a description of Helen Thomas in her autobiography:
Thomas relates her many years of reporting on the White House, exploring the changing relationship between the presidency and the press. Named to UPI’s White House Press Corps in 1960, she has reported on eight administrations and has gained the reputation as being scrupulously impartial when reporting the news. She is also is an unrepentant advocate of the media’s responsibility to ask uncomfortable questions—even when the public condemns them as intrusive.
Some… okay, most of us on the right would debate the idea that she’s impartial, but on to the meat of the quote. She’s an advocate of asking uncomfortable questions, even when the public condemns them as intrusive. Where does that respnsibility end and your loyalty to your country begin?
The next example is an opinion/news article about whether or not photos of flag drapped caskets should be shown.
Twenty years after World War II, television brought images of war into American living rooms. Rather than uplifting shots like the victory from Iwo Jima, the Vietnam War provided mostly unsettling images of what many thought was pointless death and suffering. Some of the photos are still in the American conscience today, said George Esper, who teaches the history of journalism at West Virginia University. He was an AP reporter during the war and said back then, every reporter carried a camera and every photographer carried a notebook.
[…] […] […] […] Be they photos of flag-draped coffins or naked prisoners with underwear on their heads, editors struggle with the ethical question of whether to publish the images.
Kelly McBride, an ethics faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, said as unnerving as the photos may be, it is the media’s responsibility as a watchdog to publish them. “That’s what democracy is all about,” she said.
Once again, where does your loyalty to your country come into the decision? I believe whether it’s photos of prisoners with underwear on their heads, or flag draped coffins, or publishing classified information that the administration has asked you not to publish, somewhere in there you have to draw a line and say “this is detrimental to the country and the war effort and we shouldn’t do this”. During WW II and to some extent during the Korean conflict there was censorship, but there was more than that. There was a certain loyalty to country and to the cause. The media doesn’t seem to have that anymore.
What do we do about it? I don’t know. One of the best things about this country is a free press. However, when that free press starts acting irresponsibly, something needs to be done.
My personal opinion about what should be done about these leaks? I hope in the days to come, the President or our Republican leaders in the House and Senate will call for an investigation into who has leaked this information to the press. In both instances (the wiretaps and the secret prisons) the information leaked has been classified and has been considerably more damaging to our efforts in the GWOT than the leaking of the name of a CIA operative who was hiding in plain site.
I posted last night that I intended to email the four Republican Senators who voted to filibuster the USA Patriot Act. I decided that I would also send one off to Senate minority leader Harry Reid as well. If you would like to do the same you can find the contact information for the Republican Senators here. Here are those letters.
Here is the letter that I sent to all four Republicans regarding their vote on the USA Patriot Act:
I am emailing you to let you know about how disgusted I am about your vote this past week to filibuster the USA Patriot Act. You have essentially blinded our NSA and law enforcement agencies in a time of war. There is no excuse for that. I would expect these kind of traitorous actions out of the Democrats, but not my fellow Republicans. We are Republicans, we are supposed to be in favor of national security.
We — the American people — sent you to Washington to do certain things — including protecting our country through legislation. You have let us down. Because of that, I intend to do everything in my power to hold you and the other three Republicans who voted the same way accountable for your votes this week. If, God forbid, another terrorist attack happens while the Patriot Act has lapsed, you will have the blood of countless innocent Americans on your hands. God help you if that happens.
Jim C
Here is the letter that I sent to Senator Harry Reid — the minority leader of the Senate:
Senator Reid,
I am emailing you to express my disgust at the Democrat vote to filibuster the USA Patriot Act. What you have decided to do this week through — the party’s typical obstructionism — is blind our NSA and our law enforcement agencies. I am a Republican, I don’t agree with many of the things that your party does, and I assume you don’t agree with us much, but I had hoped that you all would put aside your hatred of the President and his party as well as your partisanship for a little while and do what’s right for the country in this time of war.
I am amazed that it has not only been this vote this week, but also constantly talking down the war in Iraq (which in my opinion is another front in the war on terror just as the pacific was a front during WW II) and your constant crowing that the President lied us into war without being willing to admit that many in your own party said the same things in the run up to the invasion. You all should be ashamed of yourselves!
I can assure you sir that I will do everything possible to see to it that the voters hold you and your party responsible for what you have done this week. God forbid that another terrorist attack happens while the Patriot Act has lapsed and we can show that it is because the Act had been allowed to lapse by you and four Republicans, you all will have the blood of innocent victims on your hands.
Jim C
12/16/2005
NSA Blinded By Anti-War Senators
The Democrats and four Maverick Republicans chose to filibuster the Patriot Act today, which in effect has blinded our NSA and our law enforcement in the GWOT. I don’t understand why these cowards chose to do this during a time of war, but I intend to let them know I don’t like it one bit. Please do the same and contact the Senate Democrats or the following four Republicans and let them know what you think!
Here’s the contact info:
Craig, Larry- (R - ID) Class II
520 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2752
Web Form: craig.senate.gov/email/
Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE) Class II
248 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4224
Web Form: hagel.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Murkowski, Lisa- (R - AK) Class III
709 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6665
Web Form: murkowski.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Sununu, John- (R - NH) Class II
111 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2841
Web Form: www.sununu.senate.gov/webform.html
The Senate switchboard is 202-225-3121
If an attack occurs during the lapse of the Patriot Act, these traitors will be responsible. I think a caller to Hugh Hewitt’s show put it best when they said:
The Senate Democrats have gone Ahab. Their hatred of Bush has forced them into an obsessive rage that has clouded their judgment even about their — and the nation’s — survival.
Now, unfortunately, we can say that four Republicans have joined that crowd as well.
12/15/2005
That’s all I can say about this one. Decision ‘08 has the top ten reactions of the Kos Kids to the great news out of Iraq today. After all we have sacrificed, to see major progress in Iraq and say — In the words of one of the Kos Kids:
I had a realization today while driving to work listening to all the talking heads blather on about Iraqis voting.
I. DON’T.
GIVE. A. SH**. ABOUT. THIS.Was it worth half a trillion of our (children’s) wealth and 2140 of our young people? 30,000 to 100,000 civilian “collateral damage”?
F NO.
What a bunch of idiots!
With on air talent like this, no wonder Air America is loosing it’s shirt. In this video, Sam Seder — an on air “talent” at Air America — tries to compare the war on Christmas to the war in Iraq. What’s worse is he actually says he has no regard for those who celebrate Christmas. Talk about the tyranny of the minority!
Hat Tip: The Political Teen
12/14/2005
Kerry And The Left Wanted Europe To Help?
Do you all remember the 2004 campaign? John Kerry wanted demanded that we have the Europeans and NATO involved in Iraq just like they are in Afghanistan. Well, I for one am glad they’re not. Many of the NATO countries have reneged on their promises to help out in Afghanistan. Given what we now know about their cowardess in Afghanistan, what kind of mess would we be in right now if we had run the war in Iraq like Kerry wanted? This bit of information comes from Captains Quarters:
The US brought NATO in when the UN would not cough up troops, and it did so under pressure from Congress and the media to be less “unilateral” in the war on terror. Without US leadership, however, the entire effort has become “shambolic”, as one British officer called it, and those nations that demanded a voice in how the war got waged have walked away from their responsibilities. The Dutch refuse to send their contingent of 1,000 men at all unless the United States provides them with “security”, for instance. Does the Netherlands have such a weak fighting force that they cannot deploy without having someone else do the firing for them when challenged? Apparently they do — but that doesn’t keep them from telling us how to wage war, it seems.
Hell of way to run a war.
Patriot Act In Trouble In The Senate
I found this in the NYT this morning. It would be interesting to find out who these Republican Senators are and what their objections are to renewing a bill that is vital to our success in the GWOT. My suspicions are that they are the usual suspects… RINO’s that don’t have the moral courage to do the right thing.
While the bill’s opponents did not have enough votes in the House, a group of Republican and Democratic senators is banding together in the Senate to block the House-Senate compromise.
12/12/2005
NYT Trying To Tie US Troops To Latest Prisoner Abuse Scandal
I was perusing the news pages of the NYT today and found this. For the most part, it’s a fair and balanced article (of course, as usual it’s tilted a little to the anti-war side). But, when I was almost finished reading the column I found this:
The Bush administration is still grappling with fallout from the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal that galvanized anti-American sentiments across the Muslim world.
What a curious thing to say about the situation considering the prison is being run by Iraqi’s.
The detention center raided Thursday, situated to the east of the Tigris River, is run by a commando unit from the Interior Ministry, which oversees the country’s police forces, said the senior American official, Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, a spokesman for the American detention system in Iraq. When members of the search team entered the building, he said, they found “overcrowded” conditions that prompted them to begin transferring the prisoners.
[…] […] […] […] The Interior Ministry is run by Bayan Jabr, a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a leading religious Shiite party that has an Iranian-trained armed wing called the Badr Organization. Many Iraqi officials have said the ministry has recruited heavily from Badr and other Shiite militias, and there is growing evidence that such forces are abducting, torturing and killing Sunni Arabs.
Why would it matter if the Bush administration is “still grappling with fallout from the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal” unless the Times is trying — unsuccessfully I might add — to pin this problem on the administration as well? After all, by their own admission, this is a prison run by Bayan Jabr who is in charge of the Iraqi Interior Ministry. It is not run by — as John Kerry said last weekend — our terrorist troops:
KERRY: And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not… [Italics Mine — TR]
12/11/2005
Early this morning US time, an oil storage facility went up in flames near Hemel Hempstead in the UK. It’s my understanding that this is a western suburb of London. There has been no statement that this was terror related. However, it seems odd that the first reaction of officials on scene would be “The cause of the explosion is not yet known but no third party — a plane or a terrorist — was involved”. How can you say that terrorism was not a factor when you don’t know the cause of the explosion? One other piece of circumstantial evidence to keep in mind; U.S. hit on 9/11, Spain hit on 3/11; London oil refinery hit on 12/11. Could be a coincidence, but then again, maybe not.
Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri has praised Taliban leader Mullah Omar for winning back control of large regions of Afghanistan and urged Muslims to wage holy war against the West, according to a tape that surfaced on Sunday.
The tape, which is about 48 minutes long, was believed to have been made at about the same time as the last tape attributed to al-Zawahri a Sept. 19 video.
The latest tape, which could not be immediately authenticated, was obtained by IntelCenter, a government contractor that does support work for the U.S. intelligence community.
In it, al-Zawahri credited Mullah Omar with leading a three-year campaign “against the Crusaders and apostates in Afghanistan” and taking control of “extensive parts of eastern and western Afghanistan.”
The hard-line Taliban regime was toppled by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 when it refused to turn over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and stop offering a haven to the group following the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
The latest tape was also a rallying call to Muslims to attack Western interests.[emphasis mine TR]
“The key to victory is in our hands, and in turn, the primary cause of defeat is in ourselves,” it said.
Sky News — the British Fox sister station — has a great news piece on the explosion and the aftermath. This looks like a story that will be developing over the next 48 to 72 hours.
Oh, and yes, the black clouds are not storm clouds they’re smoke from the burning refinery.
12/10/2005
DIA In Possession Of Documents Refuting Media’s Current Stand On The War
Steven Hayes has uncovered documents which were found in Iraq in the days and months following the invasion. These documents, up until now have not been released by the DIA. In fact, Hayes’ efforts to get the documents — despite many FOIA requests — have been unsuccessful. What he has been able to get are descriptions of these documents. If the descriptions are accurate, then the contents of these documents should be shouted from the rooftops. Here are the descriptions of some of the documents he has uncovered.
Title: Intelligence coded memo by two IIS officers containing info on various topics; weapons boat, Palestinians training in Iraq, etc.
Short Description: Lists Palestinians trained in Iraq, etc.
Agency: DIA
Document Date: Mar-02
Document #: IISP-2003-00038100Title: Presidential instruction from Hussein concerning mass graves in southern Iraq, and how to handle the PR/media fallout.
Description: Concerning mass graves found in the south: Check for nuclear radiation, identify bodies, ensure that CNN is the first news agency on site. Any funerals should have an international impact. Signed by Hussein.
Agency: DIA
Document Date:Feb-01
Document #: ISGZ-2004-00224003Presumably, this was a plan to blame any mass graves on deaths supposedly caused by depleted-uranium artillery shells used by U.S. forces in the first Gulf War–a favorite talking point of the pro-Saddam left in the 1990s.
Other document descriptions raise more questions than they answer:
Title: Chemical, Biological Agent Destruction
Short Description: See Document for Remarks.
Agency: DIA
Document Date: Feb-03
Document #:BIAP-2003-004427Title: IIS Correspondence for the Iraq Embassy in the Philippines and Iraqi MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs].
Short Description: Various correspondence e.g. visa forms, trade delegations, full reports on the connections between Abu Sayaf and the Qadafi Charity Establishment. Report on a certain individual traveling to Pakistan and involvements with bin Laden.
Agency: DIA
Document Date: Mar-01
Document #: ISGP-2003-00014100
Connections to Bin Laden, Palestinians training in Iraq, biological weapons destruction? The titles of these documents do indeed raise more questions than they answer. I’m sure, if the truth be known, many of these questions have been answered internally. But, why not trumpet the contents of these documents to the ever vigilant critical liberal media?
Hat Tip: Captains Quarters
I tried going to the DIA website, and at the time of publication the site was in-accessible. The site does exist though (last crawled by Google Nov. 5th, 2005). Here’s Google’s cached image of the page.
12/9/2005
Iran’s crazy President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (and I mean that in the most uncomplimentary way possible) had this to say in a press conference in the Saudi holy city of Mecca:
Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces… Although we don’t accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad then went on to make an even bigger ass of himself by saying:
If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe — like in Germany, Austria or other countries — to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe.
Our brothers and sisters on the other side of the pond had the most reasonable reaction to these statements:
Britain, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency and has played a key role in European attempts to persuade Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions, said such comments had “no place in civilized political debate.”
Not only do we have to squash Iran’s nuclear ambitions where they sit right now, we need to look toward regime change. If we don’t, this will come back to haunt us.
Hat Tip: HH
12/8/2005
From Tough Talk With Colonel Hunt:
Some of us went because we had never been around them. Some of us went because we know how it feels to be in a hospital in so much pain you want to die but are afraid to admit to it. Some of us went because they were asked.
We all went to see Soldiers and Marines who were missing parts of their bodies, parts they left in Iraq or Afghanistan and a couple who lost their parts in Viet Nam. Some were women how about that? All were doing mostly great and being treated like the kings and queens of the world that they are.
Walter Reed is a hospital in the heart of Washington where men and women are cared for, repaired, treated and sent home in as good a shape as they can be. Walter Reed is a hospital manned by wonderfully talented men and women, doctors, nurses, therapists and administrators who love soldiers and show it in the way they care for the most severely wounded.
We saw soldiers with their heads caved in, soldiers missing both legs, missing one arm, missing one arm and had one leg gone and one leg so infected they might that lose that one too. We saw happy soldiers, soldiers in pain, soldiers walking for the first time on a titanium leg and all of them–every brave one of them–want to go back to their units. Where do we find such men and women?
We saw Viet Nam vets who were there helping the Iraq and Afghan vets deal with their loss and their new life.
We laughed with them all, cried with a few, gave all we could find a gift–a sweat shirt, a hat, a book and a thank you.
We met parents, wives and girlfriends who will now have to care for these soldiers for a very long time–a price and burden of love seldom discussed.
We stayed for hours and wanted to stay longer. We hope we helped them; we know they helped us.
Merry Christmas guys, get well soon.
Where do we find such men and women? God bless them all!
12/7/2005
Talk About A Punk With A Big Mouth
In his latest editorial on his website Bob Beckel calls Tom Delay a punk with a big mouth. Of course Mr. Beckel offers no proof to back up the baseless allegations he makes against Delay. Here is the editorial in it’s entirety:
Just another Bully
A Column by BBP Editor Bob BeckelTom Delay reminds me of a bully in my hometown high school. He scared people, told them he carried a switchblade, and would use it. He was a thug. One day he said something about my sister. He lasted 15 seconds, until he started to cry for his momma. He turned out to be a punk.
Just like Tom the termite Delay. He threatens companies and trade associations they will get no help from the Republican Congress unless they fire their Democratic Lobbyists. He uses illegal money to fund his wide spread corrupt money laundering operations to buy House seats and loyalty. He lets big contributors from business write legislation affecting their companies, and he threatens legislators with their committee assignments if they don’t vote Delay’s way.
Delay may scare people and we at BBP understand that. He doesn’t scare us and we will be on his case till he takes up his spray can of termite killer in Houston again. This little man who plays bully and thug is no more than a punk with a big mouth.
Talk about a punk with a big mouth!! To date, Mr. Delay has not been convicted on any of the charges that have been filed against him. In fact, some of them have recently been thrown out. Of course, I can’t find anything in the news about Delay threatening legislators with their committee assignments. As far as letting big contributers write their own legislation, the Democrats are doing the same thing. Unfortunately, that’s how Washington works. Me thinks Mr. Beckel should worry a little more about himself and the accuracy of his columns, and less about the alleged misdeads of the Republicans.
12/5/2005